Often referred to as the ‘Wooden Wonder’, the Mosquito design was nearly abandoned on the drawing table in a fog of skepticism. However, when a single prototype made its initial flight the performance figures and reported ease of handling so astounded the British Air Ministry that the design, based almost entirely made of wood, was rushed into production. The fact that there was an abundance of wood workers, furniture manufacturers and trades people available at the time proved to be a great asset when it came to using an otherwise little used resource by the aviation industry. The DeHavilland Mosquito proved itself to be one of the most versatile and widely used aircraft of WW II. It was capable of long range and duration, was highly maneuverable and fast, quick enough in fact throughout most of the war that it could avoid enemy fighters by simply outrunning them with its maximum speed of nearly 400 mph or better in some versions. At the same time, the ‘Mossy’ had a formidable punch being armed with an eight-gun nose battery comprised of four 30 cal. machine guns and four 20 mm cannons. The FB VI could carry two 500 lb. bombs and could also be armed with rocket projectiles which were often used in anti-shipping roles. As an unarmed bomber with a crew of two, it was able to carry a bigger bomb load farther than the famed 4-engine B-17 Flying Fortress. It was the most productive photo reconnaissance aircraft of the war, and considered the most effective extreme-low-altitude intruder. 1,134 Mosquitos were built in Canada during the war. Canadian built Mosquitos were flown in battle in Europe and North Africa by the Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Air Force and US Army Air Force.
My model represents an RCAF Mosquito belonged to the 418 Squadron, ‘’City of Edmonton Sqn’’, and was flown by R.A. Bob Kipp based out of Middle Wallop, England, August 1945.
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