MOSQUITOS OVER SCANDINAVIA
Eighty years after the first Mosquito raid against the Gestapo’s Scandinavian HQs, Dr Graham Goodlad examines the role of de Havilland’s ‘Wooden Wonder’
“The Times was unable to resist the headline ‘Nazis stung by Mosquitos’”
September 26, 1942, and a remarkable new aircraft was unveiled for the benefit of a war-weary British population. The de Havilland Mosquito had entered service with the RAF more than a year before, but it was only after a daring mission over Germanoccupied Norway, attacking the Gestapo HQ in Oslo, that its existence was officially announced.
By common consent, the ‘Mossie’ was one of the most versatile machines of the war. Among numerous roles, it served as a fighter-bomber, night fighter, pathfinder and photo reconnaissance aircraft. Its mostly wooden construction relieved Britain’s hard-pressed aircraft industry at a time when metal was at a premium, and a range of unlikely firms – including coachbuilders and furniture makers – was involved in the manufacturing of the Mosquito.
The Mk.IV variant, which was used in the Oslo raid, had a top speed of 380mph and a range of 1,200 miles. Able to carry four 500lb bombs, it was the ideal platform for low-l…
