At the time of its post-restoration flight in September 2012, the Museum’s de Havilland Mosquito FB.26 (KA114) was the only flying example of its breed anywhere in the world. KA114 is one of 1,032 Canadian-built Mosquitos which de Havilland Canada built at their factory in Downsview, near Toronto, Ontario. Built late in the war, it entered service with the Royal Canadian Air Force on February 22, 1945. After a brief spell with No.7 Operational Training Unit in Debert, Nova Scotia, KA114 soon found itself in storage, eventually ending up with No.103 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit at RCAF Vulcan, about 25 miles east of Nanton, Alberta. The RCAF disposed of the aircraft in 1948, with a farmer in Milo, Alberta acquiring it.
KA114 sat outdoors on that farm in Milo, Alberta until 1978 when Ed Zalesky acquired its badly weathered airframe for the Canadian Museum of Flight and Transportation. The Military Aviation Museum purchased KA114 during 2004, soon transferring the project to Avspecs Ltd., the now very well-known restoration workshop in Ardmore, New Zealand. After a ground-breaking, 8-year rebuild effort, the Mosquito took to the skies again on September 27, 2012, with her first flight from U.S. soil taking place at the museum’s airfield on April 7th, the following year.
With production lines in Britain, Canada and Australia, almost 7,800 Mosquitos eventually took to the skies. The aircraft fulfilled numerous combat roles, varying from fighter-bomber, to pure bomber, to nightfighter, maritime strike and photo-reconnaissance. The FB Mk.26 was purpose-built as a strike aircraft, heavily armed for ground attack missions with four 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 Browning machine guns mounted in the belly and nose respectively.
No. 487 Squadron Royal New Zealand Air Force: Formed in mid-1942, No. 487 Squadron (RNZAF) saw combat in the European Theater, operating the Lockheed Ventura and de Havilland Mosquito. The unit flew more than 3,000 operational sorties before the end of WWII, disbanding soon after.
The squadron was established under Article XV of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which allowed for pilots trained in Australia, Canada and New Zealand to serve in units under the overall command of Britain’s Royal Air Force. While operating as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, No. 487 Squadron participated in Operation Jericho, the famed raid against the Gestapo prison in Amiens, France, which helped dozens of French Resistance members escape certain execution.
No.487 squadron’s Māori motto, “Ki te Mutunga,” loosely translates to “Through to the End,” in English.
Did You know?
The wood used in Mosquito construction changed over the course of WWII. The fuselage skins, originally fabricated from a sandwich of birch and balsa, evolved to birch and spruce, when balsa became too difficult to source in sufficient quantities.
Specifications
- Number Built: 7,781 total (2,305 MK VI/26 variants)
- Year Produced: 1945
- Serial Number: KA114
- Crew: (2) Pilot, Navigator
- Current Pilots:
Dimensions
- Length: 44 ft. 6 in.
- Wingspan: 54 ft. 2 in.
- Empty Weight: 14,300 lbs.
- Loaded Weight: 18,100 lbs.
- Engine: 2x Rolls-Royce Merlin 25 liquid-cooled, supercharged V-12 piston engine
- Engine Power: 1,610 hp each
Performance
- Cruising Speed: 325 mph
- Max Speed: 415 mph
- Range: 1,300 miles
- Ceiling: 37,000 ft
- Rate of Climb: 2,880 ft./min. initial
Armament
- 4x 20 mm cannon mounted in the lower nose
- 4x 0.303 caliber machine guns mounted in the middle of the nose
- Up to 1,000 lbs of bombs in internal bomb bay
- Up to 1,000 lbs of bombs mounted on hardpoints under each wing
- *MAM aircraft are unarmed
Gallery & Media
