WW1 Military Motors - 1916 set x 50 cards

[Lancashire Fusilier]

like those my Grandfather worked with and the 'B' Type bus chassis you posted a few days ago

Keith,

Here is a photo taken in Salonika, which shows that hinged rear wheel mudguard.

Regards,

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Rockdoc]

That's one of the photos that started me off on all of this! There were about a dozen contact-prints in a writing-slope of my Grandfather's that I couldn't make head or tail of and it was only with the considerable help of people on here that I unravelled the story behind them. These are the only photos of the 13-pdr 6-cwt Mk IV outside France and with a known location and AA Section. Unfortunately, I don't have the names for any of the men in the snaps.

There is no connection whatsoever to the Mk III AA gun. It was produced as a private venture by Elswick Ordnance long before WW1 and six were offered to the Army in 1915, when they were scrabbling about for anything they could use for AA work. The most significant difference is that this has the Nordenfelt breech, like the soixante-quinze, and not the usual interrupted screw breech used by other British field guns. The operating-handle for the breech can be seen above the breech-casting, behind the attachment for the second buffer. That's the best way to distinguish the Mk III on the Mk I mount and Mk IV. The Mk III has the buffer connection at the rear of the breech-casting.

Keith

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Sunbeam 20 HP Tourer c1915

An Army ' Sunbeam ' Staff Car, being unloaded at the French port of Rouen.

LF

IWM10321 This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[johnboy]

Nice picture. Shame we can't see the rear lifting points.

The same type of lifting frame is still used today.

Any idea of the make of lorry with the distinctive front end post #1547?

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Any idea of the make of lorry with the distinctive front end post #1547?

johnboy,

Yes, it is an ' NAG ' vehicle, made by Neue Automobil-Gesellschaft, the Company was founded in Berlin in 1902.

Attached is a better photo of that vehicle showing the distinctive ' NAG ' mark on the radiator grill.

Regards,

LF

[johnboy]

Cheers LF. Was the 'grille' mesh?

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Cheers LF. Was the 'grille' mesh?

Wire mesh.

LF

[johnboy]

Thanks.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

the Gotha Bomber

Crimson Rambler.

An interesting aircraft, I found this one article, which is not too long yet gives us some good information.

LF

" The German Gotha V bomber was the Imperial German Army Air Service’s equivalent of the RFC’s Handley Page O/400 bomber. The Gotha V entered service in August 1917 and was a heavy bomber that could cover a much greater distance than fighters and deliver a bomb load to specifc military targets or to civilian targets.

As its title would suggest, the Gotha V (GV) was the fifth variant of the bomber. The IV had suffered from one major defect – its fuel tanks were built into the engine nacelles/compartment. Most operational losses of the GIV came when the large aircraft landed. Landing accounted for 75% of Gotha IV losses. When they did crashland, the remaining fuel in the engine compartments would ignite as the fuel would invariably spill onto the very hot engines. The Gotha V was redesigned so that its fuel tanks were built into its fuselage.

The Gotha V carried its bomb load externally on bomb racks. Another innovation over the Gotha IV was the fact that the Gotha V was fitted with a machine gun in its floor. This gave it cover from any attack from below, which had been a blindspot on the Gotha IV. Allied fighter pilots quickly realised that they could attack a Gotha IV from below with little danger to themsleves. As such, it was a large, slow moving and inviting target. The GV, armed with a Parabellum G14 machine gun in its ‘belly, made this form of attack more dangerous. In total, the GV was equipped with three Parabellum G14 machine guns, with two sited so that they gave cover from above and the sides.

However, these were the only improvements over the Gotha IV. The new variant’s Mercedes engines were designed to give the aircraft more power – especailly as it was 1000 lbs heavier than the Gotha IV – with a top speed of 87 mph and a range of over 500 miles. This proved not to be the case. The Allied blockade of Germany’s ports had taken a hold. Germany found external supplies very difficult to acquire and fuel was one of them. The Gotha V needed a certain quality fuel for its engines to work to the capacity they were built for. This was not the case and inferior quality fuel only gave the Gotha V the same engine power as the Gotha IV, which had not been the planned desire. The increased weight of the Gotha V combined with the same powered engines meant that it could only be used at a low altitude, which made it vulnerable to attack. A new tailplane gave the Gotha Va slightly more stability when in flight. The next GV variant, the GVb, carried an larger payload but the issue of poor quality fuel had not been overcome as by 1918 the Allied blockade had hit Germany very hard in all areas.

The GV took part in the largest aerial attack on England on May 19^th 1918. As the last raid of ' Operation Turkenkreuz ', 38 GV’s attacked London. However, while earlier raids on London had been successful (and had mainly involved GIV’s), this one was not. Nearly 20% of all the aircraft in the raid were destroyed – six in combat and one during landing. Such an attrition rate was not acceptable to the German High Command and after this attack, the GV’s and remaining GIV’s were ordered to be used in support of German ground forces on the Western Front.

When WW1 ended in November 9181, all remaining Gotha bombers were handed over to the Allies as part of the terms of the armistice. "

The photo shows a Gotha bomber preparing to take off along with its ' Scout ' escort.

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

An extremely nice painting of German Gotha bombers flying over London, coming under attack from British aircraft.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

A German Gotha bomber brought down near Ytres, a small village in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of Northern France.

These photos give us some idea of the massive size of the Gotha bomber.

LF

IWM12154 These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

The German Gotha's three man crew, Pilot, Forward Gunner, and Rear Gunner, occupying their respective positions aboard a Gotha G.V heavy bomber of the England Squadron ( Kagohl 3 or " England Geschwader " ).

The camouflage design was printed on the fabric. The colouring of the irregular polygon pattern varied from green, brown and purple on the upper surfaces to black and different shades of blue on the sides and under surfaces.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Diagram showing the internal arrangement of the German Gotha bomber, and the crew's positions.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

A German Gotha bomber forced down by Anti-Aircraft fire near Wigborough, Essex.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

A German Gotha bomber preparing to take off, again giving a good sense of the large scale of this aircraft, and the Forward Gunner's position in front of the Pilot.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

German ground crew standing in front of a Gotha bomber, display the variety of bombs carried by the Gotha bomber.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Another nice painting of a German Gotha bomber flying on a raid over London, this aircraft displaying the camouflage pattern shown and described in post # 1561.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[patrick Eggs]

Well done LF, thank you for the first class report on the Gotha , some aicraft for it's day, the actual paintings are excellant I would think the artists may well be GAVA members , who hold a supurb Exhibition every July at The Mall Galleries in Londom.

Crimson Rambler.

[johnboy]

Oops!

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Crimson Rambler.

Many thanks, I particularly liked the painting in post # 1559.

Regards,

LF

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Oops!

johnboy,

That is an American Model T Ford Ambulance, which has unfortunately gone off the road, an accident commonly caused by driving at night without lights to avoid detection.

The Model T Ford Ambulance was used by the American Army on the Western Front, and was also used by American volunteers who served as ambulance drivers prior to America entering the war.

Attached is a photograph of a Model T Ford Ambulance, and also a photo if a another similar accident involving another Model T Ford Ambulance.

Regards,

LF

These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Oops!

johnboy,

The Ambulance in your photograph, is one of those supplied and driven by American volunteers from the American Field Service used prior to America entering the war.

Attached is a photo of one of the AFS Ambulances, and its volunteer driver.

Regards,

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

[johnboy]

Seems even then that the Americans liked to label everything; number on bonnet letters and numbers on body etc. Do you know the meaning of SSU 12?

[Lancashire Fusilier]

Do you know the meaning of SSU 12?

Many of those who served bravely as volunteers with the AFS, were American College students, and as the AFS was based in France, many of the American volunteer ambulances were attached to the French Army, and the S.S.U. marking stood for the French ' Section Sanitaire Unis ' the No.12 being the Unit number. ' Unis ' being for United States.

LF

[johnboy]

Thanks LF