"The essence of leadership . . . was, and is, that every leader from flight commander to group commander should know and fly his airplanes."
- Air Vice-Marshal J. E. 'Johnnie' Johnson, RAF

The "Mossie," as it was known affectionately by its British crews, was both simple in construction and design. It was a twin engine, single boom aircraft that placed the pilot and navigator in a side-by-side sitting configuration. The Mosquito was one of the most cost effective aircraft ever built because it was constructed out of wood. Balsa was used for the plywood skin, Sitka spruce from Alaska and British Columbia for the wing spars, and Douglas Fir stringers and birch and ash for the longitudinal pieces. These were all held together with glue and wood screws. The result was an airplane that was easy to maintain, tolerant of battle damage, and simple to patch. It was faster than the Spitfire, flew higher than almost any other aircraft, and carried tremendous firepower over great distances. The bomber version operated with relative impunity over Germany til the end of the war, because the Luftwaffe never had a nightfighter fast enough to intercept it. Interestingly, the nightfighter versions of the Mosquito remained in production until 1947, two years after the war in Europe had ended.

The FB Mk. VI, which first flew on June 1st, 1942, was powered by two, single-stage two-speed, 1,460 hp (1,090 kW) Merlin 21s or 1,635 hp (1,219 kW) Merlin 25s, and introduced a re-stressed and reinforced "basic" wing structure capable of carrying single 250-or-500 lb (110-or-230 kg) bombs on racks housed in streamlined fairings under each wing, or up to eight RP-3 25lb or 60 lb rockets. In addition fuel lines were added to the wings to enable single 50 imp gal (230 L) or 100 imp gal (450 L) drop tanks to be carried under each wing. The usual fixed armament was four 20 mm Hispano Mk.II cannon and four .303 (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns, while two 250-or-500 lb (110-or-230 kg) bombs could be carried in the bomb bay.

Unlike the F Mk.II, the ventral bay doors were split into two pairs, with the forward pair being used to access the cannon, while the rear pair acted as bomb bay doors. The maximum fuel load was 719.5 imp gal (3,271 L) distributed between 453 imp gal (2,060 L) internal fuel tanks, plus two overload tanks, each of 66.5 imp gal (302 L) capacity, which could be fitted in the bomb bay, and two 100 imp gal (450 L) drop tanks. All-out level speed is often given as 368 mph (592 km/h), although this speed applies to aircraft fitted with saxophone exhausts. The test aircraft (HJ679) fitted with stub exhausts was found to be performing below expectations. It was returned to de Havilland at Hatfield where it was serviced. Its top speed was then tested and found to be 384 mph (618 km/h), in line with expectations. 2,298 FB Mk. VIs were built, nearly one-third of Mosquito production. Two were converted to TR.33 carrier-borne, maritime strike prototypes.

The FB Mk. VI proved capable of holding its own against fighter aircraft, in addition to strike/bombing roles. For example, on January 15th, 1945, Mosquito FB Mk. VIs of 143 Squadron were engaged by 30 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s from Jagdgeschwader 5: the Mosquitoes sank an armed trawler and two merchant ships, but five Mosquitoes were lost (two reportedly to flak), while shooting down five Fw 190s.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a RAF De Havilland Mosquito B Mk. VI intruder aircraft that was piloted by John Randall Daniel 'Bob' Braham, who was attached to No.613 Squadron on March 5th,1944. Pre-order! Ship Date: Summer 2026.

Dimensions:
Wingspan: 9-inches
Length: 6-3/4-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Going Freelance" - When Britain's population were desperate for heroic figures to galvanize the nation towards victory in their greatest hour of need, they were fortunate enough to be able to count on men like RAF airman John Randall Daniel 'Bob' Braham. An accomplished twin-engine fighter pilot, Braham would go on to believe that flying 'freelance' hunting sorties at the same time as the main RAF bomber formations over enemy occupied Europe might draw enemy night fighters to them and away from RAF bombers, where the Luftwaffe's nocturnal hunters could be targeted by this proven night fighter specialist and his powerful aircraft.

In this role, he is thought to have shot down at least four of the Luftwaffe's leading night fighter aces, becoming the scourge of German defensive operations against Allied night raids. Britain's most decorated Fighter Command airman, 'Bob' Braham ended the war as the most successful British pilot operating twin-engine aircraft, and was also a leading night fighter ace, scoring 19 of his 30 aerial victories under the cover of night. He had nine intruder victories while flying the de Havilland Mosquito to his name, and must have proved significant in saving the lives of many hundreds of Bomber Command airmen as a result of his actions.

The aircraft presented here is the de Havilland Mosquito he borrowed from RAF No.613 Squadron March 5th, 1944, the aircraft in which he scored his first Mosquito victory.