How WW2s Best Multirole Plane Was Developed - De Havilland Mosquito

[@RexsHangar]

Thank you to Holzkern for sponsoring this video! Click my link www.holzkern.com/rex and use my code REX at checkout to save 15% on your holiday gifts site-wide for a limited time only! Q&A / Request Section - Ask your questions, or post suggestions, here :) (Yes, I know the audio quality is a bit off, using a backup microphone today until a new one arrives!)

[@SkyWriter25]

I thought the audio was fine. If you had not mentioned it I would never have caught on.

[@JokullFrosti]

I have 4 Holzkern watches already and my wife has 2 necklaces a watch, and 3 of their bracelets. I might need to get more...

[@petergordon9190]

Have you given any thought to a video on the TSR2?

[@graceshiflett6526]

Do you have any interest in general aviation? A video on the tech the different makes took from ww2 designs and brought back to general aviation planes as well as a deep dive into a couple of the more successful general aviation planes could be interesting.

[@stephenmeier4658]

Built a Mosquito model when I was a child in the 80s. Couldn't get the camouflage paint right so in a moment of inspiration I spray painted the whole thing gold. It looked like a major award 😂

[@constitutionalUSA]

How did it fly? 🤪

[@PeterNebelung]

One of my few surviving childhood models is a Monogram FB-VI, painted with the old Testors paints that came in square bottles. I built that in 71 or 72 just before I went off to college. It's hanging on my wall right now.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I got turned off military models for a long time when, as a kid, I got a B-29 with two left wings and no right wing. Or two rights and no left? It was back in the 1970's. I ended up sticking with model rocketry for a while after that.

[@stephenmeier4658]

​@@constitutionalUSA not a flying model, but I did complete a wood and tissue Corsair that barely flew years later. Rubber bands aren't much for horsepower

[@PeterNebelung]

Much the same for a Guillow's Hurricane. Rubber sucked. It would glide well off a 4th floor balcony, but under power??? Not a chance. But I did a Sterling Aronca C-3 which flew well with a Cox O.020 in it. I still have the plans, one day I'll try building another one.

[@kidmohair8151]

it doesn't matter how many things i find about the Mosquito, it never ceases to be a amazing aircraft.

[@Sacto1654]

I think what really helped de Havilland develop the Mosquito was 1) their experience building the DH.91 _Albatross_ airliner (which pioneered much of the wooden structural design that eventually went into the Mosquito) and 2) he fact the UK at the time still had a very substantial woodworking industry, so de Havilland could draw of a large cadre of workers to build the plane. The RAF brass originally called the plane "Freeman's Folly" but when the prototype proved it had a top speed beyond 400 mph they changed their minds really quick.

[@nickdubil90]

I hadn't heard of the DH. 91 before. The airframe heavily resembles the Soviet bomber/attacker Pe-2. But yes, I think the resemblence is reversed: obviously the DH. 91 was around before the Petlyakov came into existence. It is interesting how quickly it was adapted into a streamlined, world-beatingly-fast fighter in Brittain, but in the USSR the Pe-2 was never really a notable aircraft, outclassed by the IL-2. Engine technology plays a big role, in this case. The Merlin gave the plane its "punch." The Klimov M-105 was decent, but certainly nothing special.

[@keefymckeefface8330]

Not just "in UK"- was a traditional center of wooden furniture making fairly close to the de Haviland factory. It was down the road local almost. (Grandad worked forty years there, sadly died when i was 7.)

[@richardvernon317]

There were only 7 DH-91's built and its construction was nothing like the mosquito when it came to the wings. The Woodworking industy was already fully engaged in building the British 2nd line aircraft fleets required to expand the size of the RAF If it was not intended for combat, it was mostly made of wood. All of the Trainers for example.

[@johnwriter8234]

Hi from PHILLIPINES.. ( US Coast Guard vet ... hh3f helicopter crewman) .. As a kid, my FAV airplane model to build was Misquito!

[@Ratelheart]

Much love to ya Coastie! My dad was a CWO4 boatswain’s mate. Submariners may have taken “The Silent Service” but the Coast Guard never gets any shoutouts.

[@mikebaker2436]

You posted this on the anniversary of the Mosquito's prototype order. I see what you did there. 😄

[@ludwigschoen11]

Huge fan. Ex pilot. Minor misspeak. 15:23 "Constant Speed" not constant pitch.

[@wlh227]

Exactly

[@TomTurner704]

As a huge fan of structural engineering, I'd like to see a clarification in that referring to a mosquito as simply a “wooden airplane” is woefully understated. WWI aircraft were wooden aircraft with bulkheads and stringers and so forth with all members under bending moments. The mosquito is a Composite aircraft of plywood formed over a balsa wood core. The balsa wood is under compression and the formed plywood (with the wood fibers curved in the direction of stress) is under tension. It is the same structural principle which Burt Rutan used to circumnavigate the world. He updated the design by substituting synthetic foam for the balsa, and carbon fiber/synthetic resin for the plywood. It is also how surfboards are made.

[@fakshen1973]

It's a wooden aircraft. Wood is the building material. But the construction methods and techniques are much more modern than the basic carpentry work that was aircraft of the WWI era.

[@lohikarhu734]

His point is that, while it is constructed with "wood", calling it "wooden" misses the fact that it is actually an early example of composite construction, quite complex, and wonderfully strong, making use of the strong points of "wood", but in a lighter and much stronger fashion than possible with any "simple" construction of "solid wood "

[@danbenson7587]

Wood is the original composite. The microscopic cellular fibers are analogue to glass/CF and lignin is equal to epoxy. Interesting is the cells were 4 cell diameters long before the next started. This is ideal resisting compression loads. The Mosquito structural elements weren’t really new …they were known beforehand… but not in widespread use for a number of reasons. ANC-18 details wood aircraft construction and can be downloaded off the net. The mosquitoes speed was partly due to its fine surface finish, trueness (no waves in skin), leading edge radiators. We again see this in today’s composite planes. Cheers

[@TomTurner704]

@@danbenson7587 I'm also curious about the origins of that structural concept. Nonetheless Jeffrey de Havilland was a genius for how he applied it to airframe construction. From what I read balsa was first imported during WWI as a substitute for cork. In the 30s it found its way into surfboards. Perhaps the paint or other coatings served as a makeshift tensile element. But surely De Havilland was the 1st to make commercially viable sandwiched, heated and pressed structures (like today's S IP architectural panels). Wood is also very good under tension. But, unlike compressive forces, it's difficult to make strong tensile connections. ANC-18 looks like an interesting book! What does it say about the De Havilland sandwich construction, temperatures, pressures, glues...?

[@TomTurner704]

@@lohikarhu734 As a fan of structural engineering, I also find the WWI era ‘stick, wire and fabric’ structures pretty fascinating and complex. From a strength to weight ratio viewpoint I think it could compete with sheet metal airframes because they are more flexible. But from an aero viewpoint we just can't have those sticks and wires out in the windstream. Also, the wire matrix in the structure needs regular re-tentioning.

[@tomrobb9974]

Imagine , if you will, the mounting excitement in the De Haviland design team , as these first prototypes came about. They must have looked on in awe as these magnificent aircraft went from blueprint to reality, because if there ever was an example of "If It Looks Right......" this is it. A fantastic video with some astonishing photos not seen before. Thank you so much Rex !

[@savegame3308]

Not a Pound and you uploaded 30 minutes apart. It's going to be a long morning.

[@eyerollthereforeiam1709]

Same here.

[@ulysselfbvdlmt]

Same here

[@Frostbytedigital]

What does "not a pound" mean? I could ask Dr. Googs but ... engagement edit. Never-mind it's obviously a channel.

[@Doomrider47]

and Animarchy is releasing part 2 of Russian aviation that is going to be a long one too

[@savegame3308]

@@Doomrider47 Oh right yeah I saw that yesterday. This will be a good December for us.

[@sakkra93]

Hopefully, the restoration of the Mossie prototype will be completed in the near future, what a sight she will be!

[@GARDENER42]

I've been watching that on the de Havilland museum's YT channel.

[@emersonduncan56]

Ah...the mosquito.. definitely one of my favourite aircraft of all time. Another great video, thanks Rex.

[@Aircraft_Files]

Love the Mossie. A true story of "making do" that wildly surpassed expectations.

[@m.i.andersen8167]

Thank you very much for this long-awaited video! There are a lot of videos about this amazing plane, but for several years I have been waiting for the very serious and very thorough Rex certified video about the Mosquito. So it's great that it has become a serial! Looking forward to the next episodes.

[@drstevenrey]

Mosquito. One thing I need to mention. THE SOUND. Holly shite. Biblical. Mad. Fascinating. Scary, a bit. I will never ever forget the day I first heard one take off at Duxford.

[@keefymckeefface8330]

a pair of merlins in duet:) the ONLY thing that sounds better is Lancaster with 4 of them as a chorus.... :)

[@Ratelheart]

Been waiting for this one. Hoping for the P-38 and P-40 next.

[@vipertwenty249]

I'd say Holzkern got their moneys worth in that presentation!

[@LawsonsStudio]

Wood is a mixture of fibres and resin: a composite material. We should remember that when we think of the Mossie.

[@henkormel5610]

Wood isn't a composite but laminated wood is. Fokker experimented back in WW1 already with bakelite bonded ply as a wing structural material. This was on the Dr1 and D VII and later commercial aircraft.

[@LawsonsStudio]

@henkormel5610 On a microscopic level it is a composite: fibres held together with resin. That's what made the English long bow so good the right wood allows flex and strength

[@BrassLock]

​@@henkormel5610He wasn't saying *_"synthetic resin."_* Wood has a natural resin formed from the sap, just like you have blood in your capillaries.

[@WarblesOnALot]

G'day, Indeed. Cellulose Fibres, in Lignin Cement. ORGANIC Composite Material. If you can't grow a Tree big enough to cut your workpiece out of - then glue together enough Bits ; and then, when it Is Big enough, Cut away Everything which Looks Wrong. Fibreglass in Resin, & Carbon Fibres in Resin..., both are Synthetic Wood. Because Anthropomorphism Works, Prezacticacklie That way... Such is life, HVe a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@JoeyMills-y3v]

Had an uncle flew them, night fighters & intruder missions. He reckoned the most dangerous part of his missions were take offs & landings, cos it swung about so much due to the torque from the props both turning the same way. Lost a lot of planes & a few crew that way. If the engines had turned in opposite directions to each other to counter the torque it'd have had an even more impressive record.

[@TheManFrayBentos]

@ 2:10 it looks as if there's a variant with the props counter-rotating. It might be an artefact of the filming / digitisation, of course. The port prop is definitely turning top-inwards and the starboard looks like it's turning top-inwards, too. I suspect counter-rotating props were at least tried, but were perhaps too complex to make reliable in the rush for production numbers.

[@anthonyjackson280]

@@TheManFrayBentos Not so much complexity mechanically but rather logistically. Having to keep and track double sets of spare parts, propellers, engines (if made LH,RH).

[@AnonymousAlcoholic772]

Seems like a silly fix not to have incorporated. Why didn’t they?

[@JoeyMills-y3v]

@AnonymousAlcoholic772 don't know. Allison did it for the P38 by adjusting the gearbox, seems Rolls Royce didn't want to do that?

[@Planeman777]

Rolls Royce didn't want to make a seperate set of production lines for handed engines. This was somewhat prevalent during the development of the Westland Whirlwind's RR Perigrine engine. Company was too annoyed by it. @AnonymousAlcoholic772

[@Anon4859]

Design famous for speed and power, co-designed by a Clarkson. Sometimes history echos, sometimes it rhymes.

[@jackeyboy6538]

CLARKSONN!

[@danghostman2814]

HAMMOND, YOU IDIOT, YOU BACKED INTO THE SPORTS -LORRY- FIGHTER-BOMBER!

[@deividpastore4649]

As James would say, flying in c0cking speed...

[@JosephKano]

Swanky new office for the Mosquito video! Noice.

[@chesterrory]

This is one of my all-time favorites!

[@edstoro3883]

There is no way one can watch this video in one go. The indepth information is astounding!!! These vidoes should henceforth be labeled "Rexopedias". How Rex is able to include soooo much information in all his clips is, once again, fantastically outstanding. Thank you Rex.

[@richardpentelow5111]

The original prototype is at the De Havilland museum. Worth a visit.

[@luckyguy600]

been there in the late 70's.

[@flemmingaaberg4457]

Nice to see a different sponsor on KZbin - and you're right Rex - a lot of the pieces are gorgeous. Even without the 15% they are reasonably priced.

[@elodiefiorella4750]

Christmas arrived early! The Mosquito is my favorite aircraft of the whole war.

[@luckyguy600]

Sometimes the British got it just about perfect. Makes up for some of their duds. But every country had those.

[@TheIndianalain]

"Somewhat disappointing performances" when talking about the Boulton-Paul Defiant is the understatement of the year ;-) PS : I received a Holzkern watch (the Galahad) 3 years ago (for Christmas!) and I find it a beautiful, nicely crafted and durable object.

[@richardvernon317]

Defiant got the 2nd highest number of comfirmed RAF night kills in the 21 months of the war (31 kills), The first comfirmed RAF night kill was in late june 1940 by Sailor Malan in a Spitfire. In the year that followed. Spitfires got 6, Hurricanes got 10, The Blenheims got 11and the Havoc got 5. The only type to out score the Defiant was the Beaufighter which got 59 and almost all of the Beaufigter kills involved the use of AI Mk IV radar.

[@michaelburke5907]

Like the P.T. boats, took advantage of vast timber resources. Really a brilliant design and a beautiful aircraft, the most versatile plane of the war.

[@turkeytrac1]

Actually they didn't as the wood that made up most of the layered construction was mahogany that came from Africa, very little if any wood was used from North America

[@richardvernon317]

@@turkeytrac1 Rubbish!!! 75% to 80% of the wood in the Mosquito didn't grow in the UK. Most of the Wood in the Mosquito came from the America's for the UK built ones. The only UK wood used was Ash and a limited amount of birch. Most of the Birch used was Yellow Birch from the USA. Wing Spars were Canadian Spruce and strigers from Douglas Fir also from North America. Balsa from Ecuador and then Panama as a second source.

[@drstevenrey]

Wood. Simple fact about metal. If you bump the wingtip on something, the wing will be bent all the way to the fuselage. With wood, you mend the scratch and keep going. I have seen Cessnas that bumped into a hangar, the damage barely visible, but a total write off due to the complete bending of the entire wing.

[@assessor1276]

Rex, Not a Pound, Ed Nash for aircraft, Aus Armor for tanks and Drachinifel and Important History for ships….the sextuple-dream of weapons junkies.

[@keefymckeefface8330]

sorry- gotta make it an octuple. Forgotten weapons Ian and The Chieftain demand inclusion, and i am guessing we will fail to kick anyone out the bed to make space...

[@--Dani]

​@@keefymckeefface8330 All great channels 👍

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Nice to see Volkert's input being recognised.

[@bhumiriady]

I've been longing for a Rex's Hangar video on the Mosquito and all I can say is, it's well worth the wait! As always, I really enjoyed it so much. Looking forward to the next installments of the Mosquito series.

[@jessmarks2214]

Thanks for this.. you just made my Friday evening perfect...always great technical information, humour and history... congrats on the sponsorship. Well deserved and quality product.

[@michaelwebber4033]

A friends of mine was heavily involved in the construction of the first one to fly for years. It first flew in NZ after he spent 7 years doing all the mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems.

[@DefconSix]

Always enjoy your videos. At times I even like to leave the channel running when I go to sleep but I always wake up when you have a sponsorship, it's like I can tell when you're being insincere, even unconsciously. Appreciate that sponsorship is probably necessary for the channel's continued output, but I was just making an observation 😊

[@GaryJohnWalker1]

Great video - looking forward to the next episode. A good book is "Mosquito: The RAF's Legendary Wooden Wonder ....etc" by Rowland White, especially as a well read Audio/Audible book. Centres on the raid on the Gestapo's Copenhagen HQ in 45, but covers along the way the Mossie's history and the SOE. One slight criticism - that advert was looooong

[@richardvernon317]

Roland's book is very, good, but like a lot of his works, he makes mountains out of Mole hills and Speed bumps out of Mounitians. He does however cover a lot of issues with the Mosquito, which a lot of other books miss and a lot of these issues were not minor!!!

[@SamFirthDesigner]

Hello Rex, nice to see your face

[@jims4539]

Thank you for your time and videos. Always great content. Best wishes over the Holidays.

[@firstcynic92]

Have you considered doing a video or 4 on the merlin engine? It went on to power so many WW2 aircraft that I would like to know more about it. In particular I'd like to know how RR built so many of them.

[@GARDENER42]

Find a copy of "Hives and the Merlin" by Sir Ian Lloyd & Peter Pugh, as this is in fact the main subject of the book.

[@timgosling6189]

Great summary but one thing seemed odd. Why would the Company spend time converting propellors from fixed to constant pitch, which is less efficient as the blade has the same angle of attack regardless of local airspeed across the disc. Did you mean constant speed, where pitch is varied to provide the required amount of thrust at the same engine speed?

[@GARDENER42]

I'm sure he meant the latter.

[@fzyturtle]

Agreed. Many british combat aircraft made the transition from fixed pitch to constant speed propellers in the late 1930's. The Spitfire Mk1 had fixed pitch propellers at the beginning of WWII while they were in France. The Germans captured a few, saw the fixed propellers, and as a result they greatly underestimated the performance of the Spitfires over England, as in the interval the Spitfires had been upgraded to constant speed. Same for the Hurricanes.

[@GARDENER42]

@@fzyturtle The fixed pitch, two blade propellers of the first 78 spitfires had all been replaced by three blade, two position propellers by the time war was declared. These were replaced by constant speed versions starting in June 1940, with all Spitfires & Hurricanes converted by August.

[@johnusher1921]

DH spent time in 1940 converting their own licence built versions of Hamilton Standard manually (pilot) controlled variable pitch propellers, notably for the Hurricane and Spitfire, to 'Constant Speed' which automatically controlled the pitch, in order to improve aircraft performance, reduce strain on the engine, reduce pilot workload and keep them competitive with the BF 109. Only very early Hurricanes and Spitfires had truly fixed pitch 'Watts' type propellers - the Air Ministry initially considering variable pitch propellers unnecessary and too heavy for small, high power fighters, but useful for bombers which could take the weight and needed all the help they could get...

[@johnusher1921]

​@@fzyturtleOnly Hurricanes served in France before it's collapse in 1940. Yes, some of those were reputed to have had fixed pitch propellers - and fabric coated outer wing panels.

[@ThomasCrouse-x6z]

The Aviation Museum of Virginia in Pungo, VA has a rebuilt Canadian Mosquito. Not sure of the mark, but it is a fighter variant. It’s a beautiful aircraft!

[@GreenHopper62]

Many thanks for this wonderful video. Accurate commentary and well-chosen images are the hallmarks of your production. A long-time fan of De Havilland aircraft...

[@Dv087]

Absolutely awesome video. One if not your best yet!!

[@luckyguy600]

You do well sir lad. I am impressed, and I am 74, and not easily impressed. Well done sir.

[@ReturnoftheNative-w8k]

Rex's Hanger is nothing like what I imagined it to be. Thanks Drach.

[@jeremyfdavies]

Excellent video, thanks.

[@paulsmodels]

Thanks for the great documentary look at one of the most amazing aircraft of WW2. I throughly enjoyed it!

[@joescummer150]

When I was younger I had a book which I believe was called Freeman’s Folly that went into the early design and production stages of the Mosquito and how the unwavering backing of ACM Sir Wilfrid Freeman helped bring this amazing plane into existence. Not sure if there are copies of this still out there it must be about 35 or 40 years since I read it.

[@johnwriter8234]

Watch film "633 SQUADRON" with Cliff Roberrtson ( he was a pilot in real-life)

[@vaclav_fejt]

I have. Isn't is basically just The Dam Busters, but in colour and Mossies instead of Lancasters? And fictional, instead of real?

[@HardThrasher]

Brilliant video pal

[@AlanWitton]

Great documentary video! I thoroughly enjoyed watching it

[@lewiswestfall2687]

Thanks Rex

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Wonderful story on the Mosquito. I really enjoyed the production photos. Thanks for sharing! By the way, I have an incredibly, nicely built (someone with greater model airbrushing skills than I) plastic model of the Revell Inc., 1/32 scale, De Havilland Mosquito bomber. The side markings are DZ353 GB/E.

[@michaelogden5958]

It's amusing to think about the hot stuff 109 pilots being skunked by Mosquitos in th early days.

[@ald6424]

Just got to that part (around the 23:00 mark) and a quick wiki says that the 109 could do 330mph or so at intercept speed. Rex said earlier that the photographs were taken at around 250mph for stability reasons and I'm now picturing a mossie accelerating away from that 80mph deficit to 350mph+, just for fun!

[@richardvernon317]

@@ald6424 In AA&EE tactial trials the Mk VI could out run a Spitfire I and V with ease. Mk IX Spit and Typhoon on the other hand totally different story. The same was true for the 109 and the 190. The Merlin 20 powered mosquitos could eaily out run the 109's but the 190's could and did catch them. The best defence for a mosquito was a lot of cloud above or below them to hide in as the Merlin could onlt be run at maximum boost for a short time and it drank fuel like there was no tomorrow.

[@PeterNebelung]

No matter what people may think, wood, especially laminated wood can make some beautiful cost effective designs. And the material is always growing, not running out faster and faster like metals and resins.

[@henkormel5610]

What glue you think is being used to bond a laminated profiled sheet of ply? Right resin, mostly epoxy based.

[@PeterNebelung]

@@henkormel5610 I have no idea what is used to produce commercial laminates like flooring. For what I do, I got used to using West System resins, later East System because it was cheaper. I started using them back in the 70s with my first boat. Not sure but I believe the Mossies were laminated with casein resins.

[@henkormel5610]

@PeterNebelung Modern epoxies were not avaliable jet. At least not as I know of. I know Fokker used bakelite and I know for a fact the Germans had trouble with gluing their emergency fighters together after the main glue producing factory was bombed. The Mozzies couldn't stand tropical conditions very well but this wasn't an issue in wartime. This is however the reason so little examples are preserved.

[@HuwRichards-e2z]

@@PeterNebelung I think you are right - unfortunately casein glues seem to go sort of crumbly after 30 or 40 years (I had a 1960s Enterprise sailing dinghy suffering from this - in the end had to scrap it)

[@keefymckeefface8330]

@@PeterNebelung Not sure about during war, but-the factory was using epoxy style glues by circa '52, 53- that were supposedly used on planes during the war. (My grandad worked there, from when my mum was kid, she born '44- she can remember her dad using special wood glue he brought home from work- family history says it was for planes during the war, though he built gyros and early guidance systems from 50's on. It was defo a 2 part thing that you mixed, my mum and her sister absolutely certain on that, and solventy smelling. But i am unsure if it was actually same as wartime, i think that detail may be incorrect addition post his death, grandad died in 1988, when i was 7. )

[@edgiefive1317]

Fantastic, looking forward to the next part, thank you

[@rickyfrax5602]

Christmas came early!!!

[@murryrozansky8753]

Great Plane, good episode.

[@TexJester-no8th]

For most of my 60+ years on this earth, my favorite plane has been the F4U Corsair. (I watched Baa Baa Black Sheep - the ORIGINAL name of the show - because of the plane; most like the plane because of the show..) The Mossie is rapidly becoming a very close second! I eagerly await Episode 2 of this ...

[@singularnugget]

Yesss my favourite plane 🔥

[@adamlee3772]

A very good video. Thanks for sharing your production. Well presented, factual, interesting. To be recommended to all aircraft enthusiasts.

[@ivanconnolly7332]

Thanks .

[@fakshen1973]

The Mosquito was the most underrated aircraft of WWII. It went fast... it went far. If you are willing to trade off a little bit of one or the other, it could do a whole lot more.

[@davewolfy2906]

It has never been underestimated.

[@tinysim]

Wonderful aircraft. Definitely my favorite British plane.

[@garryferrington811]

There's one of these here in Chino, California. Beautiful aircraft.

[@robjames6170]

Great detail.

[@geoffreypiltz271]

At 2.06 - performing a low-level roll on one engine!

[@chrishewitt1165]

Beautiful aircraft

[@Geoduck.]

Could you please suggest a good book covering the service of the De Havilland Mosquito and or major engagments?

[@Tadrjbs]

Good one.

[@aquilamario8300]

Fantastic. My father love this plane

[@davidbrennan660]

Great video…Such a beautiful airframe….. and channel.

[@johnh6524]

I wonder what a Mozzie with 2 Napier Saber engines and 5000BHP would have been like.

[@JamesSmith-op7yc]

That would be the WWII hotrod, period! Thanks for sharing 🫡

[@weldonwin]

The Wooden Wonder with a Heart of Thunder, she even gets her very own theme music

[@ianbell5611]

Very good. Looking forward to part 2. Cheers

[@johnnotownsend6958]

god i've been waiting for this video

[@iansinclair521]

The Mosquito wasn't just a fine airplane... it was a miracle with wings.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

De Havilland wasn't the only one who disagreed, and so did AVM Ludlow-Hewitt, pre-war CinC Bomber Command, who in August 1939 called for a prototype unarmed bomber to be put under test.

[@jasonz7788]

Great video Rex thank you sir

[@janlindtner305]

The funniest/ continually the best thing about your reports is the start jingle, reminds me of the father-in-law's Christmas gift to the son-in-law in the movie "Rosalie Goes Shopping" (1989). Doo look it up, this raw sound of a potent airplane engine starting, on a porch in Texas, on a warm Christmas Eve. Wow......👍👍👍

[@bullettube9863]

People forget just how important Bauxite is; it's the ore that aluminum is made from. Britain has no Bauxite, France had the original source, then America, and Canada now has the most. So making aircraft from a scarce metal was always going to be a problem in Britain. Titanium would later also be scarce and valuable until new sources were discovered in recent years and today is the go-to metal for high tech aircraft. Britain had to conserve everything in WW2, and maximize what they had plenty of. They had lots of laborers in the wood working industry, lots of wood, and an excellent aircraft engine available. So putting together the Mosquito really wasn't a problem for De Havilland.

[@richardvernon317]

Wood was an issue as well. 80% of the wood used to build the Mosquito didn't grow in the UK either!!! Also there were 35,000 wooden aircraft built in the UK between 1938 and 1945. Most of them were not Mosquitos!! Mosquito production in the first 2years was around 500 aircraft. Production only ramped up in 1943 after the U-boats were defeted and production of other wooden aircraft ended releasing the workforce to build the Mosquito.

[@Sturminfantrist]

Iam a bit late ! I Always loved the PR and Bomber versions, they are very beautyful aircraft, have not much about the Mossie only Squadron Signal Part 1 No. 127 which covers B and PR versions and Part 2 No139 which covers NF , F and FB versions , i recommend both parts becuz they are good source for Modelers and Aircraft Fans. Thx for the Video Rex!

[@whtalt92]

Small error @42:25 - slipper tanks would be 50 or 100 gallons, not 500 ;) The rearmost bomb carriers in the B.IV fuselage were slightly canted upwards at the rear.

[@applicationuser9764]

Love that clock!

[@MM22966]

"We need to modify one the most advanced fighters we have in the air fleet. Hand me the hammer and nails, huh?"

[@dust1415]

Hi Rex, thank you for this very informational video on one of my favourite aircraft with a lot of information I didn't know. Can't wait for part two. Keep up the fantastic work have a great Christmas and don't forget only one bottle of Pinot Noir a day 😆

[@PeteCourtier]

Great video on a personal top 5 aircraft. You’ve had your ears lowered😮👍😂😂

[@Finnan189]

Am I the only person humming the theme from "633 Squadron" while watching this?

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

The use of wood wasn't ever an issue, after all the Air Ministry had issued Specification B.9/38 which brought us the Armstrong-Whitwoth Albermarle. Fun fact, de Havilland declined to submitted a design to meet this requirement.

[@richardvernon317]

All of the 2nd line aircraft were mostly wood as well.

[@karoltakisobie6638]

You completely missed a major inspiration for unarmed high speed Bomber that was Heinkel He-70. While its fuselage was metal its wings were very much wooden . When that plane appeared it created a lot of sensation because of advanced aerodynamics and potential for military use. They served in Spanish Civil War long before Mosquito was born.

[@johndallman2692]

"Don't think of the Mosquito as the last wooden aircraft. It was the first composite 'plane"

[@forgivenbyg]

If your interested I would recommend the book MOSQUITO by C. Martin Sharp and Michael J.F. Bowyer as another reference option.

[@TrainmanDan]

I knew a fellow that flew Mosquitos, he thought it was just the best airplane to fly.

[@canuckled]

My Grandmother worked for De Havilland Canada in Anson then Mosquito production until her marriage when she moved to Sherman tank production in London

[@volvogt21]

I'm going to call you Rocky from now on. Great video

[@Timberwolf69]

Once again very interesting. And definitely one of my favorite WWII planes, as well. One thing I noticed is that you, for whatever reason, switched the "s" and "sh" in "Messerschmidt". The double-s is just a sharp "s", while the "sch" is pronounced "sh" in german.

[@stephenmeier4658]

Let's call it the Tower of Babel effect

[@SoloRenegade]

the corsair also used it's landing gear for dive brakes.

[@PeteCourtier]

Great video on a personal top 5 aircraft. You’ve had your ears lowered😮👍😂😂 Looks better.

[@Niels_Larsen]

The Mossie. The aircraft that appears in German reports more than any other.

[@rmsatlantic]

please make a video on italian bombers and specifications behind them!! i'd love to know why they had non retractable landing gears, and three engines, and other interesting design choices! unfortunately i cant afford patronage right now sadly but i would