The Spitfire Got All The Glory But................

[10ClarionSt]

..........there were two British aircraft that the Germans feared more than the Spitfire. The first one was the DeHaviland Mosquito Fighter Bomber. The Murdering Mosquito, the Germans called it. In the early days of the war, after Dunkirk, this was the only means we had of taking the war to Germany in Europe. It carried out many successful missions. One tactic was to fly high over German airfields and wait for their planes to return from raids, then, as they were landing, they would swoop down and destroy them. This is how it became known as the Murdering Mosquito. The second one was the Hawker Hurricane. Although similar to the Spitfire, the Hurricane also had the capability of 20mm canon fire, something the Spitfire didn't have, so the Germans knew this was more deadly than the lighter armed Spitfire, and they feared the Hurricane much more than the Spitfire. Happy Anniversary to the RAF.

[waterboatman]

Very informative. Some of that I didn't know.

[Buenchico]

I'm sure that my father, who worked as ground crew on them, would like to see Lancaster bombers mentioneed here.

Did you know that it's possible to loop the loop in a Lancaster? Apparently it is, as one of the pilots at his base celebrated VE day by doing it. He probably thought it worthwhile, even though it did lead to him being court martialled after the chemical toilet crashed through a bulkhead ;)

[jno]

The Hurricanes downed more Luftwaffe planes during

[jno]

... the Battle of Britain; it may be that the Spitfire just looked sexier. I didn’t know about the Mosquito. Thanks for that.

[waterboatman]

They did indeed jno. They went after the bombers.

[waterboatman]

The more agile spits went after the fighters.

[emmie]

happy 100th Anniversary to a very brave service.

[waterboatman]

Yes indeed emmie. They are the best.

[paddywak]

The Mosquito was the "stealth fighter" of it's day,very fast and able to carry large bomb loads for its size. It was used in numerous roles from straight fighter, to marking targets for the main bomber streams, to precision bombing raids such as "Operation Jericho"the destruction of the walls of Amiens prison to allow the escape pf French Resistance fighters.Such was its reputation that Germans who shot one down were supposedly allowed to claim it as two "Kills",sadly their is only one off these planes still flying and that's in the U.S. Happy birthday R.A.F. and thank you for the the great service you've given and continue to give this country.

[paddywak]

Forgot to add that the "Mossie"was basically very easy to produce as it was really just two R.R Merlins,some guns, in a load of wood, canvas stuck together with glue.Plus of course a couple of very brave crew.

[sddsddean]

The Mossie relied on its 2 Merlins in bomber mode, as it then rarely carried guns to cut down on weight. The Yanks thought the B17 was great but with a crew of 9-10, it only carried 4400lbs of bombs. With a crew of 2, the Mossie carried 4000! A beautiful much underrated aeroplane. As said, the Huuricane was more numerous and probably did more to win the Battle of Britain than the Spit (which, of course, is still a beautiful aeroplane). The Hurricane was very useful in the the African desert as it could attack German tanks with 40mm cannon, which the Spit could not carry.
My uncle died in 1940 flying a Wellington over Hamburg. Each time I'm down Runnymede way, I go and see his name on the memorial, as he has no known grave. Brave guys and (nowadays) girls.

[New Judge]

Yes, all good info about the WW2 aircraft.

It's great pity that in the 100th celebrations that examples of the two arguably finest aircraft ever produced solely in the UK - the Lightning and the Vulcan - will not be taking to the air.

I've flown in a Lightning and fast (runway) taxied in a Vulcan. Gripping stuff!