The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engine multi-use combat aircraft designed and produced during WW2. It was introduced for service in 1941 and at the time was the fastest operational aircraft in the world. It had many uses as a fighter, bomber, night fighter and ground attack aircraft. Its innovative design being constructed mainly of wood led to the nickname of the ‘Wooden Wonder’.
The Mosquito is a twin-engine two-seat multi-role fighter bomber produced by de Havilland Aircraft and designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It first flew in 1940 and entered service in November 1941. The last Mosquito was retired in 1963 making it one of a very few to stay in service with the RAF for over 20 years. However, it was not a smooth journey with many changes to the original design due mainly to the Air Ministry requirements, especially when the Air Ministry decided to concentrate on other aircraft production after the fall of France.
This is one of the most iconic aircraft of WW2. It was fast, powered initially by two Merlin XX engines, it could top 392mph at 22,000ft, 20mph faster than the Spitfire Mk.II. It was twice the size and twice the weight of the Spitfire but had twice the power making it one of the fastest twin rotor engine aircraft ever produced.
Its unique design made mainly of a wooden fuselage structure with metal framed wings made it very versatile in every role. Originally designed as a bomber it had the capability to be turned into a fighter with the inclusion of four browning .303 machine guns in the nose section. Trials were undertaken with a dorsal turret, but this proved too heavy for the performance of this superb aircraft. Initial trials also detected issues with the rudder. This was resolved by covering the nacelles and extending the engine housing. Three prototypes were built and put through rigorous testing.
In July 1940 work on the Mosquito was suspended with Air Ministry preferring to concentrate on production of five main aircraft, Hurricanes, Spitfires, Blenheim’s, Whitley’s and Wellingtons. Production of the Mosquito commenced only in 1941 after Lord Beaverbrook was assured that it wouldn’t interfere with de Havilland’s production of DH.82 Tiger Moth and Airspeed Oxford aircraft, Merlin engines and Hurricane repairs. De Havilland assured that 50 Mosquitos would be delivered by December 1941. This was not possible so only 20 were delivered with a further 30 by March 1942. After the initial order a further 300 were ordered by the Ministry. The type with all its variants was eventually massed produced with over 7,780 being manufactured. The Mosquito served in many theatres, mainly in Europe and became very popular with pilots serving in the RAF, RCAF and RAAF. Hundreds of Mosquitos were built under licence in Australia by Commonwealth Aircraft Company (CAC) and used extensively in the Pacific Theatre. The USAF also used the type.
Many variations were built and used for many purposes, Fighter-Bomber, Light bomber, Pathfinder, Day Fighter, Night Fighter, Maritime strike aircraft for the RAF Coastal Command and Photoreconnaissance. The Bomber series were designated B, and the fighter variants F. Fighter Bombers were FB series. The NF variants were the night fighters, and the T variants were training aircraft. There were so many variants it is impossible to name and list them all. Most of the aircraft produced were the Mk.II and the Mk.VI. The production Mosquito F Mk.II were generally equipped with four Browning .303 in the nose and four Hispano 20mm cannon under the belly. The FB Mk.VI had the same but with the capability of two 250lb or 500lb bombs in the bomb-bay or eight RP-3 rockets, 4 under each wing. The B Mk.IV was a bomber with the nose being a Perspex blimp with a bomb aiming window. 263 were built as series II and could carry four 500lb bombs. It was one of the most heavily armed twin-engine aircraft of the war and loved by its crews.
Notable variants included the Mk.XVIII which was equipped with a six pounder Molins anti-tank gun in the bomb bay for attacks against U-Boats and German shipping in the Atlantic with great success. The B Mk.IX was capable of 408mph at 20,000ft and could carry 2,000-4,000lb bomb combination as well as the 4,000lb ‘Cookie’ bomb. There was a version built to carry the ‘Upkeep bouncing bomb’ designed by Barnes Wallis and Immortalised in the 1960’s movie “633 Squadron”, which never existed. The most famous raid was operation Jericho on the Amiens prison in February 1944.
The last Mosquito was built in 1950 and the type with all variants was retired in 1963 having served with 26 countries worldwide.
There are over 30 surviving examples in the UK, Canada and Australia. There are five airworthy examples: three in the US, one in Canada and one in New Zealand. There are three static aircraft at the de Havilland Museum in the UK and a fine example at the RAF Museum, Cosford in Shropshire.
