Lot Essay
The design of the Gotha was said to have been influenced by the Rolls-Royce powered Handley Page 0/100, an example of which was captured by the Germans. Both types were long range bombers. By 1917 the limitations of the Zeppelin raids on London were obvious. In their stead, the Gotha was used to bring the war to the English population where the airship raids had failed. London remained the favourite target and was hit for the first time by Gothas on 13 June 1917; 126 bombs were dropped, killing 162 people and injuring 432. The Gotha force was commanded by Captain E. von Brandenburg and during the early summer of 1917 he had led daylight raids over England. The Home Defence BE2c squadrons were ineffective against the bombers and two RFC front line fighter squadrons had to be withdrawn from France to counter the Gotha offensive. Eventually the attrition rate against the Gothas became sufficient to force von Brandenburg to attack London by night only.