Interesting Article – ( Australia's Area 51 ? )

God Nicko, I feel like a dog coming back to its vomit! Still, before Delta carries us all away it is necessary to keep history preserved, which is a greater Mistress. In respect of Highball material, a positive identification was made between remains of mechanism found in Narromine NSW and original drawings found in the RAF Hendon Museum archives and cradle remains held at the dH Museum in Herts to confirm absolutely the setup of Highball Mosquitos. A lot of detail dimensions were taken of ex Narromine remains held in NZ and Australia and the UK material to allow a CAD reconstruction which remains on the list of things to do, after surviving 2020 & 2021. Hopefully there will be no massive asteroid strike on planet earth in 2022, which might allow this task to be completed. 

The Striker and Fencer photo I included above is from here:

http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/ESCORT/Galleries/STRIKER_Gll…

This also includes a few other good ones.

That’s what I understand too.

Me too. 542 was a 618 Sqn aircraft disposed of at Narromine (Australia). I didn’t realise she was a trials aircraft, but anyway I can only imagine she was delivered for shipment in the same config as the other 618 Sqn Highballs. It would be very unhelpful to include some ‘mongrel’ config.

Last I heard was that not much is happening until a new owner is found. Is that right?

I’m hoping B.IV DZ542 is restored in whatever configuration she was during the trials (I’ve no clue how she was connected). When a new owner’s found.

Hi Geoff.

We looked at these aircraft a fair bit before on the forum. This is a good thread where Ed (powerandpassion) takes us through his discoveries:

https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/3856669-618sq-mosquito-hig…

Ed continues with his passion, but wont come back to the forum despite my encouragements. Another toll of the forum hiccups.

There is another version of the photo above at Geoff Goodall’s sight – you can see more of the aircraft. Scroll down near the bottom: 

http://www.goodall.com.au/australian-aviation/dh98/civilmosquito.html

Here is a good one. Sorry to the owner that I can’t credit it properly. I think it was a website oriented at the ships.

Hi  All,

airfield – We have a winner! 

The excerpt from the accompanying article explains:-

DH 98 Mosquito Special Modification Specifications

The Mosquitos used were modified as follows: 

The Mosquito selected for the conversion work to carry “Highball” was the Mk.IV series II, the work entailed removing the bomb bay doors and equipping the aircraft with specialized carriers enabling them to carry two “Highballs”, each weighing 1,280 lb (580 kg), in tandem. The bombs were designed to skip across water and to provide weapon stability and accuracy. Before release they were spun backwards at 700 to 900 rpm by a ram air turbine mounted in the bomb bay’s midsection, fed by an extendable air scoop. The bombs were to be dropped from a maximum altitude of 60 ft (20 m) at a speed of 360 mph (600 km/h).

For this role 25  B.Mk.IVs were further modified.

Each aircraft was equipped with Merlin 25s, adapted to provide peak power at low altitudes, driving four-bladed Rotol propellers. These propellers had narrower blades than the standard three-bladed units, meaning that the engines would rev up faster and respond quicker to throttle movement, factors vital in the limited length of carrier take-offs. Longer intakes under the engine cowlings were fitted with tropical filters. The undercarriage legs were made of heavier-gauge metals and the wheels were fitted with the twin brake units of FB Mk VIs.

            ———————————————————————————-

Personally I always thought the four bladed props where on trialled and never put onto Mosquitos until after WWII but hey! always willing to learn.

Geoff.

The two Mossies facing the camera have four blade props