I thought I knew my WW2 aircraft but I had completely overlooked the strategic importance of the mosquito until seeing this documentary. A multi role aircraft predominantly made from wood and produced in kit form in a cottage style industry from all corners of the uk so that no one attack could wipe out its continued production. Excellent film. Might have to visit my local model shop and build something for the cabinet !
I should like to add my voice to the many here and say this is a thoroughly marvelous and interesting documentary - especially the "live" footage of the low level RAF raid. The statistics on the Mosquito's success are truly astounding! I had never realized! Many thanks!
one of the greatest things i have seen on youtube..thank you for posting..even as a young lad making airfix models of the mossie i knew it was a special aircraft..cheers
Bit of a non-sequieur, but did you notice that near the beginning, a scene of GDH with his design team, a cup of tea is being passed along from person to person. How very British.
The finest war bird of ww2. Hearing and watching a mosquito low pass at 400mph with those two merlin v12's flat out is a sight to behold and enough to send shivers down your spine..
Hawarden airport had one in the flying school hangar next to the Chippy's and Tiger...i remember looking inside the bomb bay...it still had the carpenters pencil marks on the woodwork
just an outstanding film, thank you for this vid. The astounding ingenuity of De Havilland's engineers using balsa wood, low production costs, a gorgeous frame even by today's standards and at what, a 1% or less casualty rate...?....there should've been 50,000 Mosquitos built.
In college I had a summer job at a clothing store, where one of the salesmen was a British chap who had flown Spits during the Battle of Britain. He still limped a bit from having bailed out over the channel during one of his many encounters. But he flew again. One of the nicest guys I ever met. Very humble about it all.
A brief appearance of “Catseyes” Cunningham, and featuring the Eindhoven raid on the Philips factory, which was, of course, an important source of instruments and components for the Nazi war effort. Thoughtfully, the management of Philips had transferred all the most militarily sensitive operations to its British factories before the war started, and was as un-cooperative as possible with the occupiers, unlike some other Dutch businesses such as C&A. The Philips management knew the raid was coming, and advised on which bit of the factory should be attacked to secure the best outcome, trying to protect its workers as far as possible in the process.
after the war this company built the world's first jet airliner, after dealing with metal fatigue problems, (caused by pressurerising the aircraft ) it paved the way for todays airliners, i flew in the COMET mk 2 ...great aircraft.
What a pleasure to read about the Dehaveland Mosquito. My father, Pi Pienaar flew a Mosquito during the war on reconnicence missions over Germany. He was the first to encounter a Meschersmit 262 over Munich, was attacked 10 times after being hit, flew back to Italy, made a belly landing and survived. I a. Writing this as an 80 year old son of the pilot!!
Thanks for the video! And the tiny original mention of Canada. Built a lot of them at DeHavilland in Downsview in Toronto, Canada. Canada and Canadians contributed a hell of a lot to the war, be it manpower, ships, planes. Not to mention the AVRO plant in Malton, turning out Lancs, etc. Where did Britain get the birch? Ah, Canada. A lot of Women flew them over the Atlantic.
Excellent documentary with that nostalgic feel of the era's film making. As for the famous and venerable Mosquito ... one SUPERB aircraft, from concept to warrior. As fierce as it was fast. Thanks QB for bringing it here.
I am very impressed how quick engineers of all types managed to advance concept to product in such short time. They must have been very skilled and worked very hard.
It was down to the tea - they used to create special batches by storing the tea in a damp place for a week then slowly dried out naturally - this created a special fungus which when brewed had psychotropic properties stimulating creative parts of the brain.
About 35 years ago, a friend (in the US) visited a British air museum and returned with a recording of a preflight (audio) checkout, which he played back on his high-fi with a pair of 100-watt speakers. Mesmerized teens drifted away from their music in the basement to feel to feel the body pounding acoustic vibrations from the Mosquito as it went through the checkout procedure while warming the lube oil equally in both engines before accelerating down the runway -- and blowing out the preamp on the recording device -- very impressive. I suspect that many enthusiasts would appreciate a link to that recording if one could be found.
Just before the 26 min mark some nice clips of 105 squadron which joined with 8 Group PFF in June 43. The wing commander is John Wooldridge DFC DSO who was also a screen writer and composer who wrote and produced the 1952 Dirk Bogarde film Appointment in London, the story of a Lancaster bomber pilot.
My father flew a mosquito onetime from Bendigo to Laverton in Victoria. Elapsed time from wheels off to touch down was 10 minutes flying at tree-top height. He said it was quite a ride with those huge Merlins roaring away and the props level with the cockpit. He said the acceleration on the mosquito was very impressive.
What an amazing aircraft, possibly the most effective of WW2 it seems nothing could catch it and its ability as a multi role aircraft were unequalled. We should have made 1000s more.
A fine history of a wonderful airplane by a great aircraft manufacturer. De Havilland's concept of lightness and speed proved very successful and adaptable for many roles. Plus, it's one of the most beautiful aircraft produced in WWII in my opinion. Building it out of plywood was genius and saved the project from being scrapped in 1940. Good show, lads.
This an excellent film. It shows the clarity of thought and purpose in the design. It also covers how they built strength in at minimal weight, which I think was the real genius of the Mosquito. This gives a real insight into the design process
Undoubtedly the most feared allied aircraft of the war from an axis point of view. It did not matter where, what time of day or at what height you were the prey of these exceptional machines.
sheikhyaboooty A few years ago I read a German soldiers account of time in Normandy after D-day landings. He said he and his comrades always feared the Mosquito's because they were dangerous at low level, appearing just over tree-tops at high speed, or bombing from great heights. He recalled one incident when a solitary tiny silver plane appeared over head at about 30,000 feet. Suddenly there was a huge explosion nearby, and they all knew it was a Mosquito.
The prey of those exceptional machines were largely civilians. Schools, hospitals, railway stations and civilian housing. The aim of those 'nuisance' raids was to draw defenses away from key targets giving the 'heavies' a greater chance of success. In reality all that was achieved was the deaths of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands if innocent men women and children in what amounted to nothing more than a terrorist bombing campaign. I see nothing to celebrate anymore. After seven years research into the life and times an Canadian Mosquito pilot killed in 1944 for his biography I felt I could no longer in all conscience continue the work as the magnitude of the horror and depravity of the allied bombing offensive became more abundantly clear by the facts I uncovered. Facts which are now thankfully becoming more widely known and understood. The rose tinted view of heartless unfeeling sociopaths nostalgic for war and it's mechanical contrivances of mass killing and destruction sickens me now, I wish I never started. Were it not for the more than half a million that have viewed the video I would take it down. "History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there." - George Santayana.
@@gb5uq meanwhile, just what to you think the Germans and Japanese with their allies were doing? I suggest you take another look at what total war against a ruthless cruel enemy actually means. Besides which to state "The prey of those exceptional machines were largely civilians. Schools, hospitals, railway stations and civilian housing" is highly misleading bordering on subversion and treachery.
@@CalumDouglas Do yourself a favour and ignore soaringtractor/Wilbur Finnigan and whatever other names he uses. He hates British fighting men and the aircraft they flew, despite the fact that half his own country supported Hitler until they saw the light, while the British had been fighting them for years. He hates the fact that the Mosquito was better than any twin of the war.
Without doubt the most beautifull aircraft of WWII in my opinion. And the most versatile too. Build from wood it also was easy to build by skilled carpenters and could take a lot of punishment. At the moment I'm buiding the Tamiya 1/48 model of the bomber version. The 1/32 Tamiya model is in the pipeline, but this one I'm gonna build in the fighter version. Thanks for uploading from a "Mossie" lover.
A recent anonymous and quite scurrilous copyright claim against this public information video has been dropped following my appeal. Many thanks to UA-cam..
Anyone with any religion is a bit of a worry. Luckily people believing in sky fairies are becoming the minority around the world and a good thing to. Socialist EU countries. Oh you mean the wealthy ones with a high standard of living and culture it would be a pleasure to live and work in. They have a terrible thing like universal healthcare for everyone, good retirement options, very low crime rates etc. Clean safe countries with high levels of education. Yes the opposite of the US in every respect and much better for it.
The mosquito was a masterpiece of British engineering. As someone born in the 90s, I am eternally proud and grateful to the men who flew and built (including my grandad who built the instruments) of this magnificent aircraft.
Many thanks for posting this excellent video, a remarkable aeroplane, one of the best aeroplanes of WWII, and of course British , I have the original on Video, so I will have to watch it again.
I grew very weary of the Brits and Anglophiles rattling on about this aircraft and thought it to be typical braggadocio. However, principally because of this film and supporting facts re the Mosquito, I came to greatly admire the engineering and creativity that went into invention and development that comprised this unique aircraft. The "homespun" work -- using what precious resources and skills of Great Britain during the war -- is very endearing. Add to that the fact that they stripped the concept to the very bone with no armament and spare additional comforts to produce one of the fastest aircraft for its time was significant. But adding back armament, additional bomb load, and extra fuel for range, turned this into a formidable weapon. All this and the appearance of this sleek fighter bomber has made me a huge fan! Well done, Brits!
When Goering saw a technical report of one that had crashed, he said ‘The British have geniuses for aircraft designers. We have nincompoops’. (Yep, the word is the same in English & German)
I'm a big fan of the Mosquito. Thanks for pointing out your late mother who was doing her part in the war effort. She was part of the greatest generation.❤
My favourite aeroplane - worked with a guy 30 years ago who flew them during the war. Never flew - in anything - again after the war ended. When I asked him, he said he reckoned he'd used up all his luck with all the impossible things they were asked to do.
My Great Grand Father flew Beaufighter for 60 sorties and was shot down twice, he then flew 280 sorties in Mosquito without issues, he then flew Tempests being shot down once by ground fire , he died in his bed aged 96, his favourite plane was the Mosquito but he never went into details of his missions as he lost to many friends
Well, that may have been a bit exaggerated for propaganda purposes, but there is little doubt individual carpentry businesses did make a contribution. More so the larger furniture businesses in places like High Wycombe, which were already turning out mass-produced furniture: they were very easily switched to direct aircraft production in quantity: something the enemy would never have thought possible (and some British brass-hats might well have agreed with). Moreover, as the film states, many repairs were within the competence of an ordinary carpenter, who might have been in the RAF, or who would have already been tooled up and been informally drafted in to help at the local base, probably as a DH subcontractor.
@@allenwilliams1306. Yes Allen and there is a book published called the 'History of Aviation in High Wycombe' I think which mentions the furniture industry here (about 100 factories back then?) and how it changed during WW2. Some of these companies made parts for the Mosquito and further up Amersham Hill in High Wycombe is a place named De Havilland Close I think.
@@jimlassen9422 Is it not so that Goring was infuriated ( as well as amazed) by this extraordinary plane and declared that 'Every piano making firm in England is making them!'...Being a ww1 veteran ace, he understood the virtues of planes with a lot of wood in the design. So, he wanted a German version made, which wasn't easy to accomplish. The TA 154..But he was a man obsessed and even called his version Mosquito. How unoriginal...But no, there were probs in their design, never got past proto level.
when I was in air cadets our CO had done flight training in a tiger moth. he was saying on days with a strong head wind they could actually fly backwards relative to the ground.
Yes, and if you flew one at night, someone might put a candle outside, and the damn thing would fly in circles around it. But only if the wind isn't strong
Before the war my father built one plane out of two Moth's, he told me the same thing a strong head wind and he could go backwards, when war broke out his plane was taken by the ait force to train pilots!
12:25 ...thanks for documentary ... really interesting from a point of view of product design and construction process. Really good shape, great style. Very aerodynamic shape.
Thanks for the interesting and educational video. If I were a pilot, and wealthy enough, I would own an operable Mosquito. I am a yank, but from what I have read in WWII books and seen on youtube, I have a soft spot for the Mosquito. These planes and their pilots, saved a lot of lives, contributed greatly to ending the war, and were, possibly, again from what I have read, the best at keeping their crews alive, because of their speed, dependability, and great handling.
Truly a great insight to the development and operational roles of this outstanding aeroplane. My second cousin way older than myself was in 264 Squadron. Film was a great insight for me. THANKS👌🏴
When i heard of there wood construction a while back i was amazed. But now i wonder why they always talk about how the spitfire saved the day. In my view the Mosqhito was the best engineered plane ever. It wasnt just a fighter. It was everything and put together in wood workshops. What an amazing feate of Engineering and abillity.
I agree. Today it would be called a multi role aircraft. Way ahead of its time. Herman Goering watched them with envious eyes "And now they have an aircraft that is better than anything we can produce and can be made by any woodwork shop on the country"
I was fortunate enough to meet John Cunningham many years ago, he lived nearby and his navigator, Jimmy Rawnsley was my fils best man. I clearly remember him saying it was a beautiful plane to fly.... fast, but a sod if you stalled!
ME 109 pilots readily admitted they had nothing but respect for their Spitfire counterparts. Those that encountered Mosquitos configured with 4 303s & 4 20mm, readily admitted they would do anything needed to never run into them again.
I recall The History Channel, of many years ago, did a TV program on the Mosquito, where I recall in particular an RAF pilot that flew that bomber in WW II . . . where he said that he never flew another airplane after the war in civilian life, simply because the Mosquito was such a superb aircraft to fly, where he implied that flying any other prop driven aircraft would be a letdown in comparison.
Great to see the Instruction from the Ministry referencing Canadian manufacture. We quietly contributed aircraft, munitions, weapons, vehicles and ships throughout the entire '39 to '45 period.
Mosquito mk.XVI: crew of two, range 1.500 miles with a 4.000 lb bomb load, maximum speed 415 mph cruising speed probably about 300 mph. Boeing B-17: crew of 10, range 800 miles, 4500 lb bomb load (long range), maximum speed 287, cruising speed 182 mph. I often wonder what if the USAAF would have split that single B-17 crew in two-men flight crews and flew much larger numbers of the mosquito in stead of the B-17. Even with the original bomb-load of 2.000 lb, the shear numbers would increase "pay-load" delivery, at higher speeds, longer range and less risk for the crews.
I'm willing to concede I may have made a mistake in interpreting the extensive data on the B-17 as described by Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-17_Flying_Fortress), which DOES state a range of 800 miles for long range missions, while at the same time claiming 2000 miles with 6000 lb of bombs elsewhere in the spec's, I will maintain that the sheer speed and smaller crew for comparable range and load, still the makes mosquito the better plane
Roy Kliffen..... IF the B17 only had a 800 mile range....how did they fly to Berlin and back??? 1800 to 2000 miles is more like it..and they produced twice as many B17's and three times as many B24's...
That's why I conceded that point. I missed that flaw in Wikipedia data in my original comment. Still leaves the smaller crew, higher speed, similar payload and less use of metal per plane. The resources used to build all those B-17's and B-24's could also have been used to build much more mosquitoes, and even then not enough to use all the crewmen used for those B-17's and B-24's.
My grandfather worked for de Havilland in research and development and became a deferred tradesman during the war and worked on the first prototype at Salisbury hall Hertfordshire.
It goes for both the RAF & the USAF. The Mosquito carried (from what I'm given to believe) the equivalent to the other, bigger bombers including the the US bombers. Only 2 crew members & no armament. It could carry a 4000 bomb load, at a faster speed than anything else in the sky. Flown at zero ft it was under the radar & difficult to shoot down. 2 Rolls Merlins bolted to a wardrobe. What a flying machine.
Yup, flying out of Banff, to Norway, they flew at 10 ft above the waves at night. ! crazy. More losses on take off and landing than in the air I was told. Wet grass runways caused many accidents, wheels break off and exit is under the plane, not good.
I am an ex RAF aircraft fitter and also a pilot, I adore these aircraft! I thought i had found a way to get a flight in the last airworthy Mosquito......then i noticed she is in Australia the other side of the world so out of my reach 😢 Due to the fact they were wood none remain in existence i believe except the one in Ozz😕 If you want to watch good films about these in the war get yourself 633 Squadron And Mosquito Squadron! Very similar films but LOADS of flying footage!👍🏻 British ingenuity using furniture makers to build them. Sadly no aircraft are made in Glorious England anymore except some small light aircraft........what has happened to our once Great country 🇬🇧
Just amazing and stupid that almost everyone in these old videos was all dressed up and wearing a tie, no matter what the work was. Thank God we have gotten over the idiocy of this practice. Quite a story and quite a fine plane.
Indeed. A long movie with plenty of sorties after the design and build replaying the greatest missions. Man that to me would be better than pearl harbour.
If the Spitfire had two engines it would have been the Mossie. What an elegant aircraft. Nothing like good old British craftsmanship in both aircraft and cars. If there ever was a car that could be compared to the Spitfire it would be the XKE Jaguar. This is coming from a Yank who had a Blackpuddlian dad who introduced me to Airfix models, Cadbury chocolate and the privilege of driving his 1966 XKE. RIP dad. Eee by gumm!
It was 2 years after the introduction of the Mosquito that the DH Vampire flew using the DH Goblin turbojet which also powered the first USAAF jet aircraft. The Vampire also had wooden components although not as extensively as the Mossie
My late uncle Jack Weir was radio operator navigator on mosquitos flying from Leuchars to Sweden in unarmed civilian marked planes. They would load up the bomb bay with ball bearings and then take off. They would then circle up as high as they could before flying over Norway for home losing height as they went to try and outrun the FW190s.
My dad was a cabinet maker in Tottenham who made bits for plane and my uncle worked draftsman in de Havilland I was in Hatfield as baby where factory is great plane
No mention in the film of the Mosquito "pathfinder" night missions over German cities. Proceeding the multi-hundred Lancaster and Halifax bombers, the incendiary bomb-laden Mosquitoes dropped their small payloads to illuminate target zones. The Luftwaffe countered these advanced strikes by using their excellent Heinkel Uhu (owl) night fighters. The British countered this by escorting the pathfinder Mosquitos with radar equipped Mosquito night-fighters.
i think one of my ancestors was a pilot in the Pathfinding missions.. the navigation and flying skills of the RAF were totally marvellous really.. especially when at night at extremely low level and low level over sea.. seemingly the Lancaster bombers on the Dambusters raid had to fly at UNDER 50 feet for the entire mission across the sea and following a river deep into Germany.. at night! with no night vision and very basic instrumentation.. insanely good skills.. we'll never see better i think
Fantastic film and amazing aircraft. I think it says alot about British industry that the most brilliant aircraft they made in the war, and the quickest from drawing board to mass production, was constructed using essentially pre-industrial techniques and materials, by 400 small self employed subcontractors on piece-work. English craft skills at their most ingenious. And I bet those subbies did well out of it, - making essentially furniture in their living rooms and selling it to the Air Ministry at war prices I would have liked to have a piece of that. Here's some pocket money son help me out on this :-)
Ssblahm The Mossie was NOT the fastest from design to manufacture. Mustang was done in 117 days and Lockheeds first jet the P80 was also about 120 days !!! !
What this neglects to mention is that the Air Ministry was looking at the use of timber prior to the outbreak of WW2 as they realised that the metals used in aircraft construction would become overstretched, unless overseas construction could be carried out such as was done in Canada (and outside of the Empire in the USA). The Albemarle was IIRC was the only other timber aircraft to see service, and that was less successful than the Mossie, as it came too late for its intended role and ended up mainly in the glider tug role. It was only in the Far East that the Mossie was less successful as the glue was affected by the high humidity.
ingenuity at its best. what an amazing plane,the more they asked of her,the more she took,bombs,drop tanks,machine guns,why not cannons too,or maybe an artillery piece ?sure,some rockets too,why not ?all out of wood keep in mind, nothing short of incredible!
YES, THE STORY IS INCOMPLETE WITH MENTIONING ALL HER ARMOURY. e.g THE 6 LB CANNON, THAT DESTROYED SO MANY SURFACE SHIPS AND SUBMARINES , WITH IT'S SOLID HARDENED STEEL SHELL'S ETC.
I think I saw this film - or one very like it - way back in 1962/63 when I was at school. We had an aeronautical society, and you could borrow films in those days free except postage for schools. Saw all the old SBAC Farnborough films as well. Great days. And it was a state school, so no privileged treatment, in case you ask!
A bomber turned into a fighter. Basically a reversal of conventional practice. Because of the pinpoint accuracy of their low level bombing it has been said that one mosquito could do more damage to the German war machine than a whole squadron of heavies.
My Farthing in law was one of the designers of the wings for the Mosquito. In Christchurch Dorset Then he was sent to Coventry and Halifax. (War Work). He witnessed the blitz on Coventry As time goes by: I worked with a Flight Sargent who fly them. Also a Flight mechanic. He told me that after the service. He had to go up for a test flight… The pilot had full clothes… he said I had shirt sleeves (frost bite) I worked for Halls Bros in Whitefield in the 1980’s (Halls Mentholiptus).. The factory, before the war was a CO-OP furniture Factory, requisitioned for war work. They made the Plywood frames for the Mossis
10mins and 16 secs in...the gent in the drawing office is my great uncle Sydney Webb. He had been working for G de Havilland since 1912 at Hendon.
I thought I knew my WW2 aircraft but I had completely overlooked the strategic importance of the mosquito until seeing this documentary. A multi role aircraft predominantly made from wood and produced in kit form in a cottage style industry from all corners of the uk so that no one attack could wipe out its continued production. Excellent film. Might have to visit my local model shop and build something for the cabinet !
Thinking outside the box for this brilliant design and concept.
In my humble opinion one of the most beautiful aircraft of all time. ❤
I have a friend who is 97 years old now and he flew 254 missions as a navigator in mosquitos. I salute you Sandy
As do all right thinking people. Thank you, Sir, for your service.
Me too !!! Say thanks to Sandy for me.
My father helped build the first one....and others at DHs at Hatfield....
jondavi123 _
John Randall z
I should like to add my voice to the many here and say this is a thoroughly marvelous and interesting documentary - especially the "live" footage of the low level RAF raid. The statistics on the Mosquito's success are truly astounding! I had never realized!
Many thanks!
the british are not gods
No not gods, but damn close though.
@@robertsullivan4528 No which makes their achievements all the more awesome.
one of the greatest things i have seen on youtube..thank you for posting..even as a young lad making airfix models of the mossie i knew it was a special aircraft..cheers
BordeBomb66 i
Bit of a non-sequieur, but did you notice that near the beginning, a scene of GDH with his design team, a cup of tea is being passed along from person to person. How very British.
I like the workers wearing suits.
No mugs. China and saucers.
@@rcopterboy Coffee in a mug, tea in a cup.
Much like the Japanese tea ceremony we brits have a tea ritual, ita all about sharing with friends 😊
@@calvinhobbes1617British crafts/trades people wore shirt and tie right up to the 1970s😊
The finest war bird of ww2. Hearing and watching a mosquito low pass at 400mph with those two merlin v12's flat out is a sight to behold and enough to send shivers down your spine..
Hawarden airport had one in the flying school hangar next to the Chippy's and Tiger...i remember looking inside the bomb bay...it still had the carpenters pencil marks on the woodwork
What a great story.
just an outstanding film, thank you for this vid. The astounding ingenuity of De Havilland's engineers using balsa wood, low production costs, a gorgeous frame even by today's standards and at what, a 1% or less casualty rate...?....there should've been 50,000 Mosquitos built.
Sitka spruce from Canada…not balsa from Central America
Now THAT'S an impressive aircraft! It's so rare that a machine that can do so many jobs can do all of them so well.
In college I had a summer job at a clothing store, where one of the salesmen was a British chap who had flown Spits during the Battle of Britain. He still limped a bit from having bailed out over the channel during one of his many encounters. But he flew again. One of the nicest guys I ever met. Very humble about it all.
This is a truly awesome, thorough documentary of the Mosquito. There are so many memorable images included. Thankyou so much for the upload!!
A brief appearance of “Catseyes” Cunningham, and featuring the Eindhoven raid on the Philips factory, which was, of course, an important source of instruments and components for the Nazi war effort. Thoughtfully, the management of Philips had transferred all the most militarily sensitive operations to its British factories before the war started, and was as un-cooperative as possible with the occupiers, unlike some other Dutch businesses such as C&A. The Philips management knew the raid was coming, and advised on which bit of the factory should be attacked to secure the best outcome, trying to protect its workers as far as possible in the process.
after the war this company built the world's first jet airliner, after dealing with metal fatigue problems, (caused by pressurerising the aircraft ) it paved the way for todays airliners, i flew in the COMET mk 2 ...great aircraft.
My mother helped build Mossies at Downsview, soon to be a part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Im so glad this film is available to watch , what an insight into how they were made .
What a pleasure to read about the Dehaveland Mosquito.
My father, Pi Pienaar flew a Mosquito during the war on reconnicence missions over Germany.
He was the first to encounter a Meschersmit 262 over Munich, was attacked 10 times after being hit, flew back to Italy, made a belly landing and survived.
I a. Writing this as an 80 year old son of the pilot!!
Thanks for the video! And the tiny original mention of Canada. Built a lot of them at DeHavilland in Downsview in Toronto, Canada. Canada and Canadians contributed a hell of a lot to the war, be it manpower, ships, planes. Not to mention the AVRO plant in Malton, turning out Lancs, etc. Where did Britain get the birch? Ah, Canada. A lot of Women flew them over the Atlantic.
39:58 best landing field image of all! Great video, great story, great country, great plane and pilots!
Great old documentary. Thanks for putting it up.
Excellent documentary with that nostalgic feel of the era's film making. As for the famous and venerable Mosquito ... one SUPERB aircraft, from concept to warrior. As fierce as it was fast. Thanks QB for bringing it here.
I didn't know just how brilliant the Mosquito was. Fantastic
I am very impressed how quick engineers of all types managed to advance concept to product in such short time. They must have been very skilled and worked very hard.
It was down to the tea - they used to create special batches by storing the tea in a damp place for a week then slowly dried out naturally - this created a special fungus which when brewed had psychotropic properties stimulating creative parts of the brain.
And there were plenty.
@@lenfirewood4089 Ha ha ha!
@@lenfirewood4089 Where, pray tell, may I purchase a pound or two of this tea? Or at least, the recipe for making same at home.
As a young boy in London ,Ontario,Canada,I can still hear the scream of those twin Merlins!
About 35 years ago, a friend (in the US) visited a British air museum and returned with a recording of a preflight (audio) checkout, which he played back on his high-fi with a pair of 100-watt speakers. Mesmerized teens drifted away from their music in the basement to feel to feel the body pounding acoustic vibrations from the Mosquito as it went through the checkout procedure while warming the lube oil equally in both engines before accelerating down the runway -- and blowing out the preamp on the recording device -- very impressive.
I suspect that many enthusiasts would appreciate a link to that recording if one could be found.
You guys were smoking something while listening to this, weren’t you? 😂
Just before the 26 min mark some nice clips of 105 squadron which joined with 8 Group PFF in June 43. The wing commander is John Wooldridge DFC DSO who was also a screen writer and composer who wrote and produced the 1952 Dirk Bogarde film Appointment in London, the story of a Lancaster bomber pilot.
My father flew a mosquito onetime from Bendigo to Laverton in Victoria. Elapsed time from wheels off to touch down was 10 minutes flying at tree-top height. He said it was quite a ride with those huge Merlins roaring away and the props level with the cockpit. He said the acceleration on the mosquito was very impressive.
Lee Osborn haha - acceleration was “impressive” sounds like British understatement standards at its best.
What an amazing aircraft, possibly the most effective of WW2 it seems nothing could catch it and its ability as a multi role aircraft were unequalled. We should have made 1000s more.
😅😊
This is the best film on the Mosquito I've seen
Lindsay Fog n
N))
An outstanding aircraft that punched way beyond its class, an engineering wonder of its time.😃👌👌👌👌
Terry Stephens get a woody every time I see one 😋😉
A fine history of a wonderful airplane by a great aircraft manufacturer. De Havilland's concept of lightness and speed proved very successful and adaptable for many roles. Plus, it's one of the most beautiful aircraft produced in WWII in my opinion. Building it out of plywood was genius and saved the project from being scrapped in 1940. Good show, lads.
This an excellent film. It shows the clarity of thought and purpose in the design. It also covers how they built strength in at minimal weight, which I think was the real genius of the Mosquito. This gives a real insight into the design process
Undoubtedly the most feared allied aircraft of the war from an axis point of view. It did not matter where, what time of day or at what height you were the prey of these exceptional machines.
sheikhyaboooty A few years ago I read a German soldiers account of time in Normandy after D-day landings. He said he and his comrades always feared the Mosquito's because they were dangerous at low level, appearing just over tree-tops at high speed, or bombing from great heights. He recalled one incident when a solitary tiny silver plane appeared over head at about 30,000 feet. Suddenly there was a huge explosion nearby, and they all knew it was a Mosquito.
The prey of those exceptional machines were largely civilians. Schools, hospitals, railway stations and civilian housing. The aim of those 'nuisance' raids was to draw defenses away from key targets giving the 'heavies' a greater chance of success. In reality all that was achieved was the deaths of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands if innocent men women and children in what amounted to nothing more than a terrorist bombing campaign.
I see nothing to celebrate anymore. After seven years research into the life and times an Canadian Mosquito pilot killed in 1944 for his biography I felt I could no longer in all conscience
continue the work as the magnitude of the horror and depravity of the allied bombing offensive became more abundantly clear by the facts I uncovered. Facts which are now thankfully becoming more widely known and understood.
The rose tinted view of heartless unfeeling sociopaths nostalgic for war and it's mechanical contrivances of mass killing and destruction sickens me now, I wish I never started.
Were it not for the more than half a million that have viewed the video I would take it down.
"History is a pack of lies about events that never happened told by people who weren't there." - George Santayana.
@@gb5uq meanwhile, just what to you think the Germans and Japanese with their allies were doing? I suggest you take another look at what total war against a ruthless cruel enemy actually means.
Besides which to state "The prey of those exceptional machines were largely civilians. Schools, hospitals, railway stations and civilian housing" is highly misleading bordering on subversion and treachery.
@soaringtractor - "3rd March 1941 - Bosombe Down - Mosquito W4050, 2x Merlin 21 engines...Preliminary performance and brief handling trials... service ceiling is roughly determined as 34,000 feet."
London, Kew National Archives, AVIA-18/716, page 5.
discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C4075609
You`re welcome.
@@CalumDouglas Do yourself a favour and ignore soaringtractor/Wilbur Finnigan and whatever other names he uses. He hates British fighting men and the aircraft they flew, despite the fact that half his own country supported Hitler until they saw the light, while the British had been fighting them for years. He hates the fact that the Mosquito was better than any twin of the war.
Without doubt the most beautifull aircraft of WWII in my opinion. And the most versatile too. Build from wood it also was easy to build by skilled carpenters and could take a lot of punishment. At the moment I'm buiding the Tamiya 1/48 model of the bomber version. The 1/32 Tamiya model is in the pipeline, but this one I'm gonna build in the fighter version. Thanks for uploading from a "Mossie" lover.
How old are you?
I'm 62, and now retitered thus plenty of time for modelling. The 1/32 scale Mosquito is almost finishes now :D
Ronald VAN TOL Agree
A recent anonymous and quite scurrilous copyright claim against this public information video has been dropped following my appeal. Many thanks to UA-cam..
That's good to hear mate, we need things like this.
gb5uq
gb5uq
Ach, Kuheim, schatz -mindestens wissen wir wer und wo du bist. Hundedreck
Anyone with any religion is a bit of a worry. Luckily people believing in sky fairies are becoming the minority around the world and a good thing to. Socialist EU countries. Oh you mean the wealthy ones with a high standard of living and culture it would be a pleasure to live and work in. They have a terrible thing like universal healthcare for everyone, good retirement options, very low crime rates etc. Clean safe countries with high levels of education. Yes the opposite of the US in every respect and much better for it.
The mosquito was a masterpiece of British engineering. As someone born in the 90s, I am eternally proud and grateful to the men who flew and built (including my grandad who built the instruments) of this magnificent aircraft.
Many thanks for posting this excellent video, a remarkable aeroplane, one of the best aeroplanes of WWII, and of course British , I have the original on Video, so I will have to watch it again.
I grew very weary of the Brits and Anglophiles rattling on about this aircraft and thought it to be typical braggadocio. However, principally because of this film and supporting facts re the Mosquito, I came to greatly admire the engineering and creativity that went into invention and development that comprised this unique aircraft. The "homespun" work -- using what precious resources and skills of Great Britain during the war -- is very endearing. Add to that the fact that they stripped the concept to the very bone with no armament and spare additional comforts to produce one of the fastest aircraft for its time was significant. But adding back armament, additional bomb load, and extra fuel for range, turned this into a formidable weapon.
All this and the appearance of this sleek fighter bomber has made me a huge fan!
Well done, Brits!
My Gramps flew DH -98's in the RCAF. My Grams built Mossie's in London Ontario.
He loved it!!!
When Goering saw a technical report of one that had crashed, he said ‘The British have geniuses for aircraft designers. We have nincompoops’. (Yep, the word is the same in English & German)
He turned green with envy....we believe!
The young woman catching lengths of balsa wood at 12.41 is my late mother aged 19. :)
I'm a big fan of the Mosquito. Thanks for pointing out your late mother who was doing her part in the war effort. She was part of the greatest generation.❤
That was a cute scene...good work,
Mom!
How great it must be to see your dear Mum as a young woman, helping in the defense of England. I miss my Mother dearly as well.❤
My favourite aeroplane - worked with a guy 30 years ago who flew them during the war. Never flew - in anything - again after the war ended. When I asked him, he said he reckoned he'd used up all his luck with all the impossible things they were asked to do.
My Great Grand Father flew Beaufighter for 60 sorties and was shot down twice, he then flew 280 sorties in Mosquito without issues, he then flew Tempests being shot down once by ground fire , he died in his bed aged 96, his favourite plane was the Mosquito but he never went into details of his missions as he lost to many friends
May he rest in peace and light perpetual shine upon him. Amen
seemingly the Beaufighter was a very effective night fighter in World War Two, after they were fitted with their own radar system
Nowhere else in the world would you get a village carpenter making aircraft parts......just genius!
Well, that may have been a bit exaggerated for propaganda purposes, but there is little doubt individual carpentry businesses did make a contribution. More so the larger furniture businesses in places like High Wycombe, which were already turning out mass-produced furniture: they were very easily switched to direct aircraft production in quantity: something the enemy would never have thought possible (and some British brass-hats might well have agreed with). Moreover, as the film states, many repairs were within the competence of an ordinary carpenter, who might have been in the RAF, or who would have already been tooled up and been informally drafted in to help at the local base, probably as a DH subcontractor.
@@allenwilliams1306. Yes Allen and there is a book published called the 'History of Aviation in High Wycombe' I think which mentions the furniture industry here (about 100 factories back then?) and how it changed during WW2. Some of these companies made parts for the Mosquito and further up Amersham Hill in High Wycombe is a place named De Havilland Close I think.
@@jimlassen9422 Is it not so that Goring was infuriated ( as well as amazed) by this extraordinary plane and declared that 'Every piano making firm in England is making them!'...Being a ww1 veteran ace, he understood the virtues of planes with a lot of wood in the design. So, he wanted a German version made, which wasn't easy to accomplish. The TA 154..But he was a man obsessed and even called his version Mosquito. How unoriginal...But no, there were probs in their design, never got past proto level.
Well done documentary on a remarkable airplane. Thank you.
Amazing history of an amazing aircraft!
when I was in air cadets our CO had done flight training in a tiger moth. he was saying on days with a strong head wind they could actually fly backwards relative to the ground.
Yes, and if you flew one at night, someone might put a candle outside, and the damn thing would fly in circles around it. But only if the wind isn't strong
Before the war my father built one plane out of two Moth's, he told me the same thing a strong head wind and he could go backwards, when war broke out his plane was taken by the ait force to train pilots!
Actually a whole ship can go backwards while running full tilt forward in certain tidal areas where the entire sea is moving backwards!
Such a good design. Such brave men. Total respect
wonderful film with some great war footage.
12:25 ...thanks for documentary ... really interesting from a point of view of product design and construction process. Really good shape, great style. Very aerodynamic shape.
A great record of a great aircraft. Thank you.
The British had the best looking aircraft of ww2,great doc,best one yet.
If it looks right, it is. And it was.
Makes me climax every time 👌😏 one seriously sexy bird I tell ee
The best information and description of forcible aircraft. Great video thanks for sharing it
I believe there was no more versatile aircraft built in WWII, let alone any war since, like the Mosquito. Brilliant engineering and use of materials.
yup
it was also a durable, tough plane. You had a much better chance of survival flying one than in any other.
For sure. Some brilliant lateral thinking and designing by Geoffrey Dehavilland and his team.
pepe cohetes
F-15 maybe?
Thanks for the interesting and educational video. If I were a pilot, and wealthy enough, I would own an operable Mosquito. I am a yank, but from what I have read in WWII books and seen on youtube, I have a soft spot for the Mosquito. These planes and their pilots, saved a lot of lives, contributed greatly to ending the war, and were, possibly, again from what I have read, the best at keeping their crews alive, because of their speed, dependability, and great handling.
GREAT TO FLY I FLEW IN EGPYT. NO PLANE LIKE IT THANKS FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE FOR US.
Truly a great insight to the development and operational roles of this outstanding aeroplane. My second cousin way older than myself was in 264 Squadron. Film was a great insight for me. THANKS👌🏴
This is really my favourite Channel!
Thanks for your nice Videos,
it is very enlightening,
Waiting for your latest update.
De Havilland 'Mossie' Park
When i heard of there wood construction a while back i was amazed. But now i wonder why they always talk about how the spitfire saved the day. In my view the Mosqhito was the best engineered plane ever. It wasnt just a fighter. It was everything and put together in wood workshops. What an amazing feate of Engineering and abillity.
I agree. Today it would be called a multi role aircraft. Way ahead of its time. Herman Goering watched them with envious eyes "And now they have an aircraft that is better than anything we can produce and can be made by any woodwork shop on the country"
British engineering and design at its best.
I was fortunate enough to meet John Cunningham many years ago, he lived nearby and his navigator, Jimmy Rawnsley was my fils best man. I clearly remember him saying it was a beautiful plane to fly.... fast, but a sod if you stalled!
ME 109 pilots readily admitted they had nothing but respect for their Spitfire counterparts.
Those that encountered Mosquitos configured with 4 303s & 4 20mm, readily admitted they would do anything needed to never run into them again.
What a fantastic movie for a fantastic aircraft!-John in Texas
I recall The History Channel, of many years ago, did a TV program on the Mosquito, where I recall in particular an RAF pilot that flew that bomber in WW II . . . where he said that he never flew another airplane after the war in civilian life, simply because the Mosquito was such a superb aircraft to fly, where he implied that flying any other prop driven aircraft would be a letdown in comparison.
Great to see the Instruction from the Ministry referencing Canadian manufacture. We quietly contributed aircraft, munitions, weapons, vehicles and ships throughout the entire '39 to '45 period.
Mosquito mk.XVI: crew of two, range 1.500 miles with a 4.000 lb bomb load, maximum speed 415 mph cruising speed probably about 300 mph.
Boeing B-17: crew of 10, range 800 miles, 4500 lb bomb load (long range), maximum speed 287, cruising speed 182 mph.
I often wonder what if the USAAF would have split that single B-17 crew in two-men flight crews and flew much larger numbers of the mosquito in stead of the B-17.
Even with the original bomb-load of 2.000 lb, the shear numbers would increase "pay-load" delivery, at higher speeds, longer range and less risk for the crews.
You are wrong on the range of the B17 iw was closer ti 1800 miles with 4,000 lb bomb load.. and it could fly at 30,000 ft.. nice try...
I'm willing to concede I may have made a mistake in interpreting the extensive data on the B-17 as described by Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-17_Flying_Fortress), which DOES state a range of 800 miles for long range missions, while at the same time claiming 2000 miles with 6000 lb of bombs elsewhere in the spec's, I will maintain that the sheer speed and smaller crew for comparable range and load, still the makes mosquito the better plane
Roy Kliffen..... IF the B17 only had a 800 mile range....how did they fly to Berlin and back??? 1800 to 2000 miles is more like it..and they produced twice as many B17's and three times as many B24's...
That's why I conceded that point. I missed that flaw in Wikipedia data in my original comment.
Still leaves the smaller crew, higher speed, similar payload and less use of metal per plane. The resources used to build all those B-17's and B-24's could also have been used to build much more mosquitoes, and even then not enough to use all the crewmen used for those B-17's and B-24's.
The USA Had plenty of Aluminum, did not have to worry about alternate building materials.
My grandfather worked for de Havilland in research and development and became a deferred tradesman during the war and worked on the first prototype at Salisbury hall Hertfordshire.
One of the best planes of WW2. Thank you
Great film, thanks for uploading
Innovative. It's a shame less than 5 are flying today. Great footage.
It goes for both the RAF & the USAF.
The Mosquito carried (from what I'm given to believe) the equivalent to the other, bigger bombers including the the US bombers. Only 2 crew members & no armament. It could carry a 4000 bomb load, at a faster speed than anything else in the sky. Flown at zero ft it was under the radar & difficult to shoot down.
2 Rolls Merlins bolted to a wardrobe.
What a flying machine.
John Sadler и.
Yup, flying out of Banff, to Norway, they flew at 10 ft above the waves at night. ! crazy. More losses on take off and landing than in the air I was told. Wet grass runways caused many accidents, wheels break off and exit is under the plane, not good.
I am an ex RAF aircraft fitter and also a pilot, I adore these aircraft! I thought i had found a way to get a flight in the last airworthy Mosquito......then i noticed she is in Australia the other side of the world so out of my reach 😢 Due to the fact they were wood none remain in existence i believe except the one in Ozz😕
If you want to watch good films about these in the war get yourself
633 Squadron
And Mosquito Squadron!
Very similar films but LOADS of flying footage!👍🏻
British ingenuity using furniture makers to build them. Sadly no aircraft are made in Glorious England anymore except some small light aircraft........what has happened to our once Great country 🇬🇧
Just amazing and stupid that almost everyone in these old videos was all dressed up and wearing a tie, no matter what the work was. Thank God we have gotten over the idiocy of this practice. Quite a story and quite a fine plane.
DeHavilland was my great grandfathers designer, when WW1 finished Airco was sold and my Great Grandfather set up DeHavilland in business
Old DeHavilland works buildings still in use in Christchurch, Dorset. Airfield at rear now built on.
the devolement of this aircraft would make a great movie
Indeed. A long movie with plenty of sorties after the design and build replaying the greatest missions. Man that to me would be better than pearl harbour.
If the Spitfire had two engines it would have been the Mossie. What an elegant aircraft. Nothing like good old British craftsmanship in both aircraft and cars. If there ever was a car that could be compared to the Spitfire it would be the XKE Jaguar. This is coming from a Yank who had a Blackpuddlian dad who introduced me to Airfix models, Cadbury chocolate and the privilege of driving his 1966 XKE. RIP dad. Eee by gumm!
It was 2 years after the introduction of the Mosquito that the DH Vampire flew using the DH Goblin turbojet which also powered the first USAAF jet aircraft. The Vampire also had wooden components although not as extensively as the Mossie
BRAVO!!!!! So well done! ❤❤❤❤
i just love the narrator, he's ace
My late uncle Jack Weir was radio operator navigator on mosquitos flying from Leuchars to Sweden in unarmed civilian marked planes. They would load up the bomb bay with ball bearings and then take off. They would then circle up as high as they could before flying over Norway for home losing height as they went to try and outrun the FW190s.
My dad was a cabinet maker in Tottenham who made bits for plane and my uncle worked draftsman in de Havilland I was in Hatfield as baby where factory is great plane
My mother worked there in the war
No mention in the film of the Mosquito "pathfinder" night missions over German cities. Proceeding the multi-hundred Lancaster and Halifax bombers, the incendiary bomb-laden Mosquitoes dropped their small payloads to illuminate target zones. The Luftwaffe countered these advanced strikes by using their excellent Heinkel Uhu (owl) night fighters. The British countered this by escorting the pathfinder Mosquitos with radar equipped Mosquito night-fighters.
i think one of my ancestors was a pilot in the Pathfinding missions.. the navigation and flying skills of the RAF were totally marvellous really.. especially when at night at extremely low level and low level over sea..
seemingly the Lancaster bombers on the Dambusters raid had to fly at UNDER 50 feet for the entire mission across the sea and following a river deep into Germany.. at night! with no night vision and very basic instrumentation.. insanely good skills.. we'll never see better i think
Fantastic film and amazing aircraft.
I think it says alot about British industry that the most brilliant aircraft they made in the war, and the quickest from drawing board to mass production, was constructed using essentially pre-industrial techniques and materials, by 400 small self employed subcontractors on piece-work. English craft skills at their most ingenious.
And I bet those subbies did well out of it, - making essentially furniture in their living rooms and selling it to the Air Ministry at war prices I would have liked to have a piece of that. Here's some pocket money son help me out on this :-)
Ssblahm The Mossie was NOT the fastest from design to manufacture. Mustang was done in 117 days and Lockheeds first jet the P80 was also about 120 days !!! !
I've been blessed to see one of these beauties in person. Awesome plane.
Excellent! Thanks!
The Mosquito was fabulous for it's day.
Clearly no one back then could be creative without a cigarette!
Trooper DGB bit like now without computer/phone or coffee 😜
What this neglects to mention is that the Air Ministry was looking at the use of timber prior to the outbreak of WW2 as they realised that the metals used in aircraft construction would become overstretched, unless overseas construction could be carried out such as was done in Canada (and outside of the Empire in the USA). The Albemarle was IIRC was the only other timber aircraft to see service, and that was less successful than the Mossie, as it came too late for its intended role and ended up mainly in the glider tug role.
It was only in the Far East that the Mossie was less successful as the glue was affected by the high humidity.
I had no idea the Mosquito was such a versatile aircraft!
ingenuity at its best. what an amazing plane,the more they asked of her,the more she took,bombs,drop tanks,machine guns,why not cannons too,or maybe an artillery piece ?sure,some rockets too,why not ?all out of wood keep in mind, nothing short of incredible!
YES, THE STORY IS INCOMPLETE WITH MENTIONING ALL HER ARMOURY. e.g THE 6 LB CANNON, THAT DESTROYED SO MANY SURFACE SHIPS AND SUBMARINES , WITH IT'S SOLID HARDENED STEEL SHELL'S ETC.
At 29 minutes, tree and roof height hopping, that is low and at some speed, they were bloody good pilots they were.
Indeed they were marvelous lads
returning Mosquitos often had small branches of foreign trees in their undercarriage.
What a great design, great performance
What a beautiful history of GOD'S guiding hand.
I think I saw this film - or one very like it - way back in 1962/63 when I was at school. We had an aeronautical society, and you could borrow films in those days free except postage for schools. Saw all the old SBAC Farnborough films as well. Great days. And it was a state school, so no privileged treatment, in case you ask!
this video is incredible
Extremely interesting and informative. I love to see the methods and tooling that were used in aircraft construction. Thank you for showing.
A bomber turned into a fighter. Basically a reversal of conventional practice. Because of the pinpoint accuracy of their low level bombing it has been said that one mosquito could do more damage to the German war machine than a whole squadron of heavies.
My Farthing in law was one of the designers of the wings for the Mosquito. In Christchurch Dorset Then he was sent to Coventry and Halifax. (War Work). He witnessed the blitz on Coventry
As time goes by:
I worked with a Flight Sargent who fly them. Also a Flight mechanic. He told me that after the service. He had to go up for a test flight… The pilot had full clothes… he said I had shirt sleeves (frost bite)
I worked for Halls Bros in Whitefield in the 1980’s (Halls Mentholiptus).. The factory, before the war was a CO-OP furniture Factory, requisitioned for war work. They made the Plywood frames for the Mossis
My Half-penny-in-law could do twice as muchl as your "Farthing-in-law"
@@Baskerville22 But why would nobody talk to the farthing-in-law? What had he done?
Amazing aircraft .why haven't we got one that flies