swampyankee
Chief Master Sergeant
- 3,986
- Jun 25, 2013
In general, before aircraft enter service predicting whether they'll be successful or not is never easy. In the case of the Mosquito, one must remember that the Mosquito was not built in response to an official RFP from the Air Ministry; it was built as a speculative venture by DeHavilland (De Havilland Mosquito | BAE Systems | International) after the company was ordered to shut up and build wings as a sub-contractor.
DeHavilland was probably uniquely capable of building a high-performance wooden aircraft, primarily as it had experience with the DH.88 Comet and (less successfully, given that one of the seven built crashed, with no deaths, due to "the wing starting to break up" [De Havilland DH.91 Albatross Transport], causing the DH91 to be withdrawn from service). I think secondary reasons may have been that the Air Ministry was open to such private ventures because of their desperation.
DeHavilland was probably uniquely capable of building a high-performance wooden aircraft, primarily as it had experience with the DH.88 Comet and (less successfully, given that one of the seven built crashed, with no deaths, due to "the wing starting to break up" [De Havilland DH.91 Albatross Transport], causing the DH91 to be withdrawn from service). I think secondary reasons may have been that the Air Ministry was open to such private ventures because of their desperation.