De Havilland is famous for manufacturing wooden light aircraft, represented by the DH82 Tiger Moth and DH91 Albatross. In 1938, de Havilland suggested that the British Air Ministry develop a fast bomber that could exceed fighter speeds and thus be able to carry no self-defense weapons.
The conservative British Air Ministry had a soft spot for the mainstream multi-turret bombers at the time, believing that the survivability of unarmed bombers on the battlefield was very low, and rejected de Havilland's proposal. However, de Havilland did not give up the plan and used its own funds to move the plan forward. The design team led by engineers R·E·Bishop, R·M·Clarkson, and C·T·Wilkins designed according to the design goals of a bomb load of 454KG, a range of 2400KM, and a speed of 644KM/H. To achieve this goal, the aircraft's dead weight must be reduced. first. The aircraft no longer has a turret for self-defense weapons, and the crew is reduced from six to two. Secondly, a special wooden structure is used.
The reason why light metal structures have replaced wooden structures or steel pipe/wood skin hybrid structures in the history of aircraft development is that light metal structures are stronger and lighter in weight. New aircraft use traditional wood structures
Obviously the goal of weight loss cannot be achieved. De Havilland's designers decided to use a rare wooden structure - "molded glue composite timber structure."
"Molded glued composite wood structure" was first used by a small aircraft manufacturing company, the LWF Aircraft Company, on the LWFV aircraft in 1919. The LWFV aircraft, which has a very small production volume, is only equipped by the Czech Air Force. In 1922, the American Northrop Company also adopted this structure on the S-1 biplane. A 21-foot-long mold was created out of concrete, and thin spruce wood sheets coated with cheese glue were placed alternately and covered with a lid. At this time, compressed air is filled into the middle rubber airbag. After the cheese glue solidifies, a wooden structure is formed. The left and right wooden structures are combined to form a fuselage with a wooden glued structure. In August 1922, this structure was granted a U.S. patent. Due to its low production cost, the S-1 aircraft was known as the "poor man's biplane."
The "mosquito" type is improved on this structure by changing the wood in the middle of the wooden glued structure to a light wood - Balsa wood (Balsa, and Paulownia)
< p> Similar), the weight of the wooden structure is further reduced and the strength is increased. Wing: In addition to the two metal spar in the middle of the wing, it is made up of two integrally molded upper and lower wings; fuselage: the left and right half of the wooden glued structure are combined into a tube It is a shape-bearing structure, and the laying of electric wires and control cables must be completed before joining together; ailerons and tail wings: metal or metal frame cloth skin; cooler: installed between the engine nacelle and the fuselage, with the air inlet opening on the fuselage The wing leading edge; the main landing gear is a double-column structure, and the engine is installed on a steel pipe bracket and supported by a rubber support seat.The adoption of an all-wooden structure was the most far-sighted decision of de Havilland. It fully anticipated that there would be a shortage of aluminum alloys in Britain during the war, and there would also be a shortage of workers who mastered the manufacturing technology of aircraft metal structures. , wooden aircraft can be produced by any skilled carpenter, and British piano factories, cabinet factories, and furniture factories can all be involved in aircraft production.
On March 1, 1940, the British Air Force needed high-performance aircraft after the outbreak of the war and signed a contract with de Havilland for 50 DH98 bombers (including prototypes) (B1/ 40), and approved the official name as "Mosquito" type. After the retreat from Dunkirk, the contract was canceled for a time due to the threat of German invasion at any time, but was resumed at the end of 1940. During the trial production of the prototype, it was the most tense period of the Battle of Britain. The vicinity of de Havilland's Hatfield factory was repeatedly bombed by German aircraft, and the staff often had to take refuge in air raid shelters. Even so, with the efforts of the staff, the first prototype (W4050) was tested on November 25, 1940. In order to avoid being accidentally hit by ground anti-aircraft fire and patrol aircraft, the aircraft was painted a conspicuous bright yellow.
After test flights, the Mosquito showed great potential and attracted the attention of the British Air Force.
The "Mosquito"'s weight, engine power and range are about twice that of the "Spitfire", but its speed is 32KM/H faster than the "Spitfire" (during the test flight in 1941.2, it once reached a speed of 631KM/H); its ceiling is 11,000M ; Especially in terms of load capacity, the "Mosquito" greatly exceeded the original design specifications (a test of carrying a 4,000-pound Cookie Bomb bomb was carried out on the DZ594/G, four times the designed bomb load; in one test, due to the staff Despite his negligence, the plane was loaded with 10,000 pounds of ballast and the plane still took off safely). According to the needs of combat missions, there were 43 modifications of the "Mosquito" during the production process, 26 of which participated in combat operations in World War II.