The Mosquito Pocket Manual
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Compiled by: |
Martin Robson |
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Publisher/Distributor |
Conway/Osprey |
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Price |
$15.00 MSRP |
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Reviewer: |
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| Notes: |
144 pages, approx 7 1/2 x 5
inches, Hardbound, illustrated ISBN: 9781844863068 |
When de
Havilland offered the concept of the Mosquito to the MoD, it was flatly refused.
The thought of an unarmed bomber was considered ludicrous. However, de Havilland
was nothing if not persistent and with the start of the war and after several
other attempts, the concept was grudgingly accepted and a star was born.
The Mosquito was a type that was never really operated en mass as the usual heavy bombers and was chosen for precision work that required the use of small numbers of aircraft. One of these tasks was as a pathfinder aircraft used to mark the targets for the following heavy bomber stream. Each bomber wing had several of these planes available to them some in a separate squadron and others incorporated into the heavy squadrons themselves.
Aside from the heavy fighter usage, the Mossie was also used for a recce bird, its speed being such that it was rarely caught by the Luftwaffe night fighter force, though the advent of the Me-262 did cause pilots some concern as their speed was enough to reach them and perform several gunnery passes.
A quite telling statistic is on the ratio of tonnage dropped to crew losses. Though you would not think it, the ratio for the Mosquito was considerably lower in terms of losses per ton than for the rest of Bomber Command. For the Mossie it was 101 tons per loss while for the standard bomber it was 10 tons per loss. Pretty impressive and a good reason why the type was liked so much by its crew.
This is a neat book in a series which apparently covers a number of other types. It begins with an introduction that covers the history of the aircraft and provides the significant variants. Then there is a section on design and trials. Now one of things about this book is that much of it comes from official Air Ministry records, so you get information pretty much verbatim from the reports that were submitted.
Next section is on pilot notes where one learns about the various operating parameters and procedures required to fly the plane. The next section contains information on Tactical operations using the aircraft. The first article is on the use of the Mosquito as a night bomber. This is followed by a fascinating article from the commander of 139 squadron on general operations of the aircraft and its effects on the crews that flew it. Unlike the heavies, Mossie units had to fly more missions due to the increased requirements for the type and the higher quality of Mosquito crews compared to the standard bomber. For instance, the Mosquito had to be flown all the time while aircraft like the Halifx were equipped with autopilot and could be trimmed to fly nearly hands off.
There follows several other interesting reports including equipping the plane for the Tiger Force, its flight characteristics and such. Then there is a section of daily log entries for 23 Squadron and 105 Squadron. The book finishes with a report on the Amiens prison break mission. I must confess that I did not think that this would be an interesting book but I was very wrong in that regard. It is a book I enjoyed and if you are an enthusiast of the type, you will as well.
August 2016
Copyright ModelingMadness.com
Thanks to www.ospreypublishing.com for the review book.
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