The most beautiful aircraft ever built, in my opinion.
@andrewpeacock46955 жыл бұрын
Thanks for posting. My grandfather and his brother were woodworkers in private business before WWII. Despite being about 40 years old at the start of the war they were both called up by the RAF to work on wooden airplanes. This video really took me back.
@somebloke135 жыл бұрын
If they were working in Britain the would be building aeroplanes.
@somebloke135 жыл бұрын
If they were building them in Britain they would be aeroplanes
@Daz555Daz5 жыл бұрын
Whilst the Spitfire is the most beautiful plane ever built, the Wooden Wonder is my favourite prop aircraft of all time. Stunning.
@checkmate0585 жыл бұрын
Sorry, that sounds like somebody needs some freedom. P51 mustang is the most beautiful plane. Lol but no. The mustang is nice but its kinda boxy. The aircobra is more sleek to me.
@xyz21215 жыл бұрын
Most beautiful plane ever built was the Concorde,
@fortboy664 жыл бұрын
Surely the mosquitoes close cousin, the hornet, was the most beautiful piston plane ever?
@stevanroth4 жыл бұрын
As much as I love the p51, this is the real number one plane of all time. Just has to be.
@MrDaiseymay4 жыл бұрын
AGREED. NOTHING ELSE COMPARES WITH IT'S C.V.
@Beemer9173 жыл бұрын
P51 is just what we were told since we were young. Don’t say what is best, look for what is best in each design. Put aside nationalist values and just look at performance. There is so much besides the p51.
@phbrinsden5 жыл бұрын
My favorite plane and so glad Canada has restored a beautiful one. And thank you Canada for building so many for the war effort.
@boptah74895 жыл бұрын
me too.
@gerrycoogan65445 жыл бұрын
That's great! I didn't know that there were any airworthy ones still in existence.
@colehara5 жыл бұрын
My dad was in Lancasters in WW2. He got to go up in a Mosquito once and absolutely loved it.
@kathryntruscott63517 жыл бұрын
That very first Mossy.... my Dad helped to build it... he was foreman on that job.....
@davidslefort65415 жыл бұрын
Oh wow really I love to see the workshop and see it being built he was a hero helping heroes do their true love to fly
@andrewbrown-hf6wx5 жыл бұрын
i salute your farther
@Not_Yandere_Im_Ayano4 жыл бұрын
@MichaelKingsfordGray could have been worse, maybe farter
@FullStrengthBeer4 жыл бұрын
What is his name?
@bmartin79614 жыл бұрын
@Kathryn Truscott and at the OP. Thank you for posting this, I love this plane. My grandfather was the lead chemist behind the team that produced the resin that bonded the plywood used in this beautiful plane. Without that resin, the strength required in the airframe would not have been possible, earlier wooden airplanes could not have coped with the forces exerted by the engines or flight stresses and would have been too heavy. Without the efforts of all the pioneers behind it's construction, and those that flew and serviced it, the outcome of WW2 could have been very different. Very proud of all those involved and those that sustain it. Thank you :)
@seankane86285 жыл бұрын
The first composite airframe stealth aircraft
@-few-fernando115 жыл бұрын
Richard Hunt Horten brothers
@harleyme31635 жыл бұрын
uh no... they simply ran out of other parts and made it mostly with plywood. My grandfather was a fitter armorer for the raf during the war. oh ps.. every ww1 aircraft was made pretty much the same.. its inovative for the time.. definetely not a 1 of a kind...
@MultiCappie5 жыл бұрын
@Richard Hunt The Horten brothers produced a total of 3 powered aircraft which were based on a completely impractical engine. Their heads were in the clouds. You might be right, that they helped the Allies win the war too, by providing a completely unpragmatic fantasy to distract funds and minds away from whatever Germany should have been focusing on to win the war. The Mosquito was completely better because _it_ _worked_ , and it worked because it was _workable_ .
@Bartonovich525 жыл бұрын
@ MichaelKingsfordGray Balloons aren’t composite. And since they are quite visible and useless over enemy territory they aren’t stealth, either. You are so wrong it hurts.
@Howie2624 жыл бұрын
The engines were fine, the issue was the Germans lacked the precious metals like titanium needed for turbines not to melt. The Horten 229’s were not a waste of time or resources when you look at the performance and the potential of the aircraft.
@ZnenTitan6 жыл бұрын
0:35 "It went against the grain of the times" What a perfect (and ironic) thing to say about a revolutionary wooden airplane.
@tomski26715 жыл бұрын
That problem still persist and will persist to the end of time: The unpopular is often exactly what is needed.
@harleyme31635 жыл бұрын
not really.. all ww1 aircraft were made just like that.. ALL of them
@MrDaiseymay5 жыл бұрын
@pete2778 you tell-em
@MrDaiseymay5 жыл бұрын
yep---even the 'tires' were oak.
@Bartonovich525 жыл бұрын
@ Harley Me Nope The only aircraft that were built like the Mosquito were Lockheed’s plywood bullets like the Vega and Orion. Then they swapped to aluminum and never looked back.
@eddiemerc19865 жыл бұрын
De Havilland went outta box...simply brilliant!
@patlawless19606 жыл бұрын
Excellent video! My uncle, Jim Lawless, flew Mosquitoes in WWII, and in fact, was shot down and killed in one. His C/O at the time was none other than Russ Bannock! Pat Lawless
@myronplichota79654 жыл бұрын
It was nice to see George Stewart interviewed. He was probably the most-experienced Canadian Mosquito pilot. He also trained Chinese pilots on the type. One of the nicest guys I ever met.
@davepoyntz10065 жыл бұрын
My father, Sqn Ldr Hardy Poyntz DFC, flew Mosquitos during WW2. He talked a bit it, however your video tells me lots. Thanks for that. My father went on to be a career RCAF officer. He was very involved with the 'Dew Line', early warning system. Then we were stationed in Great falls Montana, (two big SAC bases there). Hardy being Canada's man for NORAD there. We were there during the Cuba missile crisis, me being to young to really know what he was dealing with. I do have a print of a mosquito he gave me, signed by DeHavilland himself. Dave Poyntz, Edmonton (can contact via facebook under that name)
@gerrycoogan65445 жыл бұрын
I love real life recollections like these. Thank you, Dave.
@strongangel5 жыл бұрын
The most beautiful aeroplane along with the Spitfire'
@gerrycoogan65445 жыл бұрын
Yes. I'd add the P-51 "Mustang" to the short list. Once I've made my first billion, those are the three that I'll acquire, even if I have to have them built from scratch. :)
@wa9kzy3266 жыл бұрын
Y'all have done a most professional job producing all of the videos about the Mosquito. I love 'em. Thank you so much!!!!!!!
@Cadcare2 жыл бұрын
There's a very strong sense in the Anglo world of the individual genius, which is not evident in the more Teutonic expressions of engineering excellence. I'm living it, perhaps alive because of it and still have great respect for it. It's the freedom to say, "No, I think you're wrong, Sir and this is why." It also helps to have access to either your own or someone else's deep pockets and their own freedom to say, "I like this idea!"
@rpurdey5 жыл бұрын
The "smooth streamlining" was aided significantly (according to Lee Atwood) by the incorporation of Meredith Effect into the cooling system negating most, if not all, of the cooling drag (like the Mustang).
@davidenko24685 жыл бұрын
wow first visit to channel thankyou to my canadian brothers and sisters this made a staunch englishmans heart swell great to know you guys hold the mossie in such high regard as do i a simply beautiful machine with a spinetingling sound
@charlieabbot36495 жыл бұрын
Be humble... Much was built before you came into the world... Bravo Mosquito
@santamulligan6765 жыл бұрын
Yes several years ago I met Wilfred neat who was involved in designing its propellers modifications were made so they were particularly efficient at low level
@66oggy5 жыл бұрын
Not just one of the finest aircraft of WW2 , I will stick my neck out and say one of the finest aircraft ever built, with looks and noise to go with it.
@MrDaiseymay5 жыл бұрын
noise ? SOUND Sir, SOUND.
@ronwilken52193 жыл бұрын
Noise? Sound? Music my dear fellows. The Merlin symphonic orchestra playing a duet.
@thegentletyrant Жыл бұрын
My old man donated the instrument panel for this plane in Calgary. He spent countless hours as a kid sneaking into the de havilland afb near Toronto and dismantling the panel and bringing it home, to save something from them, as they were being destroyed after the war. I think he was only 13 or14 and knew it's worth.
@jrfoleyjr5 жыл бұрын
The Mossy, the first stealth fighter/bomber. Made from wood so it had a very low radar profile. Fast and beautiful. :) I would love to be able to fly in one.
@Optimaloptimus5 жыл бұрын
“First” despite it being an accident that it was doing that. The YB-49 did the same as an all aluminum design flying wing because of it’s shape. Again it was an accident. No one at the time even knew what stealth was.
@MrDaiseymay4 жыл бұрын
A beauty--with deadly intent.
@Mike-012345 жыл бұрын
57MM cannon largest auto loading gun ever installed on a aircraft in WW2 was used to sink subs first engaged a JU 88 with the big gun one shot ripped the engine off the JU 88. The firepower was nothing like anyone ever seen before.
@barrierodliffe41554 жыл бұрын
@Buddy Wiser The slow Black Widow that was meant to be a night fighter but could not catch anything at night
@GrassPossum5 жыл бұрын
What's not to love about them? Always one of my favorites
@maureencora15 жыл бұрын
The Fighter Version of Mosquito is My Favorite WWII UK Plane.
@alexanderreimer3876 жыл бұрын
I love that French Canadian accent... reminds me of my time at Fleurimont ,PQ when I was in French language training to fly in Central Africa...!!! Magnifique, mon ami...!!!
@sixmagpies5 жыл бұрын
"made of wood" ..... Actually, they were 'cold moulded' on laminated framing, an amazingly stiff and resilient method of construction, oft used in high speed boats, even today.
@rickbear72495 жыл бұрын
Actually, when we bear in mind the glue that they used in that moulding process, it could be claimed that this was a wood-resin "composite" construction -- as versus the traditional wood construction of other "wooden" aircraft. Therefore, it was a forerunner of today's composite construction aircraft.
@hux20005 жыл бұрын
An incredible aircraft and a classic example of a visionary designer giving people something they didn't even know they needed.
@markholroyde94123 жыл бұрын
The ultimate badass of WWII with 2 of the best piston engines in the World., wonderful, regards, UK.
@ianmackay65474 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the video My Dad was involved with the making the wooden frames for the first prototype.Very proud
@jekubfimbulwing53705 жыл бұрын
It had Photo Reconnaissance, Bomber, Fighter Bomber, Ground Attack and Anti-Shipping variants. Some variants carried 4000 pound bombs, others 57 millimeter 6 pounder cannon, or perhaps just 4 303 machine-guns and 4 20 millimeter cannon. But perhaps the most dangerous payload was the photographic cameras that revealed every movement of Germany's ground forces. It's no wonder that the Luftwaffe awarded 2 air to air kills to any pilot who could down one of these beauties.
@shermansquires39795 жыл бұрын
They bolted 2 merlins to plywood, thats amazing in itself !
@autophyte4 жыл бұрын
But it wasn't as though they went down to the local timber yard and bought some sheets of plywood. They laid up an inner layer of veneer over a form, in the shape of half the fuselage. Then they glued thousands of interlocking blocks of end grain balsa to the thin half shell, and then laid an outer layer of thin veneer over that. When the glue was dry they released the half shell from the form, fitted bulkheads, etc and then glued the two half shells together, just as you do with the plastic model aeroplane kits, and covered it with fabric. The wing had a massive laminated mainspar, on which they dried the glue quickly using high frequency radio wave heating (years ahead of microwave ovens). The finished plane was extremely rigid and tough, stronger than an aluminium plane in many ways The only bad thing about it was that , in the tropics, the casein glue was susceptible to mould and planes became de-laminated as the glue turned to foul smelling mush.
@markholroyde94123 жыл бұрын
@@autophyte They delaminated a shit load faster than that when in the slipstream of all the V2 rockets they shot down. Fantastic fighting machine.
@timhancock66266 жыл бұрын
Some of Great Britains worst aircraft resulted from Air Ministry specifications that put far too many requirements on the design brief. Geoffrey De Haviland was able to concentrate on the essentials and create an outstanding aircraft first because he retained control of the design. Once he demonstrated its superiority, it didn't take long for others to see the light and think of uses for the Mosquito. I once had a tiller for my boat made by an elderly Welsh gentleman on the Lleyn Peninsula who had worked for Gillows furniture makers. He told me he made Mosquitos during the war as he made me a perfect new tiller in front of my eyes.
@michaelnaisbitt16395 жыл бұрын
Ah the Air Ministry. A brilliant bunch of minds they gave us the Boulton Paul Defiant. The Blackburn Roc. The Botha the Skua the Manchester The Saro Leewick. And the list goes on ---If it hadn’t been for men like Geoffrey Dehaviland the Mosquito would have been still born Engineers build airplanes not fat ministries
@gerrycoogan65445 жыл бұрын
@matthew findlay - Er... yes, that's precisely the point that the OP was making.
@gerrycoogan65445 жыл бұрын
"Some of Great Britains worst aircraft resulted from Air Ministry specifications that put far too many requirements on the design brief. Geoffrey De Haviland was able to concentrate on the essentials and create an outstanding aircraft first *because* he retained control of the design." It certainly looks to me that he's making the point that de Havilland did his own thing without being restricted by specific Air Ministry requirements. I guess you see it differently but I can't see why. No matter.
@gerrycoogan65445 жыл бұрын
Hmm. I don't really want to argue, Matthew. However... For the record, I, Gerry Coogan, will *now* mention that the Mosquito *was* de Havilland's own initiative. I assumed that this was already understood, not least because it's specifically highlighted in the first couple of minutes of the video that we're posting about. Anyway. Have a good day.
@matthewfindlay22425 жыл бұрын
@@gerrycoogan6544 but seeing as you wont too i take it all back,I am not worthy, there happy now?
@sblack486 жыл бұрын
I am not sure DH used wood just because aluminium was rationed. While that certainly was an advantage of wood, they built the dh-88 comet race plane and the dh 91 albatross with the same type of construction. They were also innovative in minimizing cooling drag with the radiators in the leading edge. So the versatility came from the aerodynamics (efficiency meant less fuel required per mile, so more miles or more bomb load), light weight due to wood construction and weight savings from not having to haul around extra crew, armour and guns. That left it able to carry more bombs, guns or gas.
@Purlee1005 жыл бұрын
You are quite correct that de Havilland had considerable experience in wooden, stressed skin, aircraft production. But it is also true that other materials were tightly rationed, in fact, de Havilland had great difficulty in even obtaining a single pair of Merlins to power the first prototype.
@alanpattinson62113 жыл бұрын
Brilliant presentation.
@MaxwellPSmart5 жыл бұрын
Goering was tremendously envious of this aircraft . Ironic cause his "zestroyer" bf110 was supposed to be it's rival but required a fighter escort by the end of the Battle of Britain.
@dallasburgher60685 жыл бұрын
Always wondered why the Germans didn't outright copy it.
@5000mahmud5 жыл бұрын
@@dallasburgher6068 They tired to with the Ta-154, but they didn't have the right glue which resulted in the prototype crashing due to glue failure.
@petegarnett7731 Жыл бұрын
The one thing that you miss out is that De Havilland were experienced at designing and building wooden aeroplanes. The DH88 Comet that won the England -Australia air race was wood. The beautiful Albatross mail plane was wood and used many of the techniques passed on to the Mosquito design. It was a natural decision for them to build a high speed high altitude plane from wood.
@neiloflongbeck5705 Жыл бұрын
They've missed out more than that. They've also lied about who came up with the concept of the fast unarmed bomber - that was George Volkert of Handley Page.
@70sheaven5 жыл бұрын
They didnt want her,then when they saw her perform they couldnt get enough
@redrust35 жыл бұрын
A lot of modern airplanes, especially the newer stealth warplanes, are made from composite materials. Usually, the skin is made from some kind of carbon fiber fabric, covered with some kind resin liquid. Usually, it’s called something like “radar absorbing material” or RAM. In the Haviland Mosquito, the resin is called lignin. It binds together individual tree cells. According to the Wikipedia article, “Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of vascular plants and some algae.[1] Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily. Chemically, lignins are cross-linked phenolic polymers.” Geoffrey Dehavilland figured this out in the 1930s!
@slimchancetoo5 жыл бұрын
So nice to see old footage with those slowly revolving hazy/blurry propellers as opposed to what today's digital wonders give us.
@MORE15005 жыл бұрын
An instructor told me he watched a mock dog fight where a Mossy completely outclassed a P-38.
@PenzancePete4 жыл бұрын
In his dreams.........
@barrierodliffe41554 жыл бұрын
@@PenzancePete Many must have had the same dream since it is a well known story, even Hap Arnold having seen how much better the Mosquito was would not let his P 38 pilots fly with a Mosquito because they would look foolish, he also tried to get as many Mosquito's as he could.
@PenzancePete4 жыл бұрын
@@barrierodliffe4155 I was referring to dogfighting. In a dogfight my money is on the P-38. Otherwise it's Mosquito all the way.
@barrierodliffe41554 жыл бұрын
@@PenzancePete I would not count on the P 38 in a dogfight.
@BJBFOREST4 жыл бұрын
It was an outstanding multi role aircraft, with brilliant engines. The design was unique, with an incredibly strong yet light air frame.
@wadesaleeby21725 жыл бұрын
There is an operative Mosquito at Virginia Military Air Musem outside Virgina Beach. It's quite Awesome!
@davidwaller21797 жыл бұрын
An excellent production as are others in the series.
@BazilRaubach5 жыл бұрын
thank you, gorgeous aircraft, loved it from the minute I saw it as 3 year boy
@Phrancis55 жыл бұрын
Wood is being "rediscovered" today by sea kayakers. Most performance sea kayaks and paddles are either cheap heavy plastic, fiberglass, or light, but very pricey carbon fiber. There is another option - wood. A mahogany and fiberglass sea kayak has the light weight and strength of carbon fiber as the cost of plastic.
@darrelloneal36465 жыл бұрын
Having the music volume lowered would make this a watchable video
@KonichiWawa5 жыл бұрын
Agreed, I have a headache and this is really bugging me.
@Walker_Bulldog5 жыл бұрын
Absolutely!
@xyz21215 жыл бұрын
You have your own volume control. Try using it!
@MrDaiseymay4 жыл бұрын
WONDERFUL, I LOVE WATCHING THIS, A TRUE, AND VITAL STORY, OF WINNING AGAINST ALL THE ODDS.
@andymadden63284 жыл бұрын
The Wooden Wonder, well done Canada our allies..
@geoffburrill98505 жыл бұрын
Love this twin engined plan.
@RogersRamblings5 жыл бұрын
Excellent video spoilt only by the music overpowering the speakers.
@theblishknovk5 жыл бұрын
I had the please of seeing one in Everett Washington. It was incredible in person.
@theblishknovk5 жыл бұрын
@joe jitsu yes at the paul allen collection. The best museum ever. Nakajima and hurricane too
@daleburrell62735 жыл бұрын
The "Mossy" was an astounding airplane-!!
@545i443 жыл бұрын
I agree!
@billyoleary82915 жыл бұрын
Best stuff I've seen in a while.Ignore the blithering trolls with bone spurs and keep up the great work so others may learn something about real people,real sacrifice,real bravery. And the magnificent Merlin.
@neildahlgaard-sigsworth38195 жыл бұрын
There's a lot of bollocks being spoken here about the use of wood. The use of wood is not the radical thing that de Havilland did as the Air Ministry had issued the specification B9/38 for a bomber made of woodand metals other than light alloys wherever possible. The specification called for a economic cruise speed of 250mph at 15,000ft with a payload of 4,000lb of bombs. This was issued in 1938, long before WW2 started - de Havilland, Bristol and Armstrong Whitworth were all approached to produce designs to meet the specifications. In June 1938 mock-upsof the Bristol and AW designs were inspected; de Havilland declined to enter a design. Bristol dropped out as they already had plenty of work, leaving the field clear for the production of thecless than ideal Albermarle, which was now to be a reconnaissance aircraft capable of dropping bombs. What was radical was the deletion on the defensive gun turrets and the reliance on speed as a defensive measure.
@scottcuppello5 жыл бұрын
Except it wasn't built to ministry specification, they didn't want it and what is radical is not the use of wood per se but the fact that cabinet makers could build a warplane.....that and the fact that it is, without doubt, the most versatile aircraft of WW2.
@neildahlgaard-sigsworth38195 жыл бұрын
scottcuppello no it exceeded them, especially in terms of speed. As for the use of wood workers being radical, it wasn't. The aft fuselage of the Hurricane had a wooden framing supporting the fabric skin. Also if the AW Albermarle had gone into serious production then the carpenters and cabinet makers would have been building them instead.
@Bartonovich525 жыл бұрын
It also was radical to use wood because no wooden planes had ever gone nearly as fast-only metal ones.
@neildahlgaard-sigsworth38195 жыл бұрын
Bartonovich52 then came de Haviland's Vampire, which also had a partial wooden fuselage and flew even faster. The main reason for the Mossie's superior speed over all the other wooden aircraft, such as the Caudron C-710 and the Bell XP-77, is its clean aerodynamic shape. All the other wooden aircraft I've seen tend to be boxy affairs, and in the case of the XP-77 seriously underpowered. It was also helped by exploiting the Meredith effect, which if it didn't incease speed at least reduced drag.
@5000mahmud5 жыл бұрын
@@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819 C-710 and XP-77 were very aerodynamically clean, and if fitted with more powerful engines of similar displacement they could've achieved far greater top speeds. The speeds they achieved with the horsepower available to them was impressive in and of itself . The main reason for the speed of the Mossie is it's more powerful engines, combined with a relatively clean aerodynamic shape.
@RWBHere4 жыл бұрын
At 4:27 and 6:08 - flying on one engine. It was called variously 'the Timber Terror' and 'the Wooden Wonder' for good reason. My favourite piston-engined aeroplane.
@attorneyreel11815 жыл бұрын
I believe the last FLYING restored Mosquito is in the aviation museum in Virginia Beach, VA. I've seen it !
@MarsFKA5 жыл бұрын
There are two others in the USA, all three made by Avspecs in New Zealand. www.warbirdrestoration.co.nz
@jakob2524 жыл бұрын
That is s new build airplane, as are the others coming out of New Zealand. There is an original flyable Mosquito in Vancouver , BC. Canada.
@miketaylor52125 жыл бұрын
i used to play 2 old games on playstation one called panzer general and allied general the mossy was one of the best all around planes in the game great fighter and great ground attack.
@user-ky6vw5up9m4 жыл бұрын
The parts were built in diverse sites. One of them was the back yard of Mallard and Flying Scotsman designer Sir. Nigel Gresley at Salisbury Hall.
@frankambrose8785 жыл бұрын
Bring back a modern version of the mosquito for counter insurgency. Fast, powerful, and lethal.
@99loki6 жыл бұрын
Being allowed to sit in the cockpit of the prototype at Salisbury Hall, when I was a boy, almost certainly shaped my life. (It's still there, I think the only WW2 prototype still in existence.)
@ianmacdonald68826 жыл бұрын
I was even luckier. As an ATC cadet on one of many visits to Leuchars airfield, the Norwegian pilot of a Mosquito 11 asked to join him on a air to ground practice attack using machine guns and cannon. I had the sense to take a sick bag with me, and I needed to use it because the evasive action after each attack, was rough. But my friends were envious of me for getting the chance to gly in a Mosquito.
@geezergeezer15 жыл бұрын
@@ianmacdonald6882 Sick bag! Smart kid. You deserved your ride.
@99loki4 жыл бұрын
@soaringtractor Interesting...I thought that aircraft was one of two provided free of charge to the US Army as a condition of the contract with the British Purchasing Commision, and is either the 4th or 10th production aircraft.
@zdzichus.32646 жыл бұрын
I'd give you 10 +++ if I only could... Great idea to tell about this particular airplane...
@Mies785 жыл бұрын
just gorgeous.
@philgiglio96565 жыл бұрын
It was so respected by the Germans they tried, and failed to copy it. Any Luftwaffe pilot that managed to shoot one down was credited with 2 kills.
@greva29045 жыл бұрын
Which just shows how desperate the Germans were to shoot mosquitoes down, and how much trouble they were having actually doing it! Mosquito fighters on night intruder missions used to loiter near German night fighter bases to catch planes landing or taking off. The Germans knew they were there and knew they weren’t safe from attack even over their own airfields
@richardneagle31773 жыл бұрын
An amazing history,arguably,the most extraordinary aircraft in service with RAF
@MarcG74245 жыл бұрын
Proves sometimes you have to go backwards to move forward
@xyz21215 жыл бұрын
From the days when Britain could design and build something that was the best in the world. Geoffrey De Havilland was a genius.
@poruatokin4 жыл бұрын
Britain can still produce world beating designs, that much has not changed. The problem is the lack of foresight in long-term funding. Too many fantastic British inventions ended up in foreign hands due to poor investment and management or greedy / corrupt politicians.
@stealthkiwi18695 жыл бұрын
I was lucky enough to see the first fuselage built here in New Zealand, and Kiwi's were told you can never make a Mosquito again!, never say never!!
@MrDaiseymay6 жыл бұрын
The De Havilland factory was situated close to the large Beechwood forests of Herfordshire/ Buckinghamshire. where the skilled furniture makers were. Perfect situation
@timhancock66266 жыл бұрын
There were furniture factories all over the UK constructing bits of Mosquito. That was part of the genius of the design and materials as it used existing and widespread industrial infrastructure that was under utilised in war time. Wooden armour was mysteriously out of fashion !
@MrDaiseymay5 жыл бұрын
YEP, THAT'S RIGHT. ---THERE ARE SEVERAL QUOTES ATTRIBUTED TO HERMAN GORING, PRAISING THE MOSSIE, MY FAVOURITE IS , ( AND I HOPE IT'S TRUE)''TRUST THE BRITISH TO MAKE A BEAUTIFUL WOODEN PLANE, MADE BY PIANO MAKER'S''.
@beyergarret1235 жыл бұрын
I grew up in the village of Sandridge, 4 or 5 miles from Hatfield Aerodrome (De Havillands) which later became Hawker Siddeley and later still BAE, my dad, uncle and brother all worked there, as did a large proportion of folk from the village, I don't recall any large Beechwood forests anywhere nearby however, as I understand it the timber was grown in the Forest of Dean where it was also converted into plywood.
@yannickg69045 жыл бұрын
Mosquitos, because the only thing better than a Merlin is two of them.
@petertitan21865 жыл бұрын
What a beautiful plane would love to see one fly
@CharlesvanDijk-ir6bl5 жыл бұрын
It was the WW 2 stealth aircraft that means not much of a radar signature. Wood? the end justified the means.
@OldSloGuy5 жыл бұрын
The biggest advantage of wood was it wasn't imported. If Germany could cut the sea lanes, aluminum imports would become critical. The Mosquito was a no nonsense machine. A wood plane is more labor intensive than aluminum, so the factory that uses aluminum can have higher production rates than with wood. However, these high production rates required stamping mills for compound curves in aluminum. These are huge presses and very specialized tools that were not commonly available in 1940. One lucky Nazi bomber could shut down a factory for months. There existed many craftsmen who were adept at steaming wood and laminating plywood to form compound shapes. If the lucky Nazi bomber knocked out a converted cabinet maker's shop, that simply took a few percentage points off the overall production rate. There was a need for final assembly buildings, but these were essentially big barns and the tools inside were not that rare. The concept was brilliant in that it leveraged traditional craftsmen and their skills in decentralized locations. Plywood layups need room and time for the glue to cure. The patterns needed could also be made of wood. The Mosquito used neither exotic materials nor technology. It leveraged available resources and wood wasn't rationed.
@beyergarret1235 жыл бұрын
I believe the plywood was made in the Forest of Dean, or so I've been told.
@harleyme31635 жыл бұрын
revolutionary.. it was made of plywood instead of aluminium... wow such amazing... such innovation.....
@Bartonovich525 жыл бұрын
And it was the fastest Allied aircraft until 1944.
@z_actual4 жыл бұрын
despite arduous tasking, the lowest loss rate of the war if there is one tool that describes the British approach to organised mayhem, its Mosquito People tried to duplicate her and failed they doubled the reward to remove her from the battle and failed Mosquito is the work of genius and the delight of flight
@alancox14445 жыл бұрын
Let's be clear. Despite propaganda:- Balsa and ply where no more abundant in wartime England than aluminium. The fact is this firm did not know how to make a metal plane. Even their postwar Vampire jets were made of wood. Mosquito was still an absolutely amazing plane. It would be interesting to see a comparison of what various WW2 planes cost per unit at the time of them entering service. I'm guessing the Mosquito would have been a relatively cheap unit notwithstanding the two Merlins.
@garethrees1005 жыл бұрын
Beautiful plane my favourite of ww2
@enyaw19486 жыл бұрын
Another Great Video !
@acedrumminman5 жыл бұрын
My all time favorite fighter bomber...Goering was so pissed that a bunch of piano makers were kicking the Luftwaffe's ass!
@nealbeard15 жыл бұрын
Refreshing that Britain isn't pilloried in a KZfaq vid.
@Murphy2520008 жыл бұрын
what a great video!
@stanbattle74362 жыл бұрын
I loved the footage I haven't seen before but you spoiled it with the music track
@jerryvincent94025 жыл бұрын
Thanks for this video. It is a shame that it has the background music . The sound of the two Merlins is sufficient. Where I was brought up in the county of Buckinghamshire, England, there was once a huge furniture industry and in my village of Penn Street was the firm of Dancer and Hearne, who in great secrecy, built the wings for this wonderful revolutionary aircraft. The original stealth bomber maybe...?
@norrinradd35493 жыл бұрын
Along with having the distinction of fulfilling the most different roles, it was surely the only fighter bomber, to fulfil the job of keeping a civilian aircraft company’s route open through the war, which was BOAC’s Swedish route, and it was truly the first precision bomber, which on several occasions, bombed single buildings in a built up area of the city, with only one mistake, which happened because of a crashed plane........ And it was the safest plane of WWII, because it lost the fewest planes per thousand raids, for the duration of the war........... Also, just like the Jaguar E-Type was called the best looking car(by Enzo Ferrari himself, et al), I believe that it surely deserves the accolade, as the best looking plane of the war, as well as everything else...........
@spacecadet355 жыл бұрын
The Mosquito had one of the lowest casualty rates of any aircraft during WW2. It also had roughly the same range and bombload as a B17, but with many less crew on board and with much more speed. The US Air Force should have just made 10,000 of these and had a great time dropping bombs all over Germany.
@spacecadet355 жыл бұрын
@John Cornell - And that cost them dearly.
@mikecorleone67975 жыл бұрын
Why when we can just demonstrate nagasaki and hiroshima on our enemies..
@spacecadet355 жыл бұрын
@@mikecorleone6797 - That was in 1945. By then, the war in Europe was over.
@mikecorleone67975 жыл бұрын
John Cornell today
@BrytheP5 жыл бұрын
@@mikecorleone6797 the full stupidity of the yanks on display with this comment.
@DLWELD4 жыл бұрын
Interesting that some of the latest aircraft rely upon composite materials for strength and lightness - think carbon fibre and epoxy. And there was the mosquito built from composite material - laminated wood and epoxy (equivalent). A jump ahead really. Not instant antique.
@patricaomas87505 жыл бұрын
This was one of the finest planes in of all time pity it wasn't for sport and not war, or even just pleasure.Also my carpentry teacher worked on them.
@simonwillis15295 жыл бұрын
Loved these fast light bomber fighter hot rod of bomber fighters
@jasonmcmillan43735 жыл бұрын
If there is just one shame to the design it's the fact that it has resulted in us having no original flying examples with us to this day. No aircraft of the time was designed with that intent in mind of course, but the metal aircraft have been preserved and restored whilst the wooden mosquitos have just rotted away. The museum exhibit examples that were saved will never be in flying condition again.
@BluePorker5 жыл бұрын
three have been restored/reconstructed here in NZ... there are two more under way.
@mauricelubbock38445 жыл бұрын
@@BluePorker A few years ago, when I was passing through Huntly, I heard the sound of merlins, and looking up, I saw one of them (the first I think) heading south. I was doing a site visit with a new graduate, and told her to look carefully, because she would probably never see a mosquito in flight again. She wasn't impressed, but I was. Fortunately, having seen it, I found out about the work at Ardmore, and have see several more flights since.
@jp-um2fr5 жыл бұрын
When you really think about it who were the bravest, those who flew Spitfires, Hurricanes and Mosquitoes or those who flew outdated slow planes like the Swordfish the Blenheim and many others. My father worked on Avro Anson's, 'the flying greenhouse'. They had a lead ball on the end of an aerial wire that had to be would down and up on landing. An Anson came in to land with the aerial down. Poor cow (4 legs & milk) never felt a thing, lump of lead at about 80 mph right between the horns.
@gerrycoogan65445 жыл бұрын
Ha ha! Never mind, the cow would be dead by now anyway! What was the purpose of the lead ball (apart from cow-slaying!) ?
@PenzancePete4 жыл бұрын
To keep the long wire aerial straight. If not for the lead weight the wire would whip around all over the place.
@greva29043 жыл бұрын
By war’s end De Havilland had developed the Mosquito into a new design, the De Havilland Hornet. It’s completely forgotten now, but the Hornet was THE most beautiful plane ever designed... and according to test pilot extraordinaire Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown was one of the most perfect fighters he ever flew.
@binaway5 жыл бұрын
It originated from a proposal to adapt the wooden de Havilland Albatross 4 engine airliner into a bomber. de Havilland wanted to place the Mosquito pilot and navigator in tandem as it would be even faster but RAF policy at the time insisted on bomber crew being side by side and you have to do what the buyer wants.
@mjarail5 жыл бұрын
That would have been a world beater. A crew of 3 or 4, with remote operated tail turret.
@grahambull58025 жыл бұрын
Back ground music AHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
@neilpemberton55233 жыл бұрын
During the 30s the Germans conceptualized the schnellbomber, or fast bomber, which could outrun enemy fighters. The Ju88 was the closest they got to it. But the Hurricane and especially the Spitfire (and Bf109) were too fast for the concept to succeed, or so it seemed So it can be imagined how the Germans felt when Geoffrey De Havilland perfected their original concept. The Mosquito even looks faster than the Do17 and Ju88. The difference is that De Havilland and his champion in the RAF, Wilfrid Freeman, trusted the concept more to the extent that they got rid of everything that would slow the plane down- defensive guns included. The Germans hedged their bets in comparison, and came up short.
@donmckeoun79905 жыл бұрын
This was a very good bomber and fighter and fast enough for air reconnaissance it was a triple threat
@MrDaiseymay5 жыл бұрын
Add U-Boat and small surface ship destroyer, low level attacker of specific small targets, Carry the same bomb load weight, of a B17, but only two crew member's, arrive over Berlin in half the time 4 engine planes could. Night fighter, destroyed huge amount of JU88 night fighter's. Could fire unguided Rockets, destroyed thousands of targets in run up to D Day, like Trains loaded with ammo etc . Escourt Heavy bomber's on special Radar jamming raids. Attacked and destroyed V 1's They even ferried diplomats and special courier's from Neutral Sweden to and from Britain, and so on- - -
@clydebalcom82525 жыл бұрын
A sexy plane and a badass of the sky.
@BJBFOREST4 жыл бұрын
All aircraft had shortcomings, but in some theatres they excelled. That said, thank christ there are real experts opinions from those who actually flew them and against their foe. Gunther Rall respected the Spitfires and the Hurricanses, but preferred the P51 mainly for the longer range. For me the RAF paved the way for the allies to fight from the UK mainland.
@Coltnz13 жыл бұрын
Spits and ‘Canes were designed and built for home defence - hence shorter range than P51’s.
@kabukiwookie6 жыл бұрын
Didn't they eventually mount 57mm auto cannons to Mossies and go tank busting? Also what I have always wanted to know: When a Mossy came back with battle damage, how did they repair it? I cannot imagine anyone just spackling bullet holes in an aircraft.. I imagine they had wood hardener back in those days... Did they just fill with wood hardener and spackle? It explains why the mossy was such a versatile combat aircraft.
@timhancock66266 жыл бұрын
The Tsetse Mosquito had a big 6 pounder cannon mounted, but rocket projectiles were found to be more flexible and effective so there were only three or so Tsetse squadrons. Rockets were easier to mount on other marks of Mosquito so whilst it worked the Tsetse was less adaptable so lost favour.
@calgarymosquitosociety20616 жыл бұрын
Yes they did mount a 57mm in it, but only in very small numbers and for use against ships and subs, not against tanks that I am aware of. Repairs were pretty conventional for any wood structure. There is classic footage of doing a plain butt joint to replace part of a wing tip that was damaged, clean cut and then repaired with a new section. Basically patch and glue on most of the structure if it was minor.
@DieyoungDiefast6 жыл бұрын
Yeah, the rockets were more for anti-shipping. A salvo of rockets was likened to a broadside from a cruiser like HMS Belfast. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nK2ghbiaya_Qqok.html
@geezergeezer15 жыл бұрын
@@calgarymosquitosociety2061 Repairs were fast, cheap, and effective. All same the great, under-rated Hawker Hurricane. The Spitfire, on the other hand, well, let me just say I like straightforward, honest dates who don't spend ages getting their makeup just right.
@thegreatdominion9495 жыл бұрын
I've never read or heard of the Tse Tse being used for tank busting, but I suppose it could have been effective at the very least against Panzer IVs (the German tank most commonly encountered by the allies after D-Day) firing standard AP ammunition (6 pounder APDS ammunition which was in wide availability by mid 1944 could have also been employed for engagements against Tigers, King Tigers and late war heavy tank destroyers). Rocket projectiles, though more destructive than a 57 mm 6 pounder shell, were also much less accurate than cannons (i.e. it was much harder to get direct hits on a tank with RPs) and it is highly debatable whether or not RP-3s, such as those regularly fired by Typhoon fighter bombers following D Day, were truly effective at defeating German heavy armour as was the general belief at the time. The Hurricane IID which mounted two 40 mm Vickers S guns for tank busting purposes probably had a better kill average against early to mid war German armour than did the Typhoon or other rocket-firing aircraft during 1944 and 1945, simply due to its greater ability to deliver its ordnance accurately and the Tse Tse might have been similarly effective in late war period if it had been used extensively in that role, but it wasn't.
@caractacusbrittania74425 жыл бұрын
German state sponsored military Projects resulted in some astounding pieces of hardware. Britain....pre war patents the jet engine.....perfects the cavity magnetron and has great designers turning out the mosquito...the Lancaster. ...and The typhoon. Imagine if ,like germany,britain had seriously funded it's projects. We may well have had the Gloucester meteor,with portable radar in 1940.... What shock that would have been
@MrDaiseymay5 жыл бұрын
I don't think Whittles Jet engine was pattented---the German guy (forget his name) who claimed that HE invented the jet Engine before Whittle, actually confessed on his death bed, that he was able to obtain ( steal) whittles drawings, because the idiot British didn't protect it. BUT, he did improve the design and, because of the Nazi determination, got his plane in the air in 1939---before our Gloster Fighter.a year later. AGAIN, no serious backing by the Government , who asked Jaguar and Wolesley Cars , to develop and make the engine. A revolutionary world beating Engine----Car maker's ??? Jeeeezus.