De Havilland Mosquito operational history The de Havilland Mosquito served in many roles during and after the Second World War . Mosquito - equipped squadrons were asked to perform medium bomber , reconnaissance , tactical strike , anti - submarine warfare and shipping attack and Night fighter duties , both defensive and offensive , until the end of the war . Mosquitos were widely used by the RAF Pathfinder Force , which marked targets for night - time strategic bombing . Despite an initially high loss rate , the Mosquito ended the war with the lowest losses of any aircraft in RAF Bomber Command service . Post war , the RAF found that when finally applied to bombing , in terms of useful damage done , the Mosquito had proven itself 4 . 95 times more cost - efficient than the Lancaster . Performance . On its introduction to service , the aircraft was about as fast as the front line German fighters that opposed it , the Bf 109F and Fw 190A . Although the differential in speed was low , by the time those aircraft could reach interception altitude , the Mosquito would have completed its bombing run and would be racing for home . Advancements in German fighters eventually outpaced performance improvements in the Mosquito , but it was always an elusive target even in daylight . At night , however , no " Luftwaffe " aircraft even came close . At the time the Mosquito was introduced , most of the dedicated night fighter groups were equipped with aircraft like the Bf 110 or Junkers Ju 88 of much lower performance . Although there were several attempts to address this by introducing a new night fighter of greatly improved performance , a variety of problems from engine troubles to the intensifying Allied bombing campaign meant that they never matured . The Heinkel He 219 and Junkers Ju 388 , that were technically the Mosquito ' s equal , simply did not enter large - scale production . Their tiny numbers meant they were never a serious threat , and in the night bombing role , the Mosquito went largely unopposed for the entire war . With the introduction of the nitrous oxide - boosted Bf 109s and the jet - powered Me 262 late in the war , the " Luftwaffe " had interceptors with a clear speed advantage over the Mosquito . On 26 July 1944 , a Mosquito from No . 540 Squadron RAF became the alleged first Allied victim of the Me 262 turbojet fighter . On that day , Leutnant Alfred Schreiber , flying a 262 A - 1a , caught and severely damaged the Mosquito in a pursuit . The Mosquito , which managed to escape into cloud , later crashed at its destination airfield in Italy , and the airframe was written off . Other sources state the Mosquito sustained damage made during violent escape moves and escaped . The PR Mk 32 photo reconnaissance version of the Mosquito attempted to counter this threat with extended , long - span wings , special high - altitude superchargers and the elimination of as much weight as possible , raising its cruising altitude to 42 , 000 ft ( 13 , 000 m ) , well above the service ceiling of the Me 262 . While at least one PR Mk 32 aircraft was intercepted by FW 190s after losing an engine and descending to a lower altitude , it managed to escape , and none have appeared to have been lost in combat . RAF bomber operations . The first bomber squadrons to receive the Mosquito B IV used it for several low - level daylight raids throughout the summer of 1942 . On 29 August 1942 , Mk IVS of 105 Squadron RAF undertook a bombing mission against Pont - à - Vendin . They were attacked by Focke - Wulf Fw 190 s . The Fw 190s attacked head - on before turning to attack from the stern . The Mosquitos used their speed to outpace the 190s . On 19 September , Mosquitos attacked Berlin for the first time in daylight . Once again , when a Mosquito piloted by D . A . G George Parry was attacked by Messerschmitt Bf 109 s , he was able to outrun them . One Mosquito failed to return . One of the first missions was the Oslo raid on 25 September 1942 , carried out by four aircraft of No . 105 Squadron RAF , after which the Mosquito was publicly revealed for the first time . Berlin raids . Two notable daylight missions were carried out on 30 January 1943 , when Mosquitoes carried out two attacks on Berlin timed to disrupt speeches being delivered by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and Joseph Goebbels , the Third Reich ' s Propaganda Minister . The first , in the morning , comprised three Mosquito B Mk . IVs from 105 Squadron , which carried out a low - level attack on the main Berlin broadcasting station , at 11 : 00 , when Göring was due to address a parade commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Nazis ' being voted into power . The mission gave the lie to Göring ' s claim that such a mission was impossible , and kept Göring off the air for more than an hour . A second flight of Mosquitoes from 139 Squadron went to Berlin in the afternoon of the same day to attempt to interrupt a speech by Goebbels at the Sports Palace , and once again bombed at the exact time . However , Berlin ' s anti - aircraft defences were on the alert and a Mosquito flown by Squadron Leader D . F . W . Darling DFC was shot down , both Darling and his navigator being killed . Goering himself was not amused ; six weeks later he harangued aircraft manufacturers that he could " go berserk " when faced with the Mosquito , which made him " green and yellow with envy . " Pathfinder operations . Mosquito bomber versions were used as part of Bomber Command ; the Pathfinders and the Light Night Striking Force ( LNSF ) both of No . 8 Group . The LNSF carried out high speed night raids with precision aiming and navigation . Their mission was twofold : they targeted small but vital installations ; and acted as a diversion from the raids of the heavy bombers , simulating large formations through the use of chaff . On nights when no heavy bomber raid was planned , the LNSF would often strike to deny the German air defences a rest . As part of 8 Group , Mosquitos took part in many bombing operations as pathfinders , marking targets with flares for the following massed formations of heavy bombers . Bomber Command Mosquitos flew over 28 , 000 operations , dropping 35 , 000 tons ( 31 , 751 tonnes ) of bombs , and losing just 193 aircraft in the process ( a loss rate of 0 . 7 % , compared to a 2 . 2 % loss rate for the four - engined heavies ) . It has been calculated that a Mosquito could be loaded with a " cookie " bomb , fly to Germany , drop the bomb , return , bomb up and refuel , fly back , drop a second bomb , and return , and still land before a Stirling ( the slowest of Bomber Command ' s four - engined bombers ) could strike Germany with a full bomb load . The Mosquito inspired a conceptually similar German aircraft , the Focke Wulf Ta 154 " Moskito " , which , like its namesake , was constructed of wood . A Mosquito B . IX also holds the record for the most combat missions flown by an Allied bomber in the Second World War . " " LR503 " " , known as " F for Freddie " because of its squadron code letters , GB * F , first served with 109 and subsequently 105 Squadron of the RAF . It flew 213 sorties during the war , only to crash on 10 May 1945 , two days after VE Day at Calgary airport during the 8th Victory Loan Bond Drive , killing both the pilot Flt . Lt . Maurice Briggs , DSO , DFC , DFM and navigator Fl . Off . John Baker , DFC and Bar . 618 Squadron - Highball and the Pacific . At the same time that Barnes Wallis was designing the famous " Upkeep " bouncing bomb to destroy German dams , he also designed a smaller version — " Highball " — for enemy shipping . It was decided that the Mosquito was an ideal aircraft to carry two of these weapons in modified bomb bays . To this end , 618 Squadron was formed in great secrecy on 1 April 1943 as part of Coastal Command . 618 Squadron ' s specialist role was to attack German shipping , with priority being accorded to the German battleship . The Mosquito selected for conversion to carry " Highball " was the Mk IV series II : the work entailed removing the bomb bay doors and equipping the aircraft with specialised carriers enabling them to carry two " Highballs " , each weighing 1 , 280 lb ( 580 kg ) , in tandem . The bombs were designed to skip across water and to provide weapon stability and accuracy . Before release , they were spun backwards at 700 to 900 rpm by a ram air turbine mounted in the bomb bay ' s midsection , fed by an extendable air scoop . The bombs were to be dropped from a maximum altitude of 60 ft ( 20 m ) at a speed of 360 mph ( 600 km / h ) . In the event , through lack of weapons , training and aircraft , 618 Squadron was kept frustratingly inactive and never attacked " Tirpitz " . Instead , the unit was selected for carrier - borne operations in the Pacific . For this role , 25 Mosquito B Mk IVs were further modified : These Mosquitos were transported to Australia on board the carriers and , arriving on 23 December 1944 . In order to keep up aircrew proficiency and safeguard the modified Mosquitos , 12 disassembled FB Mk VIs were also sent , arriving in Sydney in February 1945 . These were reassembled at de Havilland Australia ' s Mascot factory . Once again , because of political - strategic infighting between the British Pacific Fleet and the U . S . military , the unit never saw action and was disbanded at RAAF Narromine in July 1946 . The converted Mosquitos were stripped of all military equipment and sold off . The sole surviving 618 Squadron Mosquito , an FB Mk VI " HR621 " , is currently undergoing restoration at the Camden Aviation Museum , New South Wales . RAF night fighter . The use of the Mosquito as a night fighter came about when the Air Ministry project for a night fighter ( based on the Gloster F . 9 / 37 ) was terminated so that Gloster could concentrate on jet aircraft development . The first fighter Mosquito introduced into service was the NF Mk II in mid - 1942 , with four 20 mm ( . 79 in ) Hispano cannon s in the fuselage belly and four . 303 in ( 7 . 7 mm ) Browning machine - guns mounted in the nose . It carried the Aircraft Interception radar ( AI ) Mk IV / Mk V when operating as a defensive night fighter over the UK , although at the time this was omitted from Mk IIs operating as night " Intruders " , roaming over Europe at night to cause maximum disruption to lines of communications and flying operations . These were fitted with the Serrate radar detector to allow them to track down German night fighters by emissions from their own Lichtenstein B / C , C - 1 , or SN - 2 radar , as well as a device codenamed " Perfectos " that tracked emissions from German IFF systems . On 30 May 1942 , the NF Mk II scored its first kill , a Dornier Do 217 of " Kampfgeschwader 2 " . By the end of the war , Mosquito night fighters had claimed approximately 600 enemy aircraft , along with 600 V - 1 flying bomb s . Among this total were 68 single - engined Focke - Wulf Fw 190s . This variant also operated over Malta , Italy , Sicily and North Africa from late 1942 on . The Mosquito NF XII became the first aircraft to carry the highly effective centimetric radar . Mosquito night fighters continued to operate over Europe until the end of the war with a low casualty rate , in spite of the efforts of the Heinkel He 219 - equipped units and Messerschmitt 262 jet fighters which were flown at night by pilots from 10 . / NJG 11 . The commander of this unit , Oberleutnant Kurt Welter , claimed perhaps 25 Mosquitos shot down by night and two further Mosquitos by day while flying the Me 262 , adding to his previous seven Mosquito kills in " hot - rodded " Bf 109G - 6 / AS or Fw 190 A - 8 fighters . From September 1944 through to May 1945 a total of 92 night - flying Mosquitos of all marks on bombing , target marking , intruder and night fighter operations were lost . As far as can be ascertained , three of his Me 262 claims over Mosquitos coincide with RAF records . RAF bomber support . From early 1944 , the Mosquito also operated in the bomber support role with Bomber Command ' s 100 Group , their task being to harass the Luftwaffe " NachtJagd " ( night fighters ) attacking the bomber stream s over Germany . The Mosquito squadrons of 100 Group used several different marks of Mosquitos for different purposes : NF XIXs and NF 30s were used for dedicated night fighter operations providing escort for the bomber streams ; F Mk IIs and FB Mk VIs were used for " Flower " ( patrolling enemy airfields well ahead of the bomber stream and dropping bombs to keep enemy night fighters on the ground as well as attacking night fighters in the landing pattern ) and " Mahmoud " operations . " Mahmouds " were mounted independently of Bomber Command activity whereby Mosquitos flew to known assembly points for German night fighters ( usually visual or radio beacons ) and attacked any in the area . B Mk IVs and PR Mk XVIs were used for Electronic Intelligence ( ELINT ) operations , using special equipment to detect and identify German radar and radio transmissions . Some 258 Luftwaffe night fighters were claimed destroyed by the Group , for the loss of some 70 Mosquitos . The omnipresence of the potent night fighter threat led to what the Luftwaffe crews dubbed " Moskitoschreck " ( Mosquito terror ) , as the German aircrews were never sure when or where they might come under attack from the marauding 100 Group fighters , and indirectly led to a high proportion of aircraft and crew losses from crashes as night fighters hurried in to land to avoid the Mosquito threat , whether real or imagined . Fighter - bomber versions . Operational experience in its varied roles quickly led to the development of a versatile fighter - bomber version ; the FB VI , which first saw service in early 1943 . The Mark VI had a strengthened wing for external loads and along with its standard fighter armament could carry two bombs in the rear of the bomb bay and two bombs under the wings , or eight wing - mounted rockets . Later up - engined versions could carry bombs . The FB VI became the most numerous version of the Mosquito ( 2 , 292 built ) , equipping the day bomber 2 Group , the intruder squadrons of Fighter Command and 2nd Tactical Air Force , and the strike wings of Coastal Command , who used the variant as a potent anti - shipping aircraft armed with eight " 60 lb " rocket s . One of the higher risk uses of the fighter - bomber Mosquito FB VI was by 21 Sqn . , 464 ( RAAF ) Squadron and 487 ( NZ ) Squadron of No . 2 Group , 2nd Tactical Air Force in " Operation Jericho " , a mission to destroy the walls and guards ' quarters of Amiens prison to allow members of the French Resistance to escape . In the aftermath of the operation the Mosquito of Group Captain Percy Pickard was shot down . On 11 April 1944 , after a request by Dutch resistance workers , six Mosquito FB VIs of No . 613 ( City of Manchester ) Squadron made a pinpoint daylight attack at rooftop height on the " Kunstzaal Kleykamp " Art Gallery in The Hague , Netherlands , which was being used by the Gestapo to store the Dutch Central Population Registry . The first two aircraft dropped high explosive bombs , to " open up " the building , their bombs going in through the doors and windows . The other crews then dropped incendiary bombs , and the records were destroyed . Only persons in the building were killed — nearby civilians in a bread queue were unharmed . On 21 March 1945 , another similar raid , Operation Carthage , again by 21 Sqn . , 464 ( RAAF ) Sqn . and 487 ( NZ ) Sqn . , involved a very low - level bombing attack on the Gestapo headquarters in the Shellhus , near the centre of Copenhagen , Denmark . The attack had been requested several times by members of the Danish resistance , but was initially deemed too dangerous by the RAF . Twenty Mosquitos were involved , split into three attack waves . They were escorted by 30 RAF Mustangs . The main attack on the Gestapo headquarters caused the death of 55 German soldiers and 47 Danes working for the Gestapo , together with destruction of the Gestapo records in the headquarters . Eight Gestapo prisoners were killed while 18 prisoners escaped . A Mosquito flying in the first wave of the attack struck a tall lamp - post and crashed into a nearby Catholic school ( the French school ) . Mosquitos of the third wave bombed this area by mistake , killing 86 children , 10 nuns , 8 teachers , and 21 other civilians ; no civilians had been killed during the main attack . Four Mosquitos were lost and nine pilots / crew members died . The attack saved the lives of many resistance workers as the Gestapo archives and organisation were severely damaged . The famous RAF 617 squadron ( Dambusters ) , while mainly equipped with Lancaster bomber s , also employed the Mosquito for precision target marking by the Master Bomber . According to " The Dam Busters " , Group Captain Leonard Cheshire developed a dive - bombing method of marking targets in advance of the main squadron , to allow the main bombers to strike from high altitude . Cheshire initially used his own Lancaster for this approach , but switched to the Mosquito as being a more suitable aircraft . These Mosquito missions contributed to Cheshire winning the Victoria Cross in recognition of his sustained courage throughout the war . Photo reconnaissance . The Mosquito was used throughout the war for photo - reconnaissance missions , using modified day bomber , photo - reconnaissance , and high - altitude , long - range ( PR Mk 32 and PR Mk 34 ) photo - reconnaissance aircraft types . Many of these aircraft missions set altitude and distance records for twin - engined , piston - engined aircraft . The PR . 34 , a photo reconnaissance version of the Mosquito , could reach , placing it among the fastest piston - engined aircraft of World War II . In 1945 , an RAF PR Mk XVI Mosquito of Eastern Air Command operating out of airfields in Burma set a twin - engine record on a single photo - reconnaissance mission covering in 8 hours and 50 minutes . The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) ordered 120 Mosquitos for photographic reconnaissance , but only 40 were delivered and given the U . S . designation F - 8 ( six Canadian - built B Mk VII and 34 B Mk XX ) . Only 16 reached Europe , where 11 were turned over to the RAF and five were sent to Italy . The RAF provided 145 PR Mk XVI aircraft to the Eighth Air Force between February 1944 and the end of the war . These were used for a variety of photographic and night reconnaissance missions . USAAF . In addition to photo - reconnaissance missions , the USAAF employed its PR Mk XVI Mosquitos as chaff dispensers ; as scouts for the heavy bomber force ; on " Redstocking " OSS missions at Watton only , 492nd BG never used the Redstocking label ; on weather observation flights , and as H2X Mickey platforms by the 802d Reconnaissance Group ( Provisional ) , later renamed the 25th Bomb Group ( Reconnaissance ) . The 25th BG flew 3 , 246 sorties ( this includes B - 17 , B - 24 , B - 25 , B - 26 , A - 26 and Mosquito flights ) and lost 29 PR Mk XVIs on operations ( this total includes destruction from ground - loops on landing or takeoffs , MIA , KIA , POW ) . The 416th NFS in Italy used Mosquito NF . 30s during the latter part of the war , claiming one kill . BOAC . Between 1943 and the end of the war , Mosquitos were used as transport aircraft on a regular route over the North Sea between Leuchars in Scotland and Stockholm . Lockheed Hudsons and Lodestars were also used but these slower aircraft could only fly this route at night or in bad weather to avoid the risk of being shot down . During the long daylight hours of the Northern summer , the Mosquito was the only safe alternative . Because Sweden was neutral , the aircraft carried civilian markings and were operated by crews who were nominally " civilian employees " of BOAC . They carried small , high value cargoes such as precision ball bearings and machine - tool steel . Occasionally , important passengers were carried in an improvised cabin in the bomb bay , one notable passenger being the physicist Niels Bohr , who was evacuated from Stockholm in 1943 . The flight almost ended in tragedy as Bohr did not don his oxygen equipment as instructed , and passed out . He would have died had not the pilot , surmising from Bohr ' s lack of response to intercom communication that he had lost consciousness , descended to a lower altitude for the remainder of the flight . Bohr ' s comment was that he had slept like a baby for the entire flight . In USSR . Mosquitos were in action in the USSR with reconnaissance aircraft periodically operating from Soviet bases on the Kola peninsula to monitor Luftwaffe activities in Norway . A courier mail link between the Soviet and British governments , sometimes transporting VIP passengers was also maintained . The Soviets further made a request to acquire a Mosquito . Mosquito B . IV ( DK296 ) was tested but reports noted that it demanded high flying skills and no further purchases were made . Post - World War II . Mosquitos flying with the Israeli Air Force saw action during the 1956 Suez Crisis . Although , at the time , the Mosquito was being taken out of service , 13 aircraft of various marks were taken out of storage . An additional 13 TR . 33 ex - Fleet Air Arm Mosquitos Mosquitos were purchased from a British scrap dealer in 1954 and delivered via Blackbushe Airport in early 1955 . The Dominican Air Force obtained five ex RAF FB . 6s in 1948 . Sweden purchased 60 ex - RAF Mk XIX Mosquitos in 1948 to be used as a night fighter under the J 30 designation . The aircraft were assigned to F 1 Hässlö , thereby becoming the first ( and only ) dedicated night fighter unit of the Swedish Air Force . Its Mosquitos were replaced by jet fighters , de Havilland Venom Mk 51s ( designated J 33 ) , in 1953 . One - third of the J 30s crashed or broke down during service , mainly due to rudder problems . Swedish Air Force General Björn Bjuggren wrote in his memoirs that mechanical problems in the swivelling nose - mounted radar antenna caused destructive vibrations that broke apart one or two J 30s in the air . The Belgian Air Force operated 24 Mosquito NF 30s between 1949 and 1956 . They were flown by 10 Smaldeel of 1 Wing based at Beauvechain Air Base until they were replaced in the night fighter role by Gloster Meteor NF 11s . MB - 24 survives on display in the aviation museum in Brussels . In 1954 , the Belgian Air Force also received three Mosquito FB 6s which had been converted to the target tug role . Spartan Air Services of Ottawa Ontario acquired twelve ex - Royal Air Force Mosquito B . 35s in 1955 . These were modified by Derby Aviation at Derby ( Burnaston ) Airport for high altitude aerial survey . After ferrying over the Atlantic , they operated commercially throughout the Americas until the mid - 1960s .