Mosquito First Prototype Restoration Roll-out

[Head in the clouds]

A few days ago a very significant historical aircraft event took place. The restoration of the only existing propeller driven WW2 aircraft prototype - that of prototype No.1 of the de Havilland Mosquito - was completed and rolled out of the main hangar doors of Salisbury Hall, 75 years to the minute after it first did so in 1940.

 

For those who might not know, in 1939 the stately home Salisbury Hall near London Colney/St Albans to the north-west of London became the top secret 'skunk-works' of de Havilland Aircraft and is where the three Mosquito prototypes were built.

 

My family has a particular attachment to the project because my grandfather was the head foreman of the toolroom and 'lived-in' at the Hall for some years during the war. He was responsible for the build and for developing the production tooling when the fight testing was completed. It's humbling to think that he would have played such an active role in the original event that is seen being re-enacted in the image below.

 

Here is a link to the Wiki article about Salisbury Hall.

 

A link to the fabulous De Havilland Aircraft Museum which is now located in the grounds of the Hall.

 

Following is a description from Philip Birtles of the restoration roll-out which took place a couple of weeks ago at 14:45 on 25th November -

 

Mosquito 75th Anniversary, 25 November 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As planned some four years ago when the Mosquito Prototype was dismantled and moved out of the Robin hangar, the restoration and conservation was completed in time for the 75th anniversary of its first flight from Hatfield by Geoffrey de Havilland Jnr. It returned to Salisbury Hall, where it was created in 1940, and was opened to the public on 15 May 1959, the first aviation museum in Britain, then known as the Mosquito Appeal Fund. Assembly of the Prototype, the only WW2 propeller driven prototype to survive the war, commenced in February this year when the fuselage was lowered on to the wing.

 

The event was attended by invited guests, with the Lord Lieutenant – the Countess of Verulam representing our patron, the Duke of Gloucester, in addition to the Lord Mayor of St Albans, the Lord Mayor of Hertsmere and the High Sheriff. At 14.45 hrs precisely, the time the prototype took off from Hatfield in 1940, the hangar doors at the Museum were rolled back revealing the Prototype which was pushed out by the restoration team, amidst smoke, floodlights and the theme from 633 Squadron, just like an Airbus media launch.

 

The following day the exercise was repeated for the benefit of members and veterans, and although the Museum has closed for the season, it was opened to the public on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, when some 800 visitors came to see the Prototype and the other two Mosquitos.

 

 

Mosquito W4050 25 Nov 2015 - courtesy PJ Birtles

 

 

 

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[Oscar]

Visited Salisbury Hall and two other places involved in Mosquito restoration while working for the Australian War Memorial in about 1992 doing research for the AWM Mosquito restoration project; absolutely and utterly fascinating. The Mosquito is one of the most amazing aircraft ever built, in my opinion, and the 'thinking outside the box' of Geoffrey deHavilland to manufacture an aircraft of such magnificent capability using basically non-strategic materials and dispersed and largely 'cottage-industry' level manufacturing techniques is an enthralling story.

 

My father-in-law sharpened my interest in them, which had been piqued anyway (by working on cold-moulded boats, strangely) by some of his stories - he was awarded a DFC for his work in the PRU, for having saved an experimental camera that severely loaded the CG to way aft of the limit; he had to land at something like 150 mph on a shortish strip and the eventual crash broke his back. He was the first person to capture images of the V2 facility at Peenemunde, from curiosity towards the end of a 22-hour flight that had ventured from the UK down across the top of Africa and back up and home around Germany, mostly on one engine. He loved flying the Mosquito. That was a high-altitude flight, but a lot of his work was low-level: '20 feet off the deck, at 340 mph' ( See: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/47117499) and look for the para on Ron Hosking, DFC) Ron was a gentle and reticent person, though hard to get close to as a result of the War experiences, but some of his quietly-expressed tales of flying Mosquitos were so far outside the realm of anything I could imagine doing - and I am absolutely SURE he never exaggerated - filled me with an admiration for the capabilities of the aircraft that allowed such things to be done.

 

 

[Oscar]

Strictly for those of an enquiring mind...

 

The Mosquito mainspar is really gob-smacking to see, for those who understand structures. I saw a new one in production in the UK in 1992.

 

It's one piece - laminated up from lengths of timber that have basically been put through a thicknesser, and each layer is cut to length to conform to the bending stresses. I could build a Mosquito mainspar from selected lengths of hoop pine using my Robland multi-function woodworker - I kid you not. Glued and screwed/bolted together. Nothing fancy about it: same technology as Glulam beams. Individual laminates aren't tapered in thickness - just cut off at the required length.

 

Australia built 212 Mosquitos at the dH - later HdH-factory- at Bankstown. HdH did the restoration work for the AWM's Mosquito.

 

NOW - for those who appreciate excellence - LOOK AWAY.

 

When I was arranging transport back to the AWM of its Mosquito from HdH, one of the guys who had worked on it mentioned that there had been a complete spare mainspar from the original build run stored in an HdH warehouse over the other side of Milperra Road from the main HdH facility. Up in the loft of the storehouse. Over years, mezzanine floors had been built, windows removed and cladded over, and HdH had sold the warehouse off.

 

Someone decided that they needed the loft space, so the large wooden thing had to go.

 

They put a chainsaw through it so it could be removed.

 

 

[facthunter]

Wouldn't be any good as the glue would be time ex. Nice sample though. My Woodwork Tech Teacher at Tighe's Hill, Newcastle was involved with building them (The plane not just the spar,) as any good furniture maker could have been capable of. As you say quite an amazing result from common materials. There's at least one flying in New Zealand, built from the ground up of course.. Nev

 

 

[johnm]

........... think the NZ one eventually went back to owner in USA ?

 

 

[Oscar]

Wouldn't be any good as the glue would be time ex. Nice sample though. My Woodwork Tech Teacher at Tighe's Hill, Newcastle was involved with building them (The plane not just the spar,) as any good furniture maker could have been capable of. As you say quite an amazing result from common materials. There's at least one flying in New Zealand, built from the ground up of course.. Nev

The classic quote is that a Mosquito is what you get if you fly two Spitfires in close formation through a Piano factory. The Casein glue was a ticking time-bomb, for sure; I believe some later examples changed to a formaldehyde variant ( though I may have that ass-first, it's been too many years now for my memory to be reliable).

 

The really overwhelming thing one carries away from seeing a number of restoration projects ( and in my case, these were NOT restoration to flying condition, only that NZ example has, I think. managed that feat, but restoration to display condition with due respect to the original manufacture) is that almost ALL of the airframe was designed to be built to an accuracy and using techniques appropriate to good tradespeople ( no sexist comment there, because things like sewing and ( I think) crochet skills were used for some components).

 

As an example of thinking: 'what do we need, what can we make to fill that need with what's available?' , the Mosquito is just magnificent.

 

 

[Litespeed]

I my mind- the Mossie is the best aircraft of WW2, bar none.

 

It could fight, bomb and ground attack, kill ships and subs, place a bomb through a doorway and still be faster than anything else with a prop.

 

All from a bunch of wood, made in lots of little workshops by wood craftsman and women. It was fast to design, build and took a hell of a lot of abuse. Could play silly buggers with only one engine, needed only two crew and was damn fast. Was far more streamlined than any metal beast- composites at its best.

 

And best of all made Hitler and Goering very angry the poms could make such a beast from sticks of wood.

 

 

[facthunter]

Think they later made a version, a metal Griffon powered Hornet to operate from Carriers The mosquito was also used for photo reconaisance at high altitude. Was also supposed to carry a large weight of bombs for it's size. Nev

 

 

[Litespeed]

Yes,

 

The useful bomb load was similar to the B17 which did half the speed, had a big crew for the pitiful amount of bombs it carried. Was heavily armed and armoured and basically a sitting duck. The "flying fortress" and just like any castle, very hard to move away from the enemy.

 

If you survived a mission you were charmed. Pity the poor rear gunner- always the first to cop it, very much disposable airmen. And a huge cost per aircraft and crew.

 

Often known as the meat wagon

 

For a Mozzie, getting shot down was the exception, not the rule. Hard to be shot down when as a bomber you were faster than any fighter. Biggest risk was low operations and hitting a tree. Or the radar guided flak guns, but a quick bit or aero solved that.

 

The cannons were great for blowing up trains and the big cannon and rocket equipped versions could fire a salvo the equivalent of a battle ship. Ships and subs were sitting ducks and had no chance if seen.

 

Also been wooden they were very smooth and had very little nasty vibration in the airframe, something the tin cans could never match.

 

For a true combat aircraft or bomber they had the highest strike- mission rate per loss of anything in the war.

 

Its spiritual successor the Canberra had the same honor in Vietnam, (a friend flew them).