I was a liney at this airshow with Rodger Brookes and his crew 'The Jolly Rodgers' still got my pic of me in 299 , only got it because I'm a mate of Tony Agar (Elvington Mossie owner) good times.
Hopefully if anymore Mosquito's are restored, they won't abuse it in the AIR would hate to see more fatailitys and a waste of a historic aircraft, it's a pity one cannot be rebuilt and given to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, get some lottery funding for it to make it happen!
The last flying Mosquito was based at Broughton I believe. In the '80's the crew must have seen me playing golf on the Dickie Gwyn High School playing fields in Flint. They came in low and buzzed me. This made a very young teenage boy very happy.
Yes, i heard that too. The owner of the Mosquito Museum in London Colney (Salisbury Hall) told me the same thing. When the Mossie takes to the sky again, there will be millions of men simultaneously shedding a tear of happiness at the same time all over the world.
they are building one in windsor,ont. ca.,but will be for static display only.some parts are from a mossie used for survey that crashed up in northern canada in the late 50's,early 60's.there is also one for sale in B.C for over 1 million $ probably more now.not air worthy.any bidders?
@vultee that would be cool, I spent a few years working on HJ711 at York before I joined the RAF. The best way to keep any aircraft is in dark sealed temperature controlled space - but that's boring! Bring the noise !!
Last flying mossie is in the USA but maybe more to come a true composite air frame and before joining the RAF I worked on a NF2 rebuild at Elvington York
@AeroNY28 Are you talking about Kermit Weeks' Mosquito in the USA? or are you referring to another airframe? Most discussions on aviation forums seem to think that due to the environment it is stored in, it is a long way from being airworthy. It's many years since it flew, like many in the collection, and for that reason alone I would say it isn't airworthy. Aeroplanes don't like to sit around unused.
@AeroNY28 A new mosquito has been built by AVSPECS at ardmore in New Zealand and is due to fly by the end of this year. The construction of a second is well under way and should be airborne in a couple of years all going well.
No matter what your personal preference - the Mosquito with it's monocoque construction and high performance undoubtedly makes it the most versatile aircraft of WW2 bar none. It merits the highest of praise though sadly does not achieve it because of the understandable glorification of it's counterparts. No disrespect to them of course.
'The Wooden Wonder' - I would so like to see one flying again!
My grand mother used To put the fabric on these planes she said it was one of the best jobs she had because the Germans hated them makes me proud to be British and such a shame none are now in the air
Fantastic video, great to see the old Mosquito strutting it's stuff!
My Grandad worked in a factory that built these during the war, he has many fond memories of this stunning aircraft. He also worked on the radar set that was installed in the night fighter version.
@GTElwood There are plenty of old wooden aeroplanes flying today, so I don't believe maintenance is the issue. In the 1960's and 70's, there wasn't the interest in aviation preservation and not many could have afforded to run one anyway. The sole ramaining airworthy Mosquito crashed in 1996, ironically just before british Aerospace were to donate it to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. There are Mosquitos under restoration, so one day, another will fly.
Stunning aircraft, my father had a flight in a weather recon one in malaya in the 50s when he was a merlin engine tech wit 33 sqd on hornets, another stunning aircraft !!
@BlackPhantomJambo there is one being built in New Zealand at the moment, not sure whether it will be allowed to come over to England for displays though.
@MrSpitfire1990 When you say "being built", I think you mean 'being restored'.
I had the opportunity to view this machine being restored about 20 years ago, and all they had at the time was the wing.
And what a wing it was. There was so much squished out glue and wooden patches everywhere the completed wing would have weighed more that the original machine.
There is no way what I saw would ever be airworthy.
Excellent video. To me it's just incredible that there is not a single airworthy Mosquito today. So many Mustangs, Spits, even some ME's, etc, etc, and no Mosquitoes?
My dad had a ride in a weather recon mossie in butterworth mayala when worked on the hornets with 33sqn in the 50s. He died 3 yrs ago, still hurts......................
Herman Goring said only the bastard British could build a wooden aircraft . Goring hated the mosquito because they had nothing to compete with the mosquito .
@356butch Problem was there were 1000's of Mossie sorties vs the most Me262 sorties ever in a day was 55 on 10 April 1945 (Far too late to have any effect on the war)
I would give anything to see this amazing aircraft fly, it's my favourite aircraft ever, never seen it fly! i would be happy to see it fly in my life time! I'm nearly 21 so hopefully, one day it'l happen :)
@MrSpitfire1990 Ditto to all your comments! Problem is I'm 61 & still hoping. My dad worked on them during the war - the RAAF wouldn't take him as he was an elec engineer & considered too valuable. He loved the Mozzie.
I do love these arguments about the Lancaster and mosquito. Yes the Lanc could carry more but, and this is the big question, how many of those bombs were on target. It was very likely that a bomb dropped from a Lancaster could be up to 4 miles of target. A bomb dropped from a Mosquito was rarely more that 500 yards of target.
The mosquitto was without doubt the most effective bomber from any nation during world war two. It was decades ahead of it time, and also the first 'stealth' bomber
@efanton I read that a Mosquito could be bombed up with 4,000lb, fly to Germany, drop the bomb, fly back, be refuelled and bombed up again, fly back, drop a second bomb, and still be back before a Stirling carrying 8,000lb that had taken off at the same time as the first departure. Not sure if this is true but it's a nice story!
According to Wikipedia the one in this video was the last airworthy example until it crashed in July 96 killing both crew. The display in this video must have been one if its last performances.
@markbeaman If you read the video description, you would see that it was a month before the crash at the North Weald Fighter Meet in 1996. I also included a link to the AAIB crash report, as there have been a number of "Experts" commenting on the video/crash, who always know more than the crash investigation team!
@markbeaman I saw this very aircraft fly when I was a volunteer at Salisbury Hall as a lad. The crash was an absolute tragedy, two very fine men were killed and of course a legendary aeroplane was lost. I hope one day there will be another flying (replica) Mosquito. It was a beautiful aeroplane and looked so at home in the sky.
Wonderful plane. One of the best they did in the ww2. Don't know if some of them are still flying. Wish I could listen to the marvelous sound of the two Rolls Royce Merlin engines.
In his book "Pathfinder" Air Vice-Marshal D.C.T. Bennett makes the point that the Mosquito was many times more effective than the Lancaster - It carried a little over half of the bomb load of the Lanc. to Berlin. Its casualty rate was 1/10th of that of the Lanc. and it cost was 1/3rd of the Lanc. and it used a crew of two instead of seven. In the face of those stats its odd that so little fuss is made of it .
@vultee35 Well, given the vast saving in aircrew lives that the use of the Mosquito would have given the occasional loss due to mid-airs over the target (and it would only have been very occasional especially as the greater numbers would have been partially offset by their higher flying speed giving greater physical separation for a given temporal separation) would still have been more than compensated for. And the vast economic savings could have paid for more airfields to be built.
@ColinMill1 England was pretty full of airfields to start with, it's the airspace above that was congested. The subject of Mossies V's Lancs has been discussed at length on the Flypast forum.
@vultee35 You might like to try doing a Frank Irving style collision cross-section calculation on the two types to see if 1000 lancs are less likely to bump into each other than 1800 Mosquitoes.
Since Bennett was responsible for operating large numbers of both types I'm inclined to accept his view on the comparison (one which, perhaps belatedly, even Ludlow-Hewitt came to share)
@ColinMill1 The Mosquito carried 2000lbs just under a ton , the Lanc carried max 10 ton !!! so the mosquito fantastic plane that it was, could not carry half of what a Lanc could
@truebrittoo actually the mosquito could carry 4000lb and the lancs 12,000 lb (only a handful could carry the 10 ton you mentioned and then only after extensive modifications which left it very vulnerable)
@truebrittoo The average bomb load of the Lancaster (Jan to July 1943) was 7, 450lbs. With its 4000lb capability the Mosquito averaged 3,735lbs allowing for aborted sorties. However the Lanc averaged only 28 sorties per write-off to the Mosquito's 92. As I said - strange we make so little fuss of this aircraft given that the BBMF spends money on preserving a DC3 and a Chipmunk - worthy perhaps, but not in the Mosquito's league by a long shot.
@ColinMill1 What's wrong with looking after something, with a restoration that probably added monetary value in addition to historical value. The BBMF were going to get the Mosquito until it crashed. I'm sure if you could find them a suitable airframe for restoration, they would be interested.
@vultee35 They have had 53 years to obtain one and it would have been far easier to acquire a respectable example in the 1960's or 70's than now. To allow the most vulnerable of the significant WW2 types to dwindle to the current state seems a massive oversight on their part. Unfortunately, I doubt it will now ever be rectified.
@ColinMill1 The UK warbird movement didn't really get started until the mid 1970's, people just weren't interested until the availability of airframes had virtually dried up. The BBMF in its infancy was doing well to look after two Spitfires in their early days.
@vultee35 Read Stuart Howe's Appendix 5 to Edward Bishop's book "Mosquito" and you will see that even into the 1990's there were substantial numbers of airframes that they could have considered had the will been there.
@vultee35 Well, with non-approved repairs on surviving airframes and withdrawal of manufacturer support for type it just gets less and less likely as time goes on. With the recession I reckon it's game over in the UK anyway. Good to see the New Zealanders and Canadians have a bit more about them.
@grooveclubhouse I'd expect the engines to have the engine driven supercharger like the later Merlin engined Spits had. Whether this was the single or two stage supercharger I don't know, but I'm sure there will be a Mossie expert who can give a more qualified answer.
it was called the misquito because if you pushed her too hard as far as handling went at high speed she would sting you like a misquito. BTW focke wulf 190 "butcher bird" top speeed was 472 mph only in the "D" model or "long nosed "as it was called. It was streched 4' so the tail surface would compensate for the added nose weight. Yes the 190 with the junkers jumos 213 inline engine the 190 was almost unbeatable.
@jonesy97 As posted earlier in the comments.........Focke Wulf 190, Focke-Wulf Ta 152, Hawker Tempest, P-51, Corsair, Bearcat were all faster than the Mosquito. More info further down the comments.
I hope this isn't a daft question, but when they restore them to flying condition, how much of the wood is original? I don't think I'd like to trust my life to 65 year old glue, how do they go about certifiying that all the wood etc is OK?
Google Victoria Air Maintenance. They're restoring a Mossie to airworthy condition. Work in progress still, but it has a pedigree and they mean for it to fly.
@vultee35 Thanks for the GREAT NEWS! Check this CGI by Tochy I used- now we have a whole FORMATION of Spits AND Plywood Wonders! FIRST TO BOMB BERLIN! FASTER THAN ANYTHING - even a Me-262 couldnt catch them when they had to climb way up there to chase 'em! They ALWAYS got away! The U-2 of WW2!
@vultee35 As a purely "clean" beautifully designed aircraft the mosquito leaves the 110 behind, and being over 70mph faster it proves this also. so what makes the 110 more appealling to you?
@pramboy09 To me, the Bf110 looks better, more purposeful, meaner. The Mozzie is to clean for me. Same goes for sports cars, much prefer a wedge than a shape dripped out of a tap.
@vultee35 I never thought about that one. Both look exciting in their own way. To me, the vertical tail on the deHavilland is a dead ringer of the He 111.
Mossies were one of the fastest cheapest and most versatile aircraft in ww2 even Hermann Göring said they made him turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops.
@vultee35 The 109 might look meaner but sadly for you the Mosquito shot shed loads of those 110s out of the night sky - in Germany. Just read night fighter books: "Closed rapidly to 1,000 ft. Vis indification of ME109 from beneath. Dropped back and fired short bust from 500 ft. Fuselage bust into flames and E/A crashed in river N of airfield" from "Fighter & Bomber Squadrons at War". Andrew Brookes. QED.
NOBODY beat the 'Mossie' - beautiful, fast, deadly and versatile. British design and ingenuity at it's best. Name an aircraft of WW2 that even came close.
@mseaborne Ju88 was also versatile, but I guess it's whatever blows your frock up. The Mossie put on a great display here, but the plane itself does nothing for me.
the dornier ran around 560-570,yes the fastest prop plane in ww2(39-45), however, the mosquito came around early, flew in a myriad of configurations, has confirmed kills and had logged thousands of missions and roles. the biggest reasons for the German jets was to FINALLY get those mossies. My personal favorite twin (335) had only trails, no confirmed kills or combat time. All in all you have to hand it to the mosquitos as fastest in the field
@zempke Fastest in the field apart from the Focke Wulf 190, Focke-Wulf Ta 152, Hawker Tempest, P-51, Corsair, Bearcat ( which was flown WW2 ) etc etc. Mossie was a fine aircraft, but certainly not the fastest as many people seem to think.
@vultee35, in fairness, the DH Hornet was a postwar design, one of my personal favourite aircraft. It must have been a blast to fly with all that power and contra-rotating props! Such a shame we'll never see one in the air. Thanks for posting this video of the Mosquito, it brought back some very happy memories of being at air displays with my late father when I was a brat!
@pete2778 There's quite a few aircraft that people consider post war because that's when they saw service, but which actually made their first flights during wartime.
I miss this 'plane so much! Saw it display at many airshows before it was lost- one of the most beautiful aircraft of WWII surely? But it does demonstrate the risks involved in this kind of display at such low level- if something goes wrong, there's no room/time to do anything about it. Such a sad waste of a lovely aircraft, and of course, of life.
He (the commentator) finally said the phrase near the end...'The Wooden Wonder'. Goering (sp?) laughed to start with then wished he'd had them. Fantastic.
@ajom010k If you search the Air Accident Investigation Branch website, you can read the full report about the crash which was caused by an incorrectly set up carburettor with subsequent loss of power and loss of controlled flight.
I saw the Mosquito fuselages under construction and they look like the Weald and Downland Museum workshops! I wonder if the Brit engineers used this wood technology as the seed of the idea? Cool!
Having just deleted a comment, can I remind people not to use offensive language in replies, they will just be deleted. If you wish to make a point, do so like an adult.
mosquitoes were used in europe as recon planes because they were fast and no other planes could catch them. Thought mosquitoes could reach a top speed of about 440-450???
@vultee35 airspeed is measured in knots IAS, and is density / altitude dependant. NEVER believe ANYTHING quoted at you that is in MPH. Its just advertising brouchure guff. Down on the deck, I have heard a Mossie will make a mess outta most single engine fighters.
@vultee35 the two single engine fighters I know of that WILL outrun a Mozzie are the Ta152 D series , and the Hawker Tempest V, which will blow the DOORS off ANYTHING with a prop. ( read The Big Show , P Clostermann ) . The Dornier served in such small numbers it can barely be classed as " operational " , but it was a very......interesting bird. And the Bearcat did not serve in WW2 . Fast ?, sure, but the Marines stuck with the F4U for Korea, because it was a versatile beast.
@tasman763 In which case you agree with my original statement that the Mosquito wasn't the fastest plane, whether you want to read speeds in MPH or Kts .
A company called AVSPECS in New Zealand has built a mossie from scratch,
check out it's website.
This aircraft was not outside it,s or the pilots limits when it crashed. Frankly 063209dr I imagine that you are no more that the typical armchair commentator who thinks that they know more than the people envolved!
If it is then frankly I'm not surprised, with the low-level past followed by climb and then what looked like a 90 degree - yes 90 degree - banked turn to down wind, there should've been a debrief following this display.
Whatever the results of AAIB are, I'd suggest that's a risky 90 degree banked turn from low level. Leaving very little room for manoeuvre. And from what I can see that's where it went wrong in the crash video.
@scv405 In a 90 degree bank (1:42 into the video) there'll be no vertical lift component from the wings. Although he climbs into the 90 degree bank to counter this, the plane falls away before he levels it off.
That's a risky manoeuvre at low level with no room to recover in an old wooden aircraft with a carburettor fed engine. And as we know, in the crash video it's during such a manoeuvre it all went wrong.
Making stuff from wood is easy, having the correct tooling isn't so easy. I've heard the 'moulds' for a Mosquito fuselage were concrete. If you have some moulds, then laminating a fuselage is possible. Mosquitos are being restored, but it's not a fast and easy process as you may think.
personally I am SICK of airshow announcers, I want to hear th eplane !!!
radioguy1620 4 days ago
WHAT GERMAN FIGHTER SHOT DOWN A MOZI?THE BEST MRCA AIRCRAFT TILL MRCA TORNADOE. TELL ME balljoint@tiscali.co.uk
01yorki 6 days ago
"Stunning",Just purely stunning,Even the Germans wanted to reverse engineer these.Great clip,cheers.
MrCriticOfAll 3 weeks ago
I was a liney at this airshow with Rodger Brookes and his crew 'The Jolly Rodgers' still got my pic of me in 299 , only got it because I'm a mate of Tony Agar (Elvington Mossie owner) good times.
magnostrike 1 month ago
The City Of Calgary has a Mozzie sitting in a crate at the museum...
maskajon 1 month ago
that noise :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3msanimations 1 month ago
Mosquitoes, soooooooooo beautiful
TheFunkhouser 1 month ago
Love the Mosquito! One of my very favorite WW2 warplanes!
TeekiesPlace 2 months ago
@rosbif74 "Whispering Death" I believe was the nickname awarded by the Japanese to the Beaufighter rather than the Mossie. Sorry to quibble!
harbuthnot 2 months ago
Why didn`t they ever put her in the BBMF? This Aeroplane is such a beaut.
BlackWidowZ93 2 months ago
@BlackWidowZ93 The Mosquito was due to go to the BBMF at the end of the 96 season, but it crashed mid season.
vultee35 2 months ago
@vultee35 :( Still really sad hopefully they will put one back in UK skies soon :)
BlackWidowZ93 2 months ago
@vultee35 shame :(
bigvee93 2 months ago
Hopefully if anymore Mosquito's are restored, they won't abuse it in the AIR would hate to see more fatailitys and a waste of a historic aircraft, it's a pity one cannot be rebuilt and given to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, get some lottery funding for it to make it happen!
ravernelly 2 months ago
The last flying Mosquito was based at Broughton I believe. In the '80's the crew must have seen me playing golf on the Dickie Gwyn High School playing fields in Flint. They came in low and buzzed me. This made a very young teenage boy very happy.
busabuoy 3 months ago
There a Mossie being prepped tp fly in New Zealand soon.. Id say within a few months.
Sledgie555 3 months ago
@Sledgie555
Yes, i heard that too. The owner of the Mosquito Museum in London Colney (Salisbury Hall) told me the same thing. When the Mossie takes to the sky again, there will be millions of men simultaneously shedding a tear of happiness at the same time all over the world.
wellardme 3 months ago
they are building one in windsor,ont. ca.,but will be for static display only.some parts are from a mossie used for survey that crashed up in northern canada in the late 50's,early 60's.there is also one for sale in B.C for over 1 million $ probably more now.not air worthy.any bidders?
guitwar71 4 months ago
@vultee that would be cool, I spent a few years working on HJ711 at York before I joined the RAF. The best way to keep any aircraft is in dark sealed temperature controlled space - but that's boring! Bring the noise !!
AeroNY28 5 months ago
Tragic, the Mossie was always my fav ww2 plane
vorn29 5 months ago
Last flying mossie is in the USA but maybe more to come a true composite air frame and before joining the RAF I worked on a NF2 rebuild at Elvington York
AeroNY28 5 months ago
@AeroNY28 Are you talking about Kermit Weeks' Mosquito in the USA? or are you referring to another airframe? Most discussions on aviation forums seem to think that due to the environment it is stored in, it is a long way from being airworthy. It's many years since it flew, like many in the collection, and for that reason alone I would say it isn't airworthy. Aeroplanes don't like to sit around unused.
vultee35 5 months ago
@AeroNY28 Did you know the Elvington Mosquito is being brought back to taxiing condition?
vultee35 5 months ago
@AeroNY28 A new mosquito has been built by AVSPECS at ardmore in New Zealand and is due to fly by the end of this year. The construction of a second is well under way and should be airborne in a couple of years all going well.
64TrueKiwi 5 months ago
Fabulous video. Thank you.
No matter what your personal preference - the Mosquito with it's monocoque construction and high performance undoubtedly makes it the most versatile aircraft of WW2 bar none. It merits the highest of praise though sadly does not achieve it because of the understandable glorification of it's counterparts. No disrespect to them of course.
'The Wooden Wonder' - I would so like to see one flying again!
Peter
mosquito36 6 months ago
My grand mother used To put the fabric on these planes she said it was one of the best jobs she had because the Germans hated them makes me proud to be British and such a shame none are now in the air
silkiebreeder 6 months ago
One of the finest light bombers ever built. The Germans hated it.
navnig 6 months ago
Fantastic video, great to see the old Mosquito strutting it's stuff!
My Grandad worked in a factory that built these during the war, he has many fond memories of this stunning aircraft. He also worked on the radar set that was installed in the night fighter version.
Thanks for the great video.
steamwally 6 months ago
So no more flying Mosquitoes?. I think that is caused by it's wooden structure, a hell to maintain in good shape rather than alloys.
Or i'm wrong?, i'm just wondering.
GTElwood 6 months ago
@GTElwood There are plenty of old wooden aeroplanes flying today, so I don't believe maintenance is the issue. In the 1960's and 70's, there wasn't the interest in aviation preservation and not many could have afforded to run one anyway. The sole ramaining airworthy Mosquito crashed in 1996, ironically just before british Aerospace were to donate it to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. There are Mosquitos under restoration, so one day, another will fly.
vultee35 6 months ago
@vultee35 Thanks for your clarification, i really hope that one day we'll see one again it its element... the air
GTElwood 6 months ago
@GTElwood
i once read a comment by a mossie restorer that for a wooden aeroplane, it had a maddening number of metal parts.
TheDarwiniser 4 months ago
Stunning aircraft, my father had a flight in a weather recon one in malaya in the 50s when he was a merlin engine tech wit 33 sqd on hornets, another stunning aircraft !!
MrWolfnomad 7 months ago
Are there any other Mosquitos airworthy today? At least anby in flying condition?
BlackPhantomJambo 8 months ago
@BlackPhantomJambo None yet.
vultee35 8 months ago
@BlackPhantomJambo there is one being built in New Zealand at the moment, not sure whether it will be allowed to come over to England for displays though.
MrSpitfire1990 7 months ago
@MrSpitfire1990 When you say "being built", I think you mean 'being restored'.
I had the opportunity to view this machine being restored about 20 years ago, and all they had at the time was the wing.
And what a wing it was. There was so much squished out glue and wooden patches everywhere the completed wing would have weighed more that the original machine.
There is no way what I saw would ever be airworthy.
3nasacova 6 months ago
@3nasacova Check out the AVSPECS facebook page. The first Mozzie is a long way to being complete. Got a lot more than the wing together. Enjoy.
sketchmeister 2 months ago
be nice to hear the engines if that bloke talking bollox would shut up
hatchmark3 8 months ago
Why do the guys with the microphones need to blather on , everyone is there to see and hear the plane !
alloypony02 8 months ago
@alloypony02 It's one of the eternal mysteries of the universe!!!
vultee35 8 months ago
Excellent video. To me it's just incredible that there is not a single airworthy Mosquito today. So many Mustangs, Spits, even some ME's, etc, etc, and no Mosquitoes?
billace90 8 months ago
@billace90 There are 2 that I am aware of that are currently being built here in New Zealand
nevillewilliams 7 months ago in playlist Aircraft
Airplane that made history!!!!
22ritchie22 8 months ago
Bomb load of 4000lb max, not 1000lb as the commentator says.
Xiolablu3 9 months ago
Best British combat aircraft of WWII bar none.
45vincentconnolly 9 months ago
@45vincentconnolly Best any country aircraft of WW2
ausmanxu1 8 months ago
Great film , thanx for sharing
mosquito1958 9 months ago
Listen to the noise of that engine...pure sexy stuff! love it!
scatach24 9 months ago
My dad had a ride in a weather recon mossie in butterworth mayala when worked on the hornets with 33sqn in the 50s. He died 3 yrs ago, still hurts......................
MrWolfnomad 10 months ago
My late grandad was a navigator with 84 Sqn in India with Mossies. shame it was lost and not replaced.
grumpyrozzer 10 months ago
My Dad flew in one of these as a Radar Operator. He loved this aircraft. Too bad this one was lost....
hipcat13 10 months ago
Herman Goring said only the bastard British could build a wooden aircraft . Goring hated the mosquito because they had nothing to compete with the mosquito .
simonsrd100 10 months ago
@simonsrd100 Except the ME 262 which shot down quite a few of these fine aircraft
356butch 10 months ago
@356butch Problem was there were 1000's of Mossie sorties vs the most Me262 sorties ever in a day was 55 on 10 April 1945 (Far too late to have any effect on the war)
Xiolablu3 9 months ago
Thanks for posting that vid. Gone but not forgotten,
klackvalve 11 months ago
I would give anything to see this amazing aircraft fly, it's my favourite aircraft ever, never seen it fly! i would be happy to see it fly in my life time! I'm nearly 21 so hopefully, one day it'l happen :)
MrSpitfire1990 11 months ago
@MrSpitfire1990 Ditto to all your comments! Problem is I'm 61 & still hoping. My dad worked on them during the war - the RAAF wouldn't take him as he was an elec engineer & considered too valuable. He loved the Mozzie.
rickemable 6 months ago
I do love these arguments about the Lancaster and mosquito. Yes the Lanc could carry more but, and this is the big question, how many of those bombs were on target. It was very likely that a bomb dropped from a Lancaster could be up to 4 miles of target. A bomb dropped from a Mosquito was rarely more that 500 yards of target.
The mosquitto was without doubt the most effective bomber from any nation during world war two. It was decades ahead of it time, and also the first 'stealth' bomber
efanton 1 year ago
@efanton I read that a Mosquito could be bombed up with 4,000lb, fly to Germany, drop the bomb, fly back, be refuelled and bombed up again, fly back, drop a second bomb, and still be back before a Stirling carrying 8,000lb that had taken off at the same time as the first departure. Not sure if this is true but it's a nice story!
ChapmanCentral 1 year ago
According to Wikipedia the one in this video was the last airworthy example until it crashed in July 96 killing both crew. The display in this video must have been one if its last performances.
markbeaman 1 year ago
@markbeaman If you read the video description, you would see that it was a month before the crash at the North Weald Fighter Meet in 1996. I also included a link to the AAIB crash report, as there have been a number of "Experts" commenting on the video/crash, who always know more than the crash investigation team!
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35. Oh yes, I see that now. Many thanks. No doubt you have seen the tragic video of its final flight.
markbeaman 1 year ago
@markbeaman I saw this very aircraft fly when I was a volunteer at Salisbury Hall as a lad. The crash was an absolute tragedy, two very fine men were killed and of course a legendary aeroplane was lost. I hope one day there will be another flying (replica) Mosquito. It was a beautiful aeroplane and looked so at home in the sky.
ChapmanCentral 1 year ago
Wonderful plane. One of the best they did in the ww2. Don't know if some of them are still flying. Wish I could listen to the marvelous sound of the two Rolls Royce Merlin engines.
cld458 1 year ago
I met a vet at duxford who was on the mission depicted by 633 squadron and spoke of Gibson
CFCKEITH 1 year ago
Guy Gibson, leader of "Dambuster" raids perished in a mosquito on a pathfinder mission.
speedskiff2 1 year ago
aaahh the wooden wonder! i think it was made of ply wood and balsa!
MrAirworthy 1 year ago
aaahh the wooden wonder!
MrAirworthy 1 year ago
In his book "Pathfinder" Air Vice-Marshal D.C.T. Bennett makes the point that the Mosquito was many times more effective than the Lancaster - It carried a little over half of the bomb load of the Lanc. to Berlin. Its casualty rate was 1/10th of that of the Lanc. and it cost was 1/3rd of the Lanc. and it used a crew of two instead of seven. In the face of those stats its odd that so little fuss is made of it .
ColinMill1 1 year ago
@ColinMill1 - However, lots of Mosquitos would have resulted in airfield and target congestion.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 Well, given the vast saving in aircrew lives that the use of the Mosquito would have given the occasional loss due to mid-airs over the target (and it would only have been very occasional especially as the greater numbers would have been partially offset by their higher flying speed giving greater physical separation for a given temporal separation) would still have been more than compensated for. And the vast economic savings could have paid for more airfields to be built.
ColinMill1 1 year ago
@ColinMill1 England was pretty full of airfields to start with, it's the airspace above that was congested. The subject of Mossies V's Lancs has been discussed at length on the Flypast forum.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 You might like to try doing a Frank Irving style collision cross-section calculation on the two types to see if 1000 lancs are less likely to bump into each other than 1800 Mosquitoes.
Since Bennett was responsible for operating large numbers of both types I'm inclined to accept his view on the comparison (one which, perhaps belatedly, even Ludlow-Hewitt came to share)
ColinMill1 1 year ago
@ColinMill1 The Mosquito carried 2000lbs just under a ton , the Lanc carried max 10 ton !!! so the mosquito fantastic plane that it was, could not carry half of what a Lanc could
truebrittoo 1 year ago
@truebrittoo actually the mosquito could carry 4000lb and the lancs 12,000 lb (only a handful could carry the 10 ton you mentioned and then only after extensive modifications which left it very vulnerable)
th3b0untyhunter 1 year ago
@truebrittoo The average bomb load of the Lancaster (Jan to July 1943) was 7, 450lbs. With its 4000lb capability the Mosquito averaged 3,735lbs allowing for aborted sorties. However the Lanc averaged only 28 sorties per write-off to the Mosquito's 92. As I said - strange we make so little fuss of this aircraft given that the BBMF spends money on preserving a DC3 and a Chipmunk - worthy perhaps, but not in the Mosquito's league by a long shot.
ColinMill1 1 year ago
@ColinMill1 The C-47 and Chipmunks serve specific training needs for the BBMF and so are essential for the operation of the fleet.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 However, they have found the money to return the Dac's interior to wartime spec. - not essential if it's just being used for training.
ColinMill1 1 year ago
@ColinMill1 What's wrong with looking after something, with a restoration that probably added monetary value in addition to historical value. The BBMF were going to get the Mosquito until it crashed. I'm sure if you could find them a suitable airframe for restoration, they would be interested.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 They have had 53 years to obtain one and it would have been far easier to acquire a respectable example in the 1960's or 70's than now. To allow the most vulnerable of the significant WW2 types to dwindle to the current state seems a massive oversight on their part. Unfortunately, I doubt it will now ever be rectified.
ColinMill1 1 year ago
@ColinMill1 The UK warbird movement didn't really get started until the mid 1970's, people just weren't interested until the availability of airframes had virtually dried up. The BBMF in its infancy was doing well to look after two Spitfires in their early days.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 Read Stuart Howe's Appendix 5 to Edward Bishop's book "Mosquito" and you will see that even into the 1990's there were substantial numbers of airframes that they could have considered had the will been there.
ColinMill1 1 year ago
@ColinMill1 Existing airframes and available airframes are two different things.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 Well, with non-approved repairs on surviving airframes and withdrawal of manufacturer support for type it just gets less and less likely as time goes on. With the recession I reckon it's game over in the UK anyway. Good to see the New Zealanders and Canadians have a bit more about them.
ColinMill1 1 year ago
DId the mosquito have superchargers?
grooveclubhouse 1 year ago
@grooveclubhouse I'd expect the engines to have the engine driven supercharger like the later Merlin engined Spits had. Whether this was the single or two stage supercharger I don't know, but I'm sure there will be a Mossie expert who can give a more qualified answer.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 thanks. I'd be amazed if the mosquito could be that fast without them.
grooveclubhouse 1 year ago
it was called the misquito because if you pushed her too hard as far as handling went at high speed she would sting you like a misquito. BTW focke wulf 190 "butcher bird" top speeed was 472 mph only in the "D" model or "long nosed "as it was called. It was streched 4' so the tail surface would compensate for the added nose weight. Yes the 190 with the junkers jumos 213 inline engine the 190 was almost unbeatable.
THRILLKILLful 1 year ago
why was it called a mosquito i love it
maidmoira 1 year ago
What was the Mosquito's top speed? Faster than all single engine planes of the same era?
jonesy97 1 year ago
@jonesy97 As posted earlier in the comments.........Focke Wulf 190, Focke-Wulf Ta 152, Hawker Tempest, P-51, Corsair, Bearcat were all faster than the Mosquito. More info further down the comments.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35
Slightly, maybe, but none of those could carry 4,000 blockbusters to Berlin - twice a night !!!
Neither did any of then have the ability to cruise at over 300 mph at 40,000 ft for 3,000 miles, like the late PR versions...
The first true multi-role aircraft, that didn't compromise any one role. A true gem...
TheHarryMann 1 year ago
What a beautiful plane. A masterpiece
davidrodgersNJ 1 year ago
great video love the mossie and remember the flyers ...remember 633 sqd
topraf 1 year ago
And to think the deHavilland was an unwanted child.
kolbpilot 1 year ago
A Wooden soldier!
Bruno47602 1 year ago
I hope this isn't a daft question, but when they restore them to flying condition, how much of the wood is original? I don't think I'd like to trust my life to 65 year old glue, how do they go about certifiying that all the wood etc is OK?
yakacm 1 year ago
To bad there's none that still fly
SgtGrant23 1 year ago
Fly it like ya stole it!!
benofkent 1 year ago
Awesome! Great post! BEST aircraft of WWII
GwyndafS2 1 year ago
Google Victoria Air Maintenance. They're restoring a Mossie to airworthy condition. Work in progress still, but it has a pedigree and they mean for it to fly.
FlybyStone 1 year ago
And she was the LAST FLYING Mossie! DAMN!
Crashman2 1 year ago
@Crashman2 There are I think two others under restoration to fly.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 Thanks for the GREAT NEWS! Check this CGI by Tochy I used- now we have a whole FORMATION of Spits AND Plywood Wonders! FIRST TO BOMB BERLIN! FASTER THAN ANYTHING - even a Me-262 couldnt catch them when they had to climb way up there to chase 'em! They ALWAYS got away! The U-2 of WW2!
Crashman2 1 year ago
@vultee35 Thank the Great Airplane God! Plywood DOES NOT hold up well for 60+ years...... and thanks for giving me hope!
Crashman2 1 year ago
Which is a cooler aircraft, the mossie or the Bf110?
mistersmith6000 1 year ago
@mistersmith6000 Personally, I like the earlier Bf110 ( not the ones with the coat hangars on the front! ).
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 As a purely "clean" beautifully designed aircraft the mosquito leaves the 110 behind, and being over 70mph faster it proves this also. so what makes the 110 more appealling to you?
pramboy09 1 year ago
@pramboy09 To me, the Bf110 looks better, more purposeful, meaner. The Mozzie is to clean for me. Same goes for sports cars, much prefer a wedge than a shape dripped out of a tap.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 I never thought about that one. Both look exciting in their own way. To me, the vertical tail on the deHavilland is a dead ringer of the He 111.
kolbpilot 1 year ago
Mossies were one of the fastest cheapest and most versatile aircraft in ww2 even Hermann Göring said they made him turn green and yellow with envy. The British, who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops.
1965CAPTKIRK 1 year ago
@vultee35 The 109 might look meaner but sadly for you the Mosquito shot shed loads of those 110s out of the night sky - in Germany. Just read night fighter books: "Closed rapidly to 1,000 ft. Vis indification of ME109 from beneath. Dropped back and fired short bust from 500 ft. Fuselage bust into flames and E/A crashed in river N of airfield" from "Fighter & Bomber Squadrons at War". Andrew Brookes. QED.
Susseditout 1 year ago
@Susseditout Who mentioned anything about 109's?
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 Sorry that quote was aimed at Pramboy who threw his toys out. See below.
Susseditout 1 year ago
@pramboy09
also the 110 was all metal, ahte m,assie mix of metal and wood, so DUH it was faster!
kenns9 1 year ago
NOBODY beat the 'Mossie' - beautiful, fast, deadly and versatile. British design and ingenuity at it's best. Name an aircraft of WW2 that even came close.
mseaborne 1 year ago
@mseaborne Ju88 was also versatile, but I guess it's whatever blows your frock up. The Mossie put on a great display here, but the plane itself does nothing for me.
vultee35 1 year ago
@mseaborne I can't. Untouchable as a Recon-FIRST to bomb Berlin- BULLET-fast.... yep!
Crashman2 1 year ago
no surprise that she was called the "Wooden Wonder" what a plane!!!
lonelywolf1966 1 year ago
the dornier ran around 560-570,yes the fastest prop plane in ww2(39-45), however, the mosquito came around early, flew in a myriad of configurations, has confirmed kills and had logged thousands of missions and roles. the biggest reasons for the German jets was to FINALLY get those mossies. My personal favorite twin (335) had only trails, no confirmed kills or combat time. All in all you have to hand it to the mosquitos as fastest in the field
zempke 1 year ago
@zempke Fastest in the field apart from the Focke Wulf 190, Focke-Wulf Ta 152, Hawker Tempest, P-51, Corsair, Bearcat ( which was flown WW2 ) etc etc. Mossie was a fine aircraft, but certainly not the fastest as many people seem to think.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35, indeed, the DH Hornet which was a single seat fighter built along the same lines as the Mosquito was also faster.
pete2778 1 year ago
@pete2778 Completely forgot about the Hornet.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35, in fairness, the DH Hornet was a postwar design, one of my personal favourite aircraft. It must have been a blast to fly with all that power and contra-rotating props! Such a shame we'll never see one in the air. Thanks for posting this video of the Mosquito, it brought back some very happy memories of being at air displays with my late father when I was a brat!
pete2778 1 year ago
@pete2778 The Hornet was a WW2 design, flying in 1944 although it didn't see operational service until after WW2.
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35, thanks for the info, I stand corrected!
pete2778 1 year ago
@pete2778 There's quite a few aircraft that people consider post war because that's when they saw service, but which actually made their first flights during wartime.
vultee35 1 year ago
Well, THIS bomber "...always got through." Remarkable aircraft. So elusive and fast, it didn't need defensive armament.
Treetop64 1 year ago
I miss this 'plane so much! Saw it display at many airshows before it was lost- one of the most beautiful aircraft of WWII surely? But it does demonstrate the risks involved in this kind of display at such low level- if something goes wrong, there's no room/time to do anything about it. Such a sad waste of a lovely aircraft, and of course, of life.
55bloke 1 year ago
He (the commentator) finally said the phrase near the end...'The Wooden Wonder'. Goering (sp?) laughed to start with then wished he'd had them. Fantastic.
oozeroo 1 year ago
I cannot believe my Granddad flew these and Beaufighters too. WOW. Humbling.
oozeroo 1 year ago
If one Merlin is pure music and four a symphony; then two must be the sweetest aria and can reduce a grown man to tears.
Conversely, public address announcers are the work of the devil.
chazsmateII 1 year ago
one of the last mosquitos in england was crashed by someone wasnt it so now i cant ever see one at an air show :(
ajom010k 1 year ago
@ajom010k as I understand it one is being built, so fear not.
whylie74 1 year ago
@ajom010k If you search the Air Accident Investigation Branch website, you can read the full report about the crash which was caused by an incorrectly set up carburettor with subsequent loss of power and loss of controlled flight.
vultee35 1 year ago
What a Great plane the Mosquito was, and so sad that there are so few left!....would have been really cool to see this one fly!!
FWDORA9 1 year ago
I saw the Mosquito fuselages under construction and they look like the Weald and Downland Museum workshops! I wonder if the Brit engineers used this wood technology as the seed of the idea? Cool!
modelleg 1 year ago
Who is the moron that brought a baby to an aero show???
frepi 1 year ago
Always thought the mosquito was a beautiful airplane. Thanks for the video. American paratrooper.
treetopfivepoint 2 years ago 3
mosquitos and their crews were known as 'flying bandits' by the germans. (i believe)
thanks for sharing.
badmattam 2 years ago
Having just deleted a comment, can I remind people not to use offensive language in replies, they will just be deleted. If you wish to make a point, do so like an adult.
vultee35 2 years ago
one of the fastest airoplanes of ww2 400mph plus. truly awesome plane made of wood too.
mikeytheskinhead 2 years ago 2
@mikeytheskinhead -drove Goering mad almost, that a plane of wooden construction, outclassed both Junkers 88 and Me.110
-this is without doubt, the best video on tube of RAF.Mosquito
darkmossie633 1 year ago
Commentator, microphone, suppository.
chazsmateII 2 years ago
the commentator is a suppositry a pain in the arse
5515terminator 2 years ago
My grandfather flew in these planes as a photographer and also the Sunderland flying boat, he loved the mosquito because it was so fast he felt safe.
lostboysonbikes 2 years ago 2
fastest prop plane in ww2
jammydodgerman 2 years ago
That's an arguable statement. A quick search of the net and books gives these figures -
P-51 Mustang 437 mph
Mosquito 366~415mph (depending on variant)
F4U Corsair 425mph
F8F Bearcat 421mph
vultee35 2 years ago
mosquitoes were used in europe as recon planes because they were fast and no other planes could catch them. Thought mosquitoes could reach a top speed of about 440-450???
jammydodgerman 2 years ago
But nobody can deny that it was one of the first fastest plane to be developed.
texas224 2 years ago
Focke Wulf 190 D-9 440 mph
Focke-Wulf Ta 152 470 mph
Hawker Tempest 435 mph
Mosquito B Mk XVI 415 mph
Dornier Do 335 Pfeil 474 mph
ExcitingTaste 2 years ago
@vultee35 That's an arguable statement. A quick search of the net and books gives these figures -
P-51 Mustang 437 mph
Mosquito 366~415mph (depending on variant)
F4U Corsair 425mph
F8F Bearcat 421mph
* Fw-190/D-13 458 mph
CJWULF777 1 year ago
@vultee35 That's an arguable statement. A quick search of the net and books gives these figures -
P-51 Mustang 437 mph
Mosquito 366~415mph (depending on variant)
F4U Corsair 425mph
F8F Bearcat 421mph
Fw190/D-13 458 mph
CJWULF777 1 year ago
@vultee35 airspeed is measured in knots IAS, and is density / altitude dependant. NEVER believe ANYTHING quoted at you that is in MPH. Its just advertising brouchure guff. Down on the deck, I have heard a Mossie will make a mess outta most single engine fighters.
tasman763 1 year ago
@tasman763 You said it yourself "most" not all
vultee35 1 year ago
@tasman763 Further searching of the net still says Bearcat or Dornier 335 win hands down
vultee35 1 year ago
@vultee35 the two single engine fighters I know of that WILL outrun a Mozzie are the Ta152 D series , and the Hawker Tempest V, which will blow the DOORS off ANYTHING with a prop. ( read The Big Show , P Clostermann ) . The Dornier served in such small numbers it can barely be classed as " operational " , but it was a very......interesting bird. And the Bearcat did not serve in WW2 . Fast ?, sure, but the Marines stuck with the F4U for Korea, because it was a versatile beast.
tasman763 1 year ago
@tasman763 In which case you agree with my original statement that the Mosquito wasn't the fastest plane, whether you want to read speeds in MPH or Kts .
vultee35 1 year ago
@jammydodgerman What about the seafury? that even shot down a jet engined aircraft and i am certain that was in ww2, 460mph
vanepico 1 year ago
not quite, but very fast....
tasman763 1 year ago
A company called AVSPECS in New Zealand has built a mossie from scratch,
check out it's website.
This aircraft was not outside it,s or the pilots limits when it crashed. Frankly 063209dr I imagine that you are no more that the typical armchair commentator who thinks that they know more than the people envolved!
64TrueKiwi 2 years ago
Is this the one that crashed?
If it is then frankly I'm not surprised, with the low-level past followed by climb and then what looked like a 90 degree - yes 90 degree - banked turn to down wind, there should've been a debrief following this display.
063209dr 2 years ago
I suggest you have a read the AAIB crash report for reasons behind the crash.
lynniecarr 2 years ago
Whatever the results of AAIB are, I'd suggest that's a risky 90 degree banked turn from low level. Leaving very little room for manoeuvre. And from what I can see that's where it went wrong in the crash video.
063209dr 2 years ago
@063209dr
What's 90-degree and downwind got to do with anything? Daft.
scv405 1 year ago
@scv405 In a 90 degree bank (1:42 into the video) there'll be no vertical lift component from the wings. Although he climbs into the 90 degree bank to counter this, the plane falls away before he levels it off.
That's a risky manoeuvre at low level with no room to recover in an old wooden aircraft with a carburettor fed engine. And as we know, in the crash video it's during such a manoeuvre it all went wrong.
063209dr 1 year ago
since its made of wood mainly it should be easy to make new ones today from drawing plans why is this not done ?
emforty2 2 years ago
Making stuff from wood is easy, having the correct tooling isn't so easy. I've heard the 'moulds' for a Mosquito fuselage were concrete. If you have some moulds, then laminating a fuselage is possible. Mosquitos are being restored, but it's not a fast and easy process as you may think.
vultee35 2 years ago
Compressibility?
umpcam 2 years ago
North Weald was a great airshow venue.