Gotha G-series Bombers

To a Londoner in 1917 or 1918, a "Gotha" was any of the German bombers making day or nighttime raids on the city, regardless of type. Gotha began producing bombers in 1915, and they were first deployed on May 25, 1917 in a mass attack by 21 Gothas on cities in Kent. The first daylight raid against London was on June 13, 1917, killing 162 persons and wounding another 400. Subsequent attacks over the next two months by German bombers were virtually unopposed; public outcry resulted in the formation of the RAF as a military branch independent of the needs of the Army or Navy. Gotha bombers were used until the German Air service abandoned bombing in April of 1918.

The Gotha bomber carries a crew of three: the pilot, a nose gunner with twin MGs, and a rear gunner, who could mount his guns dorsally or ventrally via a tunnel in the fuselage, allowing him to fire to the rear or obliquely to the sides from below.

The plane has a range of 500 miles. It burns 19.4 gallons of aviation fuel per hour at routine usage. A full load of fuel and ammo (excluding bombs) costs $68.

Gotha G.V

Subassemblies: Light Fighter chassis +3; Medium Fighter-Bomber wings with Biplane option +3; Small AFV engine pods +1; 2 fixed wheels +1.

Powertrain: Two 194-kW aerial HP gasoline engines [Pods] with two 194-kW old props and 240-gallon fuel tank [Pods].

Occ.: 3 XCS Body

Cargo: 2 Body

Armor F RL B T U

Body: 2/2W 2/2W 2/2W 2/2W 2/2W

Wings: 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C 1/2C

Wheels: 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3 2/3

Weaponry:

2xAircraft LMG/7.92mm Parabellum [Body:F] (500 rounds each).*

2xAircraft LMG/7.92mm Parabellum [Body:T,U] (500 rounds each).*

14 bombs [Body:U].

*Linked.

Statistics:

Size: 39'x78'x14' Payload: 1.36 tons Lwt.: 4.38 tons

Volume: 144 Maint.: 48 hours Cost: $17,406

HT: 6. HPs: 50 Body, 330 each Wing, 75 each Pod, 30 each Wheel.

aSpeed: 87 aAccel: 2 aDecel: 27 aMR: 7 aSR: 1

Stall Speed: 42 mph. Take-Off Run 221 yards. Landing Run 176 yards.

gSpeed: 151 gAccel: 8 gDecel: 10 gMR: 0.5 gSR: 2

Ground Pressure: Very High. 1/8 Off-Road Speed.

Design Notes:

Historical wing area was 963 sf. MG load outs are a guess. Design payload was 3,363 lbs., the historical value is shown Loaded weight was reduced by 3%. Design aSpeed was 106 mph. Performance calculations were based on historical values for wing area and loaded weight. The weight, cost, and HPs of the wings were reduced by ½ to reduced design weight. The engine pods divide a single Small AFV subassembly to more closely reflect the VSPs required and reduce unnecessary weight. Similarly, the bomb bay uses 2.5 modules for a capacity of 1,250 lbs.; the historical capacity was 1,102 lbs.

Variants:

The G.I mounted the fuselage to the upper wing. The plane had an unfortunate tendency to nose-over on landing, so this was changed to a low-wing mount for future models.

The G.II and G.III (1915) were initial versions of the aircraft. They were shorter-range bombers than future models.

The G.IV was generally similar to the .V, with slightly different engine nacelles.

The G.VI had two engines, one on the nose and one in a starboard nacelle. The fuselage was offset to the port side.

The G.VII was a beautifully streamlined version for reconnaissance duty.

The GVIII was an increased-span G.VII with 183-kW engines. The G.IX was similar to the G.VIII.

The G.X was a smaller, lightweight reconnaissance model.

From the Aerodrome for GURPS