Description
The DeHavilland Company had a concept for a light bomber whose only defence was speed. With war looming on the horizon, the emphasis was placed on developing the aircraft from non-strategic materials – wood. The only significant metal in the design of the de Havilland Model 98 Mosquito was with the engines and landing gear.
While the Air Ministry was initially cool on the concept, a single champion authorized the production of a single prototype at the end of 1939 and the prototype first flew 11 months later. When the Air Ministry saw the Mosquito literally accelerate away from their top fighter, the Spitfire, orders started straight away.
Powered by a pair of Merlin engines, the clean lines of the Mosquito made the aircraft the fastest aircraft in the skies for most of the war. Its ample volume allowed for the airframe to be adapted to a wide variety of missions, making the Mosquito the first multi-role combat aircraft. The Mosquito carried a crew of two. In the bomber version, the second crewman doubled as flight engineer and bombardier. Its glass nose provided an ideal sighting platform for getting bombs on target.
The Mosquito fighter/bomber and night fighter configurations were nearly identical with the glass nose of the bomber version replaced with a solid nose containing four Browning .303 machine guns and the forward weapons bay loaded with four Hispano 20mm canons. In the early days of night fighter operations, the Air Ministry did not want British radar technology to fall into German hands, so the night intruders that operated over the European continent did not carry radar, all attacks were conducted visually.
As radar continued to develop, the first radar dish systems were installed on the Mosquito. The dish replaced the earlier blade antennas, but the dish required a radome to protect it from the wind and the elements. To accommodate this new radar, the four Browning machine guns were removed and the dish radar was mounted in their place. The resulting radome gave the Mosquito a hog-nosed profile.
Decals are provided for two examples:
- Mosquito NF Mk.XVII, ZQ-H/DZ659, Fighter Interception Unit
- Mosquito NF Mk.XIII, KP-R/HK415, 409 Sqn
