The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the Post-war era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder". It saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) and many other air forces in the European theatre, the Pacific theatre of Operations and the Mediterranean Theatre, as well as during the postwar period.

Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito was adapted to many other roles during the air war, including: low to medium altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike aircraft, and fast photo-reconnaissance aircraft.

When the Mosquito entered production in 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world. Entering widespread service in 1942, the Mosquito supported RAF strategic night fighter defense forces in the United Kingdom from Luftwaffe raids, most notably defeating the German aerial offensive Operation Steinbock in 1944.

Offensively, the Mosquito units also conducted night time fighter sweeps in indirect and direct protection of RAF Bomber Command's heavy bombers to help reduce RAF bomber losses in 1944 and 1945. The Mosquito increased German night fighter losses to such an extent the Germans were said to have awarded two victories for shooting one down.

As a bomber it took part in "special raids", such as pinpoint attacks on prisoner-of-war camps to aid the escape of prisoners, Gestapo or German intelligence and security force bases as well as tactical strikes in support of the British Army in the Normandy Campaign. Some Mosquitos also saw action in RAF Coastal Command during the Battle of the Atlantic, attacking Kriegsmarine U-Boat and transport ship concentrations, particularly in the Bay of Biscay offensive in 1943 in which significant numbers of U-Boats were sunk or damaged.

The Mosquito was also used in the Mediterranean and Italian theatres, as well as being used by the RAF in the CBI Theatre, and by the RAAF based in the Halmaheras and Borneo during the Pacific War.

Source: Wikipedia, "de Havilland Mosquito", available under the CC-BY-SA License.

As Described In

Aces Over Europe: The Mosquito VI was the standard fighter-bomber version of the "Wooden Wonder". Its nose packed murderous firepower and with rockets slung under the wings, it was a fearsome ground attack weapon. The Mosquito XVIII was an anti-shipping version of the famous twin-engined fighter-bomber. Nicknamed the "Tsetse" because of its powerful 57mm cannon, it wreaked havoc on German shipping in the Bay of Biscay.