It was probably the most versatile aircraft of World War Two and the missions undertaken by the Mosquito and her crews have rarely been equalled for their daring or precision. Powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the Mosquito was not only fast and agile – for most of the war it could out-perform anything in the sky – but deadly: possessing the ability to carry almost every weapon in the RAF’s arsenal. These qualities enabled Mosquito squadrons to perform every conceivable role from ?ghter-bomber to photo- reconnaissance, intruder, pathfinder, night-fighter, V-1 hunter, anti-shipping attacks and, thanks to its agility and speed, low-level precision strikes.

What made the Mosquito unique however is that it was built mainly of wood and, at a time when metal was in extremely short supply, was a triumph of construction. Using plywood and balsa, de Havilland created a masterpiece, something that drove Reichsmarshal Herman Goering ‘green and yellow with envy’. ‘The British’ he fumed, ‘….who can afford aluminium better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building, and they give it a speed which they have now increased yet again. What do you make of that? There is nothing the British do not have. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops’.

In tribute to this magnificent aircraft Gerald Coulson, one of the world’s most widely collected aviation artists for over 50 years, portrays a scene that was played out at airfields all over wartime Britain after the Mosquito entered widespread service in 1942. Coulson is as famous for his landscapes as his aviation works and this stunning painting captures the mood perfectly as the dimming light of dusk reflects off the dispersal area, and Mosquito crews make their final preparations for the night’s operations.