Valiant Wings has produced the first of two volumes coving the de Havilland Mosquito. This volume concentrates on the bomber and photo recon versions of the aircraft and has expanded coverage over the usual Airframe & Miniatures editions.

The book starts out by providing information on the history of the type, starting with the initial prototype. I found it particularly interesting to read about the difficulty that de Havilland ran into with the RAF brass when it came to accepting the design. It appears that the main 'problems' with the plane were the small two man crew and the lack of any defensive armament. It was felt that bombers not only had to be slow, but they needed additional guns to stave off the hoards of attacking fighters. It was only due to dogged determination and the start of the shooting war that the plane got an opportunity to be produced in prototype form. In truth, some of the positive reasons for the plane was that its wooden construction would not take up strategic materials used for other types.

When the aircraft exceeded expectations, I'm sure there was a lot of muttering and shuffling of feet in the upper echelons of the RAF and the Aircraft Ministry. Of course, something as advanced was not without its initial glitches. One of the biggest was issues with turbulence coming away from the wings. This was eventually cured after much testing and trials by extending the engine nacelles past the trailing edge of the wing.

Even after production got underway, there was still resistance to an unarmed bomber. For that reason, many of the initial users of the type went with the photo recon variant. It was here where its high speed, high flying abilities, and the fact that it could carry large cameras were a major plus. Eventually, of course, its bombing abilities were found to be exemplary and it was built in many other variants, including one of the ugliest planes around, the naval target tug of post war.

In the airframe section, we are provided with a goodly section on camouflage and markings. Here you'll find several pages of very well drawn profiles by Richard Caruana. All the major production aircraft are covered in this section as well.

The book then goes into the miniatures section. This is the modeler's section with the author's choice for the best kits in each scale and a build-up of those kits. As with other books in the series, I found it interesting that the modeler for the 1/72 kits uses a lot of aftermarket while the larger scale builder does not.  Next is a section that has drawings of all the prototypes and the differences between the different batches. Something a dedicated modeler will find to be of considerable value.

The very last section is an 'in detail' section. It is not surprising that there are a lot of extant Mossies in museums. Interestingly, the prototype is still around though it was basically the test plane for all the updates so looks quite a bit different than it did when it first flew. All of the museum planes have the late two stage Merlins with the additional intake just behind the prop, so for the earlier stuff, we have to rely on period photos. There are a considerable number of those as well as images from the period tech manuals. These are used to cover all the different bits and systems of the bomber and PR Mosquitos. 

This is followed by appendices listing and showing photos of many of the various modeling accessories dedicated to the Mosquito. A kit listing with all variations is next followed by a list of books associated to the aircraft. Note that the kit and accessory listing only goes back to 1998 with the additional information available on the Valiant Wings web site. This is followed by a huge fold out that offers plans of the two major variants in 1/48 scale. I know that many are plans fans and you'll find these to be especially useful as it provides cross section data as well.

All in all, it is an excellent addition to anyones library and makes for a superb book that should appeal to both the enthusiast as well as the modeler. It is a book that I found quite a good read. It is a great effort and well worth the cover price. Probably the only 'problem' with the book is that it stirs the modeling juices and makes one head for the local hobby shop to search for a kit! It is a book I can I can quite easily recommend to all.

July 2016

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For more on Valiant Wings, including getting this book, visit www.valiant-wings.co.uk. Thank you for the review copy.

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