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Olham

23 Gothas about to start for a raid against England

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Just did a stroll through the archive of historical b&w photography at the "Wingnut Wings" website.

Always worth another visit - the collection seems to grow slowly, but steadily.

 

http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/

 

I found these Gothas at St. Denis aerodrome.

They must be 20 bombers, ready to start for a raid against England.

I had never guessed, that so many of them were sent out on a single raid. Quite frightening!

 

Edit: we will have them in OFF II soon! Well, maybe soon. In two weeks. ... ? ...

 

 

Edited by Olham

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Very cool Olham. I really want to attack some Gothas - will we get that opportunity in OFF 2?

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Yes.

If you can get at them.

Mmuahahahahahahahahaaaaa!!!!!!!

.

Edited by Olham

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Oh I'll get to them. :grin:

 

Is it safe to assume they'll have fighter support?

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... Is it safe to assume they'll have fighter support?

 

 

I don't know for certain, but I am not sure I have read of any accounts where they did have fighter support ... at least over Britain.

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Gothas over England. No fighter support - Emils were still two decades in the future. When daytime raids became too costly, in late August '17, they simply switched to night raids. The effect of the raids was out of all proportion to the damage caused, so they must be viewed as a success.

Cheers

the shredder

Edited by shredward
damn IPhone

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I bet that those wealthier Londoners, who had thought they had managed to stay clear from the war,

and possibly made good business earnings through the war, were now calling loudest for something

to be done against the Gotha menace.

 

Chaps, there is a fine mission in the downloads, which RAF_Louvert has written for me: "Olham's Gotha Escort"

 

http://combatace.com...escort-mission/

 

Fly the Albatros and try to accomplish both mission tasks - it's a thriller, if you fly it without Labels and TAC!

 

.

Edited by Olham

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20 Gotha's on a Raid.! I wonder if that was the normal number or if they were sent out a few at a time ?

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The raid on 25 May 1917 was flown by 23 Gothas - see excerpt from WIKIPEDIA here:

 

On 25 May 1917, Kagohl 3 sent 23 Gothas for a daylight raid on London but two were forced to turn back over the North Sea due to mechanical difficulties.

Poor weather forced the remaining bombers to divert to secondary targets at the Channel port of Folkestone and the nearby Army camp at Shorncliffe.

The raid resulted in 95 deaths and 195 injuries, mostly in the Folkestone area. In Shorncliffe, 18 soldiers (16 Canadian and two British) were killed,

90 were wounded.

Nine Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) Sopwith Pups engaged the returning bombers near the Belgian coast, shooting one down.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia....ing_World_War_I

Edited by Olham

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Most raids involved ~ 20 a/c setting out, though as the campaign went on, this number went down a bit. By mid-August, KG3 was hurting, and daylight raids were abandoned after two costly raids in a row. They withdrew for a regroup and night training, and resumed operations in September, carrying out night raids, which quietly came to an end the following spring. It should be noted that they also flew tactical missions over France and Belgium at the same time.

Cheers

shredward

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Just did a stroll through the archive of historical b&w photography at the "Wingnut Wings" website.

Always worth another visit - the collection seems to grow slowly, but steadily.

 

http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/

 

I found these Gothas at St. Denis aerodrome.

They must be 20 bombers, ready to start for a raid against England.

I had never guessed, that so many of them were sent out on a single raid. Quite frightening!

 

Edit: we will have them in OFF II soon! Well, maybe soon. In two weeks. ... ? ...

 

 

 

One could also check out Thomas Genth' website - the source of the photos. His grandfather was one of the pilots of the EnglandGeschwader.

http://www.thomasgenth.de/index.html

 

Cheers,

shredward

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Many of them were destroyed in landing accidents - they tended to tip on the nose. Maybe a design fault putting the C of G too far forward. If they appear in OFF I am definitely going to drop a bomb on Westminster and get rid of a few pollys :yikes:

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Thank you, Shredward, for adding the link to the source.

It is amazing to see some of the still existing aircraft, like the Halberstadt C.IV in it's "clowny" colours.

Interesting site!

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