The 8-Machine Gun Wooden Airplane that Terrified Germany - DH.98 Mosquito

[Music] the fastest aircraft of its time was almost entirely made of wood it was known as the wooden wonder the timber terror or the loping lumber yard and they all referred to the same legendary aircraft the de havilland mosquito the mosquito entered world war ii relatively late and immediately broke speed records it also featured more advanced technology and better aerodynamics than its predecessors none was more surprised than the royal air force which initially ridiculed the idea to build a life-size model aircraft for an actual war in an era in which aircraft were heavy in armor and weight it seemed preposterous to build a bomber with no guns however the mosquito would rely on its speed the aircraft flew around europe executing many different missions which no other aircraft equaled in diversity and precision [Music] it was also one of the first successful multi-role combat aircraft and dozens of versions were eventually built from the bomber and the fighter to the reconnaissance aircraft as mosquito pilot max sparks would say quote it is wrong to say it's a legend because legend suggests it wasn't real and the mosquito was certainly reality design and development often the best aircraft are the fastest ones and often it's the most radical ideas that break speed records through the 1930s jeffrey de havilland and his son were committed to building the fastest aircraft possible their company had tried for two decades in the civilian market and they were not interested in dealing with the government they wanted to build aircraft to get the job done not necessarily to meet bureaucratic requirements davilan's champion was air marshal sir wilfred freeman the only one who trusted the family's vision freeman pushed the mosquito within the royal air force so much so that the project was dubbed freeman's folly resistance to the project was strong in the early phases the crown's production manager lord beaver brook tried to get the enterprise shut down three times but the order was never put into writing and the manufacturers simply ignored it the developers knew the mosquito would be the answer to the need to the bomber command lightweight wooden aircraft were a neat solution to increase speed in a time when fighters faced speed limitations regardless of horsepower however though faster than any of its contemporaries an unarmed wooden bomber would prove a challenge to persuade the british air ministry it was evident that the enemy would respond by fabricating even faster fighters and the allies were up against technologically advanced opponents the germans especially with their me262 jet the strongest bet was on conventional huge and heavily armed bombers and radical designs of innovative lightweight aircraft were dismissed but the haveland was true to his vision and focused on developing a cheap easy to build aircraft the aircraft would have no guns or armor plating relying entirely on its 400 mile per hour speed faster than anything else at the time also two rolls-royce merlin engines would power it and it could carry up to four thousand pounds of explosives development was able to continue the project given that wood was not a strategic material and was plentiful during the war effort what's more timber had similar structural properties as aluminum and steel and there was a nation of woodworkers ready to join the cause from furniture factories and cabinet makers to luxury auto coach builders and piano makers craftsmen were smoothly turned into subcontractors moreover wood is a millinery material that crafts people knew well and was easy to work with uncovered with a layer of doped fabric it created a sleek surface that reduced drag and had no rivets or seams additionally battle damage could be easily repaired in the field the material was also a composite with the same strength and lightweight qualities as carbon and graphite fiber materials just as modern composites it consisted of tiny fibers carried in cellulose or polymer creating a solid mixture the airframe would be assembled with regular casing glue just like scale models but a unique mixture was used to avoid plagues and the wood in warm weather such as that of southeast asia the combination of urea glue and formaldehyde formed a waterproof bond stronger than the wood itself internally the aircraft was coated with traditional marine varnishes [Music] flight in september of 1939 just as the war broke out in europe de land was finally given permission to build the first prototype in april of 1940 u.s general hap arnold sent mosquito blueprints to america five manufacturers received the concept and all were skeptical at best beechcraft was the most contemptuous saying quote this airplane has sacrificed serviceability structural strength ease of construction and flying characteristics in an attempt to use construction material that is not suitable for the manufacturer of efficient airplanes but it turned out that he was incorrect the first prototype flew in november of that same year it proved faster than frontline fighters and would remain the fastest for two and a half years it impressed the air ministry so much that there was an order for 150 examples of the untried and untested aircraft by december the mosquito became operational in september of 1941 its speed performance was exalted and usually relied on altitude for evasive maneuvers however it was not an easy aircraft to fly due to its power to weight ratio wind loading and vmc of 172 miles per hour liftoff nvmc engine failure could prove fatal and pilots learned to pull up at 200 yards from the end of the runway pilot bill sweetman stated that the mosquito was quote a slightly nervous thoroughbred which could perform impressive feats in the hands of the courageous incompetent but would occasionally deal out a kick or a bite ultimately the royal air force decided that the mosquito was too valuable to let anybody fly it and only the most experienced pilots and those with the best airmanship were allowed the concept eventually branched into three lines the bomber the fighter and the photo reconnaissance aircrafts each with numerous iterations that by the end of the war added up to 40 variants during the war there were 33 variants and seven were introduced afterward when propeller aircraft were relegated to reserve or training operational history the two crew unarmed bomber performed a vast range of missions in every theater of the war it was not only the most productive photo reconnaissance aircraft but also a keen fighter bomber and knight fighter later fitted with an eight gun nose battery it performed as a high speed courier a weather reconnaissance aircraft a pathfinder a target marker for heavy bombers a multi-engine trainer and a high-speed target tug newer versions were mounted with a mighty cannon and eight rockets much later in the war the mosquito was also the most effective extreme low altitude intruder of the war moreover it was employed as a decoy against the luftwaffe in deceiving strategies while many aircraft executed these missions no other could fulfill them all the aircraft had thousands of routine bombing missions especially low-altitude ones these so-called nuisance raids were hit-and-run tactics which the british media exploited to the maximum and closely filmed the german capital was a frequent target for the mosquito and the missions were called the berlin express at one point the mosquitoes bombed the country's capital 220 nights in a row the wooden wonder had enough range to reach the city and a half to carry 4 000 tons of explosives at 35 000 feet a famous raid took place in january 1943 during the celebration of the nazi party's 10th anniversary three mosquitoes arrived on time to interrupt the radio transmission at 11 am before him angoran can give his speech creating chaos in the background the nazis were then forced to reschedule the broadcast to that afternoon only to be disturbed once again cutting off goebbels speech but herman goering admired the british wooden aircraft quote it makes me furious when i see the mosquito i turn green and yellow with envy the british who can afford aluminum better than we can knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building they have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops furthermore the mosquito was a skilled machine employed in espionage maneuvers due to its low altitude capabilities it roamed the german skies picking up messages from agents behind enemy lines who employed a precursor to the cell phone an impressive raid [Music] the mosquito became a legend first and foremost for its precision raids against the germans by 1944 hundreds of french resistance fighters were imprisoned in anya in northern france on february 19th 200 men and women were to be executed but the allies would not let that happen operation jericho was an ingenious plan meticulously projected to bond the wall surrounding the prison the geography of the area the architecture and the scheduling were accurate the bombing needed to happen right when the prisoners were in the yard and the guards had lunch however it was a dangerous tactic that could hurt the inmates but when the resistance fighters heard about the plan they were willing to risk their lives rather than remain at the mercy of the nazis that morning the pilots were briefed and informed of the plan essentially breaching the walls and letting the prisoners escape another squadron was to bomb the guards while they had lunch but the weather conditions didn't let them take off because of the imminent execution the brave pilots lifted off amidst the terrible weather and soon arrived at the building flying at nearly 15 feet the mosquitoes hit and broke the walls freeing 255 fighters and neutralizing 50 guards in the aftermath of the war the germans realized that the royal air force could bond any sight they wanted across occupied europe everyone loved the mossy and as pilot aubrey hillard put it quote it was a love affair i thought when i finished flying that was it i never flew another aircraft again after the mosquito never thanks for watching our video please subscribe to all our duck documentaries channels for more historical content also hit the bell icon to get notified about new videos and let us know in the comments below if you'd like to see a specific aircraft covered on our channel

Channel: Dark Skies

Views: 1,327,268

Keywords: aviation, airplanes, aircraft, air force, history, documentary, history channel, documentary channel, dark docs, dark skies, Mosquito, dh 98, dh.98, de havilland mosquito, de havilland mosquito (aircraft model), ww2, wwii, world war 2, world war ii, british, britain, germany, raf, royal air force, luftwaffe, wood, wooden

Id: 1t24sJN5zDA

Length: 10min 29sec (629 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 22 2021