Canada's considerable contribution to allied victory in WW-II is often overlooked both at home and on the battlefield. They deserve more recognition for the tough battles that they fought. Thanks, Canadians!
Tell you something else that is overlooked, the fkn invoice the US and Canada gave us after the war for helping, no one mentions that LOL...oh, and the Merlins, the engines that did it all.
My father, 102 year old Fl/Lt Colin Bell DFC of RAF 608 Squadron Pathfinder Group Light Night Striking Force together with his navigator the late RCAF Fl/Lt Doug Redmond DFC - subsequeñtly Yale Phd and President of the Canadian Institute of Forestry - flew the first Canadian built Mk 25 DH Mosquito bomber with Packard Merlin engines on a raid against Berlin. You can see father 4 years ago in a Lewis Air Legend TH-cam filmed at San Antonio, Texas with a Mosquito FB.
FRED GIBSON, Mosquito Builder! In loving memory of Fred who immigrated to New Zealand and later built 3 Race/Leisure Catamarans called "Caracats" with Mosquito Style construction techniques during the 1960's for my father(A Caravan manufacturer in Auckland) "Caracat Too" Won Offshore Powerboat Races.
My father was a 16 year old "rivet boy" at Downsview in 1944. I took him back there in 2012. I was a fascinating thing to see the look on his face during that visit a lifetime later. Thank you for the video.
Stephen , just look at what Canada produced during ww2 . Go to see a website about ww2 statistics. It is almost impossible to believe what our country produced for the greatest cause worth fighting for in human history . We know how U.K. is grateful. Lot of respect for your courageous nation . For what Canada did during the war , it is by far the nation that doesn't receive the credit it desserves . I always prefer books from U.K. than books written in U.S. about ww2.
Absolutely the standout airplane of WWII. Flew higher and faster than anything the Axis had and, therefore, didn’t need defensive armament. Was the most multi-role plane of all: fighter, night-fighter, bomber both high and low level, pathfinder, reconnaissance, submarine killer, high speed VIP transport, target tug. Was renowned for its manoeuvrability. It also had the advantage of being able to be built by industries and crafts that would have otherwise been able to contribute little. And all due to Geoffrey De Havilland’s persistence in the face of Air Ministry dinosaurs who consistently pooh-poohed the concept. Genius!
The Dornier 217 'Uhu' (Owl) was quite a threat to them. Luckily, not constructed in sufficient numbers, and coming a little too late. But took quite a toll on Bomber Command Lancs.
Thank you for your commentary: I am going to be able to use this in my fantastsy novel when my main character character reaches WW2 levels of industry! This is a very great and highly underrated plane!
My father was one of the team members that helped make wings for the Mosquito - and the Avro Anson - at Massey-Harris in Toronto. The only memento I have is his Birks-Ellis aircraft production pin.........
So well ahead of its time, every aspect is cutting edge and still so successful in output. Canadians were challenged in every way and successful at it.
I was chatting with someone my age, and his dad told him (when he was a kid) about the furniture factory near Toronto that built parts for the Mossy, in the war. I was fascinated with flight. I never started that hobby. But I still dream. My grandfather flew a Camel in WW1. He laughed and said " any Farmer can learn to fly. " He started in the trenches and finished in the air. Cheers and Thank you! We need to remember history, to not repeat the past.
Canada rose to meet so many challenges in WW2 and passed every test with flying colours- an incredible achievement but not a mystery when you consider the mettle of the Canadian people, themselves.
The Mosquito was one hell of an airplane! I had a late friend (R.I.P.) who was an officer in the Luftwaffe anti-aircraft division. He said the Mosquitos would fly at high speed at low treetop level on their attack runs and scare the hell out of everyone! The Germans were very envious of the Mosquito because the Luftwaffe had nothing equivalent to it. 🇬🇧🇨🇦🇦🇺👍
They tryed to make a Mosquito But could not get the proper glue to work It ended up being too hard a glue and would crack badly Sadly it happen while being in the air killed the test pliot
@Andrew Ongais The first 262 "kill" claimed. Was on a Mosquito Recon aircraft........Which after flying over Germany was shot at And damaged and landed safe in Italy.
Canada's efforts during World War II are either understated or forgotten about. It is amazing what a country with the small population Canada had at that time, was able to accomplish during the war. And speaking of Mosquitoes, ours here at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach VA was originally built in Canada. The restorers at AVSPECS (sp) in New Zealand did an OUTSTANDING job of rebuilding her. It is amazing seeing her fly. The sound of her twin Merlins is pure music. Truly, one of the most unique aircraft ever built.
I have visited museum twice, great visit both times. Friend and his wife took me first time always remover it. I took a friend the second time. Thanks great visits. Best Wishes from the UK. If you can go, go.
My Grandmother worked at the Canadian Power Boat Company the made components for the Mossie, and my best friend's Grandfather was a camo painter painting Mossies
Made them in Australia too . The Commonwealth Aircraft Factory at Fisherman’s Bend in Melbourne. They made a beast called a Boomerang, Harvard’s modified & renamed Wirraways, later Mustangs , Austers. General Motors next door made engines not sure what type but definitely De Havilland Gypsy Majors because I flew an Auster 111 from GAF powered by a GM Gypsy Major.
My Dad trained pilots in Canada and met my Mom while stationed in Manitoba - he and my Mom got married before he returned to active duty flying his Mossy back in England - great history and love affair on how I got to be. Love these planes and had several models while growing up.
Had I been a pilot back then I'd have jumped at the chance to fly a Mosquito - it was awesome. Spits and P-51s get their share of glory but this plane doesn't get enough. At a top speed of 400 mph it could out run any threat and an armed mosquito was a real threat in itself. Its bombing runs are legendary, most notably knocking out Herman "strutting pig" Goering's radio broadcast in Berlin. Surprise!
It's wonderful how well the Canadians took the Mosquito to their hearts and also built and flew them in great numbers. For some reason, the Australians preferred the Bristol Beaufighter which they also built and used to great effect against the Japanese who referred to them as 'The whispering death.' Great planes, both...
Geoffrey De Havilland -absolute genius. Designed and built in his backyard out of material scraps from the state war machine. When the Air ministry finally received their first batch they couldn’t believe what they’d got for nothing. Or something close to that!
It amazing at the scale of manufacturing during the war in such a short period. Canada and Australia and of course Britain all built these wonderful aircraft. Great video!
Canada can be justifiably proud of their contribution to victory in the making of this beautiful iconic aircraft. It will always be one of my favorite propeller aircraft from the WW2 era. A vision of power and grace, with multiple roles to fulfill. Good video.
Designed at Salisbury Hall in Hertfordshire England where there is a small museum, near to the factory at Hatfield where the British aircraft were built.
Brilliant-just imagine if we could cooperate between countries and produce top quality work like they did in the war years. Proud to be a Brit with many Canadian friends who still visit me ‘down under ‘ all these years later. Thank you Canada.👍🇦🇺
I well remember seeing and listening to countless 'Mossies' as they were test-flown before being shipped overseas for action. I still have a full colour 'poster' of an airborne silver Mosquito, denoting it as the 1,000th off the Downsview assembly line. My Dad, after WW11, used a Mosquito transmitter for his amateur radio transmissions for years.
I often recount how Canada kept the U boats out of their waters during "Paukenschlag" or Drumbeat wherein the Germans sent U boats over here . The Canadians harried the U boats to such a degree that they unfortunately came south and had a "happy time" in US waters to the tune of 5000 merchant seamen being killed.
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All because Admirable King did not want to "alarm the populace" by ordering a black out of coastal cities at night. Merchant ships were silhouetted against the city lights and were sitting ducks for the krauts. King should've been removed from duty.
Saw a brand new mosquito full size flying unit at Virginia Beach air museum, they have a First World War and Second World War section. A guy in New Zealand spent 27 years accumulating knowledge plans etc. He has made the moulds a now producing flying examples as per the one in the US. Trouble was glue failed with age so few flying examples. One example had a self loading field gun mounted, it could and did sink subs on the surface. It could do anything and excelled at everything US airforce used them as well, mainly Photo recon. Equipped with airborne radar meant fantastic night fighter as well. Towards end of war RAF 1000 bomber raids had radar equipped Mosquitos tracking down German night fighter using radar to home in on our bombers. We need more flying examples.
Wonderful plane, my favorite, built and flown by great people in U.K., Canada and Australia. The best thing about it is that it REALLY pissed off Goering. He was infuriated that Britain had a plane that was so fast and so flexible in use and built in cottage industries spread all over the place such a cabinet makers, piano makers etc. and all out of non strategic materials (except those beautiful Merlin’s!). God bless the Commonwealth which rallied and stood together through the dark days. A debt of honor that can never be repaid.
Wood glue in the 1930/40's was derived from a milk product which was OK in Europe but in the warm damp conditions of South East Asia the structure fell apart. A special glue was developed and fixed the problem.
I first heard of this plane in a book called " airwar"... I bought it used in the late 80s and still have it.....a must read for anyone interested in WW2 aviation....😀✈️😀✈️
Canada, Australia and New Zealand - what better friends could Britain ask for. On perhaps a more critical note both the Canadian and Australian built Mosquito planes did suffer from glue problems and in some cases wood rot. No fault of the builders of course but the primitive glues, dope and weather must have been a headache for everyone that made it. Apparently they have found some fusilage moulds and jigs in the UK tucked away in a disused shed.
extremely interesting if you're any level of WW II aircraft fanatic at all. We all know about the Hurricane's wooden tail spars Hawker used to contend w/ the extreme metallurgic scarcity of those years but to get to see a fully stripped Mosquito being restored from its birch&balsa shell ( 1.5" thick only?!?!) is a real treat. I suspect as years roll on , even the 2 or 3 remaining ,resto'ed Mosquitos will not survive indefinitely. These maybe some of the final flying examples of this very important aircraft from 80+ years ago , when our Grandparents & great Grandparents fought the toughest fight in civilization this far for all of our contemporary freedom we so enjoy. I don't usually gush like this but these planes a the "special" models of all the remaining special flying warbirds from the late 1930s thru mid 1940s & its great to get to see what was really going on production-wise. Imagine 2 x 10 cyl beasts pushing / pulling a balsa wood aircraft . Seems it'd be a handful to fly , for certain. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ video rating
@@calgarymosquitosociety2061 wow. armaments & steel plate & that big old 6lb gun made up the majority of the 6-7 tonnes of weight ! that's thin enough to have a fur lined flight boot go thru in the dark !
I hope few were surprised to learn of this planes all-wood wing and fuselage. A very popular personal plane the Bellanca Viking series was build with an all wood wing right into the 1980's. And the Mooney M20 series didn't loose it's all wood wing until about 1960. I believe a few of those are still flying! Also in the 50's the USA experimented with a layer of wood on rocket nose cones. Testing it's possible use as part of the heat-sheild during "Re-entry"! Wood is still a very useful material. I think the very fastest transpacific crossing record under Sail, is still held by wood hill vessels!
P38 lightning is one of my favs but the Mosquito is amazing, my uncle piloted the F4 phantom in Vietnam so I'm a little bias but she's a Beauty with a deadly punch. God bless all who served. 🇺🇸🙏🇬🇧
My uncle was a Sargent Pilot in RCAF Bison squadron flying Wellingtons, he was English most of his crew were Canadian and one Aussie. On their 5th mission they were all KIA in a raid across the North Sea. And people these days have no idea how close the guys of the Empire fought and died together. Respect to all our friends around the globe what ever nationality.
Bomber Command Hastings "Intelligence had been urging Bomber Command that not only was IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) pointless over Germany, but like all transmissions which could be monitored by the enemy, its use represented a positive threat to bombers' safety." page 167 "The night-fighters, diverted by a Mosquito 'spoof' raid on Berlin, were slow to grasp the British intentions, but caught up with the last stages of the attack on Peenemunde." page 210
@@norrinradd3549 you know that Canada is not just Calgary and can fit the uk inside its borders 41 times?? And you seem to be forgetting that Europe and North America are on separate continents
I'm not a flying enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, but for me the most gorgeous aircraft ever to take to the skies were the DH Mosquito and (much later) the Bucaneer. MsG
beautiful plane! I am amazed at how a wooden wing supported the stresses of turning, cannon vibrations, and repeated landings. is there a metal spar or support on the wing? the concept of this plane was genius!
Thx for the comments. No metal spars or structure to the spar or wing whatsoever. Their is a very specific grain pattern in the spars and wing box to provide maximum strength accounting for stress, vibration and loading. DH were very clever and experienced as this was not their first time using such techniques.
I first went to work in aircraft in 1960. Many older helicopter blades for the Bell H-13 were made of a balsa core with an aluminum skin. Even today many people are not aware that Canada was involved in WWII. Massey Ferguson was a farm tractor company. This Ferguson invented the 3 point hydraulic lift for farm tractors. Great video.
Many thanks very fascinating I knew it was constructed out of wood but didn’t have a really good understanding of the procedure You are absolutely right this was the first composite aircraft way ahead of its time and it proved to be a superb aircraft
Really enjoyed this video. Given that the Mosquito was built of wood is it fair to say that she was the world's first stealth aircraft, given that her radar signature would have been pretty small.
Was the Mosquito the worlds first stealth aircraft? | Aircraft of World War II - WW2Aircraft.net Forums ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/was-the-mosquito-the-worlds-first-stealth-aircraft.11846/ Flying Under the Radar - The Hidden History of Stealth Warplanes - MilitaryHistoryNow.com militaryhistorynow.com/2014/11/28/flying-under-the-radar-the-top-secret-history-of-stealth-warplanes/
plywood, balsa, fabric, and dope... bloody amazing... only two workers to lift and carry half the fuse out of the mould lol... just imagine if they had carbon fiber!?!?
originally a recon plane with no weaponry. they simple out run anything coming up after them so they needed no guns.but as they rolled out bigger numbers of them,they became a low altitude attack plane and they had and could carry some serious weapons.imagine what they would have been like with carbon fiber...
They were built like Remote Control Air Planes. Not plastic..As Nikola Tesla applied for a US patent in 1898 Radio Controlled Aircraft....Guy was a genius....
Mosquitos were built like plastic model aircraft fuselages - in two halves. None of the RC aircraft I've built had a fuselage that was in two halves. The Patent 613,809 was for a "Method of and for controlling mechanism of moving vessels or vehicles" Nov. 8th, 1898. The patent is for the mechanism & only boats are mentioned - no aircraft are mentioned at all.
You might lookup the history of remote controlled aircraft... They were around in the early 1900's... And yes today construction techniques are different.. But back then they were hand carved one piece at a time from a sheet of wood... We were required to make them in school. Using the same plans they used. Thank You
I don't have to look up anything - I've looked at your subscriptions & poor grammar, thus I know you're much younger than me ~ I am in my seventh decade. Your Tesla information re RC aircraft is bullshit put about by ignorant RC aircraft magazines & websites. No - the Mosquito WAS NOT "built like RC Air Planes" - the earliest RC & non-RC model planes [both powered & glider] were made as a box construction of thin wooden members [of bamboo or balsa for example] that were covered in very thin wood sheet or a stretched material such as paper, tissue or silk - see Chinese kite construction for the principles. The nose is probably the only bit of carving involved. For a rounded cross-section fuselage & for the wings one uses long spars which attach together the bulkheads or the aerofoil sections [both of which are cut from flat sheet]. Tailplanes & fins are usually thin sheet balsa that's shaped by sanding [no carving!]. RC aircraft were NOT around in the early 1900s [there's no apostrophe before the letter s BTW] - the field began to take off [LOL] in the mid to late 1930s & the techniques involved did not rely on carving. Much later on RC aircraft began to incorporate foamed materials - that's where "carving" became absolutely necessary. The lightest mass production RTF RC airplanes on the market today are all moulded foam [not carved]. NEXT!
Canada gets so little credit generally for the ability of its people. We are a quiet but capable people. That is who we are. My understanding is that the Mosquito was the fastest airplane of WWII, and, it was used to chase down the V! rockets from behind a very dangerous action by the pilots.
soaringtractor it could get close to the sound barrier in a dive. many piston engined fighters could at the end of the war, and I shouldnt be surprised if a few did sneak mach 1.
Soaring Krapter/Wilbur Funbum must have changed their name again. But he/they will still spout the same crap, Just shout troll, definitely is not American they are trying to stir up ill feeling. Probably Putins boys.
Wonderful documentary, I wonder how was the life span of the airframe compared to aluminum. One advantage of the composite at least carbon fiber and resin matrix is that is not sensitive to fatigue, meaning the the airframe life span is wider than aluminum. That is why I wonder how a wooden airframe such as the mosquito was at that time.
Long life was not an issue during the war. Certainly leaving wooden airplanes outside is a bad idea, but considering the average life span of a Mosquito during the war was 50 to 70 hours flying time, it wasn't really an issue.
The Germans were so impressed by the Mosquito they decided to make their own version. However, a nighttime English bombing mission got off course and bombed the glue factory thereby ending the project.
@andy morris The latter - but I think I have read about it elsewhere. Must have been the He 219 Uhu, right? They later had the same problem with the He 162, that one I know for sure.
Canada's considerable contribution to allied victory in WW-II is often overlooked both at home and on the battlefield. They deserve more recognition for the tough battles that they fought. Thanks, Canadians!
eh, ya hoser; don't forget Elsinore beer & hockey, eh?
Tell you something else that is overlooked, the fkn invoice the US and Canada gave us after the war for helping, no one mentions that LOL...oh, and the Merlins, the engines that did it all.
@@markholroyde9412 Not true, Canada did no such thing.
@@nicholaspatton1742 $9 million., you just dont know it.
@@markholroyde9412 Source?
Thank you Canada, my relatives from South Wales went to Canada years ago, lost any details now. Loving hands across the Ocean.
My father, 102 year old Fl/Lt Colin Bell DFC of RAF 608 Squadron Pathfinder Group Light Night Striking Force together with his navigator the late RCAF Fl/Lt Doug Redmond DFC - subsequeñtly Yale Phd and President of the Canadian Institute of Forestry - flew the first Canadian built Mk 25 DH Mosquito bomber with Packard Merlin engines on a raid against Berlin. You can see father 4 years ago in a Lewis Air Legend TH-cam filmed at San Antonio, Texas with a Mosquito FB.
FRED GIBSON, Mosquito Builder! In loving memory of Fred who immigrated to New Zealand and later built 3 Race/Leisure Catamarans called "Caracats" with Mosquito Style construction techniques during the 1960's for my father(A Caravan manufacturer in Auckland) "Caracat Too" Won Offshore Powerboat Races.
My father was a 16 year old "rivet boy" at Downsview in 1944. I took him back there in 2012. I was a fascinating thing to see the look on his face during that visit a lifetime later. Thank you for the video.
Fantastic achievement by our Canadian family. Colin ( UK ).
What can you say but thanks Canada , a true friend of the British people , they were outstanding and we owe them our deepest gratitude.
Hear hear. God bless Canada and God bless the Canucks.
English Heart RCAF 442 " Caribou " Squadron's motto. One God, One Queen, One Heart. God Bless indeed.
Stephen , just look at what Canada produced during ww2 . Go to see a website about ww2 statistics. It is almost impossible to believe what our country produced for the greatest cause worth fighting for in human history . We know how U.K. is grateful. Lot of respect for your courageous nation . For what Canada did during the war , it is by far the nation that doesn't receive the credit it desserves . I always prefer books from U.K. than books written in U.S. about ww2.
When Britain is at war, we are at war. That was how it was back then for the Boers,WW1, and WW2.
vincent Lefebvre 👍🏻Vincent.
I have an article from the Toronto Star circa 1942 featuring my Aunt Alma working in the Downsview factory .......
Absolutely the standout airplane of WWII. Flew higher and faster than anything the Axis had and, therefore, didn’t need defensive armament. Was the most multi-role plane of all: fighter, night-fighter, bomber both high and low level, pathfinder, reconnaissance, submarine killer, high speed VIP transport, target tug. Was renowned for its manoeuvrability. It also had the advantage of being able to be built by industries and crafts that would have otherwise been able to contribute little.
And all due to Geoffrey De Havilland’s persistence in the face of Air Ministry dinosaurs who consistently pooh-poohed the concept. Genius!
The Dornier 217 'Uhu' (Owl) was quite a threat to them. Luckily, not constructed in sufficient numbers, and coming a little too late. But took quite a toll on Bomber Command Lancs.
Thank you for your commentary: I am going to be able to use this in my fantastsy novel when my main character character reaches WW2 levels of industry!
This is a very great and highly underrated plane!
Flew well on one engine.
Very well said, you have left nothing to add.
Those wood workers really could have built a whole bunch of war chairs. Gotta love the mossie
My father was one of the team members that helped make wings for the Mosquito - and the Avro Anson - at Massey-Harris in Toronto. The only memento I have is his Birks-Ellis aircraft production pin.........
Great past history. I just wished i found out more about Dad, he was a rear gunner in a Swordfish, 825 Squadron, on Aircraft Carrier Vindex.
I read that General Motors in Oshawa built the fuselages and shipped them to Downsview (most likely by rail) for final assembly.
So well ahead of its time, every aspect is cutting edge and still so successful in output. Canadians were challenged in every way and successful at it.
I was chatting with someone my age, and his dad told him (when he was a kid) about the furniture factory near Toronto that built parts for the Mossy, in the war. I was fascinated with flight. I never started that hobby. But I still dream. My grandfather flew a Camel in WW1. He laughed and said " any Farmer can learn to fly. " He started in the trenches and finished in the air. Cheers and Thank you! We need to remember history, to not repeat the past.
An amazing aircraft - in my opinion the best all-rounder of WW2. Thanks Canada.
Absobloodylutely Awesome! Thanks Canada for your part :) One day I will come visit you. GB :)
The Canadians are great people! Thank you Canada!
You sure ?
@@LauRoot892 How did you type that in a strait jacket ?
Canada rose to meet so many challenges in WW2 and passed every test with flying colours- an incredible achievement but not a mystery when you consider the mettle of the Canadian people, themselves.
Nick
The Mosquito was one hell of an airplane! I had a late friend (R.I.P.) who was an officer in the Luftwaffe anti-aircraft division. He said the Mosquitos would fly at high speed at low treetop level on their attack runs and scare the hell out of everyone! The Germans were very envious of the Mosquito because the Luftwaffe had nothing equivalent to it. 🇬🇧🇨🇦🇦🇺👍
They tryed to make a Mosquito But could not get the proper glue to work It ended up being too hard a glue and would crack badly Sadly it happen while being in the air killed the test pliot
@Andrew Ongais The first 262 "kill" claimed. Was on a Mosquito Recon aircraft........Which after flying over Germany was shot at And damaged and landed safe in Italy.
@Andrew Ongais th-cam.com/video/0m9XfJ91fWk/w-d-xo.html
Canada's efforts during World War II are either understated or forgotten about. It is amazing what a country with the small population Canada had at that time, was able to accomplish during the war.
And speaking of Mosquitoes, ours here at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach VA was originally built in Canada. The restorers at AVSPECS (sp) in New Zealand did an OUTSTANDING job of rebuilding her. It is amazing seeing her fly. The sound of her twin Merlins is pure music. Truly, one of the most unique aircraft ever built.
I have visited museum twice, great visit both times. Friend and his wife took me first time always remover it. I took a friend the second time. Thanks great visits. Best Wishes from the UK. If you can go, go.
Yet another reminder, that when members of the anglosphere work as one, we are unstoppable. United we dominate the planet.
Canada has been a great friend of both the US and Britain in WWll and later on.
Geoff
My Grandmother worked at the Canadian Power Boat Company the made components for the Mossie, and my best friend's Grandfather was a camo painter painting Mossies
Made them in Australia too . The Commonwealth Aircraft Factory at Fisherman’s Bend in Melbourne. They made a beast called a Boomerang, Harvard’s modified & renamed Wirraways, later Mustangs , Austers. General Motors next door made engines not sure what type but definitely De Havilland Gypsy Majors because I flew an Auster 111 from GAF powered by a GM Gypsy Major.
WOW, the wood was compensated in the wing to counteract the engine torque. Brilliant.
My Dad trained pilots in Canada and met my Mom while stationed in Manitoba - he and my Mom got married before he returned to active duty flying his Mossy back in England - great history and love affair on how I got to be. Love these planes and had several models while growing up.
MN, thanks for your comment, Mike - AirflowNZ
Had I been a pilot back then I'd have jumped at the chance to fly a Mosquito - it was awesome. Spits and P-51s get their share of glory but this plane doesn't get enough. At a top speed of 400 mph it could out run any threat and an armed mosquito was a real threat in itself. Its bombing runs are legendary, most notably knocking out Herman "strutting pig" Goering's radio broadcast in Berlin. Surprise!
It's wonderful how well the Canadians took the Mosquito to their hearts and also built and flew them in great numbers. For some reason, the Australians preferred the Bristol Beaufighter which they also built and used to great effect against the Japanese who referred to them as 'The whispering death.' Great planes, both...
Geoffrey De Havilland -absolute genius. Designed and built in his backyard out of material scraps from the state war machine. When the Air ministry finally received their first batch they couldn’t believe what they’d got for nothing. Or something close to that!
Yes indeed! The Twin Otter and Beaver are awesome aircraft as is the Dash 7
@@663rainmaker They are now American built. See PM Diefenbaker history.
@@663rainmakerhi Paul
It amazing at the scale of manufacturing during the war in such a short period. Canada and Australia and of course Britain all built these wonderful aircraft. Great video!
Canada can be justifiably proud of their contribution to victory in the making of this beautiful iconic aircraft. It will always be one of my favorite propeller aircraft from the WW2 era. A vision of power and grace, with multiple roles to fulfill. Good video.
PT, thanks for your comment, Mike - AirflowNZ
It would have been interesting to have seen a wing of Mossies attached to each bomber group on pathfinder, interdiction & escort duties.
Designed at Salisbury Hall in Hertfordshire England where there is a small museum, near to the factory at Hatfield where the British aircraft were built.
A lot of Canadian trained air crews [also Canadian] made a big difference in this conflict.
Brilliant-just imagine if we could cooperate between countries and produce top quality work like they did in the war years. Proud to be a Brit with many Canadian friends who still visit me ‘down under ‘ all these years later. Thank you Canada.👍🇦🇺
Hi 👋
Great video and I love the Mossy! I'm from Toronto and never knew the Mossy was built at Downsview.
My Gramps flew DH -98's in the RCAF .Flew out of Gander in B-!8's BR-10 squadron.
My Grams built Mossie's in London Ontario.
Awesome.
My uncle Will was the Flight Surgeon at Gander...Then Goose...Cheers🍻!
Well done. Thanks to all who answered the call.
I well remember seeing and listening to countless 'Mossies' as they were test-flown before being shipped overseas for action.
I still have a full colour 'poster' of an airborne silver Mosquito, denoting it as the 1,000th off the Downsview assembly line.
My Dad, after WW11, used a Mosquito transmitter for his amateur radio transmissions for years.
I often recount how Canada kept the U boats out of their waters during "Paukenschlag" or Drumbeat wherein the Germans sent U boats over here . The Canadians harried the U boats to such a degree that they unfortunately came south and had a "happy time" in US waters to the tune of 5000 merchant seamen being killed.
All because Admirable King did not want to "alarm the populace" by ordering a black out of coastal cities at night. Merchant ships were silhouetted against the city lights and were sitting ducks for the krauts. King should've been removed from duty.
Thank you Canada !
Saw a brand new mosquito full size flying unit at Virginia Beach air museum, they have a First World War and Second World War section. A guy in New Zealand spent 27 years accumulating knowledge plans etc. He has made the moulds a now producing flying examples as per the one in the US. Trouble was glue failed with age so few flying examples. One example had a self loading field gun mounted, it could and did sink subs on the surface. It could do anything and excelled at everything US airforce used them as well, mainly Photo recon. Equipped with airborne radar meant fantastic night fighter as well. Towards end of war RAF 1000 bomber raids had radar equipped Mosquitos tracking down German night fighter using radar to home in on our bombers. We need more flying examples.
Wonderful plane, my favorite, built and flown by great people in U.K., Canada and Australia. The best thing about it is that it REALLY pissed off Goering. He was infuriated that Britain had a plane that was so fast and so flexible in use and built in cottage industries spread all over the place such a cabinet makers, piano makers etc. and all out of non strategic materials (except those beautiful Merlin’s!). God bless the Commonwealth which rallied and stood together through the dark days. A debt of honor that can never be repaid.
Wood glue in the 1930/40's was derived from a milk product which was OK in Europe but in the warm damp conditions of South East Asia the structure fell apart. A special glue was developed and fixed the problem.
I first heard of this plane in a book called " airwar"... I bought it used in the late 80s and still have it.....a must read for anyone interested in WW2 aviation....😀✈️😀✈️
Canada, Australia and New Zealand - what better friends could Britain ask for. On perhaps a more critical note both the Canadian and Australian built Mosquito planes did suffer from glue problems and in some cases wood rot. No fault of the builders of course but the primitive glues, dope and weather must have been a headache for everyone that made it. Apparently they have found some fusilage moulds and jigs in the UK tucked away in a disused shed.
extremely interesting if you're any level of WW II aircraft fanatic at all. We all know about the Hurricane's wooden tail spars Hawker used to contend w/ the extreme metallurgic scarcity of those years but to get to see a fully stripped Mosquito being restored from its birch&balsa shell ( 1.5" thick only?!?!) is a real treat.
I suspect as years roll on , even the 2 or 3 remaining ,resto'ed Mosquitos will not survive indefinitely. These maybe some of the final flying examples of this very important aircraft from 80+ years ago , when our Grandparents & great Grandparents fought the toughest fight in civilization this far for all of our contemporary freedom we so enjoy.
I don't usually gush like this but these planes a the "special" models of all the remaining special flying warbirds from the late 1930s thru mid 1940s & its great to get to see what was really going on production-wise.
Imagine 2 x 10 cyl beasts pushing / pulling a balsa wood aircraft . Seems it'd be a handful to fly , for certain.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ video rating
Thank you for the kind words Jeffery. The fuselage shell is in fact just 9/16" thick.
@@calgarymosquitosociety2061 wow. armaments & steel plate & that big old 6lb gun made up the majority of the 6-7 tonnes of weight ! that's thin enough to have a fur lined flight boot go thru in the dark !
And note, at the time of 1941 Toronto Ontario Canada had a population of just 645,000, 3.7 million for the entire province.
Thanks Canada... from a grateful Brit.
August 12, 2019---Thank you for the video. Making a diorama of a fuselage being joined to the wings would be something to see.
I hope few were surprised to learn of this planes all-wood wing and fuselage.
A very popular personal plane the Bellanca Viking series was build with an all wood wing right into the 1980's. And the Mooney M20 series didn't loose it's all wood wing until about 1960. I believe a few of those are still flying!
Also in the 50's the USA experimented with a layer of wood on rocket nose cones. Testing it's possible use as part of the heat-sheild during "Re-entry"!
Wood is still a very useful material.
I think the very fastest transpacific crossing record under Sail, is still held by wood hill vessels!
P38 lightning is one of my favs but the Mosquito is amazing, my uncle piloted the F4 phantom in Vietnam so I'm a little bias but she's a Beauty with a deadly punch. God bless all who served. 🇺🇸🙏🇬🇧
My uncle was a Sargent Pilot in RCAF Bison squadron flying Wellingtons, he was English most of his crew were Canadian and one Aussie.
On their 5th mission they were all KIA in a raid across the North Sea.
And people these days have no idea how close the guys of the Empire fought and died together.
Respect to all our friends around the globe what ever nationality.
Bomber Command Hastings
"Intelligence had been urging Bomber Command that not only was IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) pointless over Germany, but like all transmissions which could be monitored by the enemy, its use represented a positive threat to bombers' safety." page 167
"The night-fighters, diverted by a Mosquito 'spoof' raid on Berlin, were slow to grasp the British intentions, but caught up with the last stages of the attack on Peenemunde." page 210
NEVER underestimate our extraordinary Canadian friends up North!!!!
You do know that Calgary is south of London, don’t you? And that London is eight hundred miles north of new york........
@@norrinradd3549 you know that Canada is not just Calgary and can fit the uk inside its borders 41 times?? And you seem to be forgetting that Europe and North America are on separate continents
@@jacobg2296Jacob 😮
Pretty sure the Diamond DA62 is now built in a former Canadian Mosquito factory.
I'm not a flying enthusiast by any stretch of the imagination, but for me the most gorgeous aircraft ever to take to the skies were the DH Mosquito and (much later) the Bucaneer.
MsG
The great Roman shield or scutum was a 3 ply wood / glue construction with a brass edging !!...it won the empire for them !!
God bless Ply-wood!
In the 80's I worked with a Canadian at Heathrow Airport, he flew Mossies just after the war.
Hi Tony
beautiful plane! I am amazed at how a wooden wing supported the stresses of turning, cannon vibrations, and repeated landings. is there a metal spar or support on the wing? the concept of this plane was genius!
Thx for the comments. No metal spars or structure to the spar or wing whatsoever. Their is a very specific grain pattern in the spars and wing box to provide maximum strength accounting for stress, vibration and loading. DH were very clever and experienced as this was not their first time using such techniques.
What a fantastic Aircraft and quite rightly earned the nickname, the Wooden Wonder.
I first went to work in aircraft in 1960. Many older helicopter blades for the Bell H-13 were made of a balsa core with an aluminum skin.
Even today many people are not aware that Canada was involved in WWII.
Massey Ferguson was a farm tractor company. This Ferguson invented the 3 point hydraulic lift for farm tractors.
Great video.
Many thanks very fascinating I knew it was constructed out of wood but didn’t have a really good understanding of the procedure
You are absolutely right this was the first composite aircraft way ahead of its time and it proved to be a superb aircraft
Really enjoyed this video. Given that the Mosquito was built of wood is it fair to say that she was the world's first stealth aircraft, given that her radar signature would have been pretty small.
Was the Mosquito the worlds first stealth aircraft? | Aircraft of World War II - WW2Aircraft.net Forums
ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/was-the-mosquito-the-worlds-first-stealth-aircraft.11846/
Flying Under the Radar - The Hidden History of Stealth Warplanes - MilitaryHistoryNow.com
militaryhistorynow.com/2014/11/28/flying-under-the-radar-the-top-secret-history-of-stealth-warplanes/
plywood, balsa, fabric, and dope... bloody amazing... only two workers to lift and carry half the fuse out of the mould lol... just imagine if they had carbon fiber!?!?
Carbon fiber, epoxy resin, kevlar and we had a Super Mosquito!
To
originally a recon plane with no weaponry. they simple out run anything coming up after them so they needed no guns.but as they rolled out bigger numbers of them,they became a low altitude attack plane and they had and could carry some serious weapons.imagine what they would have been like with carbon fiber...
Canada. A true ally.
Huh
What an incredibly informative video, excellent; I've loved this aircraft since seeing 633 Squadron (attack on the Death Star anyone), as a kid.
well done fellas , you could build anything with such capable fellows , you could build a nation
Awesome Canada!
To our Canadian cousins, thank you.
Thank you Canada 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼✌️🫶🏻🫵🏻
They were built like Remote Control Air Planes. Not plastic..As Nikola Tesla applied for a US patent in 1898 Radio Controlled Aircraft....Guy was a genius....
Mosquitos were built like plastic model aircraft fuselages - in two halves. None of the RC aircraft I've built had a fuselage that was in two halves. The Patent 613,809 was for a "Method of and for controlling mechanism of moving vessels or vehicles" Nov. 8th, 1898. The patent is for the mechanism & only boats are mentioned - no aircraft are mentioned at all.
You might lookup the history of remote controlled aircraft... They were around in the early 1900's... And yes today construction techniques are different.. But back then they were hand carved one piece at a time from a sheet of wood... We were required to make them in school. Using the same plans they used.
Thank You
I don't have to look up anything - I've looked at your subscriptions & poor grammar, thus I know you're much younger than me ~ I am in my seventh decade. Your Tesla information re RC aircraft is bullshit put about by ignorant RC aircraft magazines & websites. No - the Mosquito WAS NOT "built like RC Air Planes" - the earliest RC & non-RC model planes [both powered & glider] were made as a box construction of thin wooden members [of bamboo or balsa for example] that were covered in very thin wood sheet or a stretched material such as paper, tissue or silk - see Chinese kite construction for the principles. The nose is probably the only bit of carving involved. For a rounded cross-section fuselage & for the wings one uses long spars which attach together the bulkheads or the aerofoil sections [both of which are cut from flat sheet]. Tailplanes & fins are usually thin sheet balsa that's shaped by sanding [no carving!]. RC aircraft were NOT around in the early 1900s [there's no apostrophe before the letter s BTW] - the field began to take off [LOL] in the mid to late 1930s & the techniques involved did not rely on carving. Much later on RC aircraft began to incorporate foamed materials - that's where "carving" became absolutely necessary. The lightest mass production RTF RC airplanes on the market today are all moulded foam [not carved]. NEXT!
This is really my favourite Channel!
Thanks for your nice Videos,
it is very enlightening,
Waiting for your latest update.
De Havilland 'Mossie' Park
My father flew with 305 out of Lasham
Damn ! I want one ! Good job Canada !
Well done to the people of canada
Collin
Funny that you mention model kits, I'm building a 1/48 scale Mosquito B Mk. IV at the moment.
I wish there were more of these planes in the world. I want one.
I'm in Calgary, curious to know how our Mosquito society came about.
Check here: www.calgarymosquitosociety.com/feature39/feature39.htm
Great job and thank you all!😃👏👏👍👍🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Thanks Canada.
Outstanding Canada! Thank you !!
Smallness of means but greatness of achievement - that's British ethos ladies and gentlemen.
We have a fair idea where the mosquito ns735 in australia as crashed and covered over. It was a part of the 618 squadron.
Canada gets so little credit generally for the ability of its people. We are a quiet but capable people. That is who we are. My understanding is that the Mosquito was the fastest airplane of WWII, and, it was used to chase down the V! rockets from behind a very dangerous action by the pilots.
Jolly good show!
Well done Canadians!
I worked for De Havilland in the early sixties they all talked about this plane they said it could brake they sound barrier in a dive
soaringtractor it could get close to the sound barrier in a dive. many piston engined fighters could at the end of the war, and I shouldnt be surprised if a few did sneak mach 1.
soaring tractor is worse than russian, he's irish.
@Demo 'boring tractor' i was hoping the asshole had died by now.
"It was not that fast".
One of the greatest understatements ever made. First flight and it was faster than any aircraft in European skies.
Soaring Krapter/Wilbur Funbum must have changed their name again. But he/they will still spout the same crap, Just shout troll, definitely is not American they are trying to stir up ill feeling. Probably Putins boys.
Canada. Wow! Just wow! 👍🏻🇬🇧🇨🇦
Great Video !
Wonderful documentary, I wonder how was the life span of the airframe compared to aluminum. One advantage of the composite at least carbon fiber and resin matrix is that is not sensitive to fatigue, meaning the the airframe life span is wider than aluminum. That is why I wonder how a wooden airframe such as the mosquito was at that time.
Long life was not an issue during the war. Certainly leaving wooden airplanes outside is a bad idea, but considering the average life span of a Mosquito during the war was 50 to 70 hours flying time, it wasn't really an issue.
50 to 70 hrs life span, how many hours took to build a mosquito, thinking about thousands.
True, and war is a very wasteful business.
but at the time necessary
I read somewhere that mosquito could take some extreme punishment.
My dad was a navigator in www Buffalo squadron
Can we make a scaled down version of this plane with modern composite material and using 2 PT-6s engines.
Great story about a great plane
Search for mosquito tsetse; it was fitted with a 4 per cannon and was a sub killer.
J’aime beaucoup son accent francais...!!!
The Germans were so impressed by the Mosquito they decided to make their own version. However, a nighttime English bombing mission got off course and bombed the glue factory thereby ending the project.
Do you have a link for that?
@andy morris The latter - but I think I have read about it elsewhere. Must have been the He 219 Uhu, right? They later had the same problem with the He 162, that one I know for sure.
@andy morris They certainly knew how to make gliders from wood, but for military aircraft, spot on.
It's the original "carbon fibre composite" technology... Amazing!
Omg, the walls are thinner than what I was expecting, this plane was genius...
i wonder how they heated those huge factories when it was -40f outside? i dont think resin will go off if its below 50f
Hate war. What a waste, but god is that a beautiful aircraft!
God bless the mightiest empire that ever existed.