British Gents Delight In Hidden Treasure At EAA Pioneer Museum

By Maxine Scheer

The enormity of EAA's collection of rare and historic aircraft is sometimes taken for granted by those who have frequented AirVenture. But walking through the hangar at the EAA Pioneer Airport complex were three aviation enthusiasts absolutely marveling over a De Havilland (DH) Mosquito that almost seemed desolate and ignored behind the rows of chairs, for EAA visitors waiting for helicopter tours.

Ken, Nick and Phillip are British Airways (BA) pilots and fly Boeing 777s.  They also fly Piper Cubs. They took great delight in describing the importance, rarity, and unique features of the DH-Mosquito.  "We are shocked to see one here in Oshkosh, somewhat hidden behind the waiting area for the helicopter rides." Each went on to describe unique features, ìthe DH-Mosquito is made of wood, hand-crafted by carpenters using veneers and glue.  The two Merlin engines and internal bomb bays made this aircraft fast and capable of strategic bombing missions.î  They recommended seeing the movie "633 Squadron", based on the successful raid by four De Havilland Mosquitos on the Gestapo H.Q. in Oslo, September 25th, 1942.

EAA featured a description of the De Havilland Mosquito in 2015, when a second Mosquito operated by the Military Aviation Museum of Virginia Beach, Virginia, and flying after a multi-year restoration by Avspecs in New Zealand, flew to AirVenture to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

This was the first visit to AirVenture for two of the three BA pilots and the sixth visit for the third.  All were emphatic on returning, offering many words of praise on their AirVenture experience. "Britain is a small country, and there is no location like Oshkosh that could accommodate such a large event."  They marveled at how clean the grounds are and the polite and friendly crowd.  "Everyone here understands aviation. We felt like we were at a historic event seeing the B-29s and B-25s flying in last nightís airshow."  Thanks to EAA, all can see a restored De Havilland Mosquito, safely placed in the Pitcairn Hangar at the Pioneer Museum, located behind the EAA Museum.

(Staff images)

FMI: www.raf.mod.uk/history/TheMosquito.cfm, www.eaa.org/en/airventure/eaa-airventure-news-and-multimedia/eaa-airventure-news/2015-eaa-airventure-oshkosh/07-01-2015-limited-opportunities-remain-with-mosquito-at-oshkosh