|
|
The Mosquito B Mk 35 was the final entry in the series of unarmed Mosquito bombers. It was a development of the B Mk XVI, powered by the 1,710 hp Merlin 114 engine. This gave it a top speed of 415 mph at an altitude of 42,000 feet (7,000 feet above the service ceiling of the Mk XVI!).
The B Mk 35 appeared too late to see service during the war in Europe. The prototype flew on 12 March 1945, and deliveries to the Pathfinders had just begun at the end of the war. 274 B Mk 34s were built. Most of them served with the British Air Forces of Occupation in Germany, although No. 109 and 139 squadrons of the Pathfinders also used the type. No. 139 squadron was the last to use the Mosquito, finally replacing it with Canberras in June 1953. A number of Mk 35s remained in use with second line units until the 1960s, mostly serving as target tugs.
Mosquito Bomber/ Fighter-Bomber Units of World War 2, Martin Bowman. The first of three books looking at the RAF career of this most versatile of British aircraft of the Second World War, this volume looks at the squadrons that used the Mosquito as a daylight bomber, over occupied Europe and Germany, against shipping and over Burma. [see more]
