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.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a RAF De Havilland Mosquito B XX fighter-bomber that was piloted by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, who was attached to No.627 Squadron, then deployed to RAF Woodhall Spa, England, during 1944. Sold Out!

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

Release Date: February 2009

Historical Account: "Dam Buster" - Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson VC DSO and Bar DFC and Bar RAF, was the first CO of the RAF's 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid (Operation Chastise) in 1943, resulting in the destruction of two large dams in the Ruhr area.

Gibson returned to operational duties in 1944, after pestering Bomber Command, and was killed along with his navigator Sqn Ldr Jim Warwick, on a bombing raid on Rheydt (a borough of Munchengladbach) operating as a Pathfinder Master Bomber based at RAF Hemswell, when his de Havilland Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen, the Netherlands, on September 19th, 1944. He was 26 years old. It was assumed for many years that he had been shot down, but following the discovery of the wreckage of his plane, it was found that a fault with the fuel tank selector had meant that the aircraft had simply run out of fuel.