More actions
Gotha: The generic term for the big German bombing aeroplanes which made raids over London. From the name of the "Gotha Wagen Fabrik," at Gotha, in Germany, the place of manufacture. The Germans got the model from a giant British Handley Page Bombing Machine of exceptional design, with an 80 feet wing span, the first of its kind. Sent across from England the pilot by mistake landed in the enemy's lines with his machine intact, and the raiding Gothas were copied from it. That is the popular story, on which, since the war, some doubt has been thrown. A monument, representing a model Gotha machine, stands in the town of Gotha to commemorate the bombings of London.[1]
References / notes
- ↑ Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London p.107.
The above term is listed in our Compendium of the Great War.
This compendium forms the central hub of words, phrases, people, and places relative to the Great War period of 1914–1918. These also include battles, political events, ships, trench slang, British and American service terms and expressions in everyday use, nicknames, sobriquets, the titles of British and Commonwealth Regiments and their origins, and also warfare in general. These words and phrases are contemporary with the war, which is reflected in the language used, some of which may seem derogatory by today's standards. Feel free to expand upon and improve this content.