Corgi DH Mosquito BIV DK296 GB G Flt

DH Mosquito B.IV DK296 - GB-G Flt. Lt. D A G ‘George’ Parry, RAF No.105 Squadron, Horsham St. Faith, June 1942

As one of the great aircraft of the Second World War, the De Havilland Mosquito can claim to be the world’s first truly effective multi-role aircraft, possessing great speed and being equally adept at performing missions as either a fighter or a bomber. When entering full production, the Mosquito was the fastest aircraft in the world and a closely guarded RAF secret – pilots operating the first Mosquito raids over occupied territory were instructed to burn their aircraft if crash landing safely, to avoid the Mosquito falling into German hands.

Constructed almost entirely of wooden laminate, the aircraft soon came to the attention of the British public, who referred to the Mosquito as the ‘Wooden Wonder’, a bomber that was able to out-run the Luftwaffe. From a German perspective, the Mosquito was arguably the British aircraft they coveted the most and despite attempts to produce their own equivalent, they could never match the impressive performance of the RAF Mosquito.