The De Havilland Mosquito was a multi role aircraft, being able to perform to a high standard as a fighter, bomber, photo reconnaissance plane and night fighter, along with fighter-bomber and dual-control trainer.
Many of these role came later as the Mosquito was built as bomber minus any armament to keep to keep the weight down and so the speed up. A higher speed would make interception even by fighters hard. Much of this high attainable speed was due to the fact that the plane was made of wood. Although wood was not new, in fact the Mosquito was based around the success of the wooden Albatross. Wooden construction meant that carpenters could be used for construction and this would remove strain on the metal industry during the war, like the canvas covered Hurricane the plane could be repaired quickly when battle damaged. Parts could also be out sourced all over the country and be bought together for construction. Another important part of the Mosquitos success would also be due to the Twin Merlin engines fitted to it. The Merlin was used by the Hurricane and Spitfire and would later transform the American Mustang fighter.
The Mosquito is also amongst most peoples favourite when it comes to looks, at any angle the Mosquito is beautifully balanced. The overall looks of the plane were similar whatever the variant.
In March 1940 the first order came for 50 Mosquito bombers and photo reconnaissance planes.
