Mosquito Men: The Elite Pathfinders of 627 Squadron

by David Price

In November 1940, a remarkable prototype aircraft made its maiden flight from an airstrip north of London. Novel in construction and exceptionally fast, the new plane was soon outpacing the Spitfire, and went on to contribute to the RAF's offensive against Nazi Germany as bomber, pathfinder and night fighter. The men who flew it nicknamed this most flexible of aircraft 'the wooden wonder' for its composite wooden frame and superb performance. Its more familiar name was the de Havilland Mosquito, and it used lightning speed and agility to inflict mayhem on the German war machine.

From the summer of 1943, as Bomber Command intensified its saturation bombing of German cities, Mosquitos were used by the Pathfinder Force, which marked targets for night-time bombing, to devastating effect. Mosquito Men traces the contrasting careers of the young men of 627 Squadron, including that of Ken Oatley – last living member of an illustrious group – who flew twenty-two operations in Mosquitos as a navigator. David Price's atmospheric narrative interweaves the human stories of the crews of 627 Squadron with events in the wider war as the Allies closed in on Germany from the summer of 1944.

Mosquito Men is rich in evocative and technically authoritative accounts of individual missions flown by an aircraft that ranks alongside the Spitfire, the Hurricane and the Lancaster as one of the RAF's greatest ever flying machines – and perhaps the most versatile warplane ever built.

Genres: Audiobook, Military History, World War II, Aviation

416 pages, Hardcover

Published October 13, 2022

Reviews

[Spad53 · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read a book like this, I wonder if I’ve finally reached the point of too many books about aviation history. Maybe this is it, the last one! I doubt it, but I did get quite bored with it towards the end. I don’t really know why, it was well-written, well researched and about a plane I like. One thing I found interesting was how pointless the bombing campaign had got by then, Dresden was only one of similar raids that destroyed historic towns for little military gain.
It was a quite good book.

[Ron Baumer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly inspirational look at the men who flew the Mosquito during WW2, as well as a history on how the aircraft was designed and used during the war. The hardships and horrors faced by these men on a daily basis is a inspirational story on overcoming adversity. A great read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Yong · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mediocre accounting of a fascinating topic.

[Bob Crawford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remembering Uncle Jimmy

I wanted to read this book because my wife’s Uncle, Flt. Lt. James David Mitchell, DFC, was a 627 Navigator. My Dad flew with the American 5th Air Force in the South Pacific, so my interest in WWII flyers is long-standing.
Author David Price did a thorough job in explaining the finer points of Mosquito path finding, bits I never fully understood. Certainly, these brave guys fully earned their part of “greatest generation” history.
“Uncle Jimmy” returned to Canada, married and raised two daughters and had a decent post-war life, but remained close to his pilot and reportedly never forgot his service, particularly with the path finders of 627 squadron.
This book brought his service into focus for me and was an interesting read.

[Barry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent account of a single RAF squadron and its men.

The book tells the stories of many of the men who flew the De Havilland Mosquito in 627 Squadron, marking targets for the heavy bombers attacking Germany and occupied Europe. The origins of the men, and their journey through training and prior postings in Bomber Command are well told.

A good book to understand not only the men who flew the `Wooden Wonder', but also their view of the war; operations that are now considered controversial (the Battle of Berlin, the bombing of Dresden). A book that puts a human face on modern warfare.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read David Price’s earlier book The Crew and liked it but his Mosquito Men is a masterpiece. It has the right mix of detail about 627 Squadron’s activities but also features very interesting background on the pilots and navigators who flew the missions. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope David Price continues in this vein with future books.

[Cooper Family · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of information thrown at you. I had issues at the number of tangents it seemed to go off on however. Interesting to learn about the histories of the individual pilots but I got to book to learn about the squadron and not what they did before they joined.
The forming and setting of the scene of 627 Sqn also seemed to take a lot longer than was necessary.

[Matt Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to this book - it was a good listen with many interesting facts and points but the most interesting thing for me was the personal stories about the Airmen. The Mosquito was a very good plane, I knew it was made of wood and it was fast, but I didn’t know about the specifics of its use or its service history and this book helps fill that gap.

[Mr Michael R Godfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading this fascinating book about 627 squadron and the Mosquito while in Australia. By coincidence I visited the Queensland Air Museum at Caloundra. They have corner of the hangar devoted to Don Bennett’s history in the RAF provided by his family.

[James Stirling · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book a great read couldn't put it down. The wooden wonder has definitely been a fantastic plane of ww2

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed account of one of the RAF's pathfinding squadrons. Full of human detail and wider context.

[Ben GS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook