Quote:
Originally Posted by WTE_Galway
The semi-mythical speed advantage of the Mosquito is one of those stories that is half fact half fiction.
Early Mosquitoes were actually a touch SLOWER than the BF109 and Fw190 day fighters however they bombed at high altitude meaning by the time the Germans got up there the Mosquito had already shot through and the 109/190s did not have a sufficient speed advantage to catch up.
Be careful not to put too much credence in the "myths" that have arisen about WWII.
|
Original estimates were that, with twice the power of a Spitfire and twice the wetted area and over twice the weight, the Mosquito would still be 20mph (32km/h) faster than the Spitfire. The Air Ministry was very sceptical. When the prototype was officially tested at Boscombe Down in February 1941 they were proved wrong and it exceeded this estimate by achieving a top speed of 392mph (631km/h)
The early FW190 A3 had a top speed of 636Kph So one can assume the later FW190's were faster.
I agree that height and speed made them harder to catch with the early Fw having a ceilng of only 12000m it would be hard to take down a mossie but not impossible
The recon version of the Mossie - DH MOSQUITO PR.34
maximum speed: 685 KPH (425 MPH / 370 KT)
service ceiling: 13,100 meters (43,000 feet)
range: 5,375 kilometers.
While all stats are subjective war time propaganda most probably made the mossie a myth it unfortuantely was more than capable of living up to.
The kill quoted earlier in this thread is of a mossie out of its element, flying low, someting it was not really meant to do???? I could be wrong on that but I always assumed a mossie was a high altitude fighter/bomber
http://www.dhmosquito.com/