Sit back in your chair, beam this to your largest television and speaker system, and just enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds of Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum's beautiful de Havilland D.H.98 Mosquito T.Mk.III. Here's a blurb the museum's curator, Cory Graff, wrote about the markings that were chosen for this aircraft:
The FHC’s Mosquito is back form the paint shop and nearly finished. Flight Officer Alan Wagner of No. 605 Squadron flew “Wag’s War-Wagon” and became an ace in the plane on the night of March 5/6, 1944. Wagner often flew with his navigator Flight Officer “Pip” Orringe.
The plane’s standard factory camouflage was later overshot with an “Intruder Scheme,” a night black underside. After its March 5/6, 1944 mission, Wagner’s aircraft carried two victory markings for Japanese aircraft Wagner claimed over Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) earlier in the war, along with three marks for German aircraft shot down—two Me 410s and a Fw 190. An FHC mechanic will be hand-painting the personal markings on the plane in the upcoming days.
In total, Wagner shot down nine confirmed enemy aircraft and two V-1s. Tragically, he was killed while chasing a V-1 “buzz bomb” in heavy fog when his speeding Tempest fighter struck the ground in July of 1944. He was 29 years old.
And more information from the FHCAM website regarding this artifact:
History of the Artifact
The FHCAM’s Mosquito was built in Leavesden, England, as a training aircraft in 1945. The plane was among the last of the type to be retired from RAF service in 1963. Turned over to the Imperial War Museum (IWM), the Mosquito appeared in the 1964 film 633 Squadron.
After filming, the plane was displayed in an IWM facility until 1988. The plane was traded to the FHCAM in 2003 and sent to Avspecs Ltd. In New Zealand for restoration to flight status. It returned to the skies in late 2016. While the plane retains some aspects of a trainer, additions were made to give the Mosquito the appearance of a wartime FB.Mk.VI fighter-bomber.
Did you know?
Training Mosquitos, like this one, are equipped with dual controls and can be flown from either side of the cockpit.
