The Air Ministry was not interested when this design was first proposed by de Havilland in October 1938 as a high-speed reconnaissance bomber of wooden construction. Proceeded anyway; specs drawn up Jan 40. 3 prototypes built 1940-41; bomber in Nov, fighter in May, and recon in Jun. Initial test flights verified maneuverability and high speed. Production began immediately, and recon versions of the Mk. I entered service Sep 41. May 42, night fighter, Mk. II, and bomber, Mk.IV, also entered service. Later bomber developments included Mk. IX and Mk. XVI 1943 with more powerful engines and a larger bomb load. Mk. XVI had pressurized cockpit and could carry 4000 lbs of bombs. Largest production series was Mk. VI which entered service 1943; over 2500 built. Derived from night fighter of Mk. II series with increased armament and bomb capacity (1000 lbs later increased to 2000). Mosquito probably most versatile aircraft produced in WWII; effective in all its missions. In anti- shipping role of Coastal Command, replaced the Beaufighter and was itself replaced in 1951 by twin-jet Canberra. NASM's TH 998 was B.35 built in Hatfield 1945 and delivered to RAF 26 Aug 45. In storage until May 52, was converted to target tug (T.T.35), to include winch in underbelly. Served in that capacity 30 Sep 52-31 Aug 62 when declared surplus and donated to US. May have been used in filming movie "633 Squadron" with Cliff Robertson.