Why de Havilland never produced a turret-equipped Mosquito

The concept of a Mosquito fitted with a turret was a rare dead end in relation to the type

How a turret-armed Mosquito night fighter belonging to No 410 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, might have looked.
How a turret-armed Mosquito night fighter belonging to No 410 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, might have looked. CHRIS SANDHAM-BAILEY

At the de Havilland Aircraft Museum, at the birthplace of the Mosquito near London Colney, Hertfordshire, towards the after point of the canopy transparency on the surviving prototype is a faint line running transversely up its left-hand side. This was a rub mark indicating the forward edge of a fairing which was to be added in order to streamline a power-operated turret, fitted to the aeroplane during aerodynamic trials for such a set-up on a specialised night fighter. In contemporary retellings of the Mosquito story, there is little mention of a turret-armed version, given the designation DH98B Turret Fighter in at least one piece of surviving documentation. Even specialised references provide scant detail of the installation and why it was considered in the first place.

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