
It hasn't been seen in the skies above Britain for 22 years after the last flying example crashed, killing its pilot and navigator.

But now a team of volunteers in Leicestershire are painstakingly rebuilding an iconic RAF Mosquito fighter bomber and say it could be airborne again in just four years.

The £8million restoration project of the famously wooden De Havilland aircraft is using 22,500 original blueprints.

The People's Mosquito, working with aircraft reconstruction specialists Retrotec, hope the Rolls-Royce powered machine will be completed in the next four years.

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Only four fully operational Mosquitoes are known to exist but there are none in the UK – the airworthy models are owned by people in the US and Canada

A De Havilland bomber is pictured during flight in 1944. The plane was one of the world's fastest aircraft when it was first built, capable of reaching speeds in excess of 400mph (644kmh)

Airbus has provided more than 22,500 original drawings to the People's Mosquito project and specialist restorers Retrotec so engineers can rebuild the plane from the remains of one which crashed at RAF Coltishall in Norfolk in February 1949

Specialist restoration company Retrotec will use the original drawings, which were found in a disused factory, to rebuild the plane from the wreckage of an NF.36 model

The People's Mosquito project is in its early stages (pictured, the wood to be used for the body is delivered to a warehouse) but its director hopes it will be complete by 2023

The plane could carry a maximum weight of 23,000lbs (10,432kg) and be fitted with four 20mm cannons for direct combat or be equipped with bombs to drop on land or sea targets. it was powered by two Merlin engines which powered individual propellers

The Mosquito, known simply as 'Mossie' to those who flew in it, first entered production in 1941 when it became the envy of Germany's aviation minister, Herman Goering.

Constructed of a timber frame and plywood body and powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines shouldered on the wings, Mossie was one of the fastest operational planes in the world at the time.

It was created this way to make use of abundant resources because aluminium was harder to come by during wartime, with an added benefit being that workers such as carpenters, cabinet-makers and piano factories could be employed to build them because they already had the necessary skills.

The People's Mosquito project's chairman, John Lilley, told MailOnline: 'This will be the first UK-built Mosquito in 70 years.

THE BOMBER THAT TURNED THE NAZIS GREEN WITH ENVY The Mosquito was originally built as a surveillance aircraft but was so fast and versatile, reaching speeds of around 400mph (644kmh), it was sent into combat. It was so fast, in fact, that designer Geoffrey de Havilland said it didn't need to be armoured. He said in 1939: 'We believe that we could produce a twin-engine bomber which would have a performance so outstanding that little defensive equipment would be needed.' A total of 7,781 of the aircraft were built and they were used by air forces in the UK, US and Russia until their final mission in 1945, when they took part in a hunt for German submarines which may have been trying to escape surrender. The Nazi government's war-time aviation minister Mr Goering reportedly called his own aircraft designers 'nincompoops' in comparison to the British when he found out about the plane. He said: 'It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy.' 'The British, who can afford aluminum better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops.' Advertisement

'We had wing ribs made, we've acquired jigs for the wings for the tail section and we're building the fuselage mould. We've got the foundations to build the basic aircraft structure.

'People are very excited about it. Because the production of this aircraft was split around the country and pulled in other industries such as cabinetmakers and piano-makers, we've had many people say their father, uncle or auntie were involved in production or were part of the crew.

'It was exported to dozens of countries and was a great British icon of design and development.'

Mr Lilley said the costly project is being financed by private donations, fundraising efforts and corporate sponsorship.

Mosquitoes were used by the Royal Air Force and others around the world in World War Two, both as a bomber and a fighter plane.

One notable mission was Operation Jericho in 1944, in which Allied forces bombed Amiens prison in Nazi-occupied France, killing more than 100 prisoners.

Only three exist in flying condition today, according to the People's Moquito project, with two in the US and the third in Canada.

The People's Mosquito will be built from the remains of one of the last of the planes to be built, the NF.36 RL249, which crashed in RAF Coltishall in Norfolk in February 1949.

The team behind it hope to display the beauty of the restored machine at flying displays and open hangar exhibitions.

'The Mosquito was an exemplar of British 1940s aeronautical engineering,' they said on their website.

'A truly groundbreaking aircraft in so many ways, it was built by a network of often small and medium sized enterprises up and down the UK, all coming together to build what was then the world’s fastest production aircraft.

'More than any other aircraft of the wartime era, "The Mossie" or "Wooden Wonder" as she was affectionately known, was the people's aircraft.

'Through flying displays around the country and an "open hangar" policy, with an emphasis on education, we aim to communicate to future generations the importance to the war effort of the Mosquito during World War Two, and the unique design and engineering techniques that went into its production.

A total of 7,781 Mosquito planes were built around the world after it was first put into production in 1940, and the fighter/bomber flew its final mission in 1945 at the end of the Second World War

Finding the original drawings for the Mosquito has allowed the volunteers to produce their restoration to the exact specifications of an original (Pictured: Instructions for adding registration numbers onto the planes)

Thousands of drawings were discovered and handed over to the People's Mosquito project showing them the minutest details of how the planes were built. The blueprint pictured shows how cannons can be attached to the plane

Two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines – one on each wing – catapulted the Mosquito through the air faster than any other aircraft at the time. The propellor engines produced between 1,000 and 1,800 horsepower

The planes were originally built for surveillance but then, because of their speed, were used in combat and could be fitted with cannons or carry bombs for attacking land or sea targets

'At the same time we will be honouring and remembering those who designed, built, flew and maintained the type in all its roles and locations.'

There are four other restored and airworthy versions of the aircraft in existence, but they are owned by people in the US and Canada. Various others are on display in museums or incomplete.

The last Mosquito to fly in Britain was one which crashed in 1996 near Barton Airfield in Manchester, killing the pilot and passenger.

The plane was originally built as a surveillance aircraft but was so fast and versatile, reaching speeds of around 400mph (644kmh), it was sent into combat.

It was so fast, in fact, that designer Geoffrey de Havilland said it didn't need to be armoured.

He said in 1939: 'We believe that we could produce a twin-engine bomber which would have a performance so outstanding that little defensive equipment would be needed.'

A total of 7,781 of the aircraft were built and they were used by air forces in the UK, US and Russia until their final mission in 1945, when they took part in a hunt for German submarines which may have been trying to escape surrender.

WHAT WAS THE DE HAVILLAND MOSQUITO? The De Havilland Mosquito was a fearsome fighter plane with a twist – it was made of plywood. The 'Wooden Wonder' was rushed from design to take-off in the space of just a year in the heat of WWII. Based on a timber frame and plywood body and powered by two Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the aircraft was capable of hitting speeds in excess of 400mph (644kmh). Its bizarre wooden construction was a product of opportunity – wood was cheap and easy to come by, unlike aluminium, and carpenters, cabinetmakers and piano-makers could be employed to build the crafts without extra training. The plane could carry a maximum weight of 23,000lbs (10,432kg) and be fitted with four 20mm cannons for direct combat or be equipped with bombs to drop on land or sea targets. Fitted with radar and painted in camouflage, the planes were used throughout the war by Allied forces from the UK, US and Russia between their maiden flight in 1940 and the final mission in 1945, before production was shut down in 1950. With a wingspan of 54ft 2ins (16.5m) the planes had a flight range of 1,485miles (2,389km), although this, and other specifications, varied across the more than 35 variations of the aircraft which were built during its decade of life. Source: BAE Systems; The People's Mosquito Advertisement

The Nazi government's war-time aviation minister Mr Goering reportedly called his own aircraft designers 'nincompoops' in comparison to the British when he found out about the plane.

He said: 'It makes me furious when I see the Mosquito. I turn green and yellow with envy,' The Telegraph reported.

'The British, who can afford aluminum better than we can, knock together a beautiful wooden aircraft that every piano factory over there is building. They have the geniuses and we have the nincompoops.'

Geoffrey De Havilland, the plane's creator, said he would design the aircraft to 'have a performance so outstanding that little defensive equipment would be needed'. Making the planes out of wood was beneficial because the factories could draft in carpenters and cabinet-makers and use furniture factories

Men are pictured building the iconic planes during the height of World War II, at the De Havilland Mosquito factory in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, in 1943

Women are pictured fitting oxygen pipe lines in the fuselage of a Mosquito plane. This photo clearly shows that the interior of the plane is made of wood. Approximately 40 per cent of the workforce employed to build De Havillands during the war effort were women

Women work on a pair of engines being built to power a Mosquito. The planes could carry two crew and a maximum weight of 23,000lbs (10,432kg)

Women paint an under-construction Mosquito black to help it pass unnoticed at night. The paint allegedly slowed down the plane by as much as 25mph (40kmh)

The People's Mosquito project is raising money online to fund its ambition to get the aircraft back in the air, with £106,000 raised so far of a £500,000 target.

'With funding it could fly again in three or four years,' wrote former RAF De Havilland pilot and spy turned author, Frederick Forsyth, in a column for today's Daily Express.

'At public displays a low-flying Mosquito would have the crowds agog. Surely British commerce and industry could help.'

To donate to the People's Mosquito project, visit its JustGiving page.