De Havilland Mosquito Vs. North American B-25 Mitchell-Which was Better?

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engine shoulder-winged multi-role combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War, unusual in that its frame is constructed mostly of wood. It was nicknamed The Wooden Wonder, or "Mossie". Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, nicknamed it "Freeman's Folly", alluding to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfred Freeman, who defended Geoffrey de Havilland and his design concept against orders to scrap the project. In 1941 it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world.
Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito's use evolved during the war into many roles, including low to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) as a fast transport to carry small, high-value cargoes to and from neutral countries through enemy-controlled airspace. The crew of two, pilot and navigator, sat side by side. A single passenger could ride in the aircraft's bomb bay when necessary.
The Mosquito FBVI was often flown in special raids, such as Operation Jericho - an attack on Amiens Prison in early 1944, and precision attacks against military intelligence, security and police facilities (such as Gestapo headquarters). On the 10th anniversary of the Nazis' seizure of power in 1943, a morning Mosquito attack knocked out the main Berlin broadcasting station while Hermann Göring was speaking, putting his speech off the air.
The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other air forces in the European, Mediterranean and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also operated by the RAF in the South East Asian theatre and by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) based in the Halmaheras and Borneo during the Pacific War. During the 1950s, the RAF replaced the Mosquito with the jet-powered English Electric Canberra.
The North American B-25 Mitchell is an airplane introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation.[2] Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in every theater of World War II and, after the war ended, many remained in service, operating across four decades. Produced in numerous variants, nearly 10,000 B-25s were built.These included a few limited models such as the F-10 reconnaissance aircraft and the AT-24 crew trainers;and the United States Marine Corps' PBJ-1 patrol bomber.

[@zapszapper9105]

Mosquito pisses over a Mitchel in every department. And was used in nearly every role. And it came back to fight another day.

[@allangibson8494]

The only real problem with the Mosquito was the wooden structure - warm and damp was lethal hence very few survived in the tropics for more than a couple of months.

[@trevorgale1176]

Simple question to answer. If you had to fly alone from England to Berlin in 1943 and perform pretty much any task, and getting back in one piece was a requirement. Which is the ONLY aircraft capable of performing that task. D.H.98.. And they did it daily.

[@kiwiadventures3773]

My Grandfather flew Mosquitos and trained some American pilots that went on to fly B25 Mitchell’s in North Africa. After the war he met one of them and they all said they preferred Mossies. Firepower and speed and it’s flexibility . Later they began to understand that it was more stealthy being made from wood. It did suffer in the tropics and glues were subsequently changed. They agreed that the Mitchell was good once they had air dominance. But the the fact that the mosquito used Rp3 rockets and a 6pounder (that kicked like a horse) and a massive bomb load made it an amazing plane.

[@mikedunn7795]

The 25 was very slow,so it needed guns for self defense. The mossie used it's greater speed to outrun most fighters of the era. Carried 1000 lbs more bombs too.

[@josemariluba3990]

U mean 4000 pounds on mos.

[@ericadams3428]

Mosquito a 4000lb bomb OR 4 x 500lb bombs

[@MultiCappie]

Well, according to your spec sheets (which are accurate) the Mitchell was NOT EVEN CLOSE. Like what kind of clickbait is this? Half the speed, 25% less range, 33% less bomb load, and 33% lower ceiling? Oh and about twice the cost and 80X more visible to radar. Duh! The proper comparison is the Mosquito to the P-38, and the answer is that is clearly also the Mosquito, although given that the Japanese were an easier enemy, the P38 was perfectly adequate

[@jusjetz]

As an American, that’s me, I would say the De Havilland Mosquito was an Efficient Aircraft. I turn green with envy about this aircraft.

[@davidmurphy2903]

As an Australian I must say the question is irrelevant because both were on the same side. The only relevant point is that either needed to be better than what the enemy had. In that, I think they both made a good team.

[@mattd1142]

Apples to oranges really

[@jimmelnick4534]

Pretty sure the Mosquito was a TWIN engine aircraft, not a single engine as described...

[@garytarr8216]

Total No Brainer !!! . Mosquito is streets ahead of the B 25

[@Slaktrax]

Both good aircraft. Comparisons like this aren't valid unless you like to see arguments or disagreements in your comments. The Mosquito had probably the lowest loss rate of any (light) bomber and it was useful in different roles. If anyone had to choose which aircraft they'd like to go to war with there wouldn't be much hesitation.

[@hux2000]

Mosquito: crew of 2; 415 mph top speed; 2,850 ft/min rate of climb; 37,000 ft service ceiling 4,000 lbs bomb load Mitchell: crew of 5; 275 mph top speed; 1,100 ft/min rate of climb; 24,000 service ceiling; 3,000 lbs bomb load The numbers speak for themselves.

[@williamvolkmann8658]

the data sheet is incomplete for these craft // however both serv a pourpose for a given mission

[@josemariluba3990]

The mosquito intruder is different than the b25 mitchel. But both served accuratelly in ww2.

[@jonmce1]

A question that is not answered is precision, the Mossie was famous for precision bombing. As far as I know nothing comparable. Of course, this may be in part due to its other characteristics and simply the decisions on its use but bets are you would prefer the mosse for low altitude attacks because you would want to get up and away pretty fast afterward.

[@cambium0]

I went looking for a comparison because it appears that the Mosquito could do better in just about every category and only put 2 men at risk and burn probably half the fuel doing so. What's not clear is the limitations on range, speed and altitude if the mosquito is actually carrying 4000 pounds of bombs. It could be that it's a sitting duck with even 3000 pounds of bombs while the Mitchell has multiple defensive guns and superior range with 3000 pounds of bombs. Still not sure of the answer.

[@vicecapo8767]

Why is a fighter bomber being compared to a medium bomber?

[@warrencohen4533]

Mosquito vs A26 Invader? Both are fast attack bombers

[@josephkool8411]

P38 Lighning

[@jonallen6349]

p38 vs mosquito probably fairer but i must admit to being 100 percent biased lol

[@grossherman3841]

It’s a no brained, the Mosquito flew a lot Faster with a much bigger bomb load and with a far greater ceiling than the Bowing.

[@roytelling6540]

just started watching this and the first thing I notice the specs for the Mosquitos Power Plant "1 x Rolls Royce Merlin 76 V-12 liquid cooled piston engine"????? it had two engines. and you can't compare these to aircraft! they are two very different designs

[@johnn278]

Mosquito pisses over the B25

[@Jhossack]

This must be the mr silly click bait channel

[@michaelwong4303]

The two are different category design: one a fighter bomber, the other a medium bomber. And also, right at the beginning, it is wrong: the mosquito had 2 engines, not 1. Better to compare the mosquito with the P38 Lightning. Both the Lightning and B25 have tricycle landing gear, indicating that the overall design concept is more modern

[@colinkepple7555]

In the interest of lightness (and therefore speed and altitude) and simplicity and cost, the Mossie was a tail-dragger. Where could you put a tail-wheel on a P38 anyway?

[@michaelwong4303]

@@colinkepple7555 lightness....Um....All later more modern airplanes do not use tail dragger. And there are good reasons. I am not going to discuss that in details here but in general tricycle gear is a more modern design..... PS some later jets also have twin booms and they do not use tail dragger.... Oh, also, the Lancaster/Shackleton had tail dragger but the later Shackleton had tricycle gear.

[@r.awilliams9815]

A tossup, unless the primary mission is ground support, in which case the B-25J2 is my choice.

[@MultiCappie]

Suicidal pilot: which one should I pick? Corporal: in that case, the B-25j2 is your choice.