Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Sunday, March 26
    Trending
    • This Day in History on March 26th
    • This Day in History on March 25th
    • This Day in History on March 24th
    • History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?
    • This Day in History on March 23rd
    • R.I.P. Lance Reddick (1962-2023)
    • This Day in History on March 22nd
    • This Day in History on March 21st
    History and Headlines
    • Arts & Entertainment
      • Cinema & TV
      • Games
      • Literature
      • Music
      • Sports
      • Video Games
    • Bizarre Bulletin
      • Misconceptions
      • The Bizarre
      • The Paranormal
      • The Unexplained
    • Lifestyle
      • Animals/Pets
      • Fashion
      • Food
      • Health/Medicine
      • Home Improvement
      • Horoscopes
      • Travel
    • Science & Tech
      • Inventions
      • Nature
      • Vehicles
    • Society
      • Business and Economics
      • Crime
      • Military
      • Politics
      • Religion
      • Society
    • About
      • Welcome to Our Site!
      • This Day in History
      • Table of Contents: A History of the World
      • Online History Textbooks
      • A Guide to Some of Our Favorite Scholars and Educators
      • Advance Screenings and Movie Reviews Archive
      • Schedule of Video Adaptations of Our Articles
    • Friends
      • Armchair History TV
      • Fact Fiend
      • RealClearHistory
      • Simply Charly
      • TopTenz
      • ​Unique Interpretations
    History and Headlines
    You are at:Home»March»March 15»The de Havilland Mosquito: Britain’s Super-Plane of WW2
    March 15

    The de Havilland Mosquito: Britain’s Super-Plane of WW2

    Major DanBy Major DanMarch 15, 2015Updated:February 24, 20204 Comments4 Mins Read
    Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Tumblr Twitter VKontakte WhatsApp

    A Brief History

    On March 15, 1939, German ambitions and lies combined with lack of British resolve pushed Europe to the brink of war when Germany occupied what was left of Czechoslovakia.  After this duplicitous move, Britain and France could no longer stand by and allow Germany to encroach on any more territory.  Whereas Germany had been ominously building up its armed forces, Britain and France had done nothing, but now they were forced to scramble to design and build appropriate arms for the coming conflict.

    Digging Deeper

    Events unfolded too fast for France to develop any wonder weapons to rank among the best of the war, but the British aircraft industry was well on its way to supplying the Royal Air Force (RAF) with Hurricanes and Spitfires to fight off the Luftwaffe and would soon finish development of the mighty Lancaster and Halifax bombers to take the war to Germany.  The titanic struggle that was World War II demanded of the best and brightest engineers that they create weapons that could be assembled easily and cheaply with available materials and yet capable of defeating the enemy.  This was quite a task.

    British airplane designers at the de Haviland company were given the assignment of coming up with a twin-engine, high-speed light bomber that could outfly German fighters, thus needing no escort or even defensive armament.  Their solution was the Mosquito, one of the greatest and most versatile aircraft of World War II, first flown in 1940 and fielded in 1941.

    Constructed of wood because supplies of aluminum and other metals were tight, the Mosquito was also equipped with the wonderful Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the same motors that powered the Spitfire, Hurricane and Mustang (American P-51) fighters.  When fitted as a bomber, the Mosquito could reach top speeds of 415 mph and thus was able to outrun German fighters.  When fitted as a fighter, it could reach speeds of 366 mph and was used mainly at night against German bombers.  Stripped-down versions with cameras but no guns were flown on reconnaissance missions and were the fastest planes in the sky until the Germans fielded jet aircraft.

    The bomber version could carry as much as 4,000 pounds of bombs or could be outfitted with rails to fire ground attack rockets.  Fitted with 4 x 20mm cannons and 4 x .303 caliber machine guns (one of the heaviest gun loads of any fighter WWII), the fighter version was well armed for blasting bombers or strafing.  Some versions were made with modified engines and turbochargers to allow a service ceiling altitude of at least 37,000 feet, about 8,000 feet above the standard version.  Even naval attack versions were built.

    German aviators were so impressed, mighty efforts were made in Germany to copy the Mosquito, but German scientists never developed the glues necessary to create adequate plywood and keep wooden parts together.  As far as glue and keeping things together were concerned, problems were experienced with Mosquitoes that had been sent to the Far East, where apparently the heat and moisture from monsoons caused the wood to delaminate.

    In combat, the Mosquito proved extremely effective, with analysis showing that from a cost perspective, Mosquito bombing missions were almost 5 times as effective as those conducted in Lancasters.  In other words, Mosquitoes could accomplish the same results as Lancasters at a fifth the cost.  That is what we call a “Superplane!”

    Nearly 8,000 Mosquitoes were built, including over 1,000 in Canada and over 200 in Australia.  The RAF retired their Mosquitoes in 1950, but some other countries, such as South Africa and Israel, flew them longer.  Only 2 are airworthy today.

    The next time you hear people discuss the “best” airplanes of World War II, do not be surprised if you hear many nominate the Mosquito as the best all-around plane of the war.

    Question for students (and subscribers): What is your favorite plane from World War II?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please see…

    Thirsk, Ian.  De Havilland Mosquito: An Illustrated History, Vol. 2.  Crecy Publishing, 2009.

    Share. Email Facebook LinkedIn Pinterest Reddit Telegram Twitter Tumblr
    Previous ArticleGhostly Energy Draining
    Next Article March 16, 1988: Patriot or Traitor? Oliver North Indicted for Fraud
    Major Dan

    Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

    Related Posts

    Animated Map of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine (through March 20th, 2023)

    March 20, 2023

    This Day in History on March 15th

    March 15, 2023

    History Short: Why did American Ships fly the Swedish Flag?

    March 8, 2023
    Follow Us!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Patreon
    Sign Up For Our Newsletter!
    Most Recent

    This Day in History on March 26th

    March 26, 2023

    This Day in History on March 25th

    March 25, 2023

    This Day in History on March 24th

    March 24, 2023

    History Short: Has Any US President Ever Been Arrested?

    March 24, 2023

    This Day in History on March 23rd

    March 23, 2023
    This Day in History Video

    Advertisements




    Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Statement

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases via links in the “Historical Evidence” sections of articles.

    About HistoryAndHeadlines.com

    Thanks for visiting History and Headlines!  This site exists primarily for educational purposes and is intended as a resource for Dr. Zar’s students.  Articles are mostly written by either Dr. Zar or his dad (Major Dan).  To any guest readers, please keep that in mind when commenting on articles.   Thank you!

    We try to present our students with historical topics that are both diverse and a bit out of the ordinary.  Our motto is “We try until we succeed!”

    Contact us at admin@historyandheadlines.com

    Guidelines and Policies for Images used on This Site, as well as for Guest and Sponsored Articles, and Other Terms of Use

    Privacy Statement

    © 2023 History and Headlines

    All-Time Most Commented

    July 28, 1866: 18 Year Old Girl Wins Commission to Sculpt Statue of Lincoln (A Truly Great American Woman)

    July 28, 2014

    December 24, 1865: Birth of the Ku Klux Klan

    December 24, 2015

    December 25, 1868: President Johnson Pardons all Confederate Veterans

    December 25, 2015

    February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!

    February 5, 2014

    November 23, 1876: “Boss” Tweed Turned Over to Authorities

    November 23, 2013
    Recommended Book
    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

    You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings.

    History and Headlines
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.