de Havilland Mosquito B XVI
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The B Mk XVI was the most impressive of the war time bomber Mosquitoes. It was a pressurised development of the B Mk IX, using the same Merlin 72 engines. The pressurised cabin gave it an operational ceiling of 35,000 feet. When combined with Gee-H and H2S, the Mosquito B Mk XVI was capable of relatively accurate bombing from this high altitude. More importantly, it could hit a given target on nights when the main bomber stream would be grounded. Just as with the earlier Mk IV, the Mk XVI was used in an attempt to make sure there were no breaks in the bombing.
All but twelve of the 402 B Mk XVIs had the bulging bomb bay needed to carry the 4,000lb “Cookie”. With the help of an Avro bomb carrier the same bomb bay could carry six 500lb bombs.
The B Mk XVI prototype, a converted B IV, first flew in July 1943. It entered squadron service in December 1943, with No. 109 squadron. By the end of the war the Mk XVI was serving with eight squadrons.
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]
