Gotha G.III

The greatest limitation of the Gotha G.II -- unreliable engines -- was corrected in the Gotha G.III. Two 260hp Mercedes D.IVa engines powered the G.III. They were delivered between 15 Oct 1916 and March 1917 and served with KG2 According to Lamberton, the G.III introduced the downward-firing tunnel in the rear fuselage to protect against attacks from the rear and below, but other sources say the G.III had a separate lower-ventral MG (firing through a hole in the fuselage floor) and the tunnel first appeared in the G.IV. The latter seems more likely given modern evidence.