De Havilland Mosquito

[The Wooksta!]

No, because De Havilland simply didn't want it.  They went along with putting one into a prototype to prove the point that the aircraft shouldn't have it.  And they were proved right.

In addition, I really just wanted to see what a Mosquito protype would look like with Daggers.  If I can't get the few bits I need, it may look more like a later B.IV series II with the longer nacelles.

I may do a turret armed version at some stage but much later. Need to finish the Mossies that are started.

[Mossie]

I agree, the turret was the wrong path to go down.  I could see a situation where DH might be strong-armed into it, but it was a good job it didn't happen.

[The Wooksta!]

I've got the bits to do it - I'll strip an Airfix Defiant - and I'll probably use an Airfix NF.II as the plastic's nice and thick for conversion work. 

[Mossie]

It'd be nice to do, if only for the 'complete' collection.

[The Wooksta!]

Progress report.

One wing has been chopped to fit the Dagger (serious filling to fit the lower nacelle as I'm using MB2 Dagger cowlings) and the radiator section's been plugged with plastic card, superglue and filler.  I'll leave it a while to harden before I do any serious sanding.  I've found the resin nose and wheels, plus some cockpit interior bits, the fuselage interior has been sanded away in readiness for the new resin interior, some of which I still have to cast.

[kitnut617]

Bit of progress myself, I've got a number of different drawings copied and scaled off, one at 1/60, one at 1/58 and one at 1/56.  I'm going to have a thorough check with the dimensions.

I've also got a 1/72 scaled drawing just for a visual comparison, top pic is with parts of the Airfix Mosquito laid over the drawing to check how close it is, the bottom photo is with the Sabre Mosquito profile shown which is probably the one I'm going to go with.  You can see here that the canopy appears to be the same size between the two profiles.

[kitnut617]

So yesterday I wrote an email to Tony Buttler, I explained what I thought about the Sabre Mosquito's true size, 49'-6" overall instead of 47'-6" as what was published in Aeromilitaria, and today I got an answer from him.

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Hi Robert - and a Merry Christmas to you too.

It is quite extraordinary that you should contact me about the DH.101 because only a week ago I revised my 'Aeromilitaria' piece for 'Aviation News', although I have not yet submitted it. There are two points that will interest you.

1. First of all my drawing is a print-off from the master and the 47ft 6in dimension was written on my copy in Biro by the chap who printed it, so it is quite possible that he wrote in error a 7 rather than a 9, although of course I do not know if that really is the case.

2. The second point is that I actually have the full 3-view of the contra-prop version, not just the side view. Trouble is the drawing is very large and for 'Aeromilitaria' I just did the side to save time. I have now scanned in sections the plan and nose views for 'Aviation News' in the hope that the magazine has the computer power to blend them all together (which I do not). These sections are all very large files and I will send them to you shortly via Yousendit - they are far too big to attach to an e-mail. I hope you will find them helpful.

Do please keep me posted on the progress of your model.

Many thanks.
Very best wishes,
Tony.
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I'll keep you posted on developments as I've got to put together the various scans he sent me, which have all turned out at different scales.

What is obvious though is that there was a properly scaled drawing made of the DH.101 and not just a quick sketch as it appears like in the side profile found in the 2005 Aeromilitaria magazine.

[kitnut617]

I've had the privilege of a pre-view of the 3-View drawing of the DH.101 that had cropped up 5 years ago, but Tony Buttler has asked I do not post any views of it until after the whole drawing has been published by him.  This drawing was found by Bill Taylor of de Havilland Support Ltd (a company that provides spare and new parts for the many de Havilland aircraft still flying), it was stuffed in amongst a pile of papers in a set of manuals for another aircraft, to which they have many.  He found it purely by chance.

I can tell you that it does look like a Mosquito in plan view, the propellers measured out to just under 14'-0" in diameter and the length is close to 49'-6".  The canopy in the front view appears to be a standard DH.98 one.  That is all I can say at the moment, but I think I'll start a thread in 'Current Builds' as I intend to build a 1/72 scale model of it.

[Mossie]

Robert, I've got a question on the DH.101, why was it bigger than a standard Mossie?  If the intention was just to pop Sabres on it, wouldn't have been easier to just have a few localised increases in dimensions?  Instead, they seem to have gone for an airframe that's larger in most aspects, more or less resulting in a completley new aircraft, at least as requires production jigs etc.

I'm guessing that the extra power & larger bomb bay required extra strength & structure that ended up stretching the Mossie in all dimensions?

[kitnut617]

Simon, I don't have my copy of the Sharp/Bowyers Mosquito book at hand (my bro has it) but IIRC, the idea was to have a fast un-armed bomber that could carry 8000 lbs of bombs internally, with the capability of carrying two 4000 lb cookies.  The Sharp/Bowyer book has a whole chapter pertaining to the DH.101 which goes into great depth the arguments De Havilland put to the Air Ministry.  It goes into the cost factor per bomber compared to the big heavy bombers that were then the fad with Bomber Command, they figured that they could build/sell two of these DH.101's to one of the heavies, it then goes into how many/cost the crew there was (3) compared to a heavy, time getting to the target and back (half of what the heavies were doing as it could fly at well over 400 mph with 8000 lb load).  The only thing that the Sharp/Bowyer book doesn't have about the DH.101 was dimensions for it, just says it was a scaled up Mosquito. The drawing that was found shows that this was basically the case.  The case of a fast un-armed bomber was well proved all through the war, that is up until they started encountering jets during the last few months.  But that was all under control too, because De Havilland was looking at jet bombers too, so the status quo would have been restored.

I've been doing some research into the engines used too, these weren't your average garden variety Typhoon/Tempest Sabres.  These were Sabres with three speed, two stage superchargers and although I haven't found anything about the Sabre Mk.20SIM on the internet (if anyone knows of a link I'd be really interested), I have found Sabres with a similar description, the Sabre Mk.VII & VII's were the same except they drive a single prop, and then there's the Sabre E.118 which did drive a contra-prop and was tested in the Folland Fo.108. I think the Sabre Mk.20 was to be the production version of this engine.  Seeing as the Mk.VII and Mk.VIII were both engines of over 3000 hp, you can pretty much guess what the power was for the Mk.20 and I'm not surprised at all that De Havilland dropped the project like a hot potato after they were told to use the Griffon instead, it would have been at least 600 hp less powerful, maybe even a 1000 hp less

[The Wooksta!]

Have a look at using a Canberra fuselage, Bob.

[kitnut617]

It is a thought Lee, except it's round.  A Mosquito fuselage is egg shaped in section.  I've got these sections printed to the right scale and now I'm going to re-print them on a clear sticky back sheet, then I'll stick that onto some styrene card that I'll use.  For skinning it, I've been looking at something that might work, use some thin and not very wide styrene strip and fasten it in a spiral wrap around procedure, then once that is glued and dried, repeat the procedure but going the opposite direction.

[Hobbes]

Now that you've got section bulkheads, the common way to finish it is with strips of plasticard laid lengthwise. I don't see how wrapping in a spiral is going to work.

[The Wooksta!]

I think Bob's trying to replicate in miniature what De Havilland did with the real Mosquito.

[Hobbes]

I see. I suspect you'll need more bulkheads then.