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00:00During World War II, there is one aircraft that is equally at home at 30,000 feet on a reconnaissance mission.
00:30As it is skimming at treetop level, taking the fight to the enemy's door, capable of a 4,000-pound bomb load, it can smash its target with pinpoint accuracy or deliver a 6-pound shell against a U-boat.
00:49No one is safe from its fury.
00:51With a speed of over 400 miles per hour, it is so fast and maneuverable that the Germans award their pilots with two kills if they manage to shoot one down.
01:06Yet this aircraft was ridiculed from the start.
01:14In a revolutionary leap of design, it has no armor.
01:19It has only a pilot and navigator.
01:22And even more bizarre, it is built entirely of wood.
01:25But by the end of the war, nearly 8,000 of these aircraft had been built.
01:35It had won the hearts of all who had flown it and had become a legend in its own lifetime.
01:41It was called the Mosquito.
01:49It was a thrill, absolute thrill, to be with those purring engines going and you touch the stick to the left, it went to the left.
01:57It was superb.
01:58It was just a sheer joy to fly around with these 1,200 horses neighing on each side.
02:06It was a thing of beauty and a joy forever, it really was.
02:10Using extraordinary archive film and color reenactments, Battle Stations goes into harm's way with the deadly Mosquito.
02:28The best aircraft have often also been the fastest.
02:36The pursuit of speed has been part of the appeal of aviation from its earliest days.
02:42And often, it is the most innovative and radical designs that break speed records.
02:48The Lockheed Blackbird uses new metals that came out of the space race and flies at over three times the speed of sound.
02:58Throughout the 1930s, one company in Britain was also obsessed with speed.
03:06And it was one man's dream to use a radical material to build the fastest aircraft in the world.
03:13The material was wood, and his name was Geoffrey de Havilland.
03:19He was so very determined, I think he wanted to do, he got on with it and did it.
03:23A real leader of people, not by driving them, but leading them from the front.
03:31As early as the 1930s, de Havilland knew that lightweight wooden aircraft were the key to greater speeds.
03:37In 1934, his twin-engine Comet won the London to Melbourne, Australia air race.
03:46With speeds of over 200 miles per hour, the aircraft flew halfway around the world in just 77 hours.
03:53A ship would take four weeks.
03:57From his experience of building the Comet, de Havilland began to have a vision of building a super-fast, high-precision bomber.
04:04It took the British quite a while to realise that the Germans had innovative designs.
04:33Monoplane fighters, but more importantly, they had medium bombers that were being developed.
04:38And they had, in effect, tested them in the Spanish Civil War, in 1936 onwards.
04:44It's a huge wake-up call.
04:48At the time, the British Air Ministry believed that the future of bombing was in huge, heavily-armed, conventional bombers,
04:54such as the Lancaster and Halifax.
04:56But Geoffrey de Havilland had other ideas and continued working on designs for his new bomber.
05:09His dream was to construct a cheap, easy-to-build aircraft powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
05:19Amazingly, it would have no guns, no armour plating, could carry up to 4,000 pounds of explosive,
05:25and with a speed of nearly 400 miles per hour, would be faster than any other aircraft in the world.
05:31But the most amazing concept of his vision was to build a warplane made entirely of wood.
05:40The aerodynamicists and the military men at the time ridiculed the idea,
05:45saying, how can you build a modern bomber out of wood?
05:49How would it carry bombs?
05:50And how would it protect itself?
05:51But de Havilland had all the answers.
05:55It wouldn't need to protect itself.
05:58Its defence would be speed.
06:02And as far as strength was concerned, pound for pound,
06:05timber has similar structural properties as aluminium and steel.
06:10There's a shortage in Britain in the late 1930s of metal workers,
06:15of people skilled in the new technologies of fighter aeroplanes, of bomber aeroplanes.
06:20What you did have, though, was a nation of cabinet builders, of woodworkers, of individual small craftsmen.
06:28But more importantly, you can actually mobilise all of these people to build it,
06:33and you can make it, in effect, a cottage industry.
06:38September 1939.
06:40With war in Europe, de Havilland is at last given the green light to build a prototype aircraft.
06:45Immediately, the de Havilland design team went into overdrive.
06:52Led by Ronald Bishop, they moved into a 17th-century manor house called Salisbury Hall.
07:00This remote house was chosen to keep the new aircraft away from prying enemy eyes.
07:05By October 1939, work had begun on building a mock-up aircraft in the manor's enormous kitchen,
07:15and a hangar, disguised as a barn, was constructed at the western side of the moat.
07:20We were working, often periods of time, six and a half days a week,
07:25and at some periods, from seven o'clock in the morning till seven o'clock at night.
07:29But they were racing against the clock.
07:35In the spring of 1940, Germany conquered France,
07:39and the British army was swept off the beaches of Dunkirk.
07:44With the Germans poised for invasion, Britain was fighting for its survival.
07:50Every effort was focused on holding back the Germans,
07:53and de Havilland's wonder plane seemed destined never to leave the drawing board.
07:59By June 1940, the German army had advanced to the shores of the English Channel,
08:10and was preparing to invade Britain.
08:12In six months, the Nazis had conquered Poland, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, and France.
08:20Britain was the only country left to face the onslaught of Nazi Germany.
08:35With Britain fighting for its life,
08:37priority was given to building only existing types of combat aircraft.
08:42Geoffrey de Havilland's radical new wooden bomber looked condemned to be scrapped.
08:46But de Havilland was not a man to take no for an answer.
08:54Sir Geoffrey's words are,
08:56well, they may not want it now, but they will want it.
09:00De Havilland persuaded the air ministry to let him continue,
09:04as long as he did not use any of the vital materials required for the war effort.
09:08Throughout the summer of 1940,
09:13as Britain fought for survival against the German Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain,
09:17de Havilland and his team worked on their wooden bomber.
09:25Finally, in December 1940,
09:27the aircraft was ready to be shown to the men from the ministry.
09:30It would be called the Mosquito.
09:35De Havilland had done the impossible.
09:37Using scraps from the British military machine,
09:40he had created the fastest aircraft in the world.
09:43We knew it would fly.
09:46We were absolutely confident it would.
09:49And the question is,
09:50how much better than the Spitfire would be?
09:51Because we said it would be.
09:53And it was.
09:5520 miles an hour faster.
09:58The air ministry was so impressed with its performance
10:01that they placed an order for 150 mosquitoes.
10:06It was an amazing contract for an untried and untested aircraft.
10:13It's almost an impossible task.
10:16It's a wonderful thing to change from...
10:19They don't want it.
10:22And so, give us more and more.
10:26But it was de Havilland's vision of construction
10:29that answered this call
10:30and enabled the Mosquito to be built in vast numbers.
10:34A plan that was as simple in practice
10:36as it was visionary in conception.
10:42The aircraft was to be built like a model aircraft
10:45with wood, plywood, glue and screws.
10:49Over 400 companies around Britain
10:52with woodworking craftsmen
10:54would make the various sections.
10:57The fuselage would be made in two halves
11:00before being bonded together.
11:03The wing would be assembled in one piece
11:05and then transported to the main factory
11:08for the final assembly.
11:09In all, over 6 tons of wood
11:13and nearly 50,000 brass screws
11:16were used in each aircraft.
11:20At 40 feet long
11:21and with a wingspan of 54 feet
11:23a legend had been born.
11:27With a speed of 400 miles per hour
11:29faster than any aircraft in the world
11:32the Mosquito was ready to do battle.
11:34The RAF viewed these aircraft
11:38as too valuable
11:39to let just anybody fly them.
11:42Only the most experienced crews were selected.
11:45But for many of these men
11:46powered by its two mighty Merlin engines
11:48the Mosquito was unlike anything
11:51they had ever flown before.
11:52The purr of a Merlin is something
11:56something to experience
11:58it really is.
12:03And then we taxied out
12:05and took off.
12:08There you were
12:09you suddenly look at the altimeter
12:11the one minute you were down
12:12at 1,000 feet
12:14next minute you're up at 30,000.
12:17She would climb at 2,500 feet a minute
12:19and that was really going some.
12:21You had to get into a jet
12:22to fly anything faster than that.
12:26If you started to mishandle her
12:27pushing and pulling
12:28in no time at all
12:29you would over control
12:30and she would be like a Mosquito
12:32she would sting you.
12:36In July 1941
12:38the first Mosquitoes
12:40to go into service
12:41were delivered
12:41as photo reconnaissance units.
12:43It had taken only 22 months
12:45from the first drawings
12:46to delivery.
12:47Unarmed
12:52bristling
12:53with up to five cameras
12:54these aircraft
12:55were soon sweeping
12:56all over Europe
12:57evading anti-aircraft guns
12:58and fighters.
13:02The Germans
13:03had nowhere to hide.
13:05Nothing was safe
13:06from the Mosquitoes
13:07prying eyes.
13:09Photo reconnaissance was vital.
13:11We're talking
13:11of the days before satellites
13:12the days when
13:13human intelligence
13:14on the ground
13:15was limited
13:16it was difficult
13:17to get back
13:18good information.
13:19Before every single
13:20bomber command raid
13:22over enemy targets
13:23they had to take
13:25pictures of the targets
13:26and in fact
13:27had to report
13:28the weather
13:28as well.
13:30So the Mosquito
13:31was an ideal
13:31aeroplane for that.
13:32In fact you could say
13:33probably it was
13:33the best aircraft
13:34for this.
13:34But it was as a bomber
13:39that the Mosquito
13:40came into its own.
13:42During the early part
13:44of World War II
13:45bombing was a case
13:46of hit or miss.
13:48Aircraft flying
13:48at 16,000 feet
13:50would drop their bombs
13:51in huge numbers
13:52trusting on flying skill
13:54weather
13:54and luck
13:56to hit their targets.
13:57But by mid-1942
14:02the Mosquito
14:04bomber version
14:04was going to change
14:05all that.
14:08Relying solely
14:09on speed and height
14:10to outrun
14:11the enemy fighters
14:12Mosquitoes
14:13could drop their bombs
14:14with pinpoint accuracy.
14:16Soon Mosquitoes
14:18with payloads
14:18of up to 4,000 pounds
14:20equivalent to a B-17 bomber
14:22were an integral part
14:24of bombing missions.
14:26But to make the Mosquito
14:27even more deadly
14:28they perfected the art
14:30of fast
14:30low-level
14:31daylight raids.
14:33We had to be
14:34under 50 feet
14:35to be under the radar.
14:36That's the whole point
14:37of low-level operations
14:38so the Germans
14:39don't know you're coming.
14:41And then of course
14:41you had to go
14:42low over the target
14:43as possible
14:43so that you took them
14:45hopefully by surprise.
14:51Some daylight raids
14:52were flown
14:52at such low altitudes
14:54that Mosquitoes
14:55would often come back
14:56with strange souvenirs
14:57from their mission.
15:00Many a Mosquito pilots
15:01come back with telephone
15:02wires draped round
15:03his tail wheel.
15:05I know I've come back
15:06with branches of trees
15:07that weren't planted
15:08in England.
15:11Mosquito squadrons
15:12were now becoming
15:13more and more daring
15:14in their attacks.
15:15None more so
15:16than the daylight raid
15:17against the Dutch
15:18Philips radio factory
15:19in Eindhoven.
15:22Intelligence had discovered
15:23that the Germans
15:24were using the factory
15:25for research
15:26into radar countermeasures
15:27and had to be destroyed.
15:30The raid would bring
15:31yet another unusual role
15:33for the Mosquito
15:34and its pilot.
15:35They sent for me
15:40three days or four days
15:42before the raid
15:43and said
15:44I've got a special job
15:46I want you to do.
15:48We've got a cameraman
15:50coming up
15:50and I want you to
15:52fly with him
15:55down the Scheltz estuary
15:57right down as far
15:59as Holland itself
16:00and then turn around
16:01and come back
16:01taking a film
16:02of the route
16:03which we will all
16:05be taking
16:06to Eindhoven.
16:09On December 6th 1942
16:11ten Mosquitoes
16:13went for their target.
16:19We went
16:20low level
16:21down the
16:22Scheltz estuary
16:24into Holland
16:26and then
16:29just then
16:30we were approaching
16:30a place
16:31I think called
16:31Turnhout
16:32and
16:34at that point
16:35we had to
16:36climb up
16:36to
16:36a thousand feet
16:38and then
16:41we turned
16:42to port
16:42and
16:44up came
16:45the factory
16:45and went
16:46down in a
16:47screaming dive
16:47and dropped
16:48our bomb
16:48straight into it.
16:56Racing for home
17:03the Mosquitoes
17:04were caught
17:04in German
17:05anti-aircraft fire
17:06or FLAC
17:06over the North Sea
17:09disaster struck.
17:12The chap
17:12who decided
17:13to follow me
17:14because he was
17:15on his first trip
17:16and he thought
17:16he'd follow
17:17an experienced pilot
17:18and I'm afraid
17:19he caught a bit
17:19of FLAC
17:20because he
17:20my new
17:21cameraman
17:22suddenly called
17:24out looking
17:25backwards
17:25God
17:27he's gone
17:27into the sea
17:28but I turned
17:30round and went
17:30back to the sea
17:31and there was
17:32no dinghy
17:33or anything
17:33just a cauldron
17:34of boiling water.
17:38Just six weeks
17:39later
17:39on January
17:40the 30th
17:411943
17:42the Mosquitoes
17:43went on another
17:44audacious raid
17:45the 10th anniversary
17:46of Hitler's
17:47coming to power.
17:50Intelligence
17:50learnt that
17:51there was to be
17:51a major Nazi
17:52rally in Berlin
17:53led by
17:54Reich
17:54propaganda minister
17:55Joseph Goebbels
17:56and Reich
17:58Marshal
17:58Hermann Goering
17:59which was to be
18:00broadcast on
18:00German radio.
18:02This was too
18:03good an opportunity
18:04to miss.
18:05The aim
18:06was not to hit
18:07the site
18:07of the rally
18:08but to create
18:09chaos
18:09and interrupt
18:10the broadcast.
18:13With their
18:14speed and range
18:15three Mosquitoes
18:16hit Berlin
18:17at 11am
18:18interrupting
18:18Goering's broadcast.
18:19At 4pm
18:23a second group
18:24hit
18:24interrupting
18:25Goebbels.
18:27For the Allies
18:29it was a major
18:30propaganda success.
18:32The Mosquito
18:32delivered to the Allies
18:33particularly to the
18:34British propaganda
18:35coups
18:36right the way
18:37through its
18:38service history
18:39and all done
18:40by a small
18:41wooden aeroplane
18:42that the Germans
18:43had written off
18:44in their propaganda
18:45as being
18:46some sort
18:46of antique.
18:49Later
18:49Goering was
18:50heard to say
18:51it makes me
18:52furious when
18:53I see the Mosquito.
18:54I turn green
18:55and yellow
18:56with envy.
18:57The British
18:57knocked together
18:58a beautiful
18:59wooden aircraft
18:59that every
19:00piano factory
19:01over there
19:01is building.
19:02They give it
19:03a speed
19:03which they
19:04have increased
19:04again.
19:06But if the Mosquitoes
19:08were spoiling
19:08Goering's day
19:09the Allies
19:10knew that to
19:11spoil the Nazis
19:12day the Mosquitoes
19:13were going to
19:14have to bomb
19:14Berlin again
19:16and again
19:17until they
19:18smashed it
19:18into submission.
19:25Ever since
19:26it went into
19:26service
19:27the 400
19:27mile per hour
19:28wooden Mosquito
19:29had been thrown
19:30into battle
19:31with devastating
19:31results.
19:34Whatever role
19:35it was asked
19:35to do
19:36the Mosquito
19:36answered the
19:37challenge
19:37always ready
19:39to take the
19:39fight to
19:39Hitler's
19:40doorstep.
19:40by mid-1943
19:45the Mosquito
19:46was bombing
19:46Berlin on
19:47such a regular
19:47basis that
19:48the missions
19:49were known
19:49as the
19:50Berlin Express
19:51but for the
19:54Mosquito
19:54crews
19:55nothing was
19:56ever just
19:56a routine
19:57mission.
19:57we would
20:00take off
20:01after the
20:01Lancasters
20:02perhaps two
20:03hours after
20:04the Lancasters
20:05had gone
20:05and it
20:08was at
20:09that time
20:10that I
20:11really felt
20:12lonely.
20:14It was a very
20:15lonely feeling
20:16and it was
20:17at that point
20:18that you
20:19could start
20:20thinking about
20:22what you
20:23were doing.
20:24You had to
20:25rely entirely
20:26on the
20:27navigator
20:27who had
20:28radar
20:28aids
20:29and things
20:30like that.
20:32But then
20:33with the
20:33night
20:34closing in
20:35on you
20:35suddenly
20:37you suddenly
20:38became to
20:38realise
20:39that you
20:40had left
20:40your homeland
20:41behind
20:42and you
20:43were heading
20:44forth
20:45you knew
20:46not what.
20:48After two
20:49hours
20:50the much
20:50faster
20:51Mosquitoes
20:51caught up
20:52with the
20:52slow
20:52lumbering
20:53Lancasters
20:54heading
20:54for Germany.
20:58Flying
20:59at 25,000
21:00feet
21:00the Mosquito
21:01crews
21:01looked down
21:02on the
21:02procession
21:03of bombers
21:037,000
21:04feet
21:04below them.
21:06And then
21:06you would
21:07probably be
21:07treated to
21:08a site
21:09you would
21:09rather not
21:09see
21:10which was
21:10the German
21:11nightfighter
21:12force
21:12intercepting
21:14the Lancasters
21:14when it's
21:16true to say
21:16that once
21:17the German
21:18nightfighters
21:19found the
21:19bomber stream
21:20they didn't
21:20let go.
21:22And they'd
21:22be there
21:23hammering away
21:24at the flanks
21:25of the heavies
21:27and you'd see
21:27a sheet of flame
21:30as a lank
21:30caught fire
21:31and then blew up
21:32and this would
21:34be the melancholy
21:37procession to the
21:38target
21:38and out of it
21:39too.
21:40It was just awful.
21:42But it was not only
21:43the nightfighters
21:44that they had to get
21:45past.
21:45Like icy fingers
21:46of death
21:47the German
21:48searchlights
21:48hunted for any
21:49allied aircraft
21:50in the sky.
21:52The favourite
21:52thing for them
21:54to do
21:54was to
21:55pick up somebody
21:56with a searchlight
21:57and then fasten
21:58all other searchlights
21:59onto it.
22:00So it was like
22:01a moth in a candle
22:02flame and it
22:03wasn't very long
22:03before you saw
22:04one-way tracer
22:07going and then
22:08an explosion
22:08as a lank
22:09or a halifax
22:10went down.
22:10Suddenly
22:16the most frightful
22:18glare suddenly
22:19hit the cockpit
22:20and I
22:20this blinding light
22:23and I realised
22:25what it was
22:25but at the same
22:26time
22:27this bloody
22:28tracer came
22:29shooting past
22:30so I just dived
22:31and twisted
22:32and I got out of it.
22:35You could twist
22:36and turn
22:36if you wanted to
22:37but generally speaking
22:38they would hold you
22:39as you twisted
22:40and turned
22:40and follow you.
22:42The way to get out
22:43was to do a dive
22:44so you could do
22:45a screaming dive
22:46and quickly fly away.
22:49Eventually
22:49the mosquitoes
22:50and lancasters
22:51made it to their target.
22:53Having dropped
22:53their bombs
22:54and taken photographs
22:55they then had to fly
22:56back through the
22:57searchlights
22:57before they reached
22:58Britain.
23:01For those crews
23:02who made it back
23:03the RAF found a way
23:04of protecting them
23:05from the horrors
23:06of war.
23:07People
23:08came back
23:10shot up
23:10and one thing
23:13I did notice
23:14about the bomber
23:15airfields
23:16of course
23:16no one was ever
23:18sick.
23:19You never saw
23:20an injured man
23:21around the place.
23:22If people arrived
23:23wounded
23:23he'd be quickly
23:25spirited away.
23:26Everybody next day
23:27was there
23:27booted and spurred
23:28and smiling.
23:30Nobody was dead
23:31or if they were dead
23:32they weren't there
23:33anyway.
23:33one squadron
23:36did nearly
23:37200 missions
23:38within a year
23:38and mosquitoes
23:40bombed Berlin
23:40220 nights
23:42in a row.
23:44By early
23:451943
23:46a bigger
23:47badder version
23:48of the Mosquito
23:49came into service
23:50the fighter
23:51and night fighter
23:52Mosquito.
23:54Now armed
23:55with 4.303
23:56machine guns
23:57it could lay down
23:58a devastating
23:59storm of fire.
24:01During early trials
24:01it was found
24:02that the flash
24:03of the guns
24:03was so intense
24:04that it momentarily
24:05blinded the crews.
24:09Modifications
24:10overcame this
24:11and because of
24:12the grouping
24:12of the guns
24:13in the nose
24:14Mosquito pilots
24:15now had a terrific
24:16concentration
24:17of firepower.
24:20Soon
24:20these first night
24:21fighters
24:22were in action
24:22and with their
24:23new radar
24:24guidance systems
24:25were wreaking
24:25havoc on German
24:26bombers.
24:29The timing
24:29couldn't have been
24:30better.
24:31In June
24:311944
24:32a new
24:32devastating
24:33weapon
24:34hit Britain.
24:39After D-Day
24:40as the Allies
24:41were fighting
24:42to gain a
24:42foothold in Europe
24:43Hitler unleashed
24:44his new terror
24:45weapon
24:45the V-1
24:47flying bomb.
24:52Flying at nearly
24:53400 miles per hour
24:55equal to the
24:56Mosquito's speed
24:56and packed
24:57with high explosive
24:58the V-1s
24:59were aimed at
25:00London.
25:01Once they exhausted
25:02their fuel
25:02they crashed down
25:04on an unsuspecting
25:05target.
25:11Destroying these
25:12fast flying bombs
25:13was a dangerous task.
25:15Quickly
25:15Mosquito pilots
25:16devised ways
25:17to take these
25:17terror weapons
25:18out of the sky.
25:19They would try
25:23and get some height
25:24and then swoop
25:25down on it
25:26and shoot it
25:28with cannon.
25:30But obliterating
25:31a terror weapon
25:32could be life
25:33threatening in more
25:33ways than one
25:34as one pilot
25:35was to find out.
25:39And he squirted
25:40at it with his cannon
25:41but he was a bit
25:42too close
25:43and it flew to bits
25:44and a bit of it
25:47came in through
25:48the front
25:48and pierced
25:51the dinghy
25:53that the heat
25:54was sitting on
25:55it inflated
25:55in the cockpit
25:56so up he came
25:57off his seat
25:58and up
25:58towards the roof
25:59but he
26:01was very fortunate
26:02he always carried
26:03a dagger
26:04down his boot
26:05I don't know
26:05if he wanted
26:06to fight his way
26:07out of Germany
26:08perhaps
26:08he produced the dagger
26:10stabbed the dinghy
26:11and down it went
26:12and he got home.
26:13When I heard the story
26:14I was absolutely terrified
26:16and I always carried
26:16a knife down
26:17my own boot
26:18after that
26:19just in case.
26:21Whilst the fighters
26:22were attacking
26:23the V1s in the air
26:24their photo recon brothers
26:26were scouring
26:26France and Belgium
26:27hunting down
26:28their launch sites.
26:30As we got near
26:32the target
26:32of course
26:33the navigator
26:34would alert you
26:35to your position
26:36put your nose down
26:39onto the
26:40towards the ramp
26:41and the pillbox
26:42and the pilot
26:44would release
26:45the bombs.
26:47We did I think
26:48over 3,000
26:50sorters against them
26:51and in the end
26:53Hitler only
26:54launched
26:555,000 of them
26:56and it was
26:58an ideal target
26:59for the Mosquito
27:01and the Mosquito
27:01was made for
27:04V1 sites.
27:06After just
27:07nine weeks
27:08the Mosquitoes
27:09had destroyed
27:10over 650
27:11of these terror
27:12weapons.
27:15But the Germans
27:16were not beaten
27:17and were fighting
27:18as ferociously
27:19as ever.
27:20Once again
27:21as the fighting
27:21intensified
27:22the Mosquito
27:23would take its
27:24crews into
27:24harm's way
27:25and go down
27:26in history
27:27in one of the
27:27most daring
27:28and ingenious
27:28raids of
27:29World War II.
27:30from its early
27:35days
27:36Coastal Command
27:37had used
27:37Mosquitoes
27:38as a vital
27:39weapon
27:39against
27:39harbours
27:40shipping
27:40and vicious
27:41German U-boat
27:42packs
27:43but by 1944
27:44it had a bigger
27:45sting in its tail.
27:48Called the Tetsi Mosquito
27:50this aircraft
27:51carried a
27:51Moland
27:526-pound cannon
27:53with a kick
27:53like a mule.
27:54rate of fire
27:56was about
27:57one every
27:57two seconds.
28:00You could fire
28:00it separately
28:01and that's
28:02an automated
28:02one,
28:03one every two
28:03or you fired
28:05it yourself
28:05carrying
28:0724 rounds.
28:12Very formidable
28:13weapon.
28:14It was
28:15armour piercing.
28:16You
28:16should have
28:18allowed yourself
28:19a range
28:20of
28:211,000
28:221,500 yards
28:23for the target
28:24but not
28:25to go
28:26closer
28:26than 600
28:27yards.
28:29The reason
28:29why you
28:30shouldn't
28:30go in
28:31less than
28:32600 yards
28:32is because
28:33you might
28:34get a bit
28:34of shrapnel
28:35for your own
28:35gun
28:35coming off
28:36the U-boat.
28:38Another weapon
28:39the aircraft
28:40carried
28:40were eight
28:4060-pound
28:41rockets.
28:44When they
28:45unleashed
28:45these terrifying
28:46weapons
28:46it was
28:47equivalent
28:47to a
28:48broadside
28:48from a
28:48light
28:49naval
28:49cruiser.
28:51Once
28:51on target
28:52nothing
28:53was safe
28:53from these
28:54fearsome
28:54mosquitoes.
28:58It seemed
28:59that there
28:59was nothing
29:00that the
29:00mosquitoes
29:01were not
29:01called on
29:01to try.
29:03Always
29:03ingenious
29:04the military
29:05were constantly
29:05planning different
29:06ways to use
29:07this unique
29:08wooden aircraft
29:09against the
29:09enemy.
29:12But the
29:13deeds that
29:13made the
29:14mosquito a
29:14legend
29:15were the
29:15daring
29:16low-level
29:16precision raids
29:17against the
29:18German
29:18Gestapo.
29:19It was
29:22as if
29:22the
29:22Mosquito
29:22crews
29:23had
29:23declared
29:23a
29:24personal
29:24war
29:24against
29:25the
29:25hated
29:25Nazi
29:26secret
29:26police.
29:36From
29:36as early
29:37as 1940
29:37the
29:38French
29:38resistance
29:39network
29:39had been
29:40a major
29:40thorn
29:41in the
29:41side
29:41of the
29:41German
29:42occupation.
29:43Its
29:43aim
29:44was to
29:44sabotage
29:45the Nazi
29:45war
29:45effort.
29:48By
29:481944
29:49hundreds
29:50of these
29:50resistance
29:51fighters
29:51had been
29:52imprisoned
29:52at the
29:52notorious
29:53Amiens
29:53prison
29:54in northern
29:55France
29:55and word
29:56had reached
29:56the Allies
29:57that on
29:57February
29:58the 19th
29:59200
29:59French
30:00men and
30:00women
30:01would be
30:01executed.
30:05An
30:06ingenious
30:06plan was
30:07hatched.
30:08Mosquitoes
30:09would be
30:09used to
30:09bomb the
30:10walls
30:10surrounding
30:11the
30:11prison
30:11so that
30:12the
30:12resistance
30:13fighters
30:13could
30:13escape.
30:14It
30:15was
30:15called
30:15Operation
30:16Jericho.
30:21The
30:21main
30:21prison
30:22layout
30:22was
30:22in
30:22the
30:23shape
30:23of
30:23a
30:23crucifix
30:24surrounded
30:24by a
30:2520-foot
30:25high
30:25wall
30:263-feet
30:27thick
30:27and
30:28topped
30:28with
30:28broken
30:28glass.
30:30Located
30:30at the
30:31end
30:31of a
30:31long
30:31road
30:32the
30:32prison
30:32was
30:33surrounded
30:33by
30:33open
30:34flat
30:34countryside.
30:36The
30:37timing
30:37of the
30:37raid
30:38was
30:38vital.
30:39It
30:39had
30:39to
30:39be
30:40at
30:40midday
30:40when
30:41the
30:41prisoners
30:41were
30:41exercising
30:42in
30:42the
30:42yard
30:42and
30:43the
30:43guards
30:44were
30:44having
30:44lunch.
30:46Equally
30:46important
30:47was the
30:47placing
30:47of the
30:48bombs.
30:49Great care
30:49had to be
30:50taken so
30:50that enough
30:51explosive was
30:51used to
30:52smash a hole
30:52in the
30:53outside wall
30:53but not so
30:54much as to
30:55kill all the
30:56inmates.
30:58When told of the
30:59danger, the
30:59resistance fighters
31:00replied they would
31:01rather die from
31:02RAF bombs than
31:04by a German
31:04firing squad.
31:05on the
31:08morning of the
31:0818th of
31:09February, the
31:09mosquito crews
31:10were told for
31:11the first time
31:11what their
31:12target was.
31:14We went
31:14into the
31:14briefing room
31:15around about
31:16half past
31:17nine, ten o'clock
31:18in the
31:18morning and
31:19on the
31:20table was
31:22a mock-up
31:22model of
31:23the army
31:23on prison
31:24and we
31:25were told
31:26we were
31:27going to
31:27try and
31:28breach
31:28the walls
31:29and give the
31:32prisoners a
31:32chance to
31:33escape.
31:33The
31:35attack, timed
31:36for exactly
31:37twelve o'clock
31:37midday,
31:38consisted of
31:39three stages.
31:41One
31:42squadron
31:42was
31:44briefed to
31:45breach the
31:45walls, in
31:46other words,
31:46to toss the
31:47bombs or
31:48fly very low
31:49level and
31:50put the
31:51bombs at
31:52the base
31:52of the
31:52walls if
31:53possible.
31:55The
31:55second
31:55squadron
31:56were to
31:57come in
31:57at two
31:59minutes past
32:00twelve when
32:01the guards
32:01had gone to
32:02lunch and
32:03bomb the
32:04dining hall,
32:05mess hall,
32:06anything they
32:06could lay
32:07their hands
32:07on to keep
32:09the guards
32:09under control.
32:11In case of
32:12the first
32:13squadron not
32:14breaching the
32:14walls completely
32:15or the second
32:17squadron not
32:18doing the
32:19guards' quarters
32:20etc., then
32:23the third
32:23squadron would
32:24bomb the
32:24whole prison.
32:25as the
32:29crews waited for
32:30take-off, it
32:31appeared that
32:31the raid might
32:32be cancelled.
32:33The weather
32:33had closed in
32:34and all
32:35aircraft were
32:35grounded.
32:38It was very,
32:39very bad
32:40weather, low
32:40cloud and
32:42sort of
32:44spitting snow,
32:46you know what I
32:46mean, very low
32:47cloud.
32:48and we
32:49didn't think
32:50it would go
32:51on.
32:53What the
32:53Mosquito crews
32:54did not know
32:54was that the
32:55French resistance
32:56had sent a
32:56coded message,
32:58strike now
32:58or never,
32:59executions
33:00imminent.
33:01At the last
33:08possible moment
33:09and with only
33:09two hours before
33:10the deadline,
33:1118 Mosquitoes
33:13armed with a
33:13500-pound bomb
33:14load took off
33:16in conditions
33:16worse than most
33:17of the crews
33:18had ever
33:18encountered.
33:20We climbed
33:20through the
33:21cloud and
33:22above the
33:23cloud we
33:23just joined
33:24up and
33:25went back
33:25down onto
33:26the sea level
33:28across to
33:29France.
33:31Flying in
33:31two groups
33:32and at
33:32almost zero
33:33feet,
33:34they swept
33:34across the
33:35English
33:35Channel.
33:38Amazingly,
33:38as they
33:38approached
33:39the French
33:39coast,
33:40the weather
33:40improved.
33:42It seemed
33:42that luck
33:43was on
33:43their side.
33:45When we
33:46got to
33:46France,
33:47it was
33:47covered in
33:48snow,
33:48of course,
33:49but it
33:50was clear
33:50and we
33:51flew around
33:52and we
33:52picked up
33:52the road
33:53from
33:54Amiens
33:55to
33:55Albaire,
33:56long,
33:57straight road
33:57and we
33:59settled down
34:00for the
34:00run-in.
34:01In the
34:02fields
34:02around the
34:03prison,
34:04French
34:04resistance
34:04fighters
34:05anxiously
34:05searched
34:06the sky,
34:07waiting for
34:07the
34:07mosquitoes
34:08to help
34:08their
34:08comrades
34:09escape.
34:11We could
34:12see the
34:12prisoner
34:13head.
34:14We got
34:14down very,
34:15very low
34:15indeed and
34:16we were
34:17coming down
34:17to around
34:18about 190,
34:19180 knots.
34:22With only
34:23minutes to
34:23go and
34:24with the
34:24Germans
34:24completely
34:25unaware,
34:26the
34:26mosquitoes
34:27neared the
34:27prison.
34:28We opened
34:29our bomb
34:30doors about
34:31a mile
34:31from prison
34:32flying at
34:35about 10
34:35to 15
34:36feet and
34:37we had to
34:38pull up
34:38to go over
34:39the walls.
34:40We let our
34:41bombs go and
34:42they went
34:42through the
34:43base of the
34:44wall.
34:44I turned
34:47starboard and
34:48as I looked
34:49down I saw
34:51the startled
34:52face of the
34:53machine gunner
34:54in the little
34:54cupola on top
34:55of the prison.
34:57We looked at
34:57each other I
34:58suppose and
35:00then I was
35:00down onto the
35:01deck in loose
35:02formation following
35:03the wing
35:03commander.
35:04The raid was
35:05a success and
35:06the mosquitoes
35:07had pulled off
35:08an amazing
35:08feat of
35:09courage.
35:10255 prisoners
35:12escaped but
35:1337 were killed
35:14along with 50
35:15German guards.
35:16The Gestapo
35:17were vicious
35:18in their
35:18revenge and
35:19260 prisoners
35:21were killed
35:21in reprising.
35:23The raid was
35:24a wake-up call
35:25to the Germans.
35:26As far as I
35:27can see this
35:28was a brilliant
35:29piece of
35:30precision bombing.
35:31The first
35:31flight took
35:32out the walls,
35:34blew in the
35:34doors, allowed
35:35people to escape.
35:36The second
35:37flight took
35:37the walls down.
35:38In fact they
35:38didn't need
35:39the third
35:39flight.
35:41I think it
35:42was a startling
35:42success because
35:44it would have
35:44demonstrated to
35:45the Germans
35:45that the Royal
35:46Air Force could
35:47place bombs
35:48wherever they
35:48wanted to
35:49across occupied
35:50Europe.
35:51The mosquitoes
35:52continued to
35:53carry out their
35:54unique style of
35:55war against the
35:55Germans.
35:57It was a period
35:57that would see
35:58them operating
35:58deep inside
35:59occupied Europe.
36:01Using technology
36:02that was years
36:03ahead of its time
36:04they hunted
36:05down the Nazis.
36:06No one was
36:08beyond the reach
36:08of the Mosquito.
36:14Throughout the
36:15long and bloody
36:15conflict of
36:16World War II
36:17the 400 mile
36:18per hour wooden
36:19Mosquito was
36:20always at the
36:21front of battle
36:22always taking the
36:23fight to the
36:23enemy.
36:25But it was the
36:26Americans that
36:27came up with yet
36:28another novel use
36:29for this versatile
36:29aircraft.
36:32Late in 1944
36:34the OSS,
36:35the Office of
36:36Strategic Services,
36:37a forerunner of
36:38the CIA,
36:39took over five
36:40Mosquitoes to
36:41work with their
36:41agents in
36:42occupied countries.
36:45Because the war
36:46was moving so
36:47rapidly,
36:48intelligence was
36:49having a hard
36:49time knowing
36:50exactly what the
36:51enemy was doing.
36:53Only agents
36:53behind enemy lines
36:54could supply this
36:55information.
36:58It was vital
36:59that these agents
37:00got this information
37:01back.
37:02Using Morse code
37:03was no good
37:04as the Germans
37:04could easily
37:05detect it.
37:06Something else
37:07had to be found.
37:09Two American
37:10scientists had
37:11developed a
37:11transmitter that
37:12enabled an agent
37:13to talk to an
37:14aircraft.
37:16Called the
37:17Joan Eleanor
37:17system after one
37:18of the scientists'
37:19wives, it was
37:20an early version
37:21of the mobile
37:22phone.
37:24By transmitting
37:25on a wave band
37:26so narrow, the
37:27Germans could only
37:28detect the agent
37:29if they were within
37:3050 feet of him.
37:33But the ingenious
37:34part of this plan
37:35was the Mosquito.
37:37With its speed
37:38and height, it
37:39could fly undetected
37:40along a predetermined
37:41150-mile line,
37:43listening for the
37:44agent's message.
37:46Deep inside the
37:48Mosquito was no
37:49SS operative.
37:52Within the fuselage,
37:54it was hardly
37:55enough room to move.
37:57and I was sitting
38:00almost on top
38:04of a big fuel tank.
38:07The petrol in there
38:08would expand
38:09and would come out
38:11on a special valve
38:13and I could see it
38:14down there
38:15bubbling.
38:16And that was
38:17petrol.
38:19When you switched
38:20on your suit,
38:21you always expected
38:22a spark, boom.
38:24But we were so high
38:26that there was
38:28very little oxygen
38:29in the air.
38:31When the Mosquito
38:32got to the area,
38:34the OSS operative
38:35would begin
38:35calling the agent.
38:37This is 5278,
38:395278,
38:41calling Z313131
38:45and then wait
38:46for him,
38:46say,
38:48yes, I'm here
38:49and give me
38:50the answering code.
38:51Sometimes the Mosquito
38:53would fly along
38:54the designated route
38:55for hours on end
38:56before the agent answered.
38:59When you heard
39:00them,
39:01it was exciting.
39:04It was,
39:05look, I've got him,
39:06finally.
39:08Confirmed who he was
39:10and his short messages
39:13would be,
39:14such and such a unit
39:15is there
39:16and they're going west
39:17on highway number
39:18so and so
39:19and it's two battalions
39:21or whatever it is
39:22and that was,
39:25and we could get it back
39:26in three, four hours.
39:29But many times
39:30the agent never answered.
39:32Sometimes they could not
39:33find a safe place
39:34in which to send
39:35their message.
39:36Sometimes no one
39:37ever knew.
39:40Well,
39:41when time was up
39:43and the pilot knew
39:45just how much petrol
39:46we had,
39:47we'd turn around
39:47and go back.
39:49the Mosquito
39:52had for a long time
39:53been the weapon
39:53of choice
39:54as a pathfinder
39:55for the bombers
39:55but as a low-level marker
39:57it was second to none
39:59in helping annihilate
40:00the German war machine
40:01in France.
40:06To enable precision bombing
40:08and to reduce
40:09civilian casualties
40:10the Mosquito
40:11would fly
40:12with the squadrons
40:12of heavy bombers.
40:13as they neared their drop zone
40:17the bombers dropped
40:18flares
40:19which illuminated the sky
40:20and the Mosquitoes
40:21dived down
40:22to identify
40:23their individual targets.
40:24so four of you
40:27were coming in
40:28and the rule was
40:29that the first one
40:30who saw it
40:30called
40:31tally-ho
40:32just that.
40:34You then positioned yourself
40:36and dived
40:37on one end
40:38of the target
40:39and when you
40:40judged that you were
40:41at the right position
40:42above the ground
40:43which was properly
40:44at about a thousand feet
40:45you were coming down
40:47at quite a speed
40:47after all
40:48you pressed the button
40:49and away went
40:50four
40:51five hundred pound markers
40:53and down there went
40:54vroom
40:54and made a great blob
40:56of red on the ground
40:57and you got the hell out of it.
40:59Only when the target
41:00was ringed in red marker bombs
41:02would the Mosquito leader
41:03call up the oncoming bombers.
41:09But one of the Mosquitoes
41:11most demanding roles
41:12was that of interdiction
41:13the cutting off
41:14of enemy supplies.
41:16Nowhere was this
41:17more graphically demonstrated
41:18than in the days
41:20leading up to
41:20and after
41:21June the 6th
41:221944
41:23D-Day.
41:26As Allied troops
41:28fought a bloody battle
41:28to gain a foothold
41:29in France
41:30the Mosquitoes
41:31hunted independently
41:32seeking out
41:33enemy supply lines.
41:38Trains
41:39we
41:40preferred to attack
41:42because
41:43they were always
41:44carrying war material
41:46or reinforcements
41:49for the front.
41:50Sometimes you could
41:52attack a train
41:53going into a tunnel
41:54and you'd get
41:55the other end of the tunnel
41:56and wait for it
41:57and shoot it up
41:58as it came out.
42:01It was fun really
42:03shooting up trains.
42:08During the month of June
42:10Bomber Command
42:11Bomber Command flew
42:11over 15,000 raids
42:13in support of the
42:14Allied invasion forces
42:15and by the end
42:16of 1944
42:17had helped drive
42:18the Germans back
42:19into their own country.
42:22Finally on May 2nd 1945
42:24two days after
42:26Hitler's suicide
42:27in Berlin
42:27126 Mosquitoes
42:30took part
42:30in the last raid
42:31of the war
42:32in Europe.
42:33Their target
42:34the German port
42:35of Kiel.
42:36Within two hours
42:40the city was reduced
42:41to rubble
42:42a grim legacy
42:43to the destructive
42:44power of the
42:45wooden wonder.
42:49The aircraft
42:50that had been seen
42:50as some sort of joke
42:51when first designed
42:52had grown of age.
42:56It had become
42:58one of the most feared
42:59and lethal killers
43:00of World War II.
43:01over 7,700
43:05had been built
43:06and over 40
43:07different variations
43:08had served
43:09in all theatres
43:10of the war.
43:11To the men
43:12who had flown it
43:13the Mosquito
43:14was second to none.
43:16It was a love affair
43:17and I thought
43:17well when I finished
43:18flying that was it
43:19I never flew
43:20another aircraft
43:21again after the Mosquito
43:22never.
43:25It's wrong really
43:26to say it was a legend
43:27because the legend
43:27suggested it
43:29wasn't real
43:29and the Mosquito
43:31was certainly
43:32reality
43:32but it was
43:36a lovely aircraft
43:37beautiful aircraft
43:38to look at
43:39marvellous aircraft
43:40to fly.
43:42Well
43:42in many cases
43:44it saved my life
43:44but I mean
43:45I think
43:47the wooden wonder
43:48it's been used
43:50before
43:51but I think
43:51the wooden wonder
43:52really sums it up
43:53it was.
43:59I think
44:01it was.
44:02I think
44:04it was
44:04a very long
44:05monthly
44:05thing
44:06but I think
44:06it was
44:07what I didn't
44:07have a lot of
44:08the five
44:08things
44:08have a lot of
44:09you
44:10have a lot of
44:11that's
44:11that's
44:12I mean
44:13but I knew
44:14what I would
44:14be
44:14that's
44:15it was
44:16really
44:17what I think
44:19is
44:20the
44:20one
44:21and
44:23what I
44:24talked to
44:25and
44:25and
44:26it was
44:27the
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