WOODEN BOMBER

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 255, 28 October 1942, Page 3

WOODEN BOMBER

NEW R.A.F. MACHINE Already Tested In Precision Raids On Germany Rec. 1 p.m. RUGBY, Oct. 27. Details have now been revealed of the new British high-speed reconnaissance bomber, the De Havilland Mosquito, which is unique among contemporary operational types in being of wooden construction. It is a twin-engined monoplane powered by Rolls-Royce engines, which are fitted to three-bladed D.M. hydromatic airscrews. The engines are underslung in clean-lined nacelles. The design is excellent, with beautiful appearance, giving the impression of high speed and extreme manoeuvrability, and its simple wooden construction lends itself to widely dispersed manufacture. Its armament may consist of four 20 m.m. cannon and four .303 machine-guns. Its wing span is 54ft 2in and the overall length is 40ft 92in. The height, with tail down, is 13ft 3in. Its undercarriage and tail wheel are retractable. The Mosquito has been largely developed from the famous De Havilland Comet, which won the MacRobertson air race from England to Melbourne in 1934, but it is bigger, more powerful and much faster —not only the fastest bomber ever built but one of the fastest aeroplanes. Already it has penetrated far into Germany in daylight to bomb important objectives with precision.