The De Havilland Mosquito

I hope this review applies to the program. The program I saw was a little light on credits but, in any case, a Mosquito is a Mosquito.

It was designed and constructed by the De Havilland Company, which also produced Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine.

In 1940 Britain was on its knees, feverishly trying to bring the RAF up to parity with the Luftwaffe. It turned to Jeffrey De Havilland and his radical, twin-engined bomber that was completely made of pressed wood, more available than the usual aluminum. It was designed to carry bombs but no armor or armament. It worked as expected, managing to reach 400 miles per hour in level flight, enough to outrun any German fighters. Later versions were modified for the roles of fighter and reconnaissance. The bomb load wasn't insignificant either -- half that of the B-17. The armament of the fighter version was four 20 mm. cannon and four rifle-caliber machine guns.

The airplane was sleek and, well, it LOOKED good in the way that the Spitfire looked good. It acquired a sheen of glamor when it was used in pinpoint low-level raids on important targets like factories and Gestapo headquarters. One raid was called Operation Jericho. Hundreds of French resistance fighters were about to be executed at the prison in Amiens.

The attack involved eight Mosquitoes flying at tree-top level with the objective of blowing the outer walls, paralyzing the German guards by destroying the mess hall at lunch time, then bombing the prison itself to allow for escape. It was meticulously planned and carried out but it failed because it was unnecessary. The immanent mass execution was only a rumor, the bombs killed many prisoners, most who escaped were recaptured, and in retaliation the Germans DID execute French resistance prisoners. The film treats the incident with reasonable candor.

It's a decent program consisting mainly of newsreel and combat footage, and of interviews with British and American pilots who flew the Mosquito. It was a marvelous airplane and only at the end of the war did the Germans field a reconnaissance aircraft to match it, the jet-powered Arado.