Restoring A British De Havilland Mosquito And A Look At The History Of The 'Wooden Wonder'

The De Havilland Mosquito is one of WWII's most iconic British aircraft. The ‘Wooden Wonder’, as it was called, due to its frame being made almost entirely out of wood, participated in a wide range of operations throughout the war, from the transport of valuable cargo across enemy-held airspace to high-precision bomb raids on prisons and Gestapo headquarters. If you needed to get in, wreak havoc, and get out fast, the ‘Mossie’ was your weapon of choice.

‘We believe that we could produce a twin-engine bomber which would perform so well that little defensive equipment would be needed’.
Geoffrey de Havilland - September 1939
Photos Courtesy Lewis Air Legends, Bradley Wentzel.

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. It was unusual because its frame was constructed mostly of wood, nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or "Mossie". Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, nicknamed it "Freeman's Folly", alluding to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, who defended Geoffrey de Havilland and his design concept against orders to scrap the project. In 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.

Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito's use evolved during the war into many roles, including 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 by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a fast transport to carry small, high-value cargo to and from neutral countries through enemy-controlled airspace. The crew of two, pilot and navigator, sat side by side. A single passenger could ride in the aircraft's bomb bay when necessary.

The Mosquito FB Mk. VI was often flown in special raids, such as Operation Jericho (an attack on Amiens Prison in early 1944), and precision attacks against military intelligence, security, and police facilities (such as Gestapo headquarters). On 30 January 1943, the 10th anniversary of Hitler being made chancellor and the Nazis gaining power, a morning Mosquito attack knocked out the main Berlin broadcasting station while Hermann Göring was speaking, taking his speech off the air.

The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces in the European, Mediterranean, and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also operated by the RAF in the Southeast Asian theatre and by the Royal Australian Air Force based in the Halmaheras and Borneo during the Pacific War. During the 1950s, the RAF replaced the Mosquito with the jet-powered English Electric Canberra.

By the early to mid-1930s, de Havilland had built a reputation for innovative high-speed aircraft with the DH.88 Comet racer. Later, the DH.91 Albatross airliner pioneered the composite wood construction used for the Mosquito. The 22-passenger Albatross could cruise at 210 mph (340 km/h) at 11,000 ft (3,400 m), faster than the Handley Page H.P.42 and other biplanes it was replacing. The wooden monocoque construction not only saved weight and compensated for the low power of the de Havilland Gipsy Twelve engines used by this aircraft but also simplified production and reduced construction time.

General characteristics

Crew: Two: pilot, bomb aimer/navigator
Length: 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.51 m)
Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.31 m)
Wing area: 454 sq ft (42.2 m2)
Airfoil: RAF 34 (modified)
Empty weight: 14,300 lb (6,486 kg)
Gross weight: 18,100 lb (8,210 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 76 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,710 hp (1,280 kW) driving the left propeller
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 77 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,710 hp (1,280 kW) fitted with a blower for cabin pressurization, driving the right propeller
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers
Performance

Maximum speed: 415 mph (668 km/h, 361 kn) at 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
Range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km, 1,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 37,000 ft (11,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 39.9 lb/sq ft (195 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (0.311 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, 4 x 20 mm Hispano cannons
Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,800 kg)
Avionics
GEE radio-navigation

#aircraft #mosquito #DH98

[Dave-dm]

You can see how the pilot subtly corrects for the leftward swing as it lifts off. Rapid takeoffs during WW2 caught out many new pilots.

[angelsone-five]

When referencing the Battle of Britain why must everyone stress the Spitfire when the Hawker Hurricane bore the brunt of the battle and accounted for more enemy losses than everything else put together? It makes me

[maxmccain]

Damn those must have been fun to fly, well, when you weren’t getting shot at.

[Dave-dm]

The story about how Eric Brown landed that Mosquito on a carrier is absolutely amazing. The stall speed was around 115 but the maximum speed the arrester gear could take was 85. Check out the documentaries on YouTube where he talks about it.

[Ron-uqhg]

As a child growing up in the North shore of New Zealand I think it was in the late forties and early fifties if the wind was in the right direction I used to lie on our back lawn and 😊watch the planes coming home to, Whenapai. I remember the Mosquito because of the twin engines. They were surprisingly quite but the may have been throttled back as they would have been about 15 miles from the airport. I also remember the Mustangs coming home and later the Vampires. About 1955 I started working as an apprentice and discovered girls. Didn’t have time to, lie on my back and watch planes.

[asdf]

Such a cool airplane, even more amazing when you learn what it is and what it did. Wonder how the wood faired in the boneyard vs aluminum?

[AndrewUnderwood-plur]

Just out of interest, why was it painted in the colours of D-Day landing aircraft, with the 5 alternating black and white stripes?

[marcuswardle]

The Mosquito was used by the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA, during WWII.

[slartybarfastb]

With it being a wood-composite construction from molds, why not make reproductions from modern carbon-composite?
It would be a "fake" Mosquito, but still a Mosquito. Like a carbon Cub is still a Cub.

[soppdrake]

"American Intelligence" hehe 😈