Mosquitos Over Scandinavia

As part of some of the most daring aerial missions of the Second World War, de Havilland Mosquito crews skimmed low and fast over the North Sea to strike targets in Norway, Scandinavia, and the Baltic. Perfectly located on Scotland’s east coast, RAF Leuchars gave Allied aircrews the range and flexibility to exploit the Mosquito’s speed and precision against the Third Reich’s northern outposts. Of the five Mosquito units based at Leuchars during the war, three belonged to the RAF, one was Norwegian, and another was a civilian flight operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). Among them, 544 Squadron RAF was temporarily stationed at Leuchars to search for the pride of Hitler’s Kriegsmarine, the battleship _Tirpitz_. Another, No. 105 Squadron, operated briefly from the base in 1942\. Its first mission – a daring raid on Victoria Terrasse, the Gestapo headquarters in Oslo – marked the Mosquito’s first official mission that was publicly revealed. Flown and maintained entirely by Norwegian personnel, the Mosquitos of 333 (Norwegian) Squadron struck back at the occupiers of their homeland. Their determination drew royal recognition when King Haakon VII of Norway visited the squadron during its time at Leuchars. Meanwhile, BOAC operated “civilianised” Mosquitos from Leuchars on near-regular flights to neutral Sweden. Crewed by civilian pilots and marked with BOAC logos and civil registration codes, these aircraft carried both passengers and precious cargo. Among the most vital consignments were shipments of Swedish ball bearings which were critical to sustaining the Allied war effort. _Mosquitos Over Scandinavia_ explores the extraordinary achievements of these units, their perilous missions across icy seas and enemy territory, and the high price paid by those who flew them, much of it told in the airmen’s own words.