De HAVILLAND DH98 MOSQUITO 53
O
ne of the greatest aircraft of all time,
the de Havilland Mosquito was the
most successful and versatile of any
of the twin-engined aircraft built in World
War 2. Conceived as a bomber, the ‘Wooden
Wonder’ was so fast that its potential as a
fighter could not be ignored. Even so, few
could have predicted its rise to near
mythical status.
The legendary Mosquito began life as
a private venture by de Havilland in the
autumn of 1938, intended for use as a fast
unarmed bomber or reconnaissance aircraft.
Controversially, the streamlined twin-engined
aircraft would be built extensively out of
wooden ply, its fuselage being constructed
in two halves. The cantilver wing, mounted
in a mid-position, was to be a one-piece
assembly that would carry powerful Merlin
engines in underslung nacelles, into which the
undercarriage also retracted. The two-man
crew would sit side-by-side in a cockpit that
offered good visibility all round. The first
contract was placed on 1 March 1940, for 50
DH98 bombers (including prototypes) and the
name Mosquito was approved. Construction
of the prototype at Hatfield was constantly
interrupted while the ‘Battle of Britain’ was
being fought overhead, but this did not
prevent W4050 making its maiden flight on
25 November 1940, with Geoffrey de
Havilland Jr at the controls. Meanwhile, the
Air Ministry had lost some confidence in the
concept of the high-speed bomber, so the
contract was altered to include 30 fighters.
Construction of the fighter prototype, W4052,
was carried out at the secret Salisbury
Hall facility and necessitated a number of
production modifications. It was powered by
1,460hp Merlin 21s, and had an altered canopy
structure with a flat bullet-proof windscreen. ItsDe Havilland Mosquito
Left: The streamlined contours of Mosquito
NF IIs from No 264 Squadron at Pedannack. The
unit had a distinguished career with the type,
initially flying the NF II before trading them in
for the NF VI. In 1943 after concentrating on
night intruder missions, it operated in support
of Bomber Command attacking enemy night-
fighters. A year later it re-equipped with the
newer Mosquito NF XIII and carried out patrols
over the Normandy beaches until it returned
to night-patrols from western England. By the
end of the war it was carrying out missions over
Berlin from Twente in the Netherlands.