The Almost Perfect Aircraft Defeated Only by Time

As the early morning mist began to lift from the verdant rainforest of Malaya, a trio of de Havilland Hornet DH.103s from No. 45 Squadron RAF vaulted into the tropical skies, their twin Merlin engines roaring in unison as they set off to hunt down their Communist enemy.
While the Hornet had originally been conceived as a high-speed fighter for World War 2’s Pacific Theater, by the early 1950s, it was at the forefront of Britain’s campaign to put down the insurgency that had erupted in their Southeast Asian colony, breaking out from its intended role to prove it was just as adept at ground attacks.
Looking down upon the endless green below as they zoomed over the thick jungle, the DH.103s’ pilots knew they had a difficult task ahead, their target hidden somewhere beneath the dense canopy.
With only their maps to guide them, the three Hornets surged into the marked area before swooping down like the predatory insects for which they were named. One by one, their lethal 1000-pound bombs plummeted through the treetops before shattering the tranquility of the undergrowth below with deafening explosions. Leaving little but a sea of smoke and chaos in their wake, the Hornets disappeared into the horizon, eagerly awaiting their moment to strike again.
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Join Dark Skies as we explore the world of aviation with cinematic short documentaries featuring the biggest and fastest airplanes ever built, top-secret military projects, and classified missions with hidden untold true stories. Including US, German, and Soviet warplanes, along with aircraft developments that took place during World War I, World War 2, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, and special operations mission in between.
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Skies sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect and soundtracks for emotional impact. We do our best to keep it as visually accurate as possible.
All content on Dark Skies is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas.

[@John..B]

the second tail is very well camouflaged

[@michaeldeering5907]

often referred to as a phantim twin. lol maybe some editting? sheeeeesh

[@grantmiller6570]

The maximum weight of 20,900 feet is also interesting. (5:32)

[@sidsod1616]

Early stealth?😊

[@Mysterybox]

​@grantmiller6570 I see you caught that too. Is it just me, or is the quality of these videos declining?

[@stankygeorge]

Oh, you didn't notice it either!

[@whiskey_tango_foxtrot__]

Its a stealthy twin tail

[@bootstrapbran6228]

Threw me with the twin tail part. 😮

[@GarrettBShaw]

3:00 minute mark for anyone who originally missed it like me 😂

[@ooloncaluphid]

I don't get how they make videos with such glaringly obvious fundamental errors.

[@lawerancedodd690]

I noticed that also. I was going to comment but you beat me to it lol

[@Biffo1262]

They really blew this one. Embarrassing.

[@johnsullivan1831]

It’s an AI hallucination.

[@inglepropnoosegarm7801]

One Merlin is great, two in such a light and clean aircraft must have been thrilling.

[@markmogk4814]

"All in, balls out..."

[@kiwidiesel]

The two Merlin's fitted to the hornet were custom built for that plane.

[@alexguest9937]

When you think about it, both the Hornet and the Mosquito which preceded it were streets ahead of their time because they were using pre-cursor technology - glued and laminated sheet-wood - to the composite materials used today in modern jets and F1 race-car technology, just to mention a couple of applications. As a cabinet Maker myself, and a Brit, if I'd been alive during WWII it would have been an absolute honour to have been put on the production of a Mosquito or Hornet.

[@williamjohn4984]

I am stunned by the craftsmanship of British wood workers in.. history . I saw a thing about the Titanic engine last night.The low pressure turbine was cast in wooden molds made in house. And imo the mosquito was the best air craft in WW2. The Hurricane was the most important.If Britain lost in 1940.. They Germany might have conquered the Soviets..Bravo Brits our blood brothers.America and the UK is undefeated in war when together

[@moodogco]

​​@@williamjohn4984 thanks that's nice to hear being the proud brit I am, my grandad was in the raf during the war flying hurricane & was shot down over the south of England losing his arm in the process but unfortunately I never got to meet him as died a year b4 I was born!!! 👍

[@naradaian]

@@williamjohn4984er…afghanistan, Korea, Ukraine and getting their arse handed to them in Gaza where Britain has done 200 flights from Cyprus to help the genocide

[@IntrospectorGeneral]

de Havilland's pre-war D.H.81 Albatross 4-engined passenger transport pioneered those wooden construction techniques. It was a beauty, unfortunately produced in only small numbers before the war. The Russians were the other nation that successfully persisted with wooden composite designs by Lavochkin and Polikarpov using layered veneers with injected phenolic resins, sometimes with a bakelite backing - the techniques are sometimes described as 'Shpon' (which is the Russian word for veneer!).

[@chipcook5346]

"Streets ahead." Alright there, Pierce.

[@mikew2468]

My dad flew Hornets in what was then Malaya during the 'emergency'...I wonder if he's in the footage. He held the record for the astro-nav only race from Singapore to Hong Kong in a piston aircraft flying a Hornet...and, as they were phased out....presumably still does! He said his favourite to fly was the Mosquito though but also that the Gnat was a lovely plane to fly....strange how they're all insects. At a party on holiday in the Caribbean once, my mum was chatting to a woman who said that her husband was a mosquito pilot....my mum said hers was as well....but it turned out the other woman's husband flew the plane that sprayed insecticide on the mangrove swamps...not the DeHavilland. What a life.

[@richardsawyer5428]

Dozens of aircraft? Eric Brown flew hundreds! One of two world records accredited to him. He needs a Dark Skies video to himself.

[@Tommy-he7dx]

Totally agree, "Winkle" Browns record of most different types of aircraft flown will never be beaten.....They just don't make enough different craft these days. It blows my mind that even knowing just how mental the Me163 Komet was, he still flew the thing......I could be wrong but i think he was the only allied pilot to do that.

[@flickingbollocks5542]

And he is a humble likeable guy.

[@johnf991]

Yep - and his record excludes variants within types, if you see what I mean, so his record is even greater. Others might well have already alluded to the story of the US pilot who tried to beat his deck landings record and had a nervous break-down at the halfway(ish) mark. Brown should have been knighted. A sad loss a few years ago.

[@johncmitchell4941]

@@johnf991 A Jim Clark of the skies in talent.

[@rooramblingon895]

@@johncmitchell4941 Superb quote. I have to remember than one!

[@jeffreymcdonald8267]

"The Hornet's twin tail design...." Does anybody proof read these scripts before release ??? Enjoyed the vid. Thx.

[@jtjt210]

They proofed them twice! 🤣

[@franksizzllemann5628]

I call them Easter eggs, wouldn't doubt by now they're deliberate, some anyway

[@jeffreymcdonald8267]

@@franksizzllemann5628 Could be some new fangled AI thing.

[@plumtube01]

Also, " it had a weight of 29,000ft"

[@dennisleighton2812]

1:40 Mosquito wasn't actually conceived as a FIGHTER, and only ever got used as one in dire emergencies. Mosquito was primarily a bomber, and sometimes a fighter-bomber, but seldom deployed in pure fighter mode. It was not quite nimble enough to counter German single-engined fighters, but would routinely best just about anything else they came across, til jets arrived! 2:50 " twin-tail design..." Huh? Hornet had a single vertical stabiliser just like the Mosquito. 3:30 By the later years of the war Allied resourcing would have been able to release more aluminium and other rare resources than when Mosquito was being built. Clearly this helped a lot. 5:00 Sea Hornet. Carrier aircraft from the same stable were always slightly more robustly built to withstand the deck landing "mishaps" that often occurred. This is probably what caused the slightly lesser performance, which was still pretty impressive! If Capt Brown says it's the best, then it IS the best! Nobody ever has, or ever will in future, fly more different types of military aircraft as a Test Pilot! His assessments are FACT! Despite not playing an active role in WW II, the Hornet was indeed right at the pinnacle of piston-engined fighters, just as you said. A truly remarkable aircraft from a truly remarkable manufacturer. Salute to De Havilland! Thanks for an entertaining video!

[@Karibanu]

The Mosquito was conceived as a completely unarmed bomber, it was only later that it was realised it'd make an excellent nightfighter / intruder / strike aircraft. I guess the night fighter is a pure fighter, but that's as near as it got. The actual successor was the EE Canberra ( which was so successful NASA still have a couple ). If you think about DH building composite aircraft rather than wooden, then suddenly they seem a lot more futuristic than archaic!

[@archangelmichael1978]

I love watching these old videos. When you see bombs being dropped, you get to see the blast, but you have to use your imagination for the ground effect. Even if you weren't hit by the blast, the concussive shockwave killed almost everything in the radius.

[@nicholasbell9017]

De Havilland never made an ugly aircraft. This one was the most beautiful of them all. And a proper pilot's dream, with performance and fire-power, handed propellers, so no swing on takeoff. Good forward vision. I just love the Mossie and the Hornet, sexy little sister!

[@MrLobstermeat]

I love De Havilland but they definitely made a few Fugly aircraft....Buttt with that said they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[@KyleCowden]

I think the Comet was actually sexier. I wasn't a warbird but a racer that, IMHO, secretly served as a test bed for the design that birthed the Mosquito and Hornet come WWII.

[@robertcaccavalla6469]

Wow, I never heard of the Hornets before. Great video

[@PatousMcGillicuddy]

Neither have I-what the hell? Why was I not informed?!

[@Bodneyblue]

I was given a photo of a Hornet by my uncle and told it was something to do with his brother in law...But during my research I discovered the brother in law died while a member of a Avro Lancaster shot down by AAA while on a mission attacking V-1 launch sites...So where the Hornet comes in I do not know...The pilot of the Lancaster was a German born Jew who's family had emigrated to Canada. He joined the RCAF. He was also killed. He and the brother-in-law lay side by side in the war cemetery.

[@WorkerDroid]

Thanks for all these videos. Always something interesting.

[@chipcook5346]

Thank you, team, for the wonderful summary. And thanks for managing the footage I have never seen before. Although I wondered what happened to this plane, I never looked. I guess I always thought it was one of those marks that the combination of tech timing and national needs passed by. Good to know that it was of practical value. Such a pretty plane.

[@hushpuppykl]

29,00 feet in weight???!! 😂 Don't drink when preparing the script!

[@naradaian]

Mallayer was a bit of a shock too never quite sure if its a bot

[@JayWC3333]

I guess this another video voiced by a bot.

[@johnsonrj74]

​@@JayWC3333I've thought that for a while

[@July41776DedicatedtoTheProposi]

Scientific illiteracy runs amok!

[@scotttait2197]

It's not a bot ...as last two letters would indicate its an idiOT

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🎖️💪🤗🙏 Thank you for sharing this

[@sheldonaubut]

"Had a maximum weight of 20,900 feet." "Twin tail." Oh my, these little errors sure do feed the KZbin algorithm by generating comments. At least now they actually take the time to find video of the actual subject aircraft. I've always viewed the Hornet as an evolution of the de Havilland DH 88 Comet of the 1930s, which I consider to be the most attractive aircraft of all time.

[@philliprobinson7724]

Hi. Not only a twin-tail hornet (3:00-3:10), but it has a maximum weight of22,000 feet. (5:33). An amazing aircraft. Cheers, P.R.

[@michaelhannah5376]

The Hornet is the prime example of “ if it looks right, it will fly right” Eric “ Winkle” Beowns favourite aircraft. High praise indeed.

[@benjaminrush4443]

Great Video. There were a few late WW II and Post War piston aircraft from the USA that were quite good, but I don't know if they could "Out-perform" the Hornet. Thank you.

[@shawncarter5619]

I have been waiting for a video on this aircraft!!! The de Havilland Hornet is my all time favorite aircraft.

[@tysonator5433]

I would love to see a hornet fly at an airshow. This amazing aircraft should not fade away in history, however live on at airshows !

[@Mr.SharkTooth-zc8rm]

What a beauty!

[@ravenclaw8975]

I really enjoyed this video young man. Could you do one, if you haven't already, on the American "Moonbat?" Thx.

[@galaxysurfer1122]

Wow! Literally never seen or heard of this a/c before, even though my fave WWII a/C was it's predecessor, the Mosquito. I think I now prefer it to the Mossie looking at this video. Thanks!

[@randallleonard1249]

What a beautiful airplane!

[@michaelpipkin9942]

6:45 This is a description of a plane that a pilot has got a hold of and appreciates it's tight build.

[@princea.khamar5037]

What a wonderful video !!!

[@electrogrim]

Dark Skies posts would be a lot better if archive video was aspect ratio corrected.

[@sundancer014]

Well,that one flew under the radar.I've never heard of it,but will certainly share this with others.Cheers.

[@petertyson4022]

Never heard of the hornet. Learnt something new. 👽👍

[@davidstrother496]

Where is this twin tail configuration you claim added so much to its handling? I never saw it on any Hornet.

[@DeFilmKater]

What a beautiful plane! 😃👍

[@billrossignon8621]

A Hornet vs a ME 262 would have been an interesting dogfight.

[@whiplash8277]

Sharp aircraft, outstanding performance. What's not to like?

[@nigel900]

Beautiful airplane. 🫡🇬🇧👍🏻

[@seanbigay1042]

Holy Blackhawks, Batman! That is one pretty airplane. Now if only it was painted green ...

[@Mysterybox]

Some of the obvious errors here (and in other videos) are making wonder if the narrator is a digital voice. Just what the hell is "a maximum WEIGHT of 20'900 FEET"? A human would have caught that one.

[@JayWC3333]

Yeah...AI voice. I'm disappointed.

[@JayWC3333]

Yeah... I'm disappointed.

[@TheFunkhouser]

Imagine if the RAF had this and the epic Tempest II in their fleet in early 1944! Wow 😮😮❤❤

[@kiwidiesel]

That would be quite the formidable pairing of two very potent birds of prey.

[@deane2974]

I normally enjoy the accuracy and information regarding these videos but I have some complaints on this one. They compare the Hornet to the FW 190 and Zero. Both were developed much earlier than the Hornet. If you want a fair comparison then look at the TA 152 variant of the FW 190 or the Do 335 Arrow. Then you will be comparing apples to apples!

[@Biffo1262]

Not me it's twin tail and weight measured in feet. 🤣

[@MrT67]

And its flip flaps 😂

[@paulbantick8266]

and both the Ta 152 and Do335 were crap. The Ta 152 never flew a sortie at high altitudesand its in-service performance was less trhat than that attained in development. It also had a crap engine history. As for the Do.335. It was nothing but a flying brick. Again, with no evidence that it could fly at it's development speeds and it too was prone to catching fire.

[@mickvonbornemann3824]

Anyone notice the thrust inducing exhaust systems, designed to increase complimentary thrust?

[@joshmccoy1522]

It's a shame they weren't able to ship a couple of samples to Davis-Monthan AFB for preservation, but of course nobody was thinking of that at the time.

[@jasonhesson1030]

Would've loved to have seen an earlier development (possibly alongside the Mossie) as an escort fighter in Europe! Could've helped out the 8th AF before the Mustangs even got deployed!

[@pibbles-a-plenty1105]

Neither the Mosquito nor the Hornet had "twin tails." Weight is not measured in "feet." That was not a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star pictured. The P-80 saw very little action in Italy during WW2. You have lots of good historical information in them but try to proof your videos better to get rid of the boob-boos.

[@Gixer750pilot]

The mozzy is the most beautiful plane ever made . Sorry hornet , sorry spitfire

[@chipcook5346]

Certainly the Mosquito is my favorite of the period, but that Hornet is just dandy. I can't help but think of one when I think of the other.

[@harrywagner3877]

For some reason the vertical stab bothers me.....

[@williamsmith7340]

With that twin tail slip, it almost sounds like a P-38 snuck into the Mosquito’s woodpile…

[@deanseher2594]

Aside from the invisible twin tail, since when are weights reported in feet? Who edits these?

[@garybrown4449]

Bear cat was fast but late . And could still out range my British air craft . But then again 86 and 15 very thirty.

[@bennbritton]

I assume the researchers noted action in the Malayan conflict, looked up pics and details and confused the Bristol Brigand (which did have twin vertical stabilisers) with the Hornet which replaced it. Still doesn't excuse the proof reader. Dark Skies is always bad with putting in footage of the wrong aircraft.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Goering's ultimate heavy fighter finally revealed.

[@peterback7789]

At 2:57 we are told it has a twin tail design - I wonder why it was that they didn't implement the design ?

[@robertpatrick3350]

The early jets did not have superior handling……. Early jet pilots had to use their speed advantage and not get into a turning engagement with the late/postwar prop planes as Mig15 pilots found to their peril in the Korean War

[@geebee8547]

I think the horsepower rating was total HP rather than per Merlin. I can't recall any Merlin that exceeded 2000 HP. That's why Rolls Royce developed the Griffon engine.

[@lawrieflowers8314]

A true hot-rod version of the peerless Mosquito...

[@tvgerbil1984]

Long services in the hot humid tropical climate of Malaya had to be very detrimental to the Hornet airframes.

[@normanfawley7379]

That voice !

[@kenharris5390]

Alas, the Mosquitos built under licences for the Royal Australian Air Force suffered some pilot and navigator fatalities. The glue used to attach part of the aircraft fuselage could not stand the heat and humidity of Australian operations. After several planes disintegrated in mid-air, the problem was finally discovered. One problem that cost lives was the lack of a jettisonable cockpit canopy. Apart from these problems, planes were one of the distinguished war-winning weapons.

[@nightjarflying]

No. Nothing to do with the glue used! It was poor construction practise among Aussie sub-contractors who didn't follow the long-established instructions for bonding joints. Humidity & heat didn't help, but correctly built Mossies did not fall apart in mid air in any climate.

[@fredericklee4821]

Did the tropics (Malaya) and wood surface wings and fuselage produce a deterioration issue for the Hornet?

[@nightjarflying]

No.

[@DaiElsan]

The American Shooting Star was in fact the British Jet prototype.

[@jonathansteadman7935]

No, it was a Gloster E.28/39 in 1941, way before the shooting star.

[@DaiElsan]

@jonathansteadman7935 that's exactly what I said. I just couldn't remember what the E number was.

[@user-uc2ox7fl6x]

"Да наоборот же!"

[@DaiElsan]

​@@user-uc2ox7fl6xХоу ничего не знает

[@cyrillawless]

It’s a shame jet aircraft didn’t come twenty years later. The best piston aircraft at the end of the war really didn’t have time to shine.

[@waltermeeks5357]

This is a good series. If the script was proofed by someone who knew a little basic history or would bother to fact check, it would be a great series. All that said, imagine a Hornet with a pair of PT6 turboprops. I suspect it would be relevant today as a COIN aircraft. Plus, it would be a blast to fly. \

[@williamkirkham7357]

At 3:00 the narrator says the Hornet had a twin-tail design, compared with the Mosquito's single stabilizer. But this is obviously wrong. You can see in the footage that the Hornet only has a single tail, not two.

[@LessAiredvanU]

I don't suppose anyone would consider building one now, with a carbon fibre frame and skinned with a graphene composite - and turbo prop engines...?

[@nicholasbell9017]

Go on then. Get on with it!

[@_od_7825]

Please, stop thing like 45th squadron. It’s 45 Squadron. American squadrons may well have st or th after the number but RAF and FAA squadrons do not.

[@dhroman4564]

Wow a max weight measured in ft?

[@shinjiikari1021]

I knew it, so thumbnail and knew it was hornet!!!

[@Biffo1262]

The twin tail gives it away. 😂

[@shinjiikari1021]

@@Biffo1262 i play too much Azur Lane, where the Sea Hornet variant is the strongest fighter ingame. although i play the game because i like the historical ships first, waifus second.

[@Idahoguy10157]

Test pilot Capt Eric “Winkle” Brown RN flew up to a thousand different aircraft types

[@DIREWOLFx75]

What twin tail design? The Hornet tail was enlarged from the Mosquito, but it was exactly the same kind of design. The Vampire, Sea Vixen and Venom as well as Albatross and Flamingo DID have twin tails, but they have absolutely no connection with the Hornet.

[@korale174]

Thats a weird P80 shooting star.

[@peterk3227]

It is a fine plane , however I would prefer a single engine fighter , as it would snap-role faster in a dog fight . It was the same with the 262 , a great plane but still had the same problem . An engine on each wing . It would depend on the mission requirements .

[@loiclaronche5675]

When the Mosquito was envisionned and built, it already was with speed and altitude in mind (PR Mk.I). As for the twin tail, ..... no comment

[@sufianansari4923]

3:02 what twin tail?

[@TadMarko]

4:3 video looks better letterboxed than stretched.

[@mickvonbornemann3824]

Imagine if the Westland Whirlwind had reached RAF squadrons with RR Merlins instead of RR Peregrines in 1940.

[@robertpatrick3350]

They did well in defeating the Communists in Malaya along with the Centaurus powered Tempests

[@SPak-rt2gb]

Brits sure liked those engines out in front of the canopy

[@nightjarflying]

It's because the "Brits" used an inline engine quite often & they tend to be slim, but long.

[@BrianJones761-wc4hu]

Did the wings delaminate and fall off in the tropics like the Mosquito or did they get that sorted.

[@MrT67]

I've read that they sorted the delamination issue, even for the Mosquito.

[@manricobianchini5276]

The Vought F4u Corsair was still the best fighter of WW2. Twin-tailed?

[@rhb4455]

Better comparison w/P-38 than 51... But why bring the 38 down to the 103's level, right?!

[@user-il2nq2nx4u]

F7F would be a better comparison.

[@stevec6232]

Looks like a mosquito to me...

[@lancerevell5979]

Developed from the Mossie, but sleeker.

[@robwernet9609]

I mean, it's just an improved version of the wooden wonder.

[@zh84]

There's a good Wikipedia article on this aircraft which explains their relationship.

[@mavericmorph5358]

Smaller.

[@paulm749]

...a Mosquito that hit the gym HARD and got fitted with a trim new suit.

[@ARCHAEVS]

I still prefer the Mosquito, the Mosquito looks better and is more versatile. Also man the Hornet has an excellent cloaking device hiding its second tail.

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

Semi-Quoting Jay Leno, "The Last Use of Older Technology is Always Better than the Use of New Technology", one reason change is sometimes too hard. America had this same problem, the Outstanding designs of later Piston Aircraft came too late and was washed by the new Jets.

[@Titus-as-the-Roman]

Example; Grumman's F7F Tigercat, Grumman's answer to the Hornet.

[@alexandermartincausey7333]

5:28 - 5:30 a maximum weight of 20,900 feet?

[@erintyres3609]

3:00 "twin tail design" ???

[@davetheglidingbum]

With only maps to guide them! god save us!

[@vaughnmojado8637]

It is a goofy looking noseless plane. But damn was it fast and maneuverable. The English had some great equipment,

[@FiveLiver]

Winkie Brown was the first man to land a jet on an aircraft carrier.

[@TheFunkhouser]

Sad there's none in good condition left 😢😢

[@nathanahubbard1975]

Yeah, it would be impressive for WW2, but just like the Bearcat, it was a little too late to matter.

[@islandmonusvi]

Winners are Always eager to invest in fighting the last war…

[@jazzandbluesculturalherita2547]

WHERE IS THAT TWIN FOR THE TAIL?

[@wolf222555]

Maybe a script typo? Perhaps " stealthy thin tail"? (It IS thin)

[@MrFlazz99]

I may be mistaken, but was there not a problem with the Mosquito (and presumably also the Hornet) in the Far East, due to the warm humid climate causing the glued wooden structure to fall apart?

[@theoriginaldylangreene]

The original milk-based casein glue used on the early war mozzies was replaced mid war with phenolic resin based termo-set glues. So the problem was (literally) ironed out before the creation of the Hornet.

[@mrjockt]

“Twin tail design”?

[@Jagger-uk8ff]

Both the Hornet and the mosquito only had one tail

[@quirkessence9446]

I see three tails, why he's saying it has only two?

[@davidforbes7772]

One less scotch for you tonight, my good man.

[@vincenthartzenberg5794]

Where is the other tail?

[@greymann]

It ain't no lockheed P-38 but was faster if not as heavy duty as the 38.

[@makschorney2514]

Pioneering plywood construction? WW 1 Albatros??m