Restoring A British De Havilland Mosquito And A Look At The History Of The "Wooden Wonder"

The De Havilland Mosquito is one of WWII's most iconic British aircraft. The ‘Wooden Wonder’, as it was called, due to its frame being made almost entirely out of wood, participated in a wide range of operations throughout the war, from the transport of valuable cargo across enemy-held airspace to high-precision bomb raids on prisons and Gestapo headquarters. If you needed to get in, wreak havoc, and get out fast, the ‘Mossie’ was your weapon of choice.
‘We believe that we could produce a twin-engine bomber which would perform so well that little defensive equipment would be needed’.
Geoffrey de Havilland - September 1939
Photos Courtesy Lewis Air Legends, Bradley Wentzel.
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. It was unusual because its frame was constructed mostly of wood, nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or "Mossie". Lord Beaverbrook, Minister of Aircraft Production, nicknamed it "Freeman's Folly", alluding to Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid 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, and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a fast transport to carry small, high-value cargo 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 FB Mk. VI 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 30 January 1943, the 10th anniversary of Hitler being made chancellor and the Nazis gaining power, a morning Mosquito attack knocked out the main Berlin broadcasting station while Hermann Göring was speaking, taking 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 Southeast Asian theatre and by the Royal Australian Air Force 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.
By the early to mid-1930s, de Havilland had built a reputation for innovative high-speed aircraft with the DH.88 Comet racer. Later, the DH.91 Albatross airliner pioneered the composite wood construction used for the Mosquito. The 22-passenger Albatross could cruise at 210 mph (340 km/h) at 11,000 ft (3,400 m), faster than the Handley Page H.P.42 and other biplanes it was replacing. The wooden monocoque construction not only saved weight and compensated for the low power of the de Havilland Gipsy Twelve engines used by this aircraft but also simplified production and reduced construction time.
General characteristics
Crew: Two: pilot, bomb aimer/navigator
Length: 44 ft 6 in (13.56 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.51 m)
Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.31 m)
Wing area: 454 sq ft (42.2 m2)
Airfoil: RAF 34 (modified)
Empty weight: 14,300 lb (6,486 kg)
Gross weight: 18,100 lb (8,210 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 76 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,710 hp (1,280 kW) driving the left propeller
Powerplant: 1 × Rolls-Royce Merlin 77 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine, 1,710 hp (1,280 kW) fitted with a blower for cabin pressurization, driving the right propeller
Propellers: 3-bladed constant-speed propellers
Performance
Maximum speed: 415 mph (668 km/h, 361 kn) at 28,000 ft (8,500 m)
Range: 1,300 mi (2,100 km, 1,100 nmi)
Service ceiling: 37,000 ft (11,000 m)
Rate of climb: 2,850 ft/min (14.5 m/s)
Wing loading: 39.9 lb/sq ft (195 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.189 hp/lb (0.311 kW/kg)
Armament
Guns: 4 x 7.7 mm Browning machine guns, 4 x 20 mm Hispano cannons
Bombs: 4,000 lb (1,800 kg)
Avionics
GEE radio-navigation
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[@angelsone-five7912]

When referencing the Battle of Britain why must everyone stress the Spitfire when the Hawker Hurricane bore the brunt of the battle and accounted for more enemy losses than everything else put together? It makes me mad......

[@davidelliott5843]

You can see how the pilot subtly corrects for the leftward swing as it lifts off. Rapid takeoffs during WW2 caught out many new pilots.

[@maxmccain8950]

Damn those must have been fun to fly, well, when you weren’t getting shot at.

[@pilotmiami1]

Bravo.go ahead. Perfect

[@davidelliott5843]

The story about how Eric Brown landed that Mosquito on a carrier is absolutely amazing. The stall speed was around 115 but the maximum speed the arrester gear could take was 85. Check out the documentaries on KZbin where he talks about it.

[@asdf9890]

Such a cool airplane, even more amazing when you learn what it is and what it did. Wonder how the wood faired in the boneyard vs aluminum?

[@terrybrown8539]

Wood didn't last because the adhesives used at that time were not durable. These rebuilds have completely new wood work (being wings, fuselage etc...) and that is possible because a NZ man got the plans and made the moulds which enabled recreation of these structural replacement parts. The restorer in NZ was fortunate that there is an example on display nearby so they could go an look at one that had not been restored. There are some unrestored examples on static display which look good but you'd never fly in them.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

Kermit’s and the Canadian Mosquitoes wouldn’t be allowed to fly again with the original glue so new glue means the bonded wood composite has to be new too. The choice would have to be between an original but grounded museum plane or an airworthy rebuild with an all new construction core structure with the original fittings restored to as new condition. The very first prototype still exists at the De Havilland museum between London and the site of the factory at Hatfield.

[@Jasper_Pascoe]

Most mosquitos were simply burnt at the end of their lives, having been removed of all valuable parts such as instruments, engines and landing gear. Those that weren't were mostly sold to farmers who left them outside in fields to rot. That's the reason so few mosquitos survive in original condition. Only those that were very quickly saved for warm and dry museums after the war or after their retirement from service in the 50's exist now.

[@marcuswardle3180]

The Mosquito was used by the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA, during WWII.

[@TechMilitary901]

❤❤❤

[@slartybarfastb3648]

With it being a wood-composite construction from molds, why not make reproductions from modern carbon-composite? It would be a "fake" Mosquito, but still a Mosquito. Like a carbon Cub is still a Cub.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

Think of all the development work needed to get an all original certificate of airworthiness, how many hundred would you need to produce to break even?

[@slartybarfastb3648]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 It would be expensive but if there are people willing to pay for a restoration, there would probably be people willing to pay for a reproduction. The aerodynamics are already proven. Get the weight and balance correct in the design, it should fly exactly like the original, if not improved. The DeHavilland Canada Twin Otter is back in production. Viking avoided the airworthiness certification by buying the production rights.

[@davidelliott5843]

The plywood structure worked really well. Curved plywood is extremely strong. Today’s moulding methods with vacuum bagging and epoxy resins will make a more robust structure at reasonable cost. Eventually, the world will run out of Merlins. Maybe someone will build one with a pair of turboprops.

[@davidelliott5843]

The British ministry wanted a medium size bomber with front and upper turrets. Geoffrey DeHavilland went ahead with the design and blew the socks off the ministry when it was demonstrated.

[@slartybarfastb3648]

@@davidelliott5843 Or, use modern CNC machines and metal printing to build new, zero hour Merlins. I've always thought Ford should build brand new 1964-69 Mustangs direct from the blueprints. Or, sell the rights so someone else can.

[@soppdrake]

"American Intelligence" hehe 😈

[@hammondified]

USA 😂,🙏👍

[@steppoify]

Smart ass. We saved your country.