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Crew: 2: pilot, navigator/radar operator Length: 41 ft 2 in (13.57 m) Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m) Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m) Maximum speed: 318 knots (366 mph, 610 km/h) at 21,400 ft (8,500 m) Range: 782 nm (900 mi, 1,500 km) 410 gallon fuel load at 20,000 ft Service ceiling 29,000 ft (8,839 m) Rate of climb: 1,740 ft/min (8.8 m/s)

Top Ten Bombers

Role: Fast bomber, fighter-bomber, and night fighter
Designed by: Ronald Bishop
First flight : 25 November 1940
Introduction: 1941
Retired: 1956
Primary users: Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force, United States Army Air Force
Produced: 1940–1950
Number built: 7,781

(Image: A 1943 advertisement for de Havilland taken from Flight & Aircraft Engineer magazine)

The de Havilland Mosquito was a British combat aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during the Second World War. Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, uses of the Mosquito included: low to medium altitude daytime tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike and photo reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used as the basis for a single-seat heavy fighter, the de Havilland Hornet. The aircraft served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and many other air forces during the Second World War and postwar (see Operators below). The Mosquito was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also known as "The Wooden Wonder" or "The Timber Terror" as the bulk of the aircraft was made of laminated plywood.

The Mosquito inspired admiration from all quarters, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring. Göring was due to address a parade in Berlin in the morning of 30 January 1943, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Nazis' being voted into power. Three 105 Squadron Mosquito B Mk. IVs launched a low-level attack on the main Berlin broadcasting station, keeping Göring off the air for more than an hour.

The Reichsmarschall was not amused:

“In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy.

"The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that?”

The Mosquito inspired a conceptually similar German aircraft, the Focke Wulf Ta 154 Moskito, which, like its namesake, was constructed of wood.

Design and development

Throughout the 1930s, de Havilland established a reputation in developing innovative high-speed aircraft such as the DH.88 Comet mailplane and DH.91 Albatross airliner that had already successfully employed the composite wood construction that the Mosquito would use. The firm had little experience of working with the Air Ministry, and when a contract was specified for new bombers, de Havilland's all-wood design approach was considered to be out of keeping with official policy.

Their initial design had started off as an adaptation of the Albatross, armed with three gun turrets and a six-man crew, and powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. However the resulting design had mediocre performance. The designers started looking for ways to improve it, including the addition of another pair of engines. After more work on the concept, they started moving in the other direction instead, removing everything that was unneeded in order to lower the weight. As each of the gun turrets was eliminated, the performance of the aircraft continued to improve, until they realised that, by removing all of them, the aircraft would be so fast it might not need guns at all. What emerged was an entirely different concept, a small twin-engined, two crew aircraft so fast that nothing in the sky could catch it. It could carry 1,000 lb (454 kg) of bombs for 1,500 miles (2,500 km) at a speed of almost 400 mph (650 km/h), which was almost twice that of contemporary British bombers.

In October 1938, the Ministry rejected their proposal, sceptical about the idea of a wooden plane and the concept of the unarmed bomber. They informed de Havilland that their contribution was best served by building wings for one of the existing bomber aircraft programs. Regardless, de Havilland was convinced the idea was sound and continued development on their own. The support of Sir Wilfrid Freeman eventually proved decisive and a contract for fifty aircraft, including one prototype, was finally placed under B.1/40 on 1 March 1940. Design and prototype construction was able to begin almost immediately, but work was cancelled again after Dunkirk in order to focus on existing types. The need for fighters became extremely pressing, and the contract was reinstated in July, but with the order changed to 20 bombers and 30 heavy fighters. The contract was later changed again, adding a prototype for a dedicated reconnaissance version that was even further stripped down for higher speeds.

The Battle of Britain raged while the prototypes were being built, and 25% of the factory time was lost in the bomb shelters. Nevertheless, the original day bomber prototype, W4050, was rolled out on 19 November 1940, and first flew on 25 November, only 10 months after the go-ahead. The original estimates were that as the Mosquito prototype had twice the surface area and over twice the weight of the 1940 Spitfire Mk II, but also with twice its power, the Mosquito would end up being 20 mph (32 km/h) faster. Over the next few months, W4050 surpassed this estimate, easily besting the Spitfire Mk II in testing at Boscombe Down in February 1941 at a top speed of 392 mph (650 km/h) at 22,000 ft (6,700 m) altitude, compared to a top speed of 360 mph (600 km/h) at 19,500 ft (6,000 m) for the Spitfire. Construction of a prototype Mosquito fighter version was carried out at the secret Salisbury Hall facility, and on 15 May 1941, Geoffrey De Havilland personally flew W4052 off a 450 foot field beside the shed it was built in. The first reconnaissance prototype, W4051, followed on 10 June 1941.

During testing, it was found that the Mosquito day bomber prototype had the power and internal capacity to carry not just the 1,000 lbs of bombs originally specified, but four times that figure. In order to better support the higher loads the aircraft was capable of, the wingspan was increased from 52 ft 6in (16.0 m) to 54 ft 2in (16.5 m). It was also fitted with a larger tailplane, improved exhaust system, and lengthened nacelles that improved stability. These modifications became standard across the production versions.

Design

The bulk of the Mosquito was made of custom plywood. The fuselage was a frameless monocoque shell built by forming up plywood made of 3/8" sheets of Ecuadorean balsawood sandwiched between sheets of Canadian birch. These were formed inside large concrete moulds, each holding one half of the fuselage, split vertically. While the casein-based glue in the plywood dried, carpenters cut a sawtooth joint into their edges while other workers installed the controls and cabling on the inside wall. When the glue was completely dried, the two halves were glued and screwed together. A covering of doped Madapolam (a fine plain woven cotton) fabric completed the unit.

The wings were similar but used different materials and techniques. The wing was built as a single unit, not two sides, based on two birch plywood boxes as spars fore and aft. Plywood ribs and stringers were glued and screwed to form the basic wing shape. The skinning was also birch plywood, one layer thick on the bottom and doubled up on the top. Between the two top layers was another layer of fir stringers. Building up the structure used an enormous number of brass screws, 30,000 per wing. The wing was completed with wooden flaps and aluminum ailerons.

When both parts were complete the fuselage was lowered onto the wing, and once again glued and screwed together. The remainder consisted of wooden horizontal and vertical tail surfaces, with aluminum control surfaces. Engine mounts of welded steel tube were added, along with simple landing gear oleos filled with rubber blocks. The total weight of castings and forgings used in the aircraft was only 280 lbs.

The glue used was initially casein-based. After a series of unexplained crashes of aircraft operating in tropical climates, this was changed to a formaldehyde-based adhesive better able to resist deterioration in high humidity conditions. De Havilland also developed a technique to accelerate drying of the glue by heating it using microwaves.

In England, fuselage shells were mainly made by the furniture companies Ronson, E. Gomme, Parker Knoll and Styles & Mealing. The specialized wood veneer used in the construction of the Mosquito was made by Roddis Manufacturing in Marshfield, Wisconsin, United States. Hamilton Roddis had teams of dexterous young women ironing the (unusually thin) strong wood veneer product before shipping to the UK. Wing spars were made by J.B. Heath and Dancer & Hearne. Many of the other parts, including flaps, flap shrouds, fins, leading edge assemblies and bomb doors were also produced in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, which was well suited to these tasks due to a well established furniture-manufacturing industry. Dancer & Hearne processed much of the wood from start to finish, receiving timber and transforming it into finished wing spars at their High Wycombe factory.

About 5,000 of the 7,781 Mosquitos made contained parts made in High Wycombe. In Canada, fuselages were built in the Oshawa, Ontario plant of General Motors of Canada Limited. These were shipped to De Havilland of Canada in Toronto for mating to fuselages and completion. De Havilland Australia started construction in Sydney. These production lines added 1,134 from Canada and 212 from Australia.

Operational history

(Image: Mosquito B XVI of 571 Squadron, 1944)

The Mosquito is often described as having been faster than enemy fighters, although this is not completely true. On its introduction to service, the aircraft was about as fast as the front-line German fighters that opposed it, the BF 109F and Fw 190A. Nonetheless the fighters' speed advantage was slim enough that by the time those aircraft could reach interception altitude, the Mosquito would have completed its bombing run and would be racing for home. Advancements in German fighters eventually outpaced performance improvements in the Mosquito, but it was always an elusive target even in daylight.

At night, however, no Luftwaffe aircraft even came close. At the time the Mosquito was introduced, most of the dedicated night fighter groups were equipped with aircraft like the Bf 110 or Junkers Ju 88 of much lower performance. Although there were several attempts to address this by introducing a new night fighter of greatly improved performance, a variety of problems from engine troubles to the intensifying Allied bombing campaign meant that they never matured. The Heinkel He 219 and Junkers Ju 388, that were technically the Mosquito's equal, simply did not enter large-scale production. Their tiny numbers meant they were never a serious threat, and in the night bombing role, the Mosquito went largely unopposed for the entire war.

With the introduction of the nitrous oxide boosted Bf 109s and the jet-powered Me 262 late in the war, the Luftwaffe had interceptors with a clear speed advantage over the Mosquito. The PR Mk 32 photo reconnaissance version of the Mosquito attempted to counter this with long-span wings, special high-altitude superchargers and the elimination of as much weight as possible, raising its cruising altitude to 42,000 ft (13,000 m). Even with these changes, the Mosquito was not totally safe; in December 1944, one was intercepted at maximum altitude.

RAF bomber operations

(Image: Mosquito FB VI)

The first bomber squadrons to receive the Mosquito B IV used it for several low-level daylight raids throughout the summer of 1942. On 29 August 1942 Mk IVS of 105 Squadron RAF undertook a bombing mission against Pont-à-Vendin. They were attacked by Focke-Wulf Fw 190s. The Fw 190s attacked head-on before trying turning to attack from the stern. The Mosquitos used their speed to outpace the 190s. On 19 September Mosquitos attacked Berlin for the first time in daylight. Once again, when a Mosquito piloted by D.A.G George Parry was attacked by Messerschmitt Bf 109s, the pursuing fighters were outran. One Mosquito failed to return. One of the first was the Oslo raid on 25 September 1942, carried out by four aircraft of No. 105 Squadron RAF, after which the Mosquito was publicly revealed for the first time.

Another notable daylight mission was carried out in the morning of 30 January 1943, against a Nazi rally in Berlin, giving the lie to the speaker's (Reichmarschall Hermann Göring's) claim that such a mission was impossible. The radio station was put out of action for an hour. Not content with this, Mosquitos from 139 Squadron also went to Berlin in the afternoon of the same day and tried to interrupt an important speech by Joseph Goebbels, the Third Reich's Propaganda Minister. One Mosquito was lost on the afternoon raid.

Mosquito bomber versions were used as part of Bomber Command; the Pathfinders in No. 8 Group and the Light Night Strike Force (LNSF). The LNSF carried out high speed night raids with precision aiming and navigation. Their mission was twofold: they targeted small but vital installations; and acted as a diversion from the raids of the heavy bombers, simulating large formations through the use of chaff. On nights when no heavy bomber raid was planned, the LNSF would often strike to deny the German air defences a rest.

As part of 8 Group Mosquitos took part in many bombing operations as pathfinders, marking targets accurately with flares for later attack by massive formations of heavy bombers. Bomber Command Mosquitos flew over 28,000 operations, dropping 35,000 tons of bombs, and losing just 193 aircraft in the process (a loss rate of 0.7%, compared to a 2.2% loss rate for the four engined heavies). It has been calculated that a Mosquito could be loaded with a 4,000 lb. "cookie" bomb, fly to Germany, drop the bomb, return, bomb up and refuel, fly to Germany again and drop a second 4,000 lb bomb and return, and still land before a Stirling (the slowest of Bomber Command's four-engined bombers) which left at the same time armed with a full bomb load, could strike Germany.

A Mosquito IX also holds the record for the most missions flown by an Allied bomber in the Second World War. LR503, "F for Freddie", first serving with 109 and subsequently 105 Squadron, flew 213 sorties during the war, only to crash on 10 May 1945, two days after VE Day at Calgary airport during a victory tour, an accident attributed to pilot error.

Highball

At the same time that Barnes Wallis was designing the famous Upkeep to destroy German dams he also designed a smaller version — Highball — for attacks on enemy shipping. It was decided that the Mosquito was an ideal aircraft to carry two of these Bouncing bomb weapons in modified bomb bays. To this end 618 Squadron was formed in great secrecy on 1 April 1943, as part of Coastal Command. 618 Squadron's specialist role was to attack German shipping, with priority being accorded to the Tirpitz.

The Mosquito selected for the conversion work to carry Highball was the Mk IV series II: the work entailed removing the bomb bay doors and equipping the aircraft with specialised carriers enabling them to carry two Highballs, each weighing 1,280 lb (580 kg), in tandem. Because the bombs were designed to skip across water and to provide weapon stability and accuracy, before release they were spun backwards at 700 to 900 revolutions per minute by a ram air turbine mounted in the bomb bay's mid section, fed by an extendable air scoop. The bombs were to be dropped from a maximum altitude of 60 ft (20 m) at a speed of 360 mph (600 km/h).

In the event, through lack of weapons, training and aircraft, 618 Squadron was kept frustratingly inactive and never attacked Tirpitz. Instead the unit was selected for carrier-borne operations in the Pacific.

For this role 25 Mosquito B Mk IVs were further modified:

-Each aircraft was equipped with Merlin 25s, adapted to provide peak power at low altitudes, driving four-bladed Rotol propellers: these propellers had narrower blades than the standard three-bladed units, meaning that the engines would rev up faster and respond quicker to throttle movement, factors vital in the limited length of carrier take-offs.

-Longer intakes under the engine cowlings were fitted with tropical filters.

-The undercarriage legs were made of heavier-gauge metals and the wheels were fitted with the twin brake units of FB Mk VIs.

-The rear fuselages were structurally modified with a special internal longeron and reinforced bulkheads designed to take the additional loads imposed by carrier landings: an additional bulkhead (No. 5a) was fitted.

-Externally a "vee frame" arrestor hook was fitted. The "snap gear" which released the hook was operated by a Bowden cable from a lever mounted on the cockpit port side.

-An access hatch was moved from the starboard rear fuselage to underneath, and an extra longitudinal stiffening strake, identical to that already fitted to the starboard side of production Mosquitoes, was fitted to the port fuselage.

-The tailwheel fork pivots incorporated end plates to avoid being caught in the arrestor cables.

-Armoured windscreens were fitted, along with hydraulic wipers.

-Three P R Mk XVIs, which were to be used for reconnaissance duties were also fitted with the four bladed propellers and fuselage modifications for carrier operations.

These Mosquitoes were transported to Australia on board the carriers HMS Fencer and HMS Striker, arriving on 23 December 1944. In order to keep up aircrew proficiency and safeguard the modified Mosquitoes 12 disassembled FB Mk VIs were also sent, arriving in Sydney in February 1945. These were reassembled at de Havilland Australia's Mascot factory. Once again, because of political-strategic infighting between the British Pacific Fleet and the U.S. military, the unit was never in action, and was disbanded at RAAF Narromine in July 1946.

The converted Mosquitoes were stripped of all military equipment and sold off. The sole surviving 618 Squadron Mosquito, an FB Mk VI HR621, is currently undergoing restoration at the Camden Aviation Museum, NSW.

Night fighter

The use of the Mosquito as a night fighter came about when the Air Ministry project for a night fighter (based on the Gloster F.9/37) was terminated to concentrate production on other types.

The first fighter Mosquito introduced into service was the NF Mk II in mid-1942, with four 20 mm Hispano cannon in the fuselage belly and four .303 in. Browning machine-guns mounted in the nose. It carried Aircraft Interception radar (AI) Mk IV / Mk V when operating as a defensive night fighter over the UK, although at the time this was omitted from Mk IIs operating as night "Intruders", roaming over Europe at night to cause maximum disruption to lines of communications and flying operations. These were fitted with a device called Serrate to allow them to track down German night fighters by emissions from their own Lichtenstein B/C, C-1, or SN-2, as well as a device codenamed Perfectos that tracked emissions from German IFF systems.

On 30 May 1942, the NF Mk II scored its first kill, a Dornier Do 217 of Kampfgeschwader 2, and by the end of the war, Mosquito night fighters had claimed approximately 600 enemy aircraft, along with 600 V-1 flying bombs. Among this total were 68 single-engined Focke-Wulf Fw 190s. This variant also operated over Malta, Italy, Sicily and North Africa from late 1942 on. The Mosquito NF XII became the first aircraft to carry the highly effective centimetric radar.

From early 1944, the Mosquito also operated in the bomber support role with Bomber Command's 100 Group, their task being to harass the Luftwaffe NachtJagd (night fighters) attacking the bomber streams over Germany. The Mosquito squadrons of 100 Group used several different marks of Mosquitoes for different purposes: N.F XIXs and NF 30s were used for dedicated nightfighter operations providing escort for the bomber streams; F. Mk IIs and FB Mk VIs were used for "Flower" (patrolling enemy airfields well ahead of the bomber stream and dropping bombs to keep enemy nightfighters on the ground as well as attacking nightfighters in the landing pattern) and "Mahmoud" operations (Mahmouds were mounted independently of Bomber Command activity whereby Mosquitoes flew to known assembly points for German nightfighters (usually visual or radio beacons) and attacked any in the area); B Mk IVs and P.R Mk XVIs were used for Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) operations, using special equipment to detect and identify German radar and radio transmissions. Some 258 Luftwaffe night fighters were claimed destroyed by the Group, for the loss of some 70 Mosquitoes. The omnipresence of the potent night fighter threat led to what the Luftwaffe crews dubbed "Mosquitoschreck" (Mosquito scare), as the German aircrews were never sure when or where they might come under attack from the marauding 100 Group fighters, and indirectly led to a high proportion of aircraft and crew losses from crashes as night fighters hurried in to land to avoid the Mosquito threat (real or imagined).

Mosquito nightfighters continued to operate over Europe until the end of the war with a low casualty rate, in spite of the efforts of the Heinkel He 219-equipped units and Messerschmitt 262 jet fighters which were flown at night by pilots from 10./NJG 11. The commander of this unit, Oberleutnant Kurt Welter, claimed perhaps 25 Mosquitoes shot down by night and two further Mosquitoes by day while flying the Me 262, adding to his previous seven Mosquito kills in "hot-rodded" Bf 109G-6/AS or Fw 190 A-8 fighters. From September 1944 through to May 1945 a total of 92 night-flying Mosquitoes of all marks flying bombing, target marking, intruder and nightfighter operations were lost. As far as can be ascertained, three of his Me 262 claims over Mosquitoes coincide with RAF records.

Fighter-bomber versions

(Image: Mosquito FB.VI of 613 (City of Manchester) Squadron wearing 'D-Day stripes' at RAF Lasham in June 1944)

Operational experience in its varied roles quickly led to the development of a versatile fighter-bomber version; the FB VI, which first saw service in early 1943. The Mark VI had a strengthened wing for external loads and along with its standard fighter armament could carry two 250 lb bombs in the rear of the bomb bay and two 250 lb bombs under the wings, or eight wing-mounted rockets. Later up-engined versions could carry 500 lb bombs. The FB VI became the most numerous version of the Mosquito (2,292 built), equipping the day bomber 2 Group, the intruder squadrons of Fighter Command and 2nd Tactical Air Force, and the strike wings of Coastal Command, who used the variant as a potent anti-shipping aircraft armed with eight "60 lb" rockets.

One of the higher risk uses of the fighter-bomber Mosquito FB VI was by 21 Sqn., 464(RAAF) Squadron and 487(NZ) Squadron of No. 2 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force in Operation Jericho, a mission to destroy the walls and guards' quarters of Amiens prison to allow members of the French Resistance to escape. In the aftermath of the operation the Mosquito of Group Captain Percy Pickard was shot down.

On 11 April 1944, after a request by Dutch resistance workers, six Mosquito FB VIs of No. 613 (City of Manchester) Squadron made a pinpoint attack at rooftop height on the Kunstzaal Kleizkamp Art Gallery in The Hague, Netherlands, which was being used by the Gestapo to store the Dutch Central Population Registry. Their bombs, a mixture of high explosive and incendiary, went in through the doors and windows, and the records were destroyed. Only persons in the building were killed - nearby civilians in a bread queue were unharmed.

On 21 March 1945, another similar raid, Operation Carthage, again by 21 Sqn., 464(RAAF) Sqn. and 487(NZ) Sqn. involved a very low-level bombing attack on the Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus, near the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The attack had been requested several times by members of the Danish resistance, but was initially deemed too dangerous by the RAF. Twenty Mosquitos were involved, split into three attack waves. They were escorted by 30 RAF Mustangs. The main attack on the Gestapo headquarters caused the death of 55 German soldiers and 47 Danes working for the Gestapo, together with destruction of the Gestapo records in the headquarters. Eight Gestapo prisoners were killed while 18 prisoners escaped. A Mosquito flying in the first wave of the attack struck a tall lamp-post and crashed into a nearby Catholic school (the French school). Mosquitos of the third wave bombed this area by mistake, killing 86 children, 10 nuns, 8 teachers, and 21 other civilians; no civilians had been killed during the main attack. Four Mosquitos were lost and nine pilots/crew members died. The attack saved the lives of many resistance workers as the Gestapo archives and organisation were severely damaged.

Photo reconnaissance

The Mosquito was used throughout the war for photo-reconnaissance missions, using modified day bomber, photo-reconnaissance, and high-altitude, long-range (PR Mk 32 and PR Mk 34) photo-reconnaissance aircraft types. Many of these aircraft missions set altitude and distance records for twin-engined, piston-engined aircraft.

In 1945, an RAF PR Mk XVI Mosquito of Eastern Air Command operating out of airfields in Burma set a twin-engine record on a single photo-reconnaissance mission covering 2,400 miles in 8 hours and 50 minutes.

The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) ordered 120 Mosquitos for photographic reconnaissance, but only 40 were delivered and given the U.S. designation F-8 (six Canadian-built B Mk VII and 34 B Mk XX). Only 16 reached Europe, where 11 were turned over to the RAF and five were sent to Italy. The RAF provided 145 PR Mk XVI aircraft to the Eighth Air Force between 22 April 1944 and the end of the war. These were used for a variety of photographic and night reconnaissance missions.

USAAF

In addition to photo-reconnaissance missions, the USAAF employed its PR Mk XVI Mosquitoes as chaff dispensers; as scouts for the heavy bomber force; on "Red Stocking" OSS missions; on weather observation flights, and as H2X Mickey platforms by the 802d Reconnaissance Group (Provisional), later re-named the 25th Bomb Group (Reconnaissance). The 25th BG flew 3,246 sorties and lost 29 PR Mk XVIs on operations.

BOAC

Between 1943 and the end of the war, Mosquitos were used as transport aircraft on a regular route over the North Sea between Leuchars in Scotland and Stockholm. Lockheed Hudsons and Lodestars were also used but these slower aircraft could only fly this route at night or in bad weather to avoid the risk of being shot down. During the long daylight hours of the Northern summer, the Mosquito was the only safe alternative.

Because Sweden was neutral, the aircraft carried civilian markings and were operated by crews who were nominally "civilian employees" of BOAC. They carried small, high value cargoes such as precision ball bearings and machine-tool steel. Occasionally, important passengers were carried in an improvised cabin in the bomb bay, one notable passenger being the physicist Niels Bohr, who was evacuated from Stockholm in 1943. The flight almost ended in tragedy as Bohr did not don his oxygen equipment as instructed, and passed out. He would have died had not the pilot, surmising from Bohr's lack of response to intercom communication that he had lost consciousness, descended to a lower altitude for the remainder of the flight. Bohr's comment was that he had slept like a baby for the entire flight.

Post-World War II

Mosquitos flying with the Israeli Air Force saw action during the 1956 Suez Crisis. Although, at the time, the Mosquito was being taken out of service, 13 aircraft of various marks were taken out of storage. An additional 13 TR 33 Mosquitos were purchased from a British scrap dealer in 1954.

Sweden purchased 60 ex-RAF Mk XIX Mosquitos in 1948 to be used as a night fighter under the J 30 designation. The aircraft were assigned to F 1 Hässlö, thereby becoming the first (and only) dedicated night fighter unit of the Swedish Air Force. Its Mosquitos were replaced by jet fighters, de Havilland Venom Mk 51s, (designated J 33) in 1953. One-third of the J 30s crashed or broke down during service, mainly due to rudder problems. Swedish Air Force General Björn Bjuggren wrote in his memoirs that mechanical problems in the swivelling nose-mounted radar antenna caused destructive vibrations that broke apart one or two J 30s in the air.

Notable pilots

-"Bob" John Randall Daniel Braham – The most highly decorated RAF airman of the Second World War and a top night fighter ace.

-Branse Burbridge – the RAF highest scoring Mosquito night fighter ace

-Leonard Cheshire VC – British No. 617 Squadron RAF commander (and successor to Guy Gibson); one of the most distinguished exponents of precision marking and of the Pathfinders; he later distinguished himself by devoting his life to the care of the disabled and terminally ill and founded the Cheshire Homes. Cheshire's 1944 VC cited his dive over Munich in a Mosquito, enduring "withering" fire for many minutes.

-Sidney Cotton – Australian spy and photographic reconnaissance pioneer

-John "Cats Eyes" Cunningham – British night fighter pilot

-Geoffrey de Havilland Jr – son of the founder and chief test pilot of the firm, carried out the maiden flight of the de Havilland Mosquito.

-Bill Edrich – English international cricketer, who played against Miller. Graduated from Blenheims to Mosquitos. Was awarded the DFC and became a Squadron Leader.

-Guy Gibson – British 617 Sqn commander; killed when his Mosquito crashed in the Netherlands while returning to England from a mission.

-Kirk Kerkorian – Worked as a ferry pilot for Mosquitos from Canada to Britain and elsewhere during WWII. The North Atlantic route was dangerous; the pay was high — $1000 per trip. With a section of the Las Vegas Review Journal book, The Top 100, citing a 1974 biography by Dial Torgerson Kerkorian, An American Success Story.

-Keith Miller – Australian international cricketer, regarded by many as the greatest Australian all-rounder. In later life when asked how he dealt with pressure on the cricket field, Miller replied: "Pressure is [having] a Messerschmitt up your arse, playing cricket is not."

-Boles?aw Orli?ski DFC – famous Polish pilot who flew a Breguet 19 from Warsaw-Tokyo-Warsaw in 1926 and, with a PZL P.24, set a speed record on 28 June 1934. Commanding officer of Polish 305 Squadron, he flew a Mosquito in a mission against German prison camp in Lille and a large German fuel dump at Nomexy.

-Percy Charles Pickard DFC, DSO, and 2 bars – English Group Captain who starred in film Target for Tonight early in the war. Later became Group Captain and was shot down and killed during Operation Jericho, the raid on Amiens Prison.

-Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema – Dutch resistance fighter and secret agent flew 72 sorties for the 139th Pathfinder squadron and wrote Soldier of Orange.

-Kenneth Wolstenholme – a Flight Lieutenant in No. 105 Squadron RAF. He later became the presenter and commentator on the BBC Match of the Day football programme. He spoke the widely repeated words "some people are on the pitch ... they think it's all over... it is now" as Geoff Hurst scored the fourth goal in England's 4-2 World Cup Final win over West Germany in 1966.

-Eric "Winkle" Brown – the test pilot credited in the Guinness Book of Records as having flown the greatest number of aircraft types in the world, was also the first pilot to land a Mosquito on an aircraft carrier (25 March 1944); previously the only British carrier aircraft had been single-engined and half the weight.

Variants

Prototypes

(Image: A Mosquito PR41 restored to display standard at the Australian War Memorial.)

The original Mosquito design dated from 1938, but it was not until March 1940 that there was sufficient interest in the aircraft for construction to commence. Three prototypes were built, each with a different configuration. The first to fly was the bomber prototype W4050 on 25 November 1940, followed by the night fighter model on 15 May 1941 and the photo-reconnaissance model on 10 June 1941.

Mosquito Mk I : First prototype aircraft.
Mosquito Mk II : Second prototype aircraft.

Photo-reconnaissance aircraft

(Image: The first prototype to fly (E-0234 later W4050) being restored at the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre near St Albans.)

The photo-reconnaissance model became the basis for the Mosquito PR Mk I, while the bomber model became the Mosquito B Mk IV, of which 273 were built. The first operational sortie by a Mosquito was made by a PR Mk I on 20 September 1941, and the Mk IV entered service in May 1942 with No. 105 Squadron. The B Mk IV could accommodate 4 × 500 lb (227 kg) bombs in the bomb bay, and either two drop tanks or two additional 500 lb bombs on wing hardpoints.

Mosquito PR Mk IV : This designation was given to 32 Mosquito B.Mk IV bombers, converted into two-seat photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
Mosquito PR Mk VIII : Photo-reconnaissance version. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin 31 piston engines. 25 built.
Mosquito PR Mk IX : Photo-reconnaissance version based on the Mosquito B.Mk IX bomber aircraft. Powered by two 1,680 hp (1,253 kW) Merlin 72 piston engines.
Mosquito PR Mk XVI: Photo-reconnaissance version. Pressurised cockpit, 3 additional fuel tanks in bomb bay. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin 72/73 or 76/77 piston engines. 435 built.
Mosquito PR Mk 32 : Long-range, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance version. Powered by two 1,960 hp (1,260 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin 32 piston engines. Five conversions.
Mosquito PR Mk 34 : Very long-range photo-reconnaissance version. Addition fuel was carried in a bulged bomb-bay. 50 built.

Bomber aircraft

The Mosquito B Mk IX was a high-altitude bomber variant, but the most numerous bomber version was the Mosquito B Mk XVI of which about 1,200 were built. The Mosquito bombers could carry a 4,000 lb. (1 816 kg) "blockbuster" bomb in their internal bomb bay. This required a bulged bomb bay which could alternatively accommodate up to six 500 lb bombs on an Avro carrier. Mosquitos were widely used by the RAF Pathfinder Force which marked targets for night-time strategic bombing. Despite an initially high loss rate, the Mosquito ended the war with the lowest losses of any aircraft in RAF Bomber Command service. Post war, the RAF found that when finally applied to bombing, in terms of useful damage done, the Mosquito had proved 4.95 times cheaper than the Lancaster; and they never specified a defensive gun on a bomber thereafter. Special Luftwaffe units (Jagdgruppe 25 and Jagdgruppe 50) were formed to combat the Mosquito attacks, though they were rather unsuccessful and the Luftwaffe considered the Mosquito a superior implementation of their own "Schnellbomber" concept.

Mosquito B Mk V : One prototype bomber aircraft fitted with underwing pylons. One built.
Mosquito B Mk 35 : Long-range high-altitude bomber version. Fitted with a pressurised cockpit, 122 built.

Fighter Aircraft

Developed during 1940, the Mosquito F Mk II was developed and the first prototype was completed on 15 May 1941. These aircraft were fitted with four 20 mm Hispano cannon in the fuselage belly and four 0.303 in. Browning machine guns mounted in the nose. This fit required the movement of the crew ingress/egress door from the bottom to the right side of the nose. The aircraft also featured a modified windscreen, with flat bulletproof panels in front.

Night fighter aircraft

The first production night fighter Mosquitos were designated the Mosquito NF Mk II. A total of 466 were built with the first entering service with No. 157 Squadron in January 1942, replacing the Douglas Havoc. These aircraft were similar to the F Mk II, but were fitted with the AI Mk IV metric wavelength radar. The herring-bone transmit antenna was mounted on the nose and the dipole receive antennae were carried under the outer wings. A number of NF IIs had their radar equipment removed and additional fuel tanks installed for use as night intruders. These aircraft, designated NF II (Special) were first used by 23 Squadron in operations over Europe in 1942. No. 23 Squadron was then deployed to Malta on 20 December 1942, and operated against targets in Italy.

Ninety-seven NF Mk IIs were upgraded with centrimetric AI Mk VIII radar and these were designated the Mosquito NF.Mk XII. The Mosquito NF Mk XIII, of which 270 were built, was the production equivalent of the Mk XII conversions. The centimetric radar sets were mounted in a solid "thimble" (Mk XII / XIII) or "bull nose" (Mk XVII / XIX) radome, which required the machine guns to be dispensed with. The other night fighter variants were the Mk XV, Mk XVII (converted Mk IIs), Mk XIX and Mk 30. The last three marks mounted the U.S.-built AI Mk X radar.

Mosquito NF Mk X: Unbuilt night fighter version.
Mosquito NF Mk XI: Unbuilt night fighter version.
Mosquito NF Mk XIV: Unbuilt night fighter version.
Mosquito NF Mk XV: This designation was given to five Mosquito B.Mk IV bombers, which were converted into two-seat high-altitude night fighters.
Mosquito NF Mk XVII: Designation for 99 NF.II conversions, with single-stage Merlin 21, 22, or 23 engines, but British AI.X (US SCR-720) radar.
Mosquito NF Mk XIX: Improved version of the Mosquito NF XIII night fighter aircraft. It could be fitted with American or British AI radars. 220 built.
Mosquito NF Mk 30: High-altitude night fighter version. Powered by two 1,710 hp (1,275 kW) Roll-Royce Merlin 76 piston engines. It also carried early ECM equipment. 526 built.
Mosquito NF Mk 31: Unbuilt night fighter version.

After the war, two more night fighter versions were developed, the NF Mk 36 and the NF Mk 38.

Mosquito NF Mk 36: Similar to the mosquito NF.Mk 30 night fighter, but fitted with the American-built AI.Mk X radar. Powered by two 1,690 hp (1,260 kW) Roll-Royce Merlin 113/114 piston engines. 266 built.
Mosquito NF Mk 38: Similar to the Mosquito NF.Mk 30 night fighter, but fitted with the British-built AI Mk IX radar. 50 built.

To warn German night fighters that they were being tracked by these radars, the Germans introduced Naxos ZR radar detectors.

Mosquito night intruders of No. 100 Group RAF, Bomber Command, were also fitted with a device called "Serrate" to allow them to track down German night fighters from their Lichtenstein B/C and SN-2 radar emissions, as well as a device named "Perfectos" that tracked German IFF.

Fighter-bomber aircraft

The most numerous Mosquito variant was the FB Mk VI fighter-bomber of which 2,718 were built. Originally converted from a Mk II, the Mk VI first flew in February 1943. Designed for a fighter-bomber role, the Mk VI could carry two 250 lb (110 kg) or two "short-fin" 500 lb (230 kg) bombs in the internal bomb bay as well as two more bombs under the wings. From early 1944, Coastal Command operated Mk VIs armed with eight 3-inch "60 lb" (27 kg) rockets to carry out anti-shipping strikes.

Other fighter-bomber variants were the Mosquito FB Mk XVIII (sometimes known as the Tsetse) of which 27 were made by converting Mk VIs. These were fitted with a Molins 57 mm '6-pounder Class M' cannon, a QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun modified with an auto-loader to allow both semi- or fully-automatic fire, in the nose, along with two .303 in (7.7 mm) sighting machine guns. The Air Ministry initially suspected that this variant would not work, but mock tests proved otherwise. Although the gun provided the Mosquito with yet more anti-shipping firepower to pit against U-boats, it required a steady and vulnerable approach-run to aim and fire the gun, thus making rockets more effective, especially because Mosquitos without the 6 pounder didn't suffer the weight penalty of the gun. The effect of the new weapon was demonstrated on 10 March 1944 when four Mk VIs escorting XVIIIs from 248 Squadron engaged a German convoy of one U-Boat and four destroyers, protected by 10 Ju 88s. Three of the Ju 88s were shot down. Pilot Tony Phillips destroyed one Ju 88 with four shells. One of which tore the engine off the Ju 88. The U-Boat was damaged. On 25 March U-976 was sunk by Molins equipped Mosquitos. On 10 June U-821 was abandoned in the face of intense air attack from No. 248 Squadron, and was later sunk by a B-24 Liberator of No. 206 Squadron.

Despite the preference for rockets, a further development of the idea was carried out using the even larger 32-pounder, a gun based on the QF 3.7 inch AA gun, the airborne version using a novel form of muzzle brake. Developed to prove the feasibility of using such a large weapon in the Mosquito, this installation was not completed until after the war when it was flown and fired in a single aircraft without problems before being scrapped. The FB Mk 26 and FB Mk 40, based on the Mk VI, were built in Canada and Australia and were powered by Packard-built Merlin engines.

All the fighter variants shared a number of common features. They had a flat, single-piece armoured windscreen and the pilot was provided with a fighter-style control stick rather than a wheel. The guns in the nose also meant that the bomber variants' entry hatch in the nose had to be relocated to a door on the starboard side, forward of the leading edge.

Training aircraft

The Mosquito was also built as a trainer.

Mosquito T Mk III : Two-seat training version. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin 21 piston engines. 348 of the T Mk III were built for the RAF and Fleet Air Arm. de Havilland Australia built 11 T Mk 43 trainers, similar to the Mk III.

Canadian-built aircraft

A total of 1,133 (to 1945) Mosquitos were built by De Havilland Canada at Downsview Airfield in Downsview Ontario (now Downsview Park in Toronto Ontario)

Mosquito B Mk VII : Canadian version based on the Mosquito B Mk V bomber aircraft. Powered by two 1,418 hp (1,057 kW) Packard Merlin 31 piston engines, 25 built.
Mosquito B Mk XX : Canadian version of the Mosquito B Mk IV bomber aircraft, 145 built, of which 40 were converted into F-8 photo-reconnaissance aircraft for the USAAF.
Mosquito FB Mk 21 : Canadian version of the Mosquito FB Mk VI fighter-bomber aircraft. Powered by two 1,460 hp (1,089 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin 31 piston engines, three built.
Mosquito T Mk 22 : Canadian version of the Mosquito T Mk III training aircraft.
Mosquito B Mk 23 : Unbuilt bomber version.
Mosquito FB Mk 24 : Canadian fighter-bomber version. Powered by two 1,620 hp (1,208 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin 301 piston engines, two built.
Mosquito B Mk 25 : Improved version of the Mosquito B Mk XX Bomber aircraft. Powered by two 1,620 hp (1,208 kW) Packard Merlin 225 piston engines, 400 built.
Mosquito FB Mk 26 : Improved version of the Mosquito FB Mk 21 fighter-bomber aircraft. Powered by two 1,620 hp (1,208 kW) Packard Merlin 225 piston engines, 338 built.
Mosquito T Mk 27 : Canadian-built training aircraft.
Mosquito T Mk 29 : A number of FB Mk 26 fighters were converted into T Mk 29 trainers.

Torpedo reconnaissance fighter aircraft

To meet specification N.15/44 for Royal Navy use, de Havilland produced a carrier-borne variant. This resulted in 50 Sea Mosquito TR Mk 33s which featured folding wings, a thimble nose radome and fuselage hardpoints for mounting torpedoes. These were followed by 14 Sea Mosquito TR Mk 37s, which differed in having ASV Mk. XIII radar instead of the TR.33's AN/APS-6.

Target tug aircraft

The Royal Navy also operated the Mosquito TT Mk 39 for target towing. A number of B Mk XVIs bombers were converted into TT.Mk 39 target tug aircraft. The RAF's target tug version was the Mosquito TT Mk 35 which were the last aircraft to remain in operational service, finally being retired in 1956.

Australian-built aircraft

Mosquito FB Mk 40 : Two-seat fighter-bomber version for the RAAF. Powered by two 1,460 hp (1,089 kW) Roll-Royce Merlin 31 piston engines. A total of 178 built in Australia.
Mosquito PR Mk 40 : This designation was given to six FB Mk 40s, which were converted into photo-reconnaissance aircraft.
Mosquito FB Mk 41 : Two-seat fighter-bomber version for the RAAF. A total of 11 built in Australia.
Mosquito PR Mk 41 : Two-seat photo-survey version for the RAAF. A total of 17 built in Australia.
Mosquito T Mk 43 : Two-seat training version for the RAAF. A total of 11 FB Mk 40s were converted into Mosquito T Mk 43s.

Numbers produced

Total Mosquito production was 7,781 of which 6,710 were built during the war. De Havilland accounted for 5,007 aircraft built in three factories in the United Kingdom. Mosquitos were also built by Airspeed Ltd, Percival Aircraft Company and Standard Motors. The Canadian and Australian arms of de Havilland produced 1,134 and 212 aircraft respectively. The ferry operation of the Mosquito from Canada to the war front was problematic, as a small fraction of the aircraft would mysteriously disappear over the mid-Atlantic. The theory of "auto-explosion" was offered, and, although a concentrated effort at de Havilland Canada to address production problems with engine and oil systems reduced the number of aircraft lost, it was unclear as to the actual cause of the losses. The company introduced an additional five hours flight testing to "clear" production aircraft before the ferry flight. By the end of the war, nearly 500 Mosquito bombers and fighter-bombers were delivered successfully by the Canadian operation.

The last Mosquito was completed in November 1950; an NF Mk 38 built at Broughton near Chester.

Survivors

(Image: Mosquito B Mk 35 (RS712) at the AirVenture Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin)

There are believed to be around 30 preserved examples at various collections including the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon and another (KB336) at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa. The wooden construction makes restoration difficult.

As of 2004, the original prototype, serial number W4050, was undergoing a detailed conservation programme at the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre in Hertfordshire, UK. The centre also holds Mosquito FB6, TA122, currently undergoing extensive restoration, and Mosquito B35 TA634. It also holds the remains of a further B35, the badly damaged fuselage of TJ118.

A restored example is currently on display in the World War II gallery at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. This Mosquito is a British-built B Mk 35 manufactured in 1946, later converted for target-towing, and is similar to the PR Mk XVIs used by the AAF. Having been flown to the Museum in February 1985, suffering several breakdowns along the way and taking many months to arrive, this aircraft has now been restored to a Mk XVI configuration and painted to represent a weather reconnaissance aircraft of the 653rd Bomb Squadron, 25th Bomb Group, based in England in 1944-1945.

(Image: de Havilland Mosquito B 35 (VP189)(reconfigured to a FB VI, on display at the Alberta Aviation Museum) in Edmonton. Alberta)

Another Mosquito is currently under restoration, involving the fabrication of new fuselage sections by volunteers at the Royal Australian Air Force Museum in Point Cook, Victoria, Australia. Given the poor state of the aircraft (PR XVI A52-600) when obtained and the nature of the aircraft's fabrication, along with money and labour issues at the museum, it is estimated that it will be in excess of 10 years before this Mosquito is complete.

The last Mosquito known to be airworthy (serial number RR299), a T Mk III built sometime between October 1944 and July 1945, crashed on 21 July 1996 with the loss of both crew after stalling during a banked turn at an airshow at the Barton Aerodrome near Barton, Greater Manchester.

Several potential and current restorations to airworthiness exist. Glyn Powell located in Papakura, New Zealand has built a mould for the wooden fuselage, and CHAA bought the very first fuselage ever sold. Glynn has also supplied a fuselage to Avspecs as well as the main wing which was delivered in October 2007. A flying replica using new wood but otherwise original parts (from T.43 NZ2305) is under construction by Glyn for his own use. Another in New Zealand, KA114, is being restored for American collector Jerry Yagen by Avspecs, and it is highly likely that this will become the first airworthy Mosquito since 1996. The Mosquito B 35 held in the Experimental Aircraft Association, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA was airworthy when owner Kermit Weeks loaned it to the museum. However it has not flown since 1996.

During 1963 Lynn Garrison purchased a B 35 Mosquito RS-700/CF-HMS from Spartan Air Services as part of his collection of historic aircraft. It was disassembled by volunteers at DeHavilland of Canada and transported to Calgary, Alberta, where it remains in storage awaiting restoration to static display condition.

The Canadian Historical Aircraft Association (CHAA) based in Windsor, Ontario is building a Mosquito from scratch. They have two unused engines still in the crates and some parts retrieved from a crash in the Arctic.

In Vancouver B.C., Mosquito VR796 (CF-HML) is currently under restoration at the Vancouver South Airport area. This is an ex-Spartan Air Services Aircraft and is a postwar B Mk35. It is in excellent condition and not far from becoming airworthy.

Popular culture

De Havilland Mosquitoes feature prominently in the 1964 film 633 Squadron alongside actors Cliff Robertson and Harry Andrews. The film was notable for its use of genuine, airworthy aircraft, rather than models, for many of the scenes.

Mosquitoes also play the title role of the 1969 film Mosquito Squadron, starring David McCallum and Charles Gray.

The Tintin adventure The Red Sea Sharks involves the smuggling of Mosquitoes to a sheikh carrying out a coup d'état in a Middle Eastern emirate.

In the X-Men, a replica De Havilland Mosquito was the airplane that the Christopher Summers was flying before being attacked by the Shi'Ar, which resulted in his wife Kathy tying their young sons Scott and Alex into the only undamaged parachute to save their lives. The boys survived and grew up to become important characters in the X-Men saga.

The Mosquito is featured in the Frederick Forsyth short story "The Shepherd" and the annual Christmas Eve reading of the story on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio programme "As It Happens."

Operators

Australia
Belgium
Burma
Canada
China
People's Republic of China
Czechoslovakia
Dominican Republic
France
Israel
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
South Africa
Soviet Union
Sweden (Night Fighters Sw designation: J30)
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
Yugoslavia

Specifications (DH.98 Mosquito F. Mk II)

General characteristics

Crew: 2: pilot, navigator/radar operator
Length: 41 ft 2 in (13.57 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
Wing area: 454 ft² (42.18 m²)
Empty weight: 13,356 lb (6,058 kg)
Loaded weight: 17,700 lb (8,028 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 18,649 lb (8,549 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Merlin 21/21 or 23/23 (left/right) liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,480 hp (21 & 23) (1,103 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 318 knots (366 mph, 610 km/h) at 21,400 ft (8,500 m)
Range: 782 nm (900 mi, 1,500 km) 410 gallon fuel load at 20,000 ft
Service ceiling 29,000 ft (8,839 m)
Rate of climb: 1,740 ft/min (8.8 m/s)
Wing loading: 39.9 lb/ft² (195 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (311 W/kg)

Armament

Guns: 4× 20 mm Hispano Mk II cannon (fuselage) and 4× .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns (nose)

Avionics

AI Mk IV or Mk VRadar (NF variants)

Specifications (DH.98 Mosquito B Mk XVI)

General characteristics

Crew: 2: pilot, bombardier/navigator
Length: 44 ft 6 in (13.57 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
Wing area: 454 ft² (42.18 m²)
Empty weight: 14,300 lb (6,490 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,100 lb (8,210 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,000 kg)
Powerplant: 2× Rolls-Royce Merlin 76/77 (left/right) liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,710 hp (1,280 kW) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 361 knots (415 mph, 668 km/h) at 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
Range: 1,300 nm (1,500 mi, 2,400 km) with full weapons load
Service ceiling 37,000 ft (11,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 39.9 lb/ft² (195 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (311 W/kg)

Armament

Bombs: 4,000 lb (1 800 kg)

Avionics

GEE radio-navigation

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