FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0168.PDF
JANUARY 25™, 1045 Our War Correspondent Spends a Night on a Mosquito XVI Station By FOHN YOXALL THESE Mosquito XVIs are doing a great job of work.On 55 per cent, of the nights during which theyhave operated recently the weather has been such that the heavies have been grounded. The reasons for ,this ability to carry on the attack when other aircraft have to stay at home ate the amazing performance of the Mos quito XVI and the pressure cabin with which it is fitted. It is not generally realised how severe are these Mosquito raids. Frequently Berlin gets over 100 tons in one night on some small target area which is, perhaps, little more than a mile square. The. Mosquitoes are operated in the same manner as the heavies, pathfinders and a master bomber controlling each raid. The aircraft are timed and routed to arrive in force, and the whole attack is over in less than five minutes. The method of checking hits is interesting. Assuming that a laid is carried out from 25,000ft. Each Mosquito aims its 4,ooopounder into the target indicators, which have alrea'dy been dropped by the pathfinders, and then photogiaphs the explosion when it occurs some 42 seconds after release. This shows the relation of the bomb burst to the target indicators. During the raid the master bomber drops a photofiash bomb and photographs the target area so that the exact position of the target indicators can be determined on c. map. By linking the indications shown on these photographs, the explosion of each of these big bombs can be pin pointed. The (tomans are, of course, well Loadinga4iOOO.lb.aware of this system of operation and bomb into the do their utmost to fox our crews by bomb-bay of adropping target indicators of their own Mosquito XVI. all over the place. They have even been known to butt in over the R/T and give instructions purporting to come
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
