Why was the de Havilland "wooden wonder" Mosquito aircraft built of Wood, instead of Metal?

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  • Опубликовано: 29 ноя 2024

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  • @deHavMuseum
    @deHavMuseum  11 месяцев назад +10

    When looking at the reasons for building the Mosquito out of wood, it is worth remembering the following words from Geoffrey de Havilland himself:
    “..successful aircraft design is a matter of stage-by-stage development, and the use of accumulated experience and data applied by people who have long worked together as a team, and who have pride and enthusiasm. An aircraft designer must also have much of the artist in him, backed up by a lot of creative engineering experience. A deep insight into mechanical engineering is one of the essentials.”
    Ron Bishop, the chief designer of the Mosquito, epitomised this.
    Despite having designed DH’s first metal airliner - the DH.95 Flamingo - Bishop had been brought up in the company’s tradition of wooden structures.

    • @johndavey72
      @johndavey72 6 месяцев назад

      Thankyou . Some of the most beautiful aircraft ever came from the De Havilland Workshops. And of course the Hornet was Captain Eric "Winkle " Brown's favourite .

  • @coldlakealta4043
    @coldlakealta4043 4 месяца назад +6

    During WW2, my Mother worked on the assembly line in the De Havilland Canada plant in Downsview, Ontario (near Toronto). She helped to build the approximately 1134 Mosquitoes which were made here in Canada and shipped across the North Atlantic to Britain. She was very proud of her service, as are we. To my mind, it is one of the most beautiful airplanes ever conceived.

  • @KathrynLiz1
    @KathrynLiz1 11 месяцев назад +5

    Interesting to see that prototype... my father was a foreman at DH and was involved in its construction. Nice to know it is still existing. It's on my "bucket list to see it before I die...

  • @mothmagic1
    @mothmagic1 11 месяцев назад +3

    The Flamingo and Mosquito are prime example of what de Havilland always did so well. Building beautiful looking aircraft. I always consider the Flamingo a better looking machine than the Albatross. At the time it was built I think it was a case of if the Mosquito couldn't do it there was nothing else that could either.

  • @dondouglass6415
    @dondouglass6415 11 месяцев назад +4

    My all time favourite aircraft.... Wonderful bit of lateral thinking that more than proved its worth. Huzzah!!

  • @keesvandenbroek331
    @keesvandenbroek331 11 месяцев назад +6

    British Eccentric, Brutally Effective.

  • @55Reever
    @55Reever 8 месяцев назад +1

    It would be very interesting to hear the positives of being made out of wood. I have heard that the wood construction could absorb battle damage better than metal. Were the cowlings made out of wood?

  • @theflyingfool
    @theflyingfool 11 месяцев назад +1

    Excellent video thanks!

  • @nickdanger3802
    @nickdanger3802 3 месяца назад

    de Havilland DH.95 Flamingo 14 built
    de Havilland DH.91 Albatross 7 (including two prototypes) withdrawn from service due to deterioration of the aircraft's plywood wing structures

  • @powerjets3512
    @powerjets3512 11 месяцев назад

    Will try to visit next year. I'm especially interested in the earliest jet engines.

  • @jeremyrichards8327
    @jeremyrichards8327 11 месяцев назад +1

    Perhaps you could do a study of the Hornet which followed on from the Mosquito and was every bit as good in what it did.

  • @braveworld2707
    @braveworld2707 5 месяцев назад

    Yeah it was excellent both video and aircraft. I wish I could see you at the museum but being on the both opposite sides of the planet that sort of isn't possible. 👍👍

  • @ivanconnolly7332
    @ivanconnolly7332 3 дня назад

    It has been claimed that an all metal Mosquito would have been 15% faster , the stats were arrived at through computer modelling , I cannot recall the source .

  • @whitewittock
    @whitewittock 4 дня назад +1

    Was it better than the P38 Lightning?

    • @ivanconnolly7332
      @ivanconnolly7332 3 дня назад

      Gregs aeroplanes channel, will give you a thorough comparison of the 2 aircraft.

  • @prs00001
    @prs00001 11 месяцев назад +2

    Great video as usual 👍

  • @jonathanosbaldiston9282
    @jonathanosbaldiston9282 11 месяцев назад

    Great video - Looking forward to you visiting later in 2024 for a photoshoot. Quick question - as the mosquito was wooden did it show up less on Radar?

    • @deHavMuseum
      @deHavMuseum  11 месяцев назад +1

      There is some evidence that the mosquito had a reputation of being difficult to track on radar. Was that due to it's wooden construction (notwithstanding bulky Merlin engines)? Or maybe because it flew in smaller numbers than the large swarms of metal 4-engined bombers? Or maybe an excuse to explain why it was difficult to stop?

    • @jonathanosbaldiston9282
      @jonathanosbaldiston9282 11 месяцев назад

      @@deHavMuseum Thanks for taking the time to reply... fascinating stuff! Looking forward to visiting next year.😊✈️😊

  • @angusmunro711
    @angusmunro711 11 месяцев назад

    Thank you

  • @Daniel-S1
    @Daniel-S1 11 месяцев назад

    Thanks.

  • @WilhelmKarsten
    @WilhelmKarsten 10 месяцев назад

    Simple answer, when Germany captured France, it also captured Britains main supply of Aluminum, the country has no indigenous supplies of Bauxite.

  • @kennethsilagy5010
    @kennethsilagy5010 29 дней назад

    My favorite war bird.

  • @neiloflongbeck5705
    @neiloflongbeck5705 11 месяцев назад +1

    You missed, perhaps, the most important reason and one that goes against your entire narrative. In 1938 the Air Ministry issued specification B.9/38 for a medium bomber made of non-strategic metals (i.e. aluminium and its alloys). De Havilland was approached to build a design to fulfil this specification but they decided not to submit a design. So, why have you repeated the misleading claim that the Air Ministry rejected the Mosquito because it was made of wood? The Air Ministry wanted a wooden aircraft, either in whole on in part. In fact so did the head of Bomber Command at the time (ACM Ludlow-Hewitt) de Havilland fist proposed the design that would become the Mosquito.

  • @christinerobinson7031
    @christinerobinson7031 10 месяцев назад

    A brilliant aircraft if winkle brown like it it was a no brainier

  • @PeanutsDadForever
    @PeanutsDadForever 11 месяцев назад

    Dare I say, this aircraft is sexy. The Maserati of the sky!🇦🇺👴🏻

  • @solentbum
    @solentbum 11 месяцев назад

    A plane designed for the attrition of war, capable of being replaced during a protracted conflict. I wonder how well the very expensive and complicated warplanes of today will fare?

  • @billevans7936
    @billevans7936 5 месяцев назад

    ❤cool❤

  • @nickdanger3802
    @nickdanger3802 3 месяца назад

    6.16 de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen 37% loss rate in peace time.

  • @c123bthunderpig
    @c123bthunderpig 11 месяцев назад

    Incredible aircraft, informative video, I belief I'm correct in saying in the effort not to increase the complexity, the propellers were not counter rotating to compensate for torque , which required a bit of skill to compensate for .

    • @peterrollinson-lorimer
      @peterrollinson-lorimer 11 месяцев назад

      Very true, plenty of rudder required on takeoff. Also made the aircraft prone to flipping over on takeoff if the wrong engine cutout. But most important aircraft of the war IMHO.

    • @c123bthunderpig
      @c123bthunderpig 11 месяцев назад

      @@peterrollinson-lorimer Roger that, its called an asymetric stall, non recoverable, especially on take off. Totally agree on best aircraft , Its speed was awesome and I've always been amazed at its range at low level. Especially in European theater - a lot of missions over the channel, and over North Sea. Cheers

  • @garrington120
    @garrington120 10 месяцев назад

    By far , the very best and most versatile aircraft in WW2 BAR NONE !!

    • @WilhelmKarsten
      @WilhelmKarsten 10 месяцев назад

      Never in history has so many false myths and propaganda nonsense been written by armchair fiction authors... Freeman's Folly has been conflated and exaggerated into pure British mythology.
      British "historians" never let the truth get in the way of a good story!!!