Length: 30ft. 4in. Height: 9ft. 0in. Performance: Maximum Speed: 140 mph. Cruise Speed: 110 mph. Range: 770 miles. Armament: None. Number Built: 968 military variants (total Beaver production 1,691). Number Still Airworthy: At least 17 Beavers registered as L-20s or U-6As are still flying, and an unknown but much larger number of civilian Many have heard of the Supermarine Spitfire, fewer have heard of the de Havilland Mosquito. But even less have heard of the de Havilland Hornet, a one seater Tweet. The de Havilland Mosquito was the most versatile aircraft of the Second World War, serving as a pure bomber, with a bomb load of 4,000lb, a fighter bomber, a night fighter and a high flying photo reconnaissance aircraft. When it first appeared it was the fastest aircraft yet to enter RAF service. All this in a wooden aircraft, developed The outbreak of World War 2 in September 1939 which made rearmament more urgent than before, plus the fact that building the wooden Mosquito would not require the strategic resources of metal and the metal industry, plus the personal friendship of Mr. De Havilland with Air Marshal Freeman of the Air Council, finally changed the Mosquito's fate An often forgotten aircraft that was nevertheless the pinnacle of its type. Most have heard of the Mosquito, but many forget its successor – described by the venerable Captain Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown as “Like flying a Ferrari in the sky.“ The de Havilland Hornet represents in many ways the peak of piston engine fighter design. Even with a body twice the weight and wetted area 3 of the Spitfire, de Havilland concluded that the Mosquito's two Rolls Royce 'Merlin' engines would still power it to a speed at least 20mph Yet of the four British combat aircraft that attained iconic status during the Second World War, the twin-engined De-Havilland Mosquito is the only type of which there is no example flying in the UK. The de Havilland Mosquito is a British two-engine multi-role combat aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied air forces during World War II. Of the 7,781 aircraft built, 30 survive today, four of which are airworthy. Eight aircraft are currently under restoration. The Mosquito ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any aircraft in RAF Bomber Command service during WWII. The last RAF Mosquito to remain in operational service was retired in 1956. Total Mosquito production was 7,781 of which 6,710 were built during the war – De Havilland accounted for 5,007 aircraft built in three factories in the UK. The other complete de Havilland Mosquito, in the Australian War Memorial (AWM) is A52-210/319 an FB.40 converted to PR41 on the production line at Bankstown. The aircraft was delivered on 18/02/48 to 2 Air Depot (AD) and then on 10/03/48 3 AD Archerfield QLD. On 16/03/48 the Mosquito was being flown 130 miles NE of Dubbo NSW when the pilot 5THyl.