The deHavilland Mosquito: The First Multi-Role Combat Aircraft | Military Aviation Museum
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- čas přidán 13. 08. 2020
- Nicknamed the Wooden Wonder, the Mosquito, built primarily out of wood, was among the fastest aircraft in the world when it was introduced in 1941, capable of reaching speeds over 400 mph while carrying up to 4,000 lbs of bombs.
The Museum’s Mosquito was the only flying example of its type in the world when it was restored in 2012. KA114 is an early FB Mk 26 built at the de Havilland Canada factory in Downsview, outside of Toronto. Built late in the war, the airplane did not see combat service, but survived as a surplus asset until it was disposed of in 1948. Following its disposal the aircraft would spend the next 30 years in a farm field near Milo, Alberta.
In 1978 the aircraft was obtained by Ed Zalesky for the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation. The remains of the aircraft entered the Military Aviation Museum collection in 2004, when it was transferred to the team at Avspecs in New Zealand for completion of the restoration. The aircraft took its first flight post-restoration on September 27, 2012, with her first flight in the United States the following April.
Almost 7,800 Mosquitos were built around the world and the aircraft filled a variety of roles from fighter-bomber, bomber, night fighter and maritime strike to photo reconnaissance. The FB Mk 26 variant was a purpose built strike aircraft that was heavily armed, with 4x 20mm Hispano cannons and 4x .303 Browning machine guns mounted in the nose.
The deHavilland Mosquito: The First Multi-Role Combat Aircraft
Guest Speaker: Ross Sharp
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I think the title of first multi-role combat aircraft should go to the Bristol Beaufighter.
Even the Bristol F.2 Fighter could probably lay some claim to that too.
The first multirole combat aircraft was the Bristol F2b fighter from World War One.
It served as a fighter, light bomber, reconnaissance, and close ground support/ground attack.
It predated the Mosquito by at least 23 years.
The Junkers Ju 88 was a far more versatile combat aircraft than the Mosquito ever dreamed of being.
I have read hundreds of books on military aviation - but learned so much listening to this superb talk. thank you Ross
My Grandfather and his father were involved in building a Mosquito and my Granddad acted as mechanic/navigator to fly it to Africa.
Great grandad was a cabinet maker/furniture maker and helped with the airframe. His son - my grandad - went to Africa as a mechanic to keep the airframe intact and the Merlin's running.
I've always loved these aircraft. They are the greatest aircraft of WWII bar none.
Fascinating stuff! I enjoyed this enormously. Thanks.
Great watch, thank you.
I've joined, hope to have a Mosquito day at Lincolnshire Aviation Museum this year 👍
thank you well done
I got to go out on the tarmac of Logan airport when I was 14 I think it was 1974. I think. one of only two mosquitoes flying at the time we're at the airport and I got to go out there and touch it and walk around it, look inside the whole thing. it was pretty awesome and it also had bullet holes in the rudder that were patched. There might have been other bullet holes patched on it but I only remember the ones on the rudder it's been a long time.😎
--- James Finlay below. First Multi-Role Combat Aircraft? The P-38 was conceived as a fighter and designed as such with Lockheed not having other roles for it in mind at the time.
The DH98 Mosquito was designed on the drawing board as a multi-role aircraft at the onset. As a bomber/recce aircraft certainly, as it was this element that finally received funding for a prototype but de havilland designed the structure at the nose with space and strength to take 4 machine guns and 4 cannon. He just didn’t labour this point with the Air Ministry! At the time, Britain was being night bombed and a night fighter role was there waiting and he realised that.
It was never intended to out dogfight the Me109 and Fw190 but had the speed to bounce them and lay down it’s wrath upon them as and when.
In the European theatre and in it’s main role as a fighter, the P-38 Lightning was never top dog. Me109 and Fw190 pilots soon realised they could out dive it, a basic escape route. Tailplane flutter at the limits was the problem and the reason the RAF cancelled their 667 plane order, eagerly taken up by US forces right after Pearl Harbour, which sidestepped a proposed court action from Lockheed.
In the Pacific theatre the aircraft came good against the Japanese in the mainly lower altitude combat conditions but over Europe at high altitude, the Allison engines weren’t up to it and the P-38s were withdrawn from Europe in 1944.
In Summer 1942, Col Elliott Roosevelt, the Presidents son, arrived in England with two squadrons of P-38 P5,’s Photo Recce, to work up alongside RAF Photo Recce units prior to Operation Torch in N Africa and was given use of a Mosquito for evaluation. The different capabilities of the two aircraft led him to petition General Arnold to re-equip with the Mosquito but the M.I.C. dollar spoke and Arnold directed him to look Stateside and eventual controversy over the Hughes D-2. Nevertheless, returning to Europe after Torch, Roosevelts 325th Photo Wing WAS equiped with two squadrons, 653rd and 654th, with Canadian built Mosquitos which gave stirling work for the B-17’s and B-24’s in the Eighth. These two units flew over 3200 missions and remained active right to the end of the war in Europe.
The P-38, in all it’s roles, was despatched from Europe to the Pacific in 1944.
Back to the main point. Which was First in Multi Role?
As a Fighter : P-38 in May 1942 in the Aleutians. Not much combat here.
DH98 Mosquito from Jan 1942 against German bombers and Me110’s randomly when returning from raids. A first for the Mossie.
As a Bomber : P-38 from Feb 42 using external bomb racks.....DH98 from Nov 41 dropping 4x1000 Lbs from it’s bomb bay. A first for the Mossie.
As a Photo Recce : P-38 in April 42 by the 8th Photo Sqdn in Australia.....DH98 from Sept 41. A first for the Mossie.
As a Night Fighter : P-38M April 45.... DH98 from April 42. A big first for the Mossie.
As a Pathfinder : P-38 from April 44.... DH98 from Jan 43. A first for the Mossie.
All in all, the Mosquito WAS the First Multi-Role Combat aircraft.
Top Speeds : P38J - 414mph in 1944…. DH98 - 433mph in June 1941 fitted with Merlin 61’s and for 21/2 years remained the worlds fastest aircraft in service until the advent of the jets.
Mosquito FB. Mk VI 2,305 built. Fighter bomber/intruder variant using Merlin 22, 23 or 25. 4 (Browning) machine guns and 4 (Hispano) cannons, plus 2 x 250 lb bombs carried internally & underwing carriage of up to 2 x 500 lb bombs. Could be fitted with underwing rocket projectiles or drop tanks instead of external bomb carriage.
BAE Mosquito page
The DH98 Mosquito was not even the first British multi-role aircraft. The Bristol Beaufighter, first flight on 17 July 1939 is ahead of it.
@@jamesfinlay8180 Your earlier comment about the P38 being the first MRCA. That makes it even further behind these two Brit aircraft then. The Beaufighter saw first RAF service in July 1940 and was good in ground attack. With no bomb bay, as with the P38 it never had the out and out bomber role though.
@@peebeedee6757 The P-38 first flew in January 1939, it's first of these aircraft. As for the bombers, the quote "DH98 from Nov 41 dropping 4x1000 Lbs from it’s bomb bay" is plain wrong. B Mk IV, Series 1 is 1,000 lbs. Series 2 is 2,000 lbs. Not until April 43 did the Mossie carry 4,000 lbs internal, with 5,000 lbs total possible. Out and Out bomber role, the P-38J Droop Snoot acted as pathfinder/bomb wing leader for a bomb group of P-38's. The Droop Snoot design was very similar to the DH Mosquito B Mk IV design, the armament in the front nose was removed and a plexiglass navigator/bomb aimer position with navigation equipment and a Norden bomb sight was fitted.
@@jamesfinlay8180 Granted. I had it wrong on early Mossie bombloads and the later 4000lb was a single 'Cookie' carried on aircraft with modified bomb doors.
On the "Mossies" flew polish pilots of 305-th Polish Bomber Squadron. A commander of squadron from August 1944 to January 1945 - was famous polish aviator, wing commander Bolesław Orliński VM DFC . He flew 49 operational sorties, mainly at night.
PS - It was a real treat - for every aviation lover! Thanks a lot!
Great respect to all those Polish aircrew that flew against the enemy with skill and courage. Will always be remembered in the UK.
@@peterd8525 Thank You for Rememberance, Dear Friend!
Thank you for producing this video. My father HOWARD KEITH GROVER was the radioman / radar operator & photographer on a PR version of the Mossie. He was RCAF / RAF. I am still attempting to find his records. However the CN GOVT. is not very helpful with WWII records. If you have any suggestions on how to obtain these records, I would sincerely appreciate it.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands are in the Indian Ocean.
"On the night of 18th/19th August, 1944, twenty-one Mosquitos attacked Berlin, seven Cologne, two Wanne Eickel and five the airfields at Florennes. By then Mosquitos of eleven squadrons had been used for diversionary attacks on a small but gradually increasing scale since the first thousand-bomber raid on Cologne on 30th/31st May, 1942. From the spring of 1943 until the end of the war 'harassing' raids as they were originally termed were to prove a constant and, from the point of view of the enemy, a most irritating and unpleasant feature of the bomber offensive. Night after night the Mosquitos were over Germany, flying at between 30,000 and 40,000 feet to inflict damage out of all proportion to the weight of bombs they dropped. They were at once of great value as a nuisance, for they caused the sirens to wail and tired workers to spend yet another night in fetid, if bombproof, bunkers, and they created a diversion, thus drawing the enemy fighters away from the main bomber stream."
Hyperwar Royal Air Force 1939-1945 Chapter XII Oil and the Climax
A well above average presentation by a person who knows the aircraft. This is vastly different in quality from most "expert" ramblings that seem to be clogging up many of these sights now, some are plain embarrassing. My hackles popped up straight away at the title. I have always felt the Bristol F2 Bristol Fighter was deserving of that accolade. In a service life spanning 15 years or so, there were few roles it did not serve in. Perhaps we should declare a tie. It is a really good presentation, thank you.
awesome stuff.so good.as for guess what this is @53.00 or its the frame for a bf109
First multirole combat aircraft was surely the Great War Bristol F2 Fighter
I am very curious regarding how the Mosquito and the Beaufighter supplemented each other.
Furniture Maker Styles & Mealing
of Ogilvie Road, High Wycombe
Wasn't E Gomme & co the manufacturers of G-Plan furniture in the 60s and 70s?
You suggest in the video that the Mosquito was employed as a "Naval Strike Aircraft". That would suggest it was operated by the FAA off carriers. It wasn't. It was however operated by RAF Coastal Command, as a strike aircraft. Is that what you were referring to?
The Mosquito had squadrons employed in the Naval Strike role. I have no idea what/who the FAA is. It did land and take off from an Aircraft Carrier for trials.
@@benwilson6145 Speaking to the late Captain Eric Brown, who was the pilot for the trials, on approach to the carrier he was flying some 15-20 knots below the official stalling speed and if either engine had so much as coughed the aircraft would have inverted and gone into the water.
It was used by Coastal Command in hunting U boats. In fact on some models the 6 pound anti tank artillery piece was mounted on the Mossie. It was also tried on the Bristol Beaufighter.
@@arniewilliamson1767 Well, yes, some Coastal Command Mosquitos were used to hunt U Boats but that was essentially a niche role. For the most part Mosquitos were used in the same role as Beaufighters; as a general-purpose anti-shipping strike aircraft.
The msoquti was a passenger plane too for British airways
It was used by the Royal Mail to carry post etc to islands, Jersey, Guernsey, outer and inner herbradies. The last Mossie that we had in the UK, which crashed at an airshow in the nineties was at the time still owned by the post office!!
It was also an RAAF plane masquerading as a civilian plane to allow it into Sweden. It was known as the Stockholm Express. It's main job was to get high quality ball bearing in exchange for gold. Besides assisting British industries, it also deprived Germany of the ball bearings.
The Stockholm Express was also used to ferry important passengers out of Sweden, Neils Bohr being one of them.
@@ianlowery6014 Suspect it was not the RAAF
@@benwilson6145 :-} Yes! Thank you!
Was there ever a Mossie powered by RR Griffons? Time stamp 33:49 in the video suggests such. Aircraft DK290/G. /G for Griffon?
Port engine cowling to prop spinner ?
Resembles SpitfireMKIV cowling.
XIV. Sorry mates.
PS: due to his experience in WWII onboard the Mossie, He moved onto the Chief Programmer for (TRW / CIA) spy satellites for more than 30 years.
The P-38 flew first.
Ahhh no that would be either the brit bristol F2b or the german roland.
You could argue for the sopwith camel too given they were often fitted with bomb racks for close support and interdiction work.
The mosquito first? Lol.
Just lol.
I was thinking Avro 504, myself. Used as a fighter, bomber, reconnaissance, target tug, trainer and weather and communications aircraft - and one of very very few aircraft to serve in both WW1 and WW2 (ok, it didn’t do much in WW2- put a few did put in an appearance!)
Any mention of "F" for Freddie? If not, I'm not watching.
"The First Multi-Role Combat Aircraft" just a quick look at ww2 the JU88 and PE2 was before that. Great plane tho
They should have put the first “successful” in the title :) you’re right about the other planes but the mossy wasn’t shot down in droves. If you flew the mossy during the war you were most likely to survive.
@@JDMacko23 You do know if the mossy flew on the German and Soviet side it would have also been shot down in droves right. I'm not saying it was not a excellent plane, its just that its not that simple.
@@fabriciuslan it wasn’t shot down in droves, there were 42 “marks,” or versions, of the 7,780 Mosquitos that were built, the combat loss is quoted has 193, it had the lowest loss rate of all bombers in the ETO. Indeed, with Mustangs it undertook long distance daylight raids against industry, famously has the GESTAPO HUNTERS and on January 30, 1943, famously known has the “Berlin Party gate crasher” the national day of celebration marking the 10th anniversary of Hitler’s rise to power, Göring speech was delayed by a mosquito daylight raid on Berlin’s radio station. Indeed, the records show that the Mosquito production was scheduled to increase and that they were seriously looking to dump the majority of the strategic force for Mosquitoes. It carries the same has a fortress twice has fast with less crew just need a few Lancaster’s and Superfortress’s to carry the heavy stuff. Interestingly the mosquito had been cleared for carrier deck landing ready for Tiger Force ready for the land invasion of Japan.
@@fabriciuslan rubbish, late in the war, the US 8th air force equipped with mosquitoes for recon, they decided that they needed to be escorted with P51 D's, trouble is the P51 couldn't keep up with it
@@jukeseyable But not the case with the fighter bomber version, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Carthage
Lockheed P-38 is the first Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. The P-38 first flew in January 1939, the Mosquito first took to the skies in November 1940.
Lockheed P-38 was never used or designed to be a bomber as the DH Mosquito was, and it never did the number of roles the Mosquito did, So no it was no real a multi-role aircraft,
@@daniellastuart3145 Everything you have written about the Lockheed P-38 is wrong.
The P-38 was used in level bombing attacks and a specific level bombing design the P-38J Droop Snoot was produced.
The P-38J Droop Snoot acted as pathfinder/bomb wing leader for a bomb group of P-38's. The Droop Snoot design was very similar to the DH Mosquito B Mk IV design,
the armament in the front nose was removed and a plexiglass navigator/bomb aimer position with navigation equipment and a Norden bomb sight was fitted.
A simple "Google" search will provide many pictures of the design, Revell (and others) even make a model of the design.
The roles the Lockheed P-38 carried out included, bomber, ground attack, anti shipping, fighter bomber, fighter, long range bomber escort, night fighter, photo recon,
high speed medical evac. So yes the Lockheed P-38 was a true Multi-Role combat aircraft.
@@jamesfinlay8180 your quite wrong actually, p38,s never carried torpedos nor did they have a large anti tank gun in there nose nor did they fly round Germany with impunity nor could they carry anything internally only externally, nor could they engage in a dog fight nor take evasive action when attacked because of the fact they were as aerodynamic as a barn!! Nor could the hit anything like top speed carying drop tanks or bombs nor could the pull out of a dive!! They were also three times the price of a Mossie on lend lease and also unreliable.
So multi role but not as multi role as the Mossie.
@@jacksonhudd3681 GIRLS ! GIRLS ! enough !!
@@jamesfinlay8180 P 38 was worse than USELESS before the L variant entered service in late 1943 after 4 years of fucks up
P-38, 4,000 pound bomb load, long range, a better fighter than the mosquito, and faster. Couldn't carry escaping nuclear physicists in an internal bomb bay mind you, but that is quibbling. 2,600 mile ferry range. Just saying. I think the mosquito the most aesthetically pleasing plane of the war. Even over the spit.
Unfortunately, although capable, the P38's operational utility was limited by it's single crew position. This put way too much load on the pilot to allow the aircraft to be truly effective as a multi-role aircraft. Certainly a better fighter but then, the Mosquito was never designed to fulfil that role, whereas the P38 was. And of course, as fighters go, the P38, although quite good for a twin, was never going to be as good in a fight as some of it's more famous stablemates.
@@haroldgodwinson832 Pretty much my point. The skeeter was not all in a class all its own with no near peers.
Only in American propaganda, in the real world, the mosquito was a far superior war plane..
If it was so good,,how come it got withdrawn from the European theater. Of all serving WW2 types the mosquito is top when it comes to lowest loss rate, that is all types including straight fighters, when you consider that many of the mosquito missions were deep into Germany it is an incredible stat
Would you by chance be MURI CAN !! . The P 38 was a dog until they made the L variant in 1943 . Useless in the European War , Mach limit in a dive Mach 0.68 ..PATHETIC P 38 was NEVER a patch on the Mossie !!!