A large German bomber, capable of bombing England. The plane is powered by two engines, and holds a crew of three with a pilot and front and rear gunners. The plane is likely a Gotha bomber, originally built by Gothaer Waggonfabrik, then built under license by Siemens-Schukert Werke and Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (LVG). Note the ground crew pushing on the lower wing and the men holding the tail up as the plane is moved backwards. Sanke postcard number 1040.
Deutsches Riesen-Flugzeug(Englandflieger)1040Postkartenvertrieb W. SankeBerlin No. 37Nachdruck wird gerichtlich verfolgtGerman giant aircraft(England flyer)1040Postcard distributor W. SankeBerlin No. 37Reproduction will be prosecuted
"[Hauptman Rudolph] Kleine launched his first incendiary raid on the evening of 31 October [1917] with twenty-two Gothas. They were loaded with over six tons of bombs, nearly half of them incendiaries. A departure schedule was worked out to stagger the take-off over a period of almost three hours. The attack plan called for a stream of bombers to reach the south-east coast at Deal. From there, they were to fly across Kent and approach London from the south, thereby avoiding the heavy defences to the east. Because of rising winds over the Channel and low clouds over Kent, this route proved to be a mistake."
The Gotha bomber attack the night of October 31-November 1, 1917 was intended to strike London, but many of the planes never reached the city, dropping their bombs on Kent on England's coast south of the Thames. Many of the incendiary bombs failed to ignite, but 11 were killed, including one from British shrapnel.
The Sky on Fire by Raymond H. Fredette by Raymond H. Fredette, page 162, copyright © 1966, 1976, 1991 by Raymond H. Fredette, publisher: Smithsonian Institution Press, publication date: 1991
1917-11-01, 1917, November, Gotha G.V, Gotha G.V bomber
