BACKGROUND:
World War One was, among other things, a war of technological innovation. The war in the air demonstrated this point quite clearly. One innovation was the development of strategic bombing by Germany, beginning with Zeppelin raids early in the war. By 1916, heavy losses of the giant airships had caused German Aviation Headquarters to lose faith in the Zeppelin and helped resurrect a plan proposed in 1914 to use fixed-wing aircraft to bomb England. The plan was put into effect from 1916 until the end of the war-the same time period covered by TAHGC's Richthofen's War game of World War One air combat.
The first bombing raid conducted against England came on May 25th, 1917. The initial results of that raid and those that followed were much better than those obtained by the Zeppelins and resulted in the recall of British fighters which were desperately needed at the front. The fighters began to inflict enough losses to force the German bombers to switch to night raids. The night attacks succeeded in reducing losses to British fighters but also resulted in many accidental crashes of bombers returning to their poorly lit airfields. Over time, the combined effect of fighters and crashes plus the changing fortunes of the ground war caused the bombing campaign to grind to a halt in late 1918. Shortly thereafter the war ended with the signing of the Armistice.
THE AIRCRAFT
Two planes lacking in Richthofen's War are the German bombers that carried out these raids: the GOTHA G-series and the ZEPPELIN- STAAKEN R- planes.
The Gotha bombers were produced in several different models but the most important of these was the Gotha GV. The GV was a large twin-engined biplane capable of flying at 87 mph at 12,000 feet. Its service ceiling was 21,000 feet which enabled it to fly well above the maximum altitude of many British Fighters. This high altitude capability of the Gothas forced Germany to pioneer the development of oxygen breathing equipment which was employed by its crews, one of the first aircraft in history to be so equipped.
When the Royal Flying Corps' pilots recieved Sopwith Camels, they were able to routinely climb up and intercept the Gothas. However, they soon found that they were confronted by a heavily armed opponent. The Gotha had a gunner directly in front of the cockpit and one directly behind. Located in the belly of the bomber was another gun position which covered the "blind spot" below and behind the bomber's tail, but this had to be fired by the rear gunner who had to choose which gun to man at any given moment. Still, the position of the three machine guns gave the Gotha a large field of fire.
The other aircraft used by Imperial Germany was the Zeppelin Staaken R-plane. "R" for Riesenfleugzeug or "Giant airplane". These bombers were built by the same company that manufactured the Zeppelin airships. The R-planes are best described as enlarged Gothas with greater payload and range capability.
The Staakens were so large in fact that they have the distinction of being the largest aircraft to be used against England in either World War. The Staaken R-plane featured an enclosed cockpit with two pilots, up to five additional crewmen, and improved oxygen equipment. All gun positions could be manned simultaneously. No R-plane was ever lost in combat over England although several were destroyed in night landing accidents. Fortunately for England, only a few were ever on hand at any time.
AIRCRAFT CHARACTERISTICS:
(using the Mission Briefing Manual format).
Notes:
1. Both aircraft have nose, rear and ventral guns but on the Gotha, only one of the two mar firing guns can be fired in a game-turn.
2. Neither aircraft may perform the special maneuvers found in the TAHGC's "Unexpected Maneuvers" card expansion kit.
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© Copyright 1990 by J.D. Webster
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