In this exciting new title the author tells the story of the de
Havilland Mosquito and those who flew it. Enshrined in history as the 'wooden
wonder', the de Havilland Mosquito was arguably one of the most beautiful
aircraft ever built and also to fly. Loved and respected by its flight crew and
opponents respectively, it is one of the iconic aircraft of World War
2.
Although originally designed as a bomber for the RAF, its performance
rivalled that of most fighters of the time and the Mosquito undertook a range of
duties unsurpassed by any other military aircraft - day bomber, high altitude
night bomber, fighter-bomber, day and night fighter, photo-reconnaissance,
anti-shipping, civil mail carrier and pathfinder. The original conception of the
Mosquito was unusual - to construct an unarmed high-speed bomber out of wood,
both unusual qualities for the time - when conventional bombers were heavily
armed, slow and made of metal. Its novel non-strategic construction utilised the
various timber trades and associated industries, then underused in the coming
war. Once the aircraft took to the skies it was an immediate sensation. It could
carry a wide range of hardware yet keep speed and manoeuvrability and its
construction gave it ruggedness and an ability to bring its crew home. The
aircraft is associated with some of the most daring operations of the war, such
as the low level daylight raids on Amiens prison
and the Gestapo headquarters in the Hague and
Aarhus University in 1944 not to mention the infamous Shell
House building in Copenhagen in 1945. In addition the Mosquito
flew thousands of everyday pathfinder, bombing, night fighter,
photo-reconnaissance sorties with great precision and a far lower rate of losses
than most other aircraft.
Combining around 260 superb historical and present day photographs
plus six colour profiles with in depth and descriptive content, this title is
sure to be a hit amongst aviation enthusiasts worldwide.
Following on from the hugely successful volumes on Avro Vulcan and
Avro Lancaster, Mark Nelson presents his newest book * Not only a tale of the
beautiful aircraft but also of those who flew in it * Combines informative text
allied to over two hundred historical and present day
photographs.
