Author(s): Rowland White

Military History

The incredible story of one of WW2's most iconic aircraft told through one impossible mission by the master of the aviation thriller

Built of lightweight wood, powered by two growling Rolls Royce engines, impossibly aerodynamic, headspinningly fast, armed to the teeth, the DeHavilland Mosquito was the plane which never should have existed. Designed, built, tested and flying operations within 13 months of its original conception, it was the answer to the RAF's prayers in the Second World War- an utterly versatile plane which would leave the Luftwaffe in its wake, could fly in under the radar and delivers 2000 lbs of bombs when and where the enemy was least expecting it.

It was corralled into a critical pathfinding role for the hundreds of heavy bomber raids as the tide of the war turned but its reputation was cemented by a series of daredevils raids across Europe, including on Berlin itself, where stealth, speed and precision were required.

So when the Special Operations Executive needed a plane to drop a bomb on the Gestapo HQ right in the centre of Copenhagen to prevent the plans for D-Day being tortured out of Danish resistance fighters, there was only one plane for the job - the Mosquito. This is the story of this brilliant aircraft told through that one impossible mission.

Like Rowland White's previous books, Mosquito is an unputdownable mix of utterly compelling storytelling, incredible human stories and fascinating technological detail, which sheds never-before-told light on a pivotal mission that helped bring the war to its bloody and brutal close.