The De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito
Designed by Sir Geoffrey de Havilland in 1940, during the darkest days of World War Two from Britain’s perspective, the Mosquito emerged as a shining example of bold British aeronautical engineering, technical ingenuity and perseverance. The resulting aircraft emerged to become not only the world’s fastest production aircraft for three years during a period of unprecedented technical advancement, but also the world’s first true multi-role combat aircraft – the predecessor to day’s Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Lightning II.
The ‘Wooden Wonder’
Affectionately known as the ‘Mossie’ to its crews, or the ‘Wooden Wonder’, 7,781 were eventually built, the most numerous of which was the famed FB.VI fighter bomber version.
The Mosquito’s greatest strength lay in its unique monocoque wooden design, employing composite construction techniques now seen as standard across the aviation industry. More than 400 UK companies, including furniture makers, piano builders and small family-run businesses were involved in a highly decentralised supply chain, all supporting six UK assembly sites. Such was the demand for Mosquitos that assembly was also established in Canada and Australia.
How many Mosquitos were produced between 1941 and 1950?
7,781
A Word on the Mosquito From Those Who Flew Her
Flt Lt Colin Bell DFC – 608 Sqn, Pathfinder Force
“My first impression: What a sleek and beautiful aircraft. If it looks good, it will fly good – and it did. It was a joy to fly.
Was I grateful for being in a Mosquito? All the time. It could outfly any propeller-driven enemy night fighter. The
Mosquito saved my skin many times, never so much as when I was being chased by an enemy jet fighter. The Mosquito’s speed and manoeuvrability were superb and
resulted in the enemy abandoning the pursuit.
Seeing a Mosquito at future air displays would allow a younger generation to see for themselves what an outstanding and impressive aircraft it is.”
Flt Lt Des Curtis DFC – 618 Squadron
“Unquestionably, the De Havilland Mosquito was the finest multi-role aircraft in the world in the 1940s. Sadly, the tragic loss of RR299 on 21 July 1996 at Barton deprived the generations in Britain since then of the
opportunity to enjoy seeing a Mosquito at the air displays. In the minds of many, the RAF in World War II is defined by the Spitfire, Hurricane and the Lancaster.
The public deserves to know more of this aircraft, and The People’s Mosquito project is the most practical way of achieving this. I hope to live long enough to see an overly, and to hear again the unique sound of the twin Merlin
engines, of this wonderful plane. Top of my bucket list.”
Flt Lt George Dunn DFC LdH – 608 Sqn, 1409 Met Flt.
Speaking on BBC1 Breakfast in early 2023.
“Beautiful, versatile, you had verything: speed, height, you name it, it was there. It was my favourite aircraft. I’ve flown Spitfires and that, but the Mosquito was absolutely out of this world.
I can’t believe that the aircraft is being renovated, resurrected and is going to fly again. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll still be here when it is completed.”
The whole team would love to prove George wrong.
The Mosquito Today
Today, there are only three Mosquitos in flying condition:
* TV959, a T.III owned and operated by the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Seattle
* KA114, an FB.26 fighter ariant owned by Jerry Yagen’s Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach
* PZ474, an FB.VI, built for Texan billionaire Rod Lewis and now owned by Charles Somer, a Californian based CEO of a large cleaning company
All restored by Avspecs Ltd. in New Zealand and operated under an FAA Experimental airworthiness certification – of which there is no equivalent in the UK.
The only other arguably airworthy example is a bomber variant, B.35 VR796, owned by Bob Jens and restored to flight by Victoria Air Maintenance Ltd. in Canada. However, this aircraft has not flown for several years and is unlikely to do so again.
There has been no airworthy Mosquito in the UK since 1996.
The People’s Mosquito exists to change that!
Our Mosquito – RL249
The People’s Mosquito was formed around the ‘mortal remains’ of RL249, a former Mosquito NF.36, which crashed after takeoff from RAF Coltishall on 14 February 1949. The project is proud to be actively supported by the family of Flight Sergeant William Kirby, who lost his life in the crash. His pilot, Flight Lieutenant ‘Dickie’ Colbourne eventually received the George Medal for conspicuous gallantry in trying to rescue his friend and navigator from the wreck.
Following a survey of supporters at the outset of the project, it was clear the public were overwhelmingly in favour of the identity being converted to a Mosquito FB.VI. The versatility of the Mosquito airframe meant that such conversions were common throughout the war.
The FB.VI was not just the most-produced version of the Mosquito, it was also easily converted into several related types, such as the NF.XV and the T.III. This opens up the possibility of modifying the airframe to reflect different marks of Mosquito, in much the same way as the Royal Air Force’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and other warbird owners do today, creating more than 40 potential identities and colour schemes for future displays.
As the owners of the mortal remains of RL249, The People’s Mosquito is restoring it to flight. However, such is the nature of the airframe that almost everything on the aircraft will be newly built. The charity is frequently asked if the project is, therefore, a true restoration. The answer is that with 22,300 original De Havilland drawings to guide our build, the result will arguably be the most authentic Mosquito flying anywhere in the world.
The People’s Mosquito has already procured the UK civil registration G-FBVI, which will be retained throughout the restored aircraft’s operational life.
