One other important factor against mass-production of Mosquitos vs.
B-17s was the raw materials required. As it stood, we already used up a
lot of the Stika Spruce used in aircraft, which only grows in a limited
region of the west coast and Canada. To replace all those B-17s with
wooden aircraft would have decimated the species, and would not have
been nearly as practical in the same numbers as Boeing could produce
aluminum aircraft. Plus, while there were enough cabinet makers in
England for the Mosquitos made there, I wonder if we would have had that
kind of handmade workmanship available in the US- at least in large
enough numbers to meet the production demands?
However, the one thing I am suprised at is the fact that the Mosquito is
not a more popular choice among homebuilders of experimental WWII
replica aircraft. It would seem a natural, done in 7/8s scale, and
using converted Chevy big-block V-8s. Hmmm... Anyone have a set of
plans for one of these handy? :-)
Jay Travis
Geoff Winnington-Ball wrote:
> Not applicable in this instance. An Iowa class battleship was a hell of
> a lot more useful in its WW2 environs than a whole herd of PTs, but a
> slow moving, four-engined bomber was a target-in-waiting for both flak
> and fighters. Your people and ours paid the price accordingly...
>
> Both Bomber Command and the Eighth Air Force found out the hard way that
> a legion of heavy bombers was a VERY costly way to wage war, in terms of
> both money and highly-trained manpower. Were there alternatives?
>
> My perspective is simple... take the Mosquito for instance. Well known
> speed. Well known manoeuvrability. Good bomb load. Two man crew.
> Manufactured from a structure of balsa and plywood, more resistant to
> radar. Capable of putting bombs through individual windows in specific
> buildings. Could the U.S, with its well-known capability for
> manufacturing anything AS WELL AS OR BETTER than anyone else, have taken
> the basic design, improved upon it, and come up with the best dual-role
> aircraft in the war? Don't forget, the Mossie was driven by TWO Merlins,
> which was the base design for the Mustang engine...
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jun 05 2001 - 23:18:31 PDT