The Mosquito was an amazing aeroplane. Its main defence as an unarmed light bomber was its speed, which was faster then most fighters of the period. Even though she was a small bomber she could still carry a 4,000 pound bomb load. Not bad.
She had a multitude of roles low to medium altitude daytime tactical bomber, high altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike and photo reconnaissance aircraft.
The Mosquito inspired admiration from all quarters, including the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring. Göring was due to address a parade in Berlin in the morning of 30 January 1943, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Nazis' being voted into power. Three 105 Squadron Mosquito B Mk. IVs launched a low-level attack on the main Berlin broadcasting station, keeping Göring off the air for more than an hour.
The Reichsmarschall was not amused:
“
In 1940 I could at least fly as far as Glasgow in most of my aircraft, but not now! It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I 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?
”
— Hermann Göring, January 1943,
Not content with this, Mosquitos from 139 Squadron also went to Berlin in the afternoon of the same day and tried to interrupt an important speech by Joseph Goebbels, the Third Reich's Propaganda Minister. One Mosquito was lost on the afternoon raid.
One of the higher risk uses of the fighter-bomber Mosquito FB VI was by 21 Sqn., 464(RAAF) Squadron and 487(NZ) Squadron of No. 2 Group, 2nd Tactical Air Force in Operation Jericho, a mission to destroy the walls and guards' quarters of Amiens prison to allow members of the French Resistance to escape. In the aftermath of the operation the Mosquito of Group Captain Percy Pickard was shot down.
On 11 April 1944, after a request by Dutch resistance workers, six Mosquito FB VIs of No. 613 (City of Manchester) Squadron made a pinpoint daylight attack at rooftop height on the Kunstzaal Kleizkamp Art Gallery in The Hague, Netherlands, which was being used by the Gestapo to store the Dutch Central Population Registry. The first two aircraft dropped high explosive bombs, to "open up" the building, their bombs going in through the doors and windows. The other crews then dropped incendiary bombs, and the records were destroyed. Only persons in the building were killed - nearby civilians in a bread queue were unharmed.
On 21 March 1945, another similar raid, Operation Carthage, again by 21 Sqn., 464(RAAF) Sqn. and 487(NZ) Sqn. involved a very low-level bombing attack on the Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus, near the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The attack had been requested several times by members of the Danish resistance, but was initially deemed too dangerous by the RAF. Twenty Mosquitos were involved, split into three attack waves. They were escorted by 30 RAF Mustangs. The main attack on the Gestapo headquarters caused the death of 55 German soldiers and 47 Danes working for the Gestapo, together with destruction of the Gestapo records in the headquarters. Eight Gestapo prisoners were killed while 18 prisoners escaped. A Mosquito flying in the first wave of the attack struck a tall lamp-post and crashed into a nearby Catholic school (the French school). Mosquitos of the third wave bombed this area by mistake, killing 86 children, 10 nuns, 8 teachers, and 21 other civilians; no civilians had been killed during the main attack. Four Mosquitos were lost and nine pilots/crew members died. The attack saved the lives of many resistance workers as the Gestapo archives and organisation were severely damaged.
The famous RAF 617 squadron (Dambusters), while mainly equipped with Lancaster bombers, also employed the Mosquito for precision target marking. According to "The Dam Busters", Group Captain Leonard Cheshire developed a dive-bombing method of marking targets in advance of the main squadron, to allow the main bombers to strike from high altitude. Cheshire initially used his own Lancaster for this approach, but switched to the Mosquito as being a more suitable aircraft. These Mosquito missions contributed to Cheshire winning the Victoria Cross in recognition of his sustained courage throughout the war.
In my opinion the finest version of the Spitfire was the Mk9 or the Mk16, the Mk16 was a Mk9 fitted with the Packard Merlin. The majority of Spitfires manufactured were the Mk9 and Mk16.
The Mustang was also another amazing aeroplane, she took over where the Spitfire left off.
I have heard that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight are attempting to obtain a Mosquito to be included in their fleet. The Mosquito deserves to be included.
