A remarkable book of great detail of a unique aircraft and its crews of WWll. Despite the initial reluctance of the government and senior RAF establishment of the time, De Havilland went ahead anyway and produced an aircraft that went on to create its own legend and operational successes. The crews that came to love the capabilities of the Mosquito we asked time and again to carry out very difficult and precision tasks that were impossible to achieve by any other means and they did it. The detail of the planning that went into these raids was a story to behold in itself and records how this remarkable team coalesced in a very short space of time. The leadership of Basil Embry had a lot to do with the successful operational employment of the aircraft, always flying when he could under an alias contrary to regulations because of his senior rank. A wonderful account for any WWll aviation enthusiast to read – more than once!

Review: I was very interested to read this book about the de Havilland Mosquito, a twin-engined fighter-bomber aeroplane since the prototype was developed at a country house not very far from where my parents used to live. It made its maiden flight towards the end of 1940 and entered operational service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1941. Its construction was unusual in that, to avoid excessive use of essential materials such as aluminium and steel, it was built mainly of wood. This earned it the nickname of the “Wooden Wonder”, and meant that its lightweight construction gave it incredible speed.

Although ostensibly a book about the development and operational deployment of the Mosquito during the Second World War, the book is also an account of the struggles of the Danish Resistance following the Nazi occupation of their country in 1940. The Resistance was supported by the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). The Mosquito aircraft fulfilled many roles for the RAF. In addition, Mosquitoes were flown by the civil airline British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) to carry high value cargo, diplomatic material and, sometimes, important passengers from neutral countries over enemy-controlled airspace, where its ability to fly at high speed at altitude enabled it to avoid enemy interception. Probably the most important of these routes was from neutral Sweden to Scotland, overflying occupied Norway en route. However, one of the most famous roles of the aeroplane was as a low level bomber in daylight precision raids against discreet targets. Hence, the raid to breach the walls of Amiens Prison in France and attacks against the German Gestapo headquarters in Aarhus and Copenhagen in Denmark are described.

I found this to be a very interesting book about such a famous aeroplane, but I also learnt a great deal about the German occupation of Denmark during the War, much of which I was not aware. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in aviation and the history of the Second World War.

Excellent book, I have read a couple of Rowland White's previous books before and this does not disappoint.
Mosquito deftly weaves the story of the origins of the Mosquito and it use by 2 group during ww2, with the origins of the Danish resistance.
The book chronicles the events and experiences of the aircrew and resistance members leading up to the Shell Haus raid in March 1945 and we find out why 2 group under Basil Embry became known as the Gestapo hunters.
An excellent read, very informative with lots of primary accounts, well worth reading to find out about the lesser known Shell Haus raid.
Rowland White in writing this has once again written a winner.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Great factual account of the role of the Mosquito fighter bomber in the second world war.
The book weaves together the the participation of the air crews with the SOE and Danish resistance in securing Danish liberation from the Germans.
Fast paced, painting a vivid picture of aircraft operating over enemy territory, coupled with the difficulties of those they were trying to support on the ground. Not dry at all.
Well worth reading even if you prefer war novels as opposed to factual accounts as reads like both.
Full of tension and suspense as men and machines were pushed to the limit.