mosquito fans

[SmokinLoon]

This thread is awesome.  Lots of great information.  Lots of info I hope HTC and Co. are paying attention to (or hopefully already knew and is planning to implement and thereby correcting the Mk IV anomaly AH2 currently has).   

 

[Plazus]

I never really had much appreciation of the Mossies until a few months ago. When I flew the Mossie, I was blown away by its versatility! Its got great performance up high and down low. The gun package is also very nice, especially when taking out enemy bombers and strafing bases and strats.

I have a bias in the P47. That, of course, is my favorite "all-around" plane, due to its ability to bomb, escort, and just about everything else. But the Mossie is stands right beside the P47, IMHO. If the P47 isnt an option, I go for the Mossie as my plane of choice!

[Karnak]

Versatility is the Mossie's strength, still, performance at altitude is weak on the Mk VI due to low blown engines.

[Scherf]

It helps to know your opponent - there are altitudes at which the Mossie's Merlins function better relative to others - look for the "trough" in speed performance on the AH performance graphs. Hang around those altitudes (or get down to them  fast) if in trouble.

[Karnak]

Yeah, I spent a lot of time at 13,000ft.

[Scherf]

I've posted this before guess it bears repeating why I'm whining about stubs in the first place.

It's not just the external baffles which slow the Mossie down, it's the saxophone exhausts below.

You can see in the 464 Squadron pics from 25 Feb 44 where these have been removed, ahead of *cough* daylight operations.

[SmokinLoon]

Yeah, I spent a lot of time at 13,000ft.

8500ft and 15,000ft are the best 2 alts for speed in the AH2 Mossie.  I like breaking the dar ring at 8500ft and full speed (roughly 360mph), diving down to 3000 to 4000ft halfway into the dar ring towards the enemy base and getting to 440 or so mph (still safe, no airframe creaking), and dropping a pair of ords, fuel depots, or the dar and extending for a second pass.  Many times, if the ack doesnt land a shot into an engine I'll be long gone before anything can catch me. 

The thing is, even though the Mossie performs well it still isnt up to par and guys like Sherf and Co. make legit arguements for unleashing the Mossie so it may perform at the level it is supposed to. 

[Scherf]

Pretty amazing account(s!) of the loss to friendly fire of a USAAF Mossie here:

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=16846&page=2

AND here (scroll down to the end of the page):

http://103rdcactus.com/bio/410/410D/410D%20H%20K%20Brown/hkbrown10.htm

[Karnak]

Scherf,

I noted that you see the chart our Mossie is based on as being tested with DTs on whereas ours is modeled with that speed without DTs.  What deck speed do you see as correct for a Mossie VI with Merlin 25s at +18lbs boost with saxaphone ducts and no DTs?  Mossie VI with Merlin 25s at +18lbs boost and ejector stacks?  Mossie VI with Merlin 25s at +25lbs boost and ejector stacks?

I just want to know if you see the same speeds I do as I did not see the DTs on the chart ours is based on.

[Rich46yo]

My favorite altitude, for attack, is about 8,000' . Last night I was in my Mossie at about 8k, buzzing along about 360 mph without WEP, and thinking all was right with the world. You can basically outrun all but 2 of the Spits at those Alts., just about the entire Jap set, and probably at least 1/2 the fighters in the game.

So anyway I have 2 Mossie movies IB from Amazon, "maybe you have seen them"?  "Mosquito Squadron" and "633 Squadron". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYG7edf7RcQ&feature=related

[Rich46yo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QndLmfp6Y5w&feature=related
Got wood yet oh 'ye fellow Mossie freaks? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQNzQf6_aJs&feature=related Well lets bring it down a notch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl8KSdcdv1g&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl8KSdcdv1g&feature=related

And my favorite http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cb6SmK_c2g&feature=related I love the shots of the Norwegian fiord attack. I can just imagine what the poor schmuck N'atzi sailor was thinking when these Mossies dove in on his ship. Its where I love flying the Mossie most in the game, in the canyon raids with the steep mountains, where the bird can use her incredible zoom.

[Scherf]

Hey Rich:

The second vid in your second post starts with one of the 487 Sqn Mossies on the 9 October 1943 raid I referred to earlier in the thread.

I think the fjord raid is at Nordgulen, certainly this photo at the Australian War Memorial site would suggest so:

http://cas.awm.gov.au/photograph/SUK13677

That link has the raid being undertaken during January 1945, however I believe it was actually 5 December 1945. The Banff wing strikes (including Nordgulen) are described in some detail on this site:

http://www.scotshistoryonline.co.uk/sorties.html

This German site describes the damage caused:

http://www.wlb-stuttgart.de/seekrieg/44-12.htm

The translation for the Nordgulen attack is: "34 Mosquitos of the 143. , 235. and 248. Sqn. RAF (” Banff Strike Wing “) attack the 1st northbound part of the convoy BE-1075-AL in the Nordgulenfjord and damage the freighters Tucuman (4621 BRT), Magdalena (3283 BRT) and the ammunition transporter Helene soot (993 BRT). Protection by flakships V 5102, V5305 and V 5306."

As I've not spammed the thread with "stub exhaust" pics for a while, here's another. Caption speaks for itself (a "Noball" was an attack on a V-1 site).



The squadron was at the time flying about 1/3 of its sorties in daylight, hence the *cough* stub exhausts (dead horse flogged).

The Australian National Archives have done an amazing job of digitising WWII-era records, including squadron Operations Record Books. Here's the relevant page from the 464 Squadron ORB. CHL Foster, the gent mentioned in the pic above, flew on this raid in LR383 (if you right-click and save as, then zoom in, it's actually quite legible, despite the way it appears here):



Karnak - I still have to check the charts re: your question - can't remember off the top off me head again which was the "dog" aircratft, and what condition it was tested in when.at what weight. I think the drops accounted for around 5 mph or so.

[RTHolmes]

great film clips

[bozon]

The squadron was at the time flying about 1/3 of its sorties in daylight, hence the *cough* stub exhausts (dead horse flogged).

Keep flogging. It may not get back on its feet, but we just want it to flip over.

[jdbecks]

whats the mossie like at roping people?