Looks like Ebay have cancelled quite a few of the bids, and de-registered the bidders including some with quite respectable feedback. I wonder if they still think they were being clever.

Perhaps potential buyers are expecting it to fall to bits when they try to move it and hope they will be conveniently sized pieces.

The difference between a Merlin 33 and 225 appears to be 14lb and 18lb boost, respectively.
I can’t find any photographs of an XXV, only drawings in Don McVicar’s Mosquito Racer, but they don’t have the extra intake.
Don McVicar also says that only UK production had 2-stage Merlins. I haven’t done any further research to confirm that.

I’ve used Roman numbers because the Mosquito tome does. 🙂

Edit:
TA717 would be a Hatfield built B.35 so presumably we’re talking about two different aircraft.

The last person that admitted to having appears to be Learning Slowly.
As Ian should have now had it for a few months, I suspect the ******* (insert word of choice) still got it.

We know now it was very close to the end of the European war, but was it that obvious then?

If we discount individual financial circumstances, I for example am self-unemployed.

Off the top of my head, and thinking about the spread of contributors to this forum, we have Guernsey, Plymouth, Croydon, Kent, Suffolk coast, West Midlands, Oop north, Scotland, Isle of Man…

Where are you going to park it?

I’ve been following this thread since it started and found all the replies interesting. I’ll now try to steer it back towards the original question.

Lawstud, I assume it was a complete rebuild. It looks a magnificent job.

There are several Bomber Command experts on this forum and I’m not one of them. I have read more than a few books about the campaign, including Harris’ (auto?) biography but none recently.

My, considered, opinions.
Was it necessary? With hindsight, almost certainly not. At the time, strategically possibly not but politically probably yes. I believe it was done largely as a sop to Stalin and Harris was effectively ordered to carry out the raid against his wishes.

It doesn’t reflect well on Churchill, and some others I think, that after seeing the international reaction he then tried to distance himself from it and blame Harris for carrying out his orders.

I’ve wondered if this particular operation was instrumental in denying Bomber Command a campaign medal.

As the Ohio enters Grand Harbour in The Malta Story – gets me every time.

Isn’t that too many words?
I’m also, 25, built like a donkey…

Good job Ian’s well over 300 miles from here.