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At a time when the metal producing resources of Great Britain were well and truly stretched, the designers at the De Havilland Aircraft Company came up with the idea of building the majority of an airframe from multi-layered plywood skins. Using the resources of an underutilized furniture industry, the components could be constructed relatively easily and raw materials would be in plentiful supply.So it was that the De Havilland Mosquito was designed around a cold-molded plywood fuselage. The fuselage was molded in concrete molds, in halves. This permitted the fitting of wiring looms and major equipment prior to joining the two halves which made the whole process of construction faster and easier. It was a much like the process used in today's plastic kits.
The bulk of the construction, including the one-piece wings, employed the laminated ply and hardwood components -- metal only being used for the critical joints and engine mounts, brackets and screws.
The major benefit of using the balsawood and Canadian birch laminated plywood construction was a major reduction in weight of the finished airframe. This meant that when powered by two mighty Rolls Royce Merlin engines, the Mosquito had an amazing performance.
The Mosquito was eventually produced in a large number of variants, 43 in all, the most used being the MkVI Fighter Bomber which was armed with cannons and machine guns in the nose section.
A total of 2,292 examples of this version were built. The Royal Navy had Mosquitoes with folding wings and special attachments for a torpedo to be slung under the belly and tailhooks for landing on carriers.
Includes Expert paint kit
Includes Expert paint kit
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