This build is meant as a tribute to the brave pilots that gave their lifes for freedom.
In the afternoon of 30 September 1944 the Royal Canadian Air Force 418 Squadron had 4 Day Ranger missions to Germany, Austria and Denmark.
The mission to Denmark, carried out by 2 Mosquitos, had fatal consequences for one of the planes and its crew.
The 2 planes were TH-W, NS906 with Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) R. H. Thomas and Flying Officer (Navigator) G. J. Allin and TH-S, HJ821 with Flight Lieutenant (Pilot) H. E. Miller and Sergeant (Navigator) W. Hooper.
These Mosquitos took off from RAF Coltishall at 15.25 hours danish time. Their mission was to shoot down and/or destroy as many German planes as possible at the airfield at Grove (Fliegerhorst Grove - Karup), the airfields at Aalborg (Aalborg West, Rødslet, now Aalborg Airport - and Aalborg East) and Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup.
At Aalborg the 2 planes engaged a German Bf109 fighter which was shot down. Another Bf109 was approached but escaped.
From here they flew over Sjællands Odde to close to Hvalsø in the central part of Sjælland (Zealand), where they attacked the locomotive of a passenger train. Then the planes flew in a crescent over the Køge Bugt (Bay) and over Copenhagen Airport.
When they came over the Sound they were exposed to flak from flak-batteries in Flakfortet and Middelgrundsfortet. At full speed the planes flew to the north following the Sound till they passed the coast of North Zealand at about Espergærde. The two pilots had radio contact when they flew over Esrum Sø (Esrum Lake). They had not been hit by flak. One minute later the Mosquito with Thomas and Allin hit two tall trees near Gribskovlejren. The left tailplane was torn off and the plane crashed.
The plane hit the ground in a narrow angle and ploughed a 300 meter long track in the ground. The plane stopped about 800 meters from where it hit the trees. As this point the two crew members where more than likely both dead. The cockpit was completely burned out, apparently because the incendiary ammunition had made a huge shooting flame into the cockpit.
Shortly after Miller and Hooper noted that they had lost radio and visual contact with NS906. They took a course that would bring them back to their base in England as fast as possible. When they passed between Skovby and Holse, app. 8 km south west of Bogense in Fyn (Funen), they attacked what they believed was a black German staff car. Actually it was a taxi from Bogense. The passenger was killed and the driver was injured.
Miller and Hooper left Denmark north of Rømø at 19.00 hours. They landed after a flight of nearly 2,000 km in Coltishall Airfield to a debriefing at 20.50 hours. The entire mission had lasted 5½ hours and cost the lives of half of the aircrew.
For 68 years one of the big questions has been where the bodies of the two airmen are. Apparently the Germans removed them in spite of serious attempts from the local vicar to have them handed over, so they could have a decent burial. However, the Germans refused that.
The local citizens raised a memorial stone at the crash site.
Translated to english the inscription says something like this:
"For the freedom of Denmark we thank God
On this place fell two messengers
They came from England to the coast of Denmark
And brought arms to the fight of the country
They bought us freedom with their deaths
God give them piece in the womb of Denmark"
Short about the model:
This is the Tamiya Mosquito 1/48 kit. It fell together without problems. I used an Eduard PE set for interior and exterior, resin wheels and mud guards and turned brass barrels. Paint was xtracrylix, which I have become quite fond of. The roundels and codes are painted, only serial numbers and stencils are decals. The model was weathered using Flory Models dark wash, thin layers of oil paints for streaks and airbrushed alcohol tinted with Tamiya paints.
Thanks for watching!
