LATE GOTHA BOMBERS: Windsock Datafile No.143

Colin Owers

Albatros Productions Ltd. 10 Long View, Chiltern Park Estate,
Berkhamsted,, HP4 1BY,

32 pages plus covers, 210×297mm, softback.

www.windsockdatafilespecials.co.uk

ISBN 978-1-906798-11-6, £10.90 + post and packing.

Covering four late-war aircraft designed and built by the well-known Gotha firm, the GL.VII, G.VII, G.VIII and G.IX came too late in the conflict to be more than post-war curiosities, with the exception of four GL.VII and G.VIII aircraft that were sent for frontline evaluation in late 1918. However, they are all of interest in that they were designed by a different engineering team to the one responsible for the more well-known Gotha G.II through G.Vb series.

Author Colin Owers has again managed to dig up a veritable wealth of information on these aircraft, including an interesting account which details the design and development of this bomber series, as well as its wartime and post-war use. The narrative concludes with production numbers and aircraft specifications. Handed over in small numbers after the Armistice, the late Gotha series saw service in a number of air forces, most notably the Belgian. As always, this Datafile’s real value lies in its collection of photographs of the various types, which show every variant, from the prototype G.VII to the G.X with many close-ups, and the superb line and colour artwork.

Jerry Boucher’s colourful front cover painting depicts a Ukranian GL.VII that operated briefly post-war, while the inside front has a page of three-view drawings from a 1919 German language publication, the Illustrerte Flugwelt .On the outside rear are three excellent side profiles by Ronny Bar of two GL.VIIs in Ukranian and German service, and a GL.IX in Belgian markings. With eight pages of Martin Digmayer’s 1:72 and 1:48 scale line drawings, which also include various engine mountings and radiator details, this is another worthwhile and interesting addition to the Datafile series and is highly recommended.