De HAVILLAND DH98 MOSQUITO 55
Building the ‘Wooden Wonder’
Left: The oval-section fuselage was a frameless
monocoque shell built in two halves made of
sheets of Ecuadorean balsawood sandwiched
between sheets of Canadian birch. Once joined
together, a covering of doped Madapolam (a
fine plain woven cotton) fabric was stretched
tightly over the shell and a coat of silver
dope was applied, after which the exterior
camouflage was applied.Below left: Mosquitos in the final stages of
construction during 1943 at Leavesden.
Production here was second only to the main
Mosquito production line in nearby Hatfield.
Today the site is better known as the home of
the Harry Potter movies.Bottom left: The proven in-line Rolls-Royce
Merlin engine allowed for a streamlined
nacelle and provided the Mosquito with its
impressive speed, unmatched by any other
fighter when it entered service.Below: The fuselage had a large ventral
section cut-out (braced during construction)
that allowed the fuselage to be lowered onto
the wing centre-section. After the wing was
secured lower panels were replaced and the
bomb bay or armament doors fitted.Bottom right: The all-wood wing was built as a
one-piece structure and was made up of two
main spars, spruce and plywood compression
ribs, stringers, and a plywood covering. The
outer skin was covered and doped like the
fuselage. The wing was installed into the roots
by means of four large attachment points.