Bill Sweetman vs. Wikipedia? Mosquito research query

sw (and linked to yr Beaufighter thread) Production delivery “promises”.

Don’t use a lot of ink on that issue. WW2 Aero firms were in no position to make production “promises”, whether on timescale or cost…because none was a Prime Contractor. Indeed the first UK Aero Prime Contractor able to make any such commitment was HSAL on Hawk, 21/3/72: “all up”, R&D+Production, airframe, engine and (most) equipment. Before that, difficult lumps, like engines, were managed by and free-issued to assembly sites, by the Customer, on “Embodiment Loan”. A Design Parent might make “promises” regarding in-house matters, such as Drawing Office capacity…but even there, the Ministry of Labour could rescind a man’s Reserved Occupation status and assign him to Timbuctu. The Munitions Industries were effectively Nationalised 3/9/39 under DORA, the Defence of the Realm Act.

In February,1938 AM Sir Wilfrid Freeman, Air Ministry Board, Air Member for Development and Production became enthused with an unarmed Speed Bomber, neither DH nor wood were foremost in his mind. Nor did he see this project as instead of “Heavies”. Nor, at the 1/1/40 Launch Meeting, R&D+ production of 50xPR as Freeman’s Folly, was a precise, still less Private Venture scheme on the table….because DH, in common with all other Munitions firms, was in no position to do such a thing. It was the Customer who determined what would be funded where. It was he that shifted Tiger Moth out of DH to Morris; it was he that decided what to do with the failed Don woodworker -which was to build Oxfords. It was he that decided how to bring the furniture industry into the War Effort. Because he was paying and had Powers which, historians have surmised, Hitler envied.

See A.Furse, W.Freeman,Spellmount,2000.

Thank you, guys–just bought the Sharp & Bowyer book–$20 US, used, paperback.

I find the availability of classic used books through Amazon one of the real treasures of the site. I have NEVER been disappointed and have received books categorized as “very good” by the seller that look brand new. And they always arrive quickly, well packed and almost always with a “thank you ” note from the seller.

FWIW, Sharp & Bowyer go into quite a bit of detail about this issue – “trouble at mill” having resulted from the promise to deliver 50 aircraft by the end of ’41, which apparently was seen as impossible and inviting trouble from MAP. They say the 50th was actually delivered mid-March ’42, two-and-a-half months past the target, however some delays were due to MAP making repeated changes to the number of PR / fighter / bomber aircraft in the mix.

The Sharp & Bowyer book is, in my opinion, the most detailed, well researched and authoritative book on any aircraft type ever written. It stands head and shoulders above anything I’ve read. It would be hard to impossible to better it today, partly for the obvious reason that all of those first-hand witnesses will, almost without exception, no longer be alive. Anyone contemplating writing a tome on any a/c type would benefit from reading it. It was an expensive book when it came out, and I well recall how it changed my opinion from simply knowing that this a/c was a truly great a/c – and one of the best of that conflict, to realising that it really was an astonishing aircraft, that, had those in authority not been so hidebound and wedded to out of date ideas, could have saved the lives of thousands of aircrew.

In contrast, last year I bought a book, by quite a well-known author that cost me many tens of pounds. It proved to be dismal and, depressingly, riddled with obvious errors. That makes around £35 for a copy of the epic Sharp & Bowyer book look like an absolute gift….

Its difficult to access the DH archives these days sadly, and a good chunk of it was lost when Hatfield closed.

You are quite right with regard to plagiarism however; the errors grow in the telling.

The Sharp and Bowyer book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mosquito-plates-Cecil-Martin-Sharp/dp/B0017XU2JS/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1401438986&sr=8-6&keywords=mosquito+bowyer

drew directly from the DH archive back as far as the mid 1960’s. At the time, of course, the Mosquito was still in service, and there were still some documents on the secret list. However, it is still, nearly fifty years on, the best single reference available.

Yes, hopefully, one day someone will write afresh – my learned friend Mr Thirsk would be best placed for this, but he is a bit busy running the collections department of the RAF Museum.

Bruce

At the risk of being flamed, I think it’s usually the best option to go straight for the primary source data (DH archives), since books are so often plagiarised, and the errors plagiarised along with that activity.

Maybe time for a new Mosquito book, just to clear things up?

The Thirsks book I have. What is the “Sharp and Bowyer book”? Those two last names don’t turn up anything on Amazon…

“Mosquito” by C. Martin Sharp and Michael J.F. Bowyer was first published in 1967 by Faber and Faber Ltd. It was republished in 1971. Hard bound ISBN 0 571 04750 5 and Faber’s Paperback edition was ISBN 0 571 09531 3.

The paperback has nearly 500 pages and is a tour de force with incredible amount of detail about development, production and operations.

Hope this helps.

Tim

Enter, ‘Mosquito Bowyer’ into the Amazon search engine. That will find it. There are a variety of editions available, though the book has been out of print for some years. £35 seems about right.

The Thirsks book I have. What is the “Sharp and Bowyer book”? Those two last names don’t turn up anything on Amazon…

I wouldn’t use that book as reference myself. It is somewhat brief to say the least!

Long ago, I did read the AM file on the Mosquito, but don’t remember the details now. Certainly the initial order was for 50 aircraft to be delivered as target tugs. That was changed once they knew what they had. Delivery dates were also affected by the constant changes to the order.

If you don’t have it, get a copy of the Sharp and Bowyer book; it is based on the contents of the dH archive, and although it was published over forty years ago, remains the best book on the subject. Ian Thirsks illustrated tome is also well worth acquiring; the captions tell the story in themselves.

According to my trusty De Havilland Aircraft since 1909, by A.J. Jackson the contract was signed on 1 March 1940, so the early date would have been possible.