In the annals of popular history, the exploits of one Royal Air Force squadron stand head and shoulders above the others. The story of a squadron of bombers that flung itself against heavily defended targets at low level captivated audiences in a 1950s film. Braving intense cross-fire from light anti-aircraft guns, its crew members delivered their bouncing bomb using a rudimentary bombsight. Famed as ‘The Dambusters’, 617 Squadron has long enjoyed the admiration of the British public, and given the losses of the night of 16-17 May 1943, it is a reputation well deserved. But is it possible, nearly 80 years later, that equal acts of valour by another RAF squadron could have passed largely unnoticed?
The ‘Wooden Wonder’
Despite the undoubted success of the de Havilland Mosquito during the Second World War, initial interest in an aircraft made of alternative materials was limited. At a time when almost all combat aircraft had a metal structure, the de Havilland Aircraft Company’s proposals to build a lightweight fast bomber using laminated wood were met with polite disinterest by the Air Ministry. However, the company’s founder, the British aerospace engineer Geofrey de Havilland, found favour with Air Marshal Wilfred Freeman, the Air Council’s member for Research and Development (1936-1940), who saw the potential for the new aircraft. The promised performance of near 400mph was faster than any aircraft of its time, and the bomb load more than ample. The only drawback was seen to be the Mosquito’s lack of any defensive armament, and de Havilland continued to tangle with the Air Ministry for months on this issue before an order for production was received.
It was not until July 1942 that the first Mosquitos came into service, with 105 and 139 Squadrons beginning operations at RAF Horsham St Faith in Norfolk. The introduction into service of the aircraft – nicknamed the ‘Wooden Wonder’ or the ‘Mossie’ – coincided with the formation of the Pathfinders, a bomber group specially created to improve bombing accuracy by specialised target marking. By using coloured flares that burned on the ground once dropped, Pathfinders would mark out a target area that could be identified by the main bomber force arriving shortly afterwards. Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett – a rather controversial figure within the establishment, not least because he was an Australian, and at just 32, the youngest Air Vice-Marshal in the RAF’s history – was appointed to lead 8 Group Pathfinders. He was a plain-speaking and, at times, blunt and humourless leader, who nonetheless earned the deep respect of his men.
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