My Grandfather built these in ww2. He was an extremely skilled carpenter, and went on to quite literally build his own house, where my dad grew up. The mosquito is not only a part of canadian and world heritage, it's part of my own heritage. Thank you for sining a light on this under appreciated plane!
The Mosquitos built in Britain were assembled in factories (eg at Hatfield) but an advantage of wooden construction was that parts could easily be built in workshops elsewhere by 'non-essential workers' with no specialised tools, to be brought together for final assembly. I remember chatting with an older chap years ago who had been a coachbuilder before The 39-45 War, and who spent the war in his garage in a village in the West Country building engine nacelles for Mossies. A truck would turn up every fortnight to bring him new wood etc and take away the nacelle covers he had made.
The Mosquito is not unappreciated. I knew about this plane's abilities long ago. Thankyou, Simon for bringing them into the foreground. And big ups to Canada for making more available for service! And big ups to your grand daddy Mr Phoenix, may you and his other off-spring know of his good work. (this NZer has a thing for Canada and Canadians)
Yes, they completely missed the importance of people like your grandfather. The shortage of riveters and welder, combined with a surplus of extremely skilled carpenters and cabinet makers dramatically increased the labor pool. The Mosquito was an amazing aircraft.
Did your grandfather ever mention where all of the wood came from? On a lark, one day, I stopped at a small airport in a nearby town, Marshfield, WI. I gave myself the dime tour of the terminal building...to be rewarded with hallways and meeting rooms lined with photo prints taller than I. Apparently, Marshfield had once been a center of plywood production, and hit it's peak in that respect during WWII...creating exceptionally thin and clear sheets from the local Birch forests. Not to say that all Mossies were made of Wisconsin Birch... But we definitely contributed to the pile! The wood was kiln-dried and shipped as very thin sheets, it wasn't just made into plywood. The process for creating those beautifully-shaped 'Mossies' was more of a natural (?) resin/wood composite that was pressed to shape and cured. Howard Hughes' H-4 Hercules was formed in the same way. That "Goose" was Birch, not Spruce!
A spitfire and P51 pilot were heard extoling the benefits of the Rolls Royce Merlin. One said, *"There's nothing quite like the sound and feeling of the power of a Merlin sitting between your legs."* When a Mosquito pilot commented, *" Unless you have them in stereo,"* Standing the rather smug they heard a Lancaster Pilot finish with, *"I've always like Quadraphonic myself."*
Except none of them could hear what the others were saying because they were all deaf from hours of sitting a few feet away from a 27 litre V12 with no mufflers.
Driving in the backroads of Auckland New Zealand I heard the distinctive sound of twin Merlins. I guessed what it was before I could even see it. I found out later It was one of Avspecs rebuilt mozzies on a test flight. Aucklands Motat had Mosquito NZ2305 under Restoration for display when I was a child in the seventy's When we went to the museum we would sneak out the back to look at the progress. I far as I am concerned the mozzie is the most beautiful airplane ever built. it sounds like it looks .
Same in Australia’s war against Japan. Their Mosquitoes used Coachwood, which is slighter lighter and stronger with particular care in the laminations and coatings due to the tropical climate.
One famous Mosquito pilot: Keith Miller, Australian cricket all-rounder. Quipped about stress in sport - no such thing - 0 feet with Focke Wulf on tail is stress
My Grandfather flew these, along with almost every other British aircraft (He was a test pilot and aircraft ferry pilot) during the war. He loved the Spit but stated "In a pinch, give me a Mozzy".
One of the working Mosquitos is at the Virginia Military Aviation Museum in Norfolk. They have an airshow every summer, where they bring out all their working planes and fly them around. It's a great way to see these sorts of planes do more than sit.
Original propeller blades are no longer available (no surprise there), the 'recreated' Mosquitos built by Avspecs in NZ use shortened (by 6" if I recall correctly) blades originally produced for Lancasters. A snippet I recall from a question-and-answer session when the (recently recreated by Avspecs at Ardmore) Mossie visited Classic Flyers in Tauranga in 2012.
Hi Stuart. I'm Steve from New Zealand. That's a neat yarn, he must have been a real clever man. And I'm glad he was there to help save the world,mate. Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿
Well, my favorite Mosquito story or adventure is the raid releasing the French Resistance Fighters. Beyond that I loved pretty much everything about them and as beautiful as they were deadly.
My grandad worked on Mosquitoes repairing damage. He was a very good carpenter. He suffered terribly with tinnitus which was contributed to having Merlin engines being tested in the adjoining building which were extremely loud. My dad still has some dimensional drawings that my grandad had used.
Unfortunately the De Havilland or later British airspace has no all but gone in Hatfield only the control and it's hanger still service as only a fitness resort for those with money to burn. 😢😢 But me and my old school friend have happy memories of the airshows there and last aircraft to fly from it the Bae 146 whisper jet.
Are you saving the "Tsetse" version for another video? Eric "Winkle" Brown, the much lauded test pilot, said it virtually "stood still" when it fired it's onboard artillery piece! I saw one at an air display, including the "Battle of Britain Flight", back in the 1980's, at Weston Park in Shropshire, UK. It was already in my heart as a beatiful plane, (I had built several plastic model kits of the same plane!) but when I saw it, at full chat, sweeping over treetops, and banking over crowds, THOSE ENGINES, played the sweetest sound I've ever heard (mechanically) before or since! (and I am an avid F1 fan!) I hope I last long enough to hear those twin Merlins again, and see the grace displayed in the air!
I was lucky enough to see the first 'rebuilt' Mosquito produced by Avspecs here in NZ, both being built and then flying at Ardmore on 29/9/12. As it banked and roared over the crowds there was a thousands-fold intake of breath and a hushed silence I have never witnessed at any airshow since. The aircraft concerned was shipped off to the US (after its owner kindly allowed a tour of NZ so folk here could have a look). Avspecs have worked-up a couple more Mossies since, I believe, being hugely aided by a previous local project which stalled, but not before the all-important internal mould ("former"?) for the fuselage had been produced.
I'm lucky. My local museum is The Mosquito Museum at London Colney and it houses 3 complete mossie's including the prototype. Within a ten minute walk of home is the remains of Leavesden aircraft factory where many Mosquito's and Halifax bombers first took to the air. The place still uses plywood but now to make film sets as its the Warner Bros and Harry Potter studios. I'd much rather see a mossie in the air than some four eyed twat on a broomstick!
I understand 3 brand-new Mosquitos have been built in recent years at Ardmore (near Auckland, New Zealand) . I do not know what versions but it should be easily found.
Dehavilland built 1032 out of a total of 7781 Mosquitos in Toronto Canada during the war. My father used to tell me about the Lancasters and Mosquitos flying over Hamilton on test flights before they would be equipped with extra fuel bladders and flow to the UK. Truly a remarkable plane.
My Dad helped make the long range fuel tanks in Toronto, said he signed a lot of them. Also fashioned a wood foot rest for the navigator. Awesome plane.
And even later in the war as the UK was running out of money our Canadian cousins kept the flow of equipment and supplies flowing we thank you as does the world.
Best plane of the war! And the full Goring speech after the radio station was bombed might be the best this I’ve read: In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set - then at least I'll own something that has always worked.
@@garfieldsmith332 The list could go on, lol, The Bridge at Remagen, The Longest Day, and so on. So, so good. Shame we don't really get such soaring scores for movies these days, outside of great composers like John Williams.
@@ukmediawarrior True. Sad that most of the great ones have passed on. Along with maestro Williams we have some good composers in Howard Shore, Bruce Boughton, Michael Giacchino. Most of todays soundtracks are rap or drone or noise. Not real music. I grew up collecting soundtracks from films and TV. Nice to relax and listen to a goos film score and see the film in your head.
I used to like "633 Squadron" but now, every time I see Cliff Robertson or any of the other actors sitting in the cockpit mockup pretending to fly, I can't help but notice their airplane has no tail. I still love watching the Mosquitoes fly through the Mach Loop, though!
Just one thing though... the premise of the storyline in the film 633 Squadron was a load of claptrap. A factory needed in a remote location in Norway, needed to manufacture the special propellants used in the V-2 rocket? The V-2 used Ethanol as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidiser.
Loving these stories of guys who had the ability to think out of the box and also make it through the maze of military procurement to deliver game changing innovations.
I noted that the mosquito you mentioned that flew the most missions of any bomber in the war crashed with the loss of both crew members two days after the end of the war. Brutal.
The sad part is that "F - Freddy" was lost because the pilot was showing off. The Mossie was in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a war bond drive when the pilot decided to buzz the control tower and accidentally hit a flag pole. One wing snapped off, and in seconds all that was left of "F - Freddy" was plywood splinters in a field of spot fires. Google: "F For Freddie - Calgary's VE Day Tragedy"
Glad my favourite aircraft of the era is getting some Megaprojects love, Simon, though you missed the truly bonkers Tsetse variant which had the 20mm cannons swapped out for a single 6 pounder gun that fired 57mm anti tank shells. Although the RAF rapidly switched to rockets for tank hunting in Europe, which had the advantage of being capable of firing from several aircraft types, someone had the idea that 6lbs of high explosive shell being shot at them from an inbound Mosquito at high speed would make a U boat commander seriously consider his life choices, so they gave all the Tsetse variants to RAF Coastal Command for sub hunting work. Truly the world’s first real multirole combat aircraft.
@@ericadams3428 Problem with the 57mm gun was once you had fired your limited number of rounds off, you still had to lug a massive amount of mass about. Fire the Rockets and you still have a butt load of 20mm cannon shells to do damage with.
Exactly. The Tsetse's were actually conversions of FBVI's. They were always going to be a limited run and for the strike wings of Coastal Command the FBVI was the preferred weapon. I believe they had a record of one u boat kill (U976) and one shared plus a small number of surface ships. It's true a JU88was brought down by having an engine shot off with the Molins.
I fell in love with the Mosquito at the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I believe it's still there, if anyone needed yet another reason to attend the EAA fly-in. Saw a Warthog at one of the fly-ins. Seriously a worthy trip.
That plane at the EAA Museum is on long term loan from the Kermit Weeks collection. I believe It was flown over from England in the 1980s. It needs a complete rebuild now to be airworthy, which is difficult with the wood structure.
@@loboheeler It was formerly at the Strathallan Air Museum in Scotland. I was privileged to sit in it while it was there. It's perhaps more famous for being flown in the movie 633 Squadron. As was stated in the narration, it was less susceptible to radar during WWII. I saw this kind of proved when this particular aircraft (RS712) was last flown at the RAF Leuchars airshow in the early 1980's. I was standing near a Rapier SAM unit, which was working at the time, but with dummy missiles. The radar unit was tracking all of the aircraft that flew down the length of the runway, and the missile unit followed as well. When the Mossie did a low flyby, I watched the tracking unit trying to lock on, but all it did was wobble back and fore. At no time did it get a lock. 1970's technology, couldn't beat a Mossie!
Thank you for this, good video have been hoping you'd do the Mossie. In my humble opinion the best all round plane of WW2. A brilliant concept and very adaptable.
I use ro live about 10mins by car from the mosquito musuem in St Albans. Hertfordshire. And use visit regularly. Soooo its fair to say that the D. H 98 stays close to my heart.
In the 1960s I had a facination with WW2, my best friend's dad had a genuine NAZI flag he had personally captured, my uncle was co-pilot on a B-17, and brother in law a AA gunner on a troop ship in the Pacific. I had lots of books on the subject including picture books of aircraft used during the war. The Mosquito was one of my favorites for its looks and also that it was made of wood. Its a shame humans have to build beautiful things that are so deadly. In order for beauty: Spitfire Mk24, Mosquito, ME109, P51 Mustang, FW190, P38 Lightning, B25 Mitchel, and B17 Fortress. Today, the best looking plane is the A10 Thunderbolt. Airplane almost have to look good to work well. I enjoyed your video and enjoy your channel; thank you.
One of my favorite war stories about the de Havilland Mosquito was a reconnaissance version encountered a ME 262 German Jet fighter. The pilot of the de Havilland was able to outmaneuver the German jet and escape. During the encounter the ME 262 would have been shot down had the de Havilland been equipped with guns and not cameras when the jet crossed directly in front of the de Havilland. The Mosquito was definitely one of my favorite WW2 planes!
First Combat by a Jet Aircraft on the afternoon of 25th July 1944. The Mosquito on one of the six attempted passes by the Me-262 did get into a turning evasion which resulted in the Mosquito being behind the Jet . However the Mosquito was very lucky to avoid being shot down.
Excellent job, well done. I recommend looking into the story about the man who found the construction blueprints for the Mosquito a number of years ago, thus enabling restoration facilities around the world to completely repair and rebuild these beauties. It was a lucky find worth sharing.
My grandad was a very skilled carpenter/joiner, he built these, my dad told me about a funny story when him and my gramps went to the DeHavilland museum and my gramps told a restorer he used to build them and the guy wouldnt leave him alone following my gramps around saying things like "please you could teach us so much" but my gramps just wanted to have a day out at the museum, in the end he had to "promise " he would come back one day and share his secrets to pacify the very passionate restorer. I do remember him saying they all use "yankee" screwdrivers and obviously flat head screws in those days and if you slipped and scratched the wood even slightly it would have to be replaced since it had to be perfectly smooth to accept the material covering which they then painted on some sort of pitch i think he called it, any splinter could pierce the material if left
don't you love it when a compromise made for economies / material availability like choosing a wood airframe, end up being a significant advantage later down the line? I do, I sure do. that radar cross-section reduction must have been a revelation!
It was NOT a compromise. De Haviland were experts at building fast wooden airframes (e.g. the DH88 Comet) and they considered it the way to go for a high speed, high altitude unarmed bomber. The powers that be took some persuading and insisted he built alternative versions.
How did you not mention the Tsetse or the raid on Amiens prison? Such a fantastic and versatile aircraft. I was lucky enough to live near Ardmore aerodrome in Auckland where KA114 was restored, I would often visit the hanger where they were happy to let enthusiasts get up close and take photos when they weren't actually working on it. I was also lucky enough to visit Glynn Powell's workshop near by in Drury where he built the fuselage and wings. I was there for her maiden flight in Sep 2012, the sight and sound of of this glorious machine was truly something else.
The raid on Amiens prison is the flight I was thinking of when I saw this. I don't know much about planes, let alone military planes, but somehow ended up on a youtube video talking about the Mosquito. They even had a CGI "flyover" of what the pilots would've seen and not only the reflexes needed, but the grit from the aircraft too! The photos of afterwards as well just cemented how skilled the pilots were and how great the planes were. Very impressive, and what settled in my mind a fascination for this very plane. I attend the dog shows at Ardmore NZKC grounds and will sometimes see the planes fly overhead. There also has been a few occasions on SH1 too, near Sanson, where I can catch a glimpse of some planes. Would love to see a Mosquito up close though
@@maciej9280 Despite the horrible situation with the French school, they succeeded with their mission: Allowing the imprisoned resistance fighters to escape and destroying Gestapos' archives on the resistance movement.
My grandad was an airframe fitter making these. He was a skilled carpenter and as gentle as a lamb so would of been little use behind bayonet. He taught me hand tool woodworking and I'm a woodwork hobbiest that refuses to use power tools. Good egg my grandad.
My grandfather had too low of a blood pressure number to join the US Army Air Corps (I'm assuming they were afraid of people passing out due to g-forces) but instead of giving up, he went up to Canada all the way from TN and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, flew both the mosquito and beau fighter. Flew over 80 missions, most of them with the version that had the multiple machine guns on it, over north Africa and Italy primarily. Never came back with a single round of ammo. He would find the Nazi bastards moving at night time whenever he could and rain absolute hell upon them, essentially diving straight at them and pulling up at the last minute to avoid crashing into the ground, which is much easier said than done at night time. I'm sure your depth perception is seriously impaired in that circumstance. Most of his night fighter friends didn't make it back. It was hard navigating in those days at night, and most of the cities would black out their windows so you would not be able to use city lights as a reference point. I imagine with that many machine guns you could blanket an area the size of a football field with a couple bullets per square meter in a single dive pass. Absolutely chews up soldiers on the ground, and I know that it really bothered him not knowing how many men he killed... probably hundreds at least... He talked about seeing the lava flows at night time when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 1944, and other interesting stories.. some were too painful to tell out loud.
Maybe you need to do a video on the De Havilland Vampire, the last high performance military aircraft made from wood. It's also a jet aircraft... We had one based at the airfield I used to work at, I had the honour of refuelling it and for helping it navigate a very soft unsealed surface when it had to be moved through our construction / upgrade work zone. It's rather quite heavy with very small wheels and likes to sink in soft surfaces, so we had to lay plyboard under the wheels as it was towed. Very cool aircraft with a very unique sound.
A correction Simon, the B.XVI did not have any guns. The B.XVI maximum bomb load was 1 x 4000lb and 2 x 500lb under the wings for a total of 5000lb. Usually wing bombs weren't carried, the space normally being used for drop tanks to extend the range. None of the bomber or PR variants had guns. The cannons took up half the bomb bay, so only 2 500lb bombs could be carried in the bay, rather than the normal 4. Fighter bombers had the 4 x 20mm and 4 x 0.303" guns. Night fighters, except for the first model, only had 4 x 20mm cannon, as the radar took up the space in the nose. The prototype, W4050, was fitted with a mock turret behind the cockpit. The mock turret had a number of mounting holes where mock guns could be fitted to simulate the turret being in different positions. There was also a turret fighter prototype built, with a fully functional turret. It was flight tested a few times, but was abandoned because the performance loss was too great. Another difference between bomber/PR variants and fighter/fighter-bomber variants was the windscreen and control stick. The bomber/PR variants had the vee-type windscreen, while the fighter/fighter-bomber variants had a flat windscreen. The flat windscreen was draggier and cost a few mph of speed. The bomber/PR types had a yoke type control column, while the fighters and fighter-bombers had a fighter style control stick.
I bet there would be a lot of targets of opportunity in a conflict like World War II - fuel dumps, ammo dumps, maintenance centers, trains, and so on. They'd be targets that might not call for heavy bombers, but they would still hurt to lose. I love the mosquito. Its ingenuity and performance made a real factor in the war.
The DH98 Mosquito is a truly amazing and remarkable aircraft, it's construction techniques have been acknowledged as being of a 'composite construction, way ahead of it's time, a work of genius and persistence from 'people who knew exactly what they were doing' and just stuck to it. That was critical in allowing a whole different workforce to be used, so those 'carpentry skills' were used to produce 'Britain's fastest and deadliest piece of furniture', and most probably the world first MRCA!
Came here from the P-61 video. The P-61 is very cool. Amazed that it had the numbers to exceed the Mosquito performance. Very successful in its one role. Wild-looking machine, but it's basically an armed and armoured boxcar with wings and engines. Whilst the Mosquito graces the sky, the P-61 just kinda bulldozes it out of the way. Mosquito wins for me on versatility, endurance, derring-do... and looks. P-61 would get it good, but the DH.98 is the one you marry. Plus 10 times as many built (by joiners, mostly), so 10 times more legendary actions involving this airframe. Forget not the genius in selecting and developing a lightweight design, Light as a feather but strong enough to cart a greater tonnage of bombs than the heavies could carry further, and faster, with a lower radar signature. .Genius realisation on the part of GDH, the principle of which is still in ply today. Built from the carbon fibre of its day, and also way better streamlined than the P-61. Those radial engines were phenomenal powerplants, tho... 🤔
The P-61 was the first aircraft designed solely for night fighter duties. But it didn't have nearly the performance figures of the contemporary Mosquito.
ive been around the world at many air parks or museums I always love seeing the Wooden Wonder in person and I am lucky enough to have been around the flying ones. The make a great sound passing over at full throttle.
The Mosquito could do almost any job that got thrown at it. Such a beautiful aircraft, my second favourite Second World War aircraft (top is still the Lancaster, but I'm a bit biased).
I've always had a soft spot for the Mosquito, growing up I had a comic book (I think it was Battle) where the hero flew a Mosquito which was painted red (which probably wouldn't have made any sense)
The Hawker Typhoon was eventually an excellent aircraft but suffered considerable fatigue cracking around the tail. Mosquito with its wood composite construction never had fatigue problems. It was also far more resistant to battle damage.
Rubbish at least 30 Mosquitos broke up in mid air due to structural Failure during air tests over their own airfields. Lord knowns how many broke up trying to evade German Fighters.
Here’s a fun fact- here in Canada, we’re STILL using our deHavilland beaver planes, mostly for bush planes. And the last of them were manufactured in 1967!
Ok Simon the 1 million pound question How many RUclips channels do you have, I keep subscribing, but no matter how hard I search there's always more. Not dissing you, I love all your art ( yes you create art, your words) but when can I get a point in time to say' first and please please please never stop '♥️
Again, your presentation is first rate. The Mosquito was a very deadly and accomplished Nightfighter. A small production run of Mosquito featured a 6 lbr Antitank cannon installed in the nose to take out U-boats. Geoffrey DeHavilland had a rather famous cousin, Screen actress Olivia DeHavilland.
@@johnmcnatty1710 There was a sort of a fad about really REALLY BIG guns on lightweight and little planes... through the end of WWII and well into the Cold War after. If you haven't yet, you might enjoy some research on the Russian "Recoilless Madness". ;o)
“In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I’m going to buy a British radio set - then at least I’ll own something that has always worked.” - Hermann Göring, 1943
another advantage to the mosquito was its decentralized construction-furniture and piano builders were sub contracted for various parts and then assembled so that there was no one factory to bomb
There are so many videos i watch of Simon's that i think "wow this topic seems familiar," just to remember a previous video Simon did either on a different channel about the topic or it was briefly mentioned. I go from feeling like a big brain to feeling like a slightly less big brain lol
The military unit in the 1964 film 633 Squadron is equipped with de Havilland Mosquitos. The film makes use of genuine, airworthy aircraft, rather than models, for many of the scenes. Mosquitos also plays the title role of the 1969 Mosquito Squadron, starring David McCallum and Charles Gray.
An interesting rare variation was as a passenger aircraft. The bomb bay was converted to hold a passenger, maybe two. Not sure, but maybe Churchill was a passenger going somewhere on the odd occasion.
I believe that those variants were for diplomatic staff operating out of neutral Sweden (apparently the Stockholm Express, operated by the forerunner of BOAC ... to prevent them attracting the attention of the Luftwaffe)
The 'passenger' was bundled horizontally into a converted bomb-bay, with only a flask of coffee to keep them warm. It was used to move 'special' personnel to and from Sweden, on the same route 'civilian' Mossies hauled Swedish ball-bearings to Britain. A dangerous and uncomfortable way to travel.
@@russellfitzpatrick503 Just read up about it - the atomic scientist Nils Bohr was taken from Sweden to Britain in a Mossie as a passenger, on his way to USA to work on the Manhattan nuclear bomb project.
You overlooked the ground attack model that mounted a fast firing artillery cannon in the nose. It was called the Tsetse by its pilots and ground crews.
There were only a small number of that type built. In overall terms, its contribution was far less than that of either the bomber or fighter-bomber versions. It gets a lot of attention but there weren't very many of them.
@@thethirdman225 agreed, but the morale impact of that model being around will definitely give one pause. You might get lucky and dodge 303 or 50 caliber or even on a good day, 20mm. But artillery cannon rounds have always been addressed to "all y'all over there"
@@kelleymcmahan6457 I don’t even know what that means. A rocket-firing Mosquito, with its four 20mm cannon and four .303 machine guns, was capable of cutting a cruiser in half. Way more than enough to dispatch a submarine. The 6 pounder wasn’t needed.
To clarify, wood was hard to get and not in common use by WWII, so the materials supply was an issue and had to come from Canada. The Mosquito was not more agile than a ME-109 or any variant nor the FW-190. It tended to be a bit faster and even if not as fast, almost impossible to catch as it was close if not a bit better and a bit of a dive would add more speed. Great aircraft with the one weakness of not having counter rotating engines per the P-38 (with its superior Allison) and nasty at takeoff and landing speeds for control if an engine quit. If the UK had built nothing but Mosquito and did pinpoint targets, it would have accomplished far more than the Lancaster carpet area bombing.
That comment has some important facts and some total mis-understandings. All Mosquito production was limited by one type of Wood. Balsa!!! Everybody who built the aircraft had to import it and shortage at Source was a major issue until 1943 (U-boats didn't help in the case of the British either). The Plantations in Ecuador couldn't support anything close to what was actually used and the British had to go looking around the Jungles for the stuff. They got lucky and found an Island that was covered in the stuff, got a saw mill and processing plant set up and that ensured enough of the stuff was available. The Aircraft couldn't out turn any single engine fighter and by 1944 the weight of the Bomber versions had increased from a maximum of 16-17,000lb to 24-25000lb. It couldn't outrun a FW-190 unless it picked the aircraft up early and could dive. All long range largeish day raids from 1944 required a Fighter Escort of Typhoons or Mustangs The aircraft was not easy to fly in bad weather or at night and anything more that 1000lbs of bombs put the aircraft out of pitch trim limits which meant that the pilot had to fly the aircraft hands on until he had released the weapons. It took de Havilland a year to safely get the aircraft to be able to carry a 4000lb bomb (by stuffing a load of ballast in the nose). The aircraft had no auto pilot and navigation systems available to the Navigator were a fraction of what was fitted to the heavy bombers. Also the Navigator had to do the tasks of Navigation, Bomb Aiming, Radio Operator and a bit of flight engineering (Fuel transfer controls were behind the pilot). Both crew had to work at 100% from starting the engines to switching them off at the end of the mission. Missions to Berlin that lasted 4 hours resulted in crews being total exhausted. The Cockpit was also very cramped and Ergonomics were actually very lacking. The Aircraft was not capable of doing pinpoint bombing in the places that mattered!! The Reason is a Mosquito is just as inaccurate as a Heavy bomber at medium altitude and worst at High Altitude (The Mark XIV bomb sight didn't work above 25,000 feet so had to be modified for the mosquito). All of the pinpoint raids done by the aircraft were done against lightly defended targets and routes were flown to avoid flak. Mosquitos couldn't out run flak shells and the important targets in German were very heavily defended by both heavy and light flak. Also OBOE and G-H had an accuracy of 100 to 150 yards at the point of bomb release (at 18000 to 30000 feet). The bombing systems took no account of wind direction or speed and in the case of the OBOE aircraft, all of the electronics were in the nose, so visual bomb aiming could not be used. Thus the mean miss distance for OBOE was 650 yards. Good for area bombing only. The famed Mosquito dive bombing marking only worked if you could see the target by daylight or flares with no cloud or smoke and only really worked it the target was very easily identifiable. Bomb load of the aircraft was no good for the Strategic mission. The main cause of damage to German industry were the Incendiary bombs as they did more damage to industrial plant than blast bombs did. Mosquito could only carry a 1000lb of them with drop tanks. Lancaster could carry 5 or 10 times that, plus a Cookie and dump all of it in one place!!! To do that with mosquitos would need a squadron of the things (24 pilots and navigators) and the bombing would be very scattered. Most of the bombing done by the Mosquitos was flying at 25,000 feet plus lobbing bombs in the general direction of German towns just to set off the Air raid alarms.
1927 Lockheed Vega The fuselage was built from sheets of plywood, skinned over wooden ribs. Using a large concrete mold, a single half of the fuselage shell was laminated in sections with glue between each layer and then a rubber bladder was lowered into the mold and inflated with air to compress the lamination into shape against the inside of the mold.
My Grandfather built these in ww2. He was an extremely skilled carpenter, and went on to quite literally build his own house, where my dad grew up. The mosquito is not only a part of canadian and world heritage, it's part of my own heritage. Thank you for sining a light on this under appreciated plane!
The Mosquitos built in Britain were assembled in factories (eg at Hatfield) but an advantage of wooden construction was that parts could easily be built in workshops elsewhere by 'non-essential workers' with no specialised tools, to be brought together for final assembly. I remember chatting with an older chap years ago who had been a coachbuilder before The 39-45 War, and who spent the war in his garage in a village in the West Country building engine nacelles for Mossies. A truck would turn up every fortnight to bring him new wood etc and take away the nacelle covers he had made.
The Mosquito is not unappreciated. I knew about this plane's abilities long ago. Thankyou, Simon for bringing them into the foreground. And big ups to Canada for making more available for service! And big ups to your grand daddy Mr Phoenix, may you and his other off-spring know of his good work. (this NZer has a thing for Canada and Canadians)
Yes, they completely missed the importance of people like your grandfather. The shortage of riveters and welder, combined with a surplus of extremely skilled carpenters and cabinet makers dramatically increased the labor pool. The Mosquito was an amazing aircraft.
Just curious, your Grandfather lived in ThunderBay at the time?
Did your grandfather ever mention where all of the wood came from?
On a lark, one day, I stopped at a small airport in a nearby town, Marshfield, WI. I gave myself the dime tour of the terminal building...to be rewarded with hallways and meeting rooms lined with photo prints taller than I.
Apparently, Marshfield had once been a center of plywood production, and hit it's peak in that respect during WWII...creating exceptionally thin and clear sheets from the local Birch forests. Not to say that all Mossies were made of Wisconsin Birch... But we definitely contributed to the pile!
The wood was kiln-dried and shipped as very thin sheets, it wasn't just made into plywood. The process for creating those beautifully-shaped 'Mossies' was more of a natural (?) resin/wood composite that was pressed to shape and cured.
Howard Hughes' H-4 Hercules was formed in the same way. That "Goose" was Birch, not Spruce!
A spitfire and P51 pilot were heard extoling the benefits of the Rolls Royce Merlin. One said, *"There's nothing quite like the sound and feeling of the power of a Merlin sitting between your legs."* When a Mosquito pilot commented, *" Unless you have them in stereo,"* Standing the rather smug they heard a Lancaster Pilot finish with, *"I've always like Quadraphonic myself."*
Except none of them could hear what the others were saying because they were all deaf from hours of sitting a few feet away from a 27 litre V12 with no mufflers.
Magnificent aircraft. The sound of those Merlins on a low flyby is thrilling. I can well appreciate the affection the pilots had for their Mossie.
Totally. Nothing else sounds quite like the Merlin.
Driving in the backroads of Auckland New Zealand I heard the distinctive sound of twin Merlins.
I guessed what it was before I could even see it. I found out later It was one of Avspecs rebuilt mozzies on a test flight.
Aucklands Motat had Mosquito NZ2305 under Restoration for display when I was a child in the seventy's
When we went to the museum we would sneak out the back to look at the progress.
I far as I am concerned the mozzie is the most beautiful airplane ever built. it sounds like it looks .
I live neat biggin hill and had 2 spitfires and a Lancaster fly over my house. Hearing 4 merlin engines roaring is something else
Same in Australia’s war against Japan. Their Mosquitoes used Coachwood, which is slighter lighter and stronger with particular care in the laminations and coatings due to the tropical climate.
One famous Mosquito pilot: Keith Miller, Australian cricket all-rounder. Quipped about stress in sport - no such thing - 0 feet with Focke Wulf on tail is stress
My father was a navigator on this magnificent aircraft..........very proud son
My Grandfather flew these, along with almost every other British aircraft (He was a test pilot and aircraft ferry pilot) during the war. He loved the Spit but stated "In a pinch, give me a Mozzy".
One of the working Mosquitos is at the Virginia Military Aviation Museum in Norfolk. They have an airshow every summer, where they bring out all their working planes and fly them around. It's a great way to see these sorts of planes do more than sit.
I'll put that on the list. Thanks for the info.
Norfolk or Virginia Beach?
@@edrupp2318 It's southwest of Virginia Beach
Rebuilt in New Zealand
4th of July ?, or another date ?
My Uncle was an engineer at de Havilland, who worked on the development of the Mosquito.. According to my Aunt, he designed the propellers for it.
Original propeller blades are no longer available (no surprise there), the 'recreated' Mosquitos built by Avspecs in NZ use shortened (by 6" if I recall correctly) blades originally produced for Lancasters. A snippet I recall from a question-and-answer session when the (recently recreated by Avspecs at Ardmore) Mossie visited Classic Flyers in Tauranga in 2012.
Hi Stuart. I'm Steve from New Zealand. That's a neat yarn, he must have been a real clever man. And I'm glad he was there to help save the world,mate. Cheers from New Zealand 🇳🇿
Well, my favorite Mosquito story or adventure is the raid releasing the French Resistance Fighters. Beyond that I loved pretty much everything about them and as beautiful as they were deadly.
My grandad worked on Mosquitoes repairing damage. He was a very good carpenter. He suffered terribly with tinnitus which was contributed to having Merlin engines being tested in the adjoining building which were extremely loud. My dad still has some dimensional drawings that my grandad had used.
Unfortunately the De Havilland or later British airspace has no all but gone in Hatfield only the control and it's hanger still service as only a fitness resort for those with money to burn. 😢😢 But me and my old school friend have happy memories of the airshows there and last aircraft to fly from it the Bae 146 whisper jet.
Are you saving the "Tsetse" version for another video? Eric "Winkle" Brown, the much lauded test pilot, said it virtually "stood still" when it fired it's onboard artillery piece!
I saw one at an air display, including the "Battle of Britain Flight", back in the 1980's, at Weston Park in Shropshire, UK. It was already in my heart as a beatiful plane, (I had built several plastic model kits of the same plane!) but when I saw it, at full chat, sweeping over treetops, and banking over crowds, THOSE ENGINES, played the sweetest sound I've ever heard (mechanically) before or since! (and I am an avid F1 fan!)
I hope I last long enough to hear those twin Merlins again, and see the grace displayed in the air!
I was lucky enough to see the first 'rebuilt' Mosquito produced by Avspecs here in NZ, both being built and then flying at Ardmore on 29/9/12. As it banked and roared over the crowds there was a thousands-fold intake of breath and a hushed silence I have never witnessed at any airshow since. The aircraft concerned was shipped off to the US (after its owner kindly allowed a tour of NZ so folk here could have a look). Avspecs have worked-up a couple more Mossies since, I believe, being hugely aided by a previous local project which stalled, but not before the all-important internal mould ("former"?) for the fuselage had been produced.
He'll of a pilot ❤
The wonderful, wonderful Mosquito! A fitting tribute to an aircraft that was a true war winning machine. Thank you!
Spitfire had nothing on this magnificent plane. It is disgusting that this plane is not center stage.
I'm lucky. My local museum is The Mosquito Museum at London Colney and it houses 3 complete mossie's including the prototype. Within a ten minute walk of home is the remains of Leavesden aircraft factory where many Mosquito's and Halifax bombers first took to the air. The place still uses plywood but now to make film sets as its the Warner Bros and Harry Potter studios. I'd much rather see a mossie in the air than some four eyed twat on a broomstick!
I understand 3 brand-new Mosquitos have been built in recent years at Ardmore (near Auckland, New Zealand) . I do not know what versions but it should be easily found.
Dehavilland built 1032 out of a total of 7781 Mosquitos in Toronto Canada during the war. My father used to tell me about the Lancasters and Mosquitos flying over Hamilton on test flights before they would be equipped with extra fuel bladders and flow to the UK. Truly a remarkable plane.
My Dad helped make the long range fuel tanks in Toronto, said he signed a lot of them. Also fashioned a wood foot rest for the navigator. Awesome plane.
And even later in the war as the UK was running out of money our Canadian cousins kept the flow of equipment and supplies flowing we thank you as does the world.
Yay you did it. My favourite plane of all time. A true masterpiece. Thanks Simon and the crew.
Mine, too.
But I never saw a DH I didn’t like, from the original Airco pusher, right through to the Comet.
The ultimate example of "Power-to-weight ratio."
For WWII, anyway.
It's an awesome friggin' airplane.
It really is. 😆 it’s so bad ass
Best plane of the war! And the full Goring speech after the radio station was bombed might be the best this I’ve read:
In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I'm going to buy a British radio set - then at least I'll own something that has always worked.
TIL Goering was a teaboo.
Quite possibly the smartest thing Goering ever said...
Though granted, that's not setting the bar very high. 😂
Thank you for answering my repeated requests and prayers Simon. It's appreciated. ❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
What a fantastic hats of to Dehavallan for going ahead with his design
Always loved this airplane since I saw the WW2 movie 633 Squadron when I was a kid .... it helps that the movie has an incredible soundtrack too, lol.
A great score by Ron Goodwin. Also battle of Britain and Where Eagles Dare.
@@garfieldsmith332 The list could go on, lol, The Bridge at Remagen, The Longest Day, and so on. So, so good. Shame we don't really get such soaring scores for movies these days, outside of great composers like John Williams.
@@ukmediawarrior True. Sad that most of the great ones have passed on. Along with maestro Williams we have some good composers in Howard Shore, Bruce Boughton, Michael Giacchino. Most of todays soundtracks are rap or drone or noise. Not real music. I grew up collecting soundtracks from films and TV. Nice to relax and listen to a goos film score and see the film in your head.
I used to like "633 Squadron" but now, every time I see Cliff Robertson or any of the other actors sitting in the cockpit mockup pretending to fly, I can't help but notice their airplane has no tail.
I still love watching the Mosquitoes fly through the Mach Loop, though!
Just one thing though... the premise of the storyline in the film 633 Squadron was a load of claptrap. A factory needed in a remote location in Norway, needed to manufacture the special propellants used in the V-2 rocket? The V-2 used Ethanol as the fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidiser.
Loving these stories of guys who had the ability to think out of the box and also make it through the maze of military procurement to deliver game changing innovations.
I noted that the mosquito you mentioned that flew the most missions of any bomber in the war crashed with the loss of both crew members two days after the end of the war. Brutal.
The sad part is that "F - Freddy" was lost because the pilot was showing off. The Mossie was in Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a war bond drive when the pilot decided to buzz the control tower and accidentally hit a flag pole. One wing snapped off, and in seconds all that was left of "F - Freddy" was plywood splinters in a field of spot fires.
Google: "F For Freddie - Calgary's VE Day Tragedy"
In ww2 many aircrew were killed in accidents
Good video. Always like the video's covering WW II planes and tanks.
Simon has a really listenable, entertaining and informative manner...I could watch and listen to him talking about anything and enjoy it
Got a big book about the Mossie waiting in my reading queue. Always had a soft spot for it.
Glad my favourite aircraft of the era is getting some Megaprojects love, Simon, though you missed the truly bonkers Tsetse variant which had the 20mm cannons swapped out for a single 6 pounder gun that fired 57mm anti tank shells. Although the RAF rapidly switched to rockets for tank hunting in Europe, which had the advantage of being capable of firing from several aircraft types, someone had the idea that 6lbs of high explosive shell being shot at them from an inbound Mosquito at high speed would make a U boat commander seriously consider his life choices, so they gave all the Tsetse variants to RAF Coastal Command for sub hunting work. Truly the world’s first real multirole combat aircraft.
Tsetae was always designed as an Anti Shipping / Submarine aircraft. It was never trialled against tanks.
A Tsetse pilot also used the cannon on an enemy aircraft to great effect, separating it from its engine.
Only 28 Tsetse's (mark XVIII) were built and equipped two squadrons, it was found that rocket projectiles were the better weapon.
@@ericadams3428 Problem with the 57mm gun was once you had fired your limited number of rounds off, you still had to lug a massive amount of mass about. Fire the Rockets and you still have a butt load of 20mm cannon shells to do damage with.
Exactly. The Tsetse's were actually conversions of FBVI's. They were always going to be a limited run and for the strike wings of Coastal Command the FBVI was the preferred weapon. I believe they had a record of one u boat kill (U976) and one shared plus a small number of surface ships. It's true a JU88was brought down by having an engine shot off with the Molins.
I fell in love with the Mosquito at the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I believe it's still there, if anyone needed yet another reason to attend the EAA fly-in. Saw a Warthog at one of the fly-ins. Seriously a worthy trip.
That plane at the EAA Museum is on long term loan from the Kermit Weeks collection. I believe It was flown over from England in the 1980s. It needs a complete rebuild now to be airworthy, which is difficult with the wood structure.
@@loboheeler It was formerly at the Strathallan Air Museum in Scotland. I was privileged to sit in it while it was there. It's perhaps more famous for being flown in the movie 633 Squadron.
As was stated in the narration, it was less susceptible to radar during WWII. I saw this kind of proved when this particular aircraft (RS712) was last flown at the RAF Leuchars airshow in the early 1980's. I was standing near a Rapier SAM unit, which was working at the time, but with dummy missiles. The radar unit was tracking all of the aircraft that flew down the length of the runway, and the missile unit followed as well. When the Mossie did a low flyby, I watched the tracking unit trying to lock on, but all it did was wobble back and fore. At no time did it get a lock. 1970's technology, couldn't beat a Mossie!
The Mosquito, like the Lancaster, was a grimly functional aircraft. It did the work it was designed for, and much more.
Thank you for this, good video have been hoping you'd do the Mossie.
In my humble opinion the best all round plane of WW2.
A brilliant concept and very adaptable.
LOVE THAT MY FAVORITE PLANE HAS BEEN FEATURED!!!
Snap 😂
I use ro live about 10mins by car from the mosquito musuem in St Albans. Hertfordshire. And use visit regularly. Soooo its fair to say that the D. H 98 stays close to my heart.
The marking targets bit with the light fliers to make the finding a target part easier for the heavy hitters. Just brilliant 👏 👌
In the 1960s I had a facination with WW2, my best friend's dad had a genuine NAZI flag he had personally captured, my uncle was co-pilot on a B-17, and brother in law a AA gunner on a troop ship in the Pacific. I had lots of books on the subject including picture books of aircraft used during the war. The Mosquito was one of my favorites for its looks and also that it was made of wood. Its a shame humans have to build beautiful things that are so deadly. In order for beauty: Spitfire Mk24, Mosquito, ME109, P51 Mustang, FW190, P38 Lightning, B25 Mitchel, and B17 Fortress. Today, the best looking plane is the A10 Thunderbolt. Airplane almost have to look good to work well. I enjoyed your video and enjoy your channel; thank you.
An example of early composite construction that is common place today.
One of my favorite war stories about the de Havilland Mosquito was a reconnaissance version encountered a ME 262 German Jet fighter. The pilot of the de Havilland was able to outmaneuver the German jet and escape. During the encounter the ME 262 would have been shot down had the de Havilland been equipped with guns and not cameras when the jet crossed directly in front of the de Havilland. The Mosquito was definitely one of my favorite WW2 planes!
First Combat by a Jet Aircraft on the afternoon of 25th July 1944. The Mosquito on one of the six attempted passes by the Me-262 did get into a turning evasion which resulted in the Mosquito being behind the Jet . However the Mosquito was very lucky to avoid being shot down.
@@richardvernon317 That is the story!
THE outstanding aircraft of WW2, and I'll have no argument!!
Great show and info. Impressive firepower, great for strafing.
Excellent job, well done.
I recommend looking into the story about the man who found the construction blueprints for the Mosquito a number of years ago, thus enabling restoration facilities around the world to completely repair and rebuild these beauties. It was a lucky find worth sharing.
My grandad was a very skilled carpenter/joiner, he built these, my dad told me about a funny story when him and my gramps went to the DeHavilland museum and my gramps told a restorer he used to build them and the guy wouldnt leave him alone following my gramps around saying things like "please you could teach us so much" but my gramps just wanted to have a day out at the museum, in the end he had to "promise " he would come back one day and share his secrets to pacify the very passionate restorer. I do remember him saying they all use "yankee" screwdrivers and obviously flat head screws in those days and if you slipped and scratched the wood even slightly it would have to be replaced since it had to be perfectly smooth to accept the material covering which they then painted on some sort of pitch i think he called it, any splinter could pierce the material if left
don't you love it when a compromise made for economies / material availability like choosing a wood airframe, end up being a significant advantage later down the line?
I do, I sure do.
that radar cross-section reduction must have been a revelation!
It was NOT a compromise. De Haviland were experts at building fast wooden airframes (e.g. the DH88 Comet) and they considered it the way to go for a high speed, high altitude unarmed bomber. The powers that be took some persuading and insisted he built alternative versions.
How did you not mention the Tsetse or the raid on Amiens prison?
Such a fantastic and versatile aircraft. I was lucky enough to live near Ardmore aerodrome in Auckland where KA114 was restored, I would often visit the hanger where they were happy to let enthusiasts get up close and take photos when they weren't actually working on it. I was also lucky enough to visit Glynn Powell's workshop near by in Drury where he built the fuselage and wings.
I was there for her maiden flight in Sep 2012, the sight and sound of of this glorious machine was truly something else.
The raid on Amiens prison is the flight I was thinking of when I saw this. I don't know much about planes, let alone military planes, but somehow ended up on a youtube video talking about the Mosquito. They even had a CGI "flyover" of what the pilots would've seen and not only the reflexes needed, but the grit from the aircraft too! The photos of afterwards as well just cemented how skilled the pilots were and how great the planes were. Very impressive, and what settled in my mind a fascination for this very plane.
I attend the dog shows at Ardmore NZKC grounds and will sometimes see the planes fly overhead. There also has been a few occasions on SH1 too, near Sanson, where I can catch a glimpse of some planes. Would love to see a Mosquito up close though
or the operation Carthage where they bombed a shool by mistake, i know its was war and shit happens during a fight, but its worth a mention
@@maciej9280
Despite the horrible situation with the French school, they succeeded with their mission: Allowing the imprisoned resistance fighters to escape and destroying Gestapos' archives on the resistance movement.
That was a great one, cheers
My grandad was an airframe fitter making these. He was a skilled carpenter and as gentle as a lamb so would of been little use behind bayonet. He taught me hand tool woodworking and I'm a woodwork hobbiest that refuses to use power tools. Good egg my grandad.
My grandfather had too low of a blood pressure number to join the US Army Air Corps (I'm assuming they were afraid of people passing out due to g-forces) but instead of giving up, he went up to Canada all the way from TN and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, flew both the mosquito and beau fighter. Flew over 80 missions, most of them with the version that had the multiple machine guns on it, over north Africa and Italy primarily. Never came back with a single round of ammo. He would find the Nazi bastards moving at night time whenever he could and rain absolute hell upon them, essentially diving straight at them and pulling up at the last minute to avoid crashing into the ground, which is much easier said than done at night time. I'm sure your depth perception is seriously impaired in that circumstance. Most of his night fighter friends didn't make it back. It was hard navigating in those days at night, and most of the cities would black out their windows so you would not be able to use city lights as a reference point. I imagine with that many machine guns you could blanket an area the size of a football field with a couple bullets per square meter in a single dive pass. Absolutely chews up soldiers on the ground, and I know that it really bothered him not knowing how many men he killed... probably hundreds at least... He talked about seeing the lava flows at night time when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 1944, and other interesting stories.. some were too painful to tell out loud.
Brilliant plane,.totally underrated but bad ass.
Maybe you need to do a video on the De Havilland Vampire, the last high performance military aircraft made from wood.
It's also a jet aircraft...
We had one based at the airfield I used to work at, I had the honour of refuelling it and for helping it navigate a very soft unsealed surface when it had to be moved through our construction / upgrade work zone.
It's rather quite heavy with very small wheels and likes to sink in soft surfaces, so we had to lay plyboard under the wheels as it was towed.
Very cool aircraft with a very unique sound.
A correction Simon, the B.XVI did not have any guns.
The B.XVI maximum bomb load was 1 x 4000lb and 2 x 500lb under the wings for a total of 5000lb. Usually wing bombs weren't carried, the space normally being used for drop tanks to extend the range.
None of the bomber or PR variants had guns.
The cannons took up half the bomb bay, so only 2 500lb bombs could be carried in the bay, rather than the normal 4.
Fighter bombers had the 4 x 20mm and 4 x 0.303" guns. Night fighters, except for the first model, only had 4 x 20mm cannon, as the radar took up the space in the nose.
The prototype, W4050, was fitted with a mock turret behind the cockpit. The mock turret had a number of mounting holes where mock guns could be fitted to simulate the turret being in different positions.
There was also a turret fighter prototype built, with a fully functional turret. It was flight tested a few times, but was abandoned because the performance loss was too great.
Another difference between bomber/PR variants and fighter/fighter-bomber variants was the windscreen and control stick.
The bomber/PR variants had the vee-type windscreen, while the fighter/fighter-bomber variants had a flat windscreen. The flat windscreen was draggier and cost a few mph of speed.
The bomber/PR types had a yoke type control column, while the fighters and fighter-bombers had a fighter style control stick.
Brilliant video, superbly presented
I bet there would be a lot of targets of opportunity in a conflict like World War II - fuel dumps, ammo dumps, maintenance centers, trains, and so on. They'd be targets that might not call for heavy bombers, but they would still hurt to lose. I love the mosquito. Its ingenuity and performance made a real factor in the war.
Trains were often a choice target for mosquito crews once their initial mission objectives had been achieved
The DH98 Mosquito is a truly amazing and remarkable aircraft, it's construction techniques have been acknowledged as being of a 'composite construction, way ahead of it's time, a work of genius and persistence from 'people who knew exactly what they were doing' and just stuck to it.
That was critical in allowing a whole different workforce to be used, so those 'carpentry skills' were used to produce 'Britain's fastest and deadliest piece of furniture', and most probably the world first MRCA!
Came here from the P-61 video.
The P-61 is very cool. Amazed that it had the numbers to exceed the Mosquito performance. Very successful in its one role. Wild-looking machine, but it's basically an armed and armoured boxcar with wings and engines. Whilst the Mosquito graces the sky, the P-61 just kinda bulldozes it out of the way.
Mosquito wins for me on versatility, endurance, derring-do... and looks. P-61 would get it good, but the DH.98 is the one you marry. Plus 10 times as many built (by joiners, mostly), so 10 times more legendary actions involving this airframe. Forget not the genius in selecting and developing a lightweight design, Light as a feather but strong enough to cart a greater tonnage of bombs than the heavies could carry further, and faster, with a lower radar signature. .Genius realisation on the part of GDH, the principle of which is still in ply today. Built from the carbon fibre of its day, and also way better streamlined than the P-61. Those radial engines were phenomenal powerplants, tho... 🤔
The P-61 was the first aircraft designed solely for night fighter duties. But it didn't have nearly the performance figures of the contemporary Mosquito.
Thank you for this video, and the fun chapter names!
ive been around the world at many air parks or museums I always love seeing the Wooden Wonder in person and I am lucky enough to have been around the flying ones. The make a great sound passing over at full throttle.
The Mosquito could do almost any job that got thrown at it. Such a beautiful aircraft, my second favourite Second World War aircraft (top is still the Lancaster, but I'm a bit biased).
I've always had a soft spot for the Mosquito, growing up I had a comic book (I think it was Battle) where the hero flew a Mosquito which was painted red (which probably wouldn't have made any sense)
The Hawker Typhoon was eventually an excellent aircraft but suffered considerable fatigue cracking around the tail. Mosquito with its wood composite construction never had fatigue problems. It was also far more resistant to battle damage.
Rubbish at least 30 Mosquitos broke up in mid air due to structural Failure during air tests over their own airfields. Lord knowns how many broke up trying to evade German Fighters.
Here’s a fun fact- here in Canada, we’re STILL using our deHavilland beaver planes, mostly for bush planes. And the last of them were manufactured in 1967!
Nothing like a well maintained canadian beaver….
Very good. Thanks Simon.
Ok Simon the 1 million pound question
How many RUclips channels do you have, I keep subscribing, but no matter how hard I search there's always more. Not dissing you, I love all your art ( yes you create art, your words) but when can I get a point in time to say' first and please please please never stop '♥️
One all-time badass bug!
It's still one of the most beautiful aircraft that ever flew.
Again, your presentation is first rate.
The Mosquito was a very deadly and accomplished Nightfighter.
A small production run of Mosquito featured a 6 lbr Antitank cannon installed in the nose to take out U-boats.
Geoffrey DeHavilland had a rather famous cousin,
Screen actress Olivia DeHavilland.
The best fighter of the war
Story went that when they fired the cannon all the gauges went back momentarily to zero because of the recoil
@@johnmcnatty1710 There was a sort of a fad about really REALLY BIG guns on lightweight and little planes... through the end of WWII and well into the Cold War after.
If you haven't yet, you might enjoy some research on the Russian "Recoilless Madness". ;o)
Small sidenote: the Mossie equipped with a 6-pounder were called the Tsetse.
@@phunkeehone True. I must admit I forgot about her
“In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops. After the war is over I’m going to buy a British radio set - then at least I’ll own something that has always worked.”
- Hermann Göring, 1943
For all the (justified) glory that Hurricanes and Spitfires and Bf109s and FW190s get, the Mosquito is still my favourite WW2 war bird.
Yeah, that's about how I see it too, though I think the Hurricane gets short changed.
Awesome aeroplane. One of the best
I have not seen a biographics in ages
another advantage to the mosquito was its decentralized construction-furniture and piano builders were sub contracted for various parts and then assembled so that there was no one factory to bomb
Saw the Mosquito the first time in a Biggles Comic. Been fascinated by the plane forever since.
There are so many videos i watch of Simon's that i think "wow this topic seems familiar," just to remember a previous video Simon did either on a different channel about the topic or it was briefly mentioned. I go from feeling like a big brain to feeling like a slightly less big brain lol
One of the best aircraft ever built. Goering went apoplectic when we upgraded the mossie
I just met a few guys who are building a Mosquito from a TDP they got from the Smithsonian. I hope they get it flying.
The military unit in the 1964 film 633 Squadron is equipped with de Havilland Mosquitos. The film makes use of genuine, airworthy aircraft, rather than models, for many of the scenes.
Mosquitos also plays the title role of the 1969 Mosquito Squadron, starring David McCallum and Charles Gray.
Vale David McCallum.
What a fantastic airplane they were 😍😍
This was my favourite plane in the PC game I used to play called air conflicts
I'm related to Wilfrid Freeman, very proud.
My Second favorite airplane!
An interesting rare variation was as a passenger aircraft. The bomb bay was converted to hold a passenger, maybe two. Not sure, but maybe Churchill was a passenger going somewhere on the odd occasion.
I believe that those variants were for diplomatic staff operating out of neutral Sweden (apparently the Stockholm Express, operated by the forerunner of BOAC ... to prevent them attracting the attention of the Luftwaffe)
The 'passenger' was bundled horizontally into a converted bomb-bay, with only a flask of coffee to keep them warm. It was used to move 'special' personnel to and from Sweden, on the same route 'civilian' Mossies hauled Swedish ball-bearings to Britain. A dangerous and uncomfortable way to travel.
@@russellfitzpatrick503 Just read up about it - the atomic scientist Nils Bohr was taken from Sweden to Britain in a Mossie as a passenger, on his way to USA to work on the Manhattan nuclear bomb project.
one of my all-time favorite planes..
Favorite WW2 aircraft. Thanks.
i cant tell how much i adore this plane just hell of awesome and one of my favorite british planes right after the mk1 spitfire
I've got one of these as an airfix kit and it's awesome.
My 6 favorite aircraft of WW2 in order, Mosquito, Spitfire, FW 190 and believe it or not, the P-39 and the Me-262, finally the, F4U Corsair.
Great video. The Fat Electrician also has a really great video about the Mossie too...
My fave aircraft, thankyou for making this
Love the Moz.
Pound for pound I consider the Mosquito to be the best plane of WW2.
Star Fleet will still be using and upgrading these in the 24th and 25th Centuries.
My grandpa flew it in WW2. Had seven or eight woden and metal models of it at home
You overlooked the ground attack model that mounted a fast firing artillery cannon in the nose. It was called the Tsetse by its pilots and ground crews.
There were only a small number of that type built. In overall terms, its contribution was far less than that of either the bomber or fighter-bomber versions. It gets a lot of attention but there weren't very many of them.
@@thethirdman225 agreed, but the morale impact of that model being around will definitely give one pause. You might get lucky and dodge 303 or 50 caliber or even on a good day, 20mm. But artillery cannon rounds have always been addressed to "all y'all over there"
@@kelleymcmahan6457 I don’t even know what that means.
A rocket-firing Mosquito, with its four 20mm cannon and four .303 machine guns, was capable of cutting a cruiser in half. Way more than enough to dispatch a submarine.
The 6 pounder wasn’t needed.
Simon should do something, somewhere, about the Avro Arrow.
One of the greatest planes ever built. Thank you Simon, been waiting for this plane for ages
To clarify, wood was hard to get and not in common use by WWII, so the materials supply was an issue and had to come from Canada. The Mosquito was not more agile than a ME-109 or any variant nor the FW-190. It tended to be a bit faster and even if not as fast, almost impossible to catch as it was close if not a bit better and a bit of a dive would add more speed. Great aircraft with the one weakness of not having counter rotating engines per the P-38 (with its superior Allison) and nasty at takeoff and landing speeds for control if an engine quit. If the UK had built nothing but Mosquito and did pinpoint targets, it would have accomplished far more than the Lancaster carpet area bombing.
That comment has some important facts and some total mis-understandings. All Mosquito production was limited by one type of Wood. Balsa!!! Everybody who built the aircraft had to import it and shortage at Source was a major issue until 1943 (U-boats didn't help in the case of the British either). The Plantations in Ecuador couldn't support anything close to what was actually used and the British had to go looking around the Jungles for the stuff. They got lucky and found an Island that was covered in the stuff, got a saw mill and processing plant set up and that ensured enough of the stuff was available.
The Aircraft couldn't out turn any single engine fighter and by 1944 the weight of the Bomber versions had increased from a maximum of 16-17,000lb to 24-25000lb. It couldn't outrun a FW-190 unless it picked the aircraft up early and could dive. All long range largeish day raids from 1944 required a Fighter Escort of Typhoons or Mustangs
The aircraft was not easy to fly in bad weather or at night and anything more that 1000lbs of bombs put the aircraft out of pitch trim limits which meant that the pilot had to fly the aircraft hands on until he had released the weapons.
It took de Havilland a year to safely get the aircraft to be able to carry a 4000lb bomb (by stuffing a load of ballast in the nose).
The aircraft had no auto pilot and navigation systems available to the Navigator were a fraction of what was fitted to the heavy bombers. Also the Navigator had to do the tasks of Navigation, Bomb Aiming, Radio Operator and a bit of flight engineering (Fuel transfer controls were behind the pilot). Both crew had to work at 100% from starting the engines to switching them off at the end of the mission. Missions to Berlin that lasted 4 hours resulted in crews being total exhausted. The Cockpit was also very cramped and Ergonomics were actually very lacking.
The Aircraft was not capable of doing pinpoint bombing in the places that mattered!! The Reason is a Mosquito is just as inaccurate as a Heavy bomber at medium altitude and worst at High Altitude (The Mark XIV bomb sight didn't work above 25,000 feet so had to be modified for the mosquito). All of the pinpoint raids done by the aircraft were done against lightly defended targets and routes were flown to avoid flak. Mosquitos couldn't out run flak shells and the important targets in German were very heavily defended by both heavy and light flak. Also OBOE and G-H had an accuracy of 100 to 150 yards at the point of bomb release (at 18000 to 30000 feet). The bombing systems took no account of wind direction or speed and in the case of the OBOE aircraft, all of the electronics were in the nose, so visual bomb aiming could not be used. Thus the mean miss distance for OBOE was 650 yards. Good for area bombing only. The famed Mosquito dive bombing marking only worked if you could see the target by daylight or flares with no cloud or smoke and only really worked it the target was very easily identifiable.
Bomb load of the aircraft was no good for the Strategic mission. The main cause of damage to German industry were the Incendiary bombs as they did more damage to industrial plant than blast bombs did. Mosquito could only carry a 1000lb of them with drop tanks. Lancaster could carry 5 or 10 times that, plus a Cookie and dump all of it in one place!!! To do that with mosquitos would need a squadron of the things (24 pilots and navigators) and the bombing would be very scattered. Most of the bombing done by the Mosquitos was flying at 25,000 feet plus lobbing bombs in the general direction of German towns just to set off the Air raid alarms.
spot the yanks! two years late as usual!
They were fantastic! One of my top 5 warcrafts, just behind the P38 Lightning.
Video on the Spruce Goose next?
Our grandfathers and their toys were bad ass.
I think one model was equipped with a cannon.... I don't recall the bore, but it was an effective U-boat destroyer.
The Tsetse
Rockets were at least as effective.
1927 Lockheed Vega The fuselage was built from sheets of plywood, skinned over wooden ribs. Using a large concrete mold, a single half of the fuselage shell was laminated in sections with glue between each layer and then a rubber bladder was lowered into the mold and inflated with air to compress the lamination into shape against the inside of the mold.
I have been to the museum here in the UK, lovely little spot and great aircraft :)
I think I know the one it's great
Which museum? Please?
I have seen the Paul Allen Museum's (Everett, Wa) fly, and sat at the controls of the one in storage at the Canadian National Aircraft Museum.