THE "GOTHA" AEROPLANE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16657, 29 September 1917, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE "GOTHA" AEROPLANE.

GIANT ENEMY MACHINE. TWO POWERFUL ENGINES. It may be taken as an axiom that, considered as a bombing machine, the Gotha biplane, which has formed the squadrons which have raided England of late, is a success, writes C. G. Grey in the Daily Chronicle. Viowed as an example of aeroplane construction tho machine is a perfect horror. Nevertheless, it does its job, and does it only too well for the comfort of somo people. As seen by the inexperienced at a distance, the Gotha looks like an ordinary biplane of the type familiar to everybody. That is to say, there arc two pairs of wings, with a long, solid-looking body, or fuselage, as it is called, projecting in front of and behind them. But, instead of having an engine in tho forward projecting portion, with an air screw in front of it, the front part of the Gotha is occupied by a gunner-observer, who is armed with ft machine-gun. There are two engines, which are placed one on oach side of tho central body, in little cabins, or nacelles, of their own. Each engine is a Mercedes of 260-h.p. The pilot sits behind tho gunnerobserver, practically in between the wings. Behind tho pilot is a third compartment, occupied by a second gunner. This man has a gun mounted on tho (bop of the fuselage, which covers all the air above and behind it, excluding the area dead aft, where tho tail and rudder gets in the way. The area thus cut off has hitherto been the one " blind spot" in all aeroplanes, and to obviate this the designer of the Gotha has introduced the ingenious idea of building the fuselago in tho form of a bottomless tunnel, so that a gun placed on tho floor of the aftergunner's compartment can iiro straight aft under the tail, and abolish any attacking machine which adopts the usual method of hiding in the blind spot. Best Defended Machine. Thus the machine is able to bring two guns to bear in a broadside or on an enemy attacking from above. One gun can "defend against a forward attack. And in an attack from behind the forward gunner can come aft and operate one of the after guns while the regular gunner operates the other. So it is considered to be tho best defended machine of the moment. Despite its bad construction the Gotha has a very good performance. With its full load it can reach a height of 12,000 to 15,000 feet, and when it has dropped its bombs and lias used part of its fuel it can get to 18,000 feet or so with ease. The span of the wings, from tip to tip, is about 80 feet, and tho rest of tho machine is in proportion, which is why so many people who saw the machines over London thought they were low down. When one is used to our average machines of only 40 feet span, an 80-footer at 12,000 feet looks' the same size as a 40footer at 6000 feet, and, though it may be travelling at 80 or 90 miles an hour, it is so high that it appears to be travelling at only 40 or 50 miles.