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CONFIDENTIAL ~.•
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Class No.629.l3.012/0l4:674.03 (South East Asia)

R. A. E. Tecf1.nical Note No. sME •. 364

May, 1946.

ROY.AL AlliCRAFT ESTABLISHMENT, FARNBOROUG-H

Note on a visit to S. E. Asia concerned with

the airvvort}1iness of wooden aircraft

by

F.G-rinsted, B.Sc. (Eng.), A.F.R.Ae.s.,

.
and
J.H.Leigh, A.C.L.C •

'
)

R.'A.E. Ref: S.M.E.C.2/FG-/140

IVI. 0. S. Ref: R. D. Mat. N. M. 3/JHL
•
SUlvlMARY

The effects of climatic conditions on the structures of wooden

aircraft were ·investigated at units in India, Ceylon and Singapore.
The most serious defect was wing spar vreb separation f'rom the edgeboom
on the Mosquito, found on a very high proportion of aircraft. The
. cause of this defect Yvas bad glueing, aggravated by differential
wood movement with change of moisture content, and possibly in a few
cases assisted by deterioration· of the synthetic resin glue by water.
Other defects included deterioration of top surface dope and fabric.
Tec}1.nical information was obtained on a number of structural ·failure
accidents. Visits were made to the Forest Research Institute,
Dehra Dun, and the Ordnance Laboratories, Cawnpore.

• •

:··

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m N'o·c' e o.
1\-_,
~' Cl"l\;7'Gl.
UJ:r.I.CJ.
36J.'+
LIST 0F. "CONTENTS. ......,.. .. ..
. ., ....
Page
1 Introduction ·4
2 Mosqui:to 4
·. 2.1 .308. l\i. U-.. ·-AJ..lahabad 4
2.2 R.A.F. st.Thomas' Mount, :Madras, 5
·. 2.· 3 -No.l C. M~ U"" Kanc(l...rapar-a, Nr. Calcu.tta. 6
2. 4 R. A. F .... Hrnawbi, Burma 7
2.5~ H.Q.A.C.S.E.A. and R.A.F. Seletar,. Singapore .7
2.6 R.N.A.S. Trincomalee, Ceylon 8
2. 7 Conclusions on ·Mosqui:f;o:. 9
3
4
5
Hors a
Oxford
Adhesives
9
10
10
•
5.1 Synthetic resin 10
5.2 Casein 10
6 Monitor wing v--eathering trials 11
7 Research Establisr~ents in India 12
7.1 Forest.Research Institute, Dehra Dun 12
7.2 Or_dnance Laboratories, Cawnpore 13
7.3 R.A.F. Research and Development Flight, Cavmpore l3 \

• 8

9
Accidents
General Observations

LIST OF FJP.PENDICES A;e;Eendix

13
14

Diary of visits I
Mosquito fuselage defects investigated a.t 308 lVI. U. .Al;Lahabad II
Typical Mosquito wing defeqts exainined at No.l C.Ivi. U. Kanchrapara III

Typical Mosquito wing derects investigated at 390 M.U. ·Seletar,

Singapore
¥osquito accidents V

2 -
/
 RoA.E. Tech. Note No, SME~3E4

LIST 0~ ILLUS~~IONS Figure

Researc h Institut e, DePra Dun. Neg. No~·.·. 68553 1

.,
Fo~est

·Neg. No. 685.54 ·. 2

Weather ing tests on wooden components. ·
Mosg_ui to wing spar web separati on. Drg~~o.S.M.E.l~848/R 3

Mosquito wing spar defects. Drg. No. 9.1v!. E.l-?850/R 4

Mosquit o fuselage .d~fects. '

.....
~'"eo :
prg.~o.S~M.E.l3.R49/R 5

Neg. ~o •.. ~8555. 6

Mosquito TA.l38 Acciden t.
Mosquito spar· sections .·· : Ne~ •.. N~. 68851. 7

•
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Ro Ao E. Teoh. Note· No. SlvfE. 364

1.1 Visits were· made to R• .A. F. and R. N. Air Stations in· Sout·h East
Asia 'by ll~~ss~s •. J .. H•. Leigh, R. D. Mat. N. M•, lvi. 0~.S. , and F. G.t>insted, .
. . S. M. E. Dept. , .R. A. E. , during the period from '2nd Decembe.t', 1945 to
24 ':F~bura.ry,_)-946, T~e purposes of: the tour were (a) to o~tain
informati 0n on structura l defects and accidents on wooden aircraft
(ch~efly the. Mpsq~ito); and (p) to dete~ine to what extent these
had been influence d by climatic effects, such as wood movement with
change· in moisture co:q.tent '· or by deteriora tion of glue. · A'list of
the units vis~ted in c~xonological order is presented in Appendix I.
Many of the Mosquito aircraft are now stationed east of' India·, in
Malaya and the Far East so iJc becsme necessary to proceed on to
Singapore to visit H•Q.A.c.s~E.A. and see represen tative aircraft.
Contact was made with the remaining members of the M;A.P. Technica l
Mission to B.A.F.s.E .A. ~Messrs. D.G.Brade ,·R.D:Alrb o.t'ne representati'~
and :A. M. MacLennan , 1v.fateria1 s represen-G ati ve - whose assistanc e was
_invaluab le. Yle received much help from Messrs. 0. E. Carter an~ ~==~-:
J.K.Mason , represen tatives of de·Havillands~ and good co-operat ion
from Service personnel at all uni~s visited. ·

• Other types 'of wooden aircraft exrunined were Horsa and Oxford.
No Anson or lviartinet aircraft vr.e.re seen,. a.na.··It is understoo d these
. types o.re np longer used; the .Anson will be in service agn.in when
metal wings are r.eceived.
•

. H.Q.B,A.F~S;E.A. is situated. in ~ew.Delhi. and has jurisdi-ct ion

over R.A. F. Units in India. · Its Engineeri ng B.rru:J.cli is large, and has
continued to iook after the interests of the Far East also, a1 though
the H. Q'fAi b. s~ E, A. at Singap.ore is now becoming more self sufficien t
in th~~- ·respect' . The Chief Maintenun ce Office.f: A• V. M. Weedon super-
vises the engineeri ng branphcs of both H. q.

2 Mosquito

Mosquito ?ircrai~t play important ~oles in StE.A.C. The aircraft

are mostly F. B. lvfk:. VI, P.R .. Iv:llG.XVI and P.R. 1v&~ 34, while 'there· are a
few of other marks such as the 1\tik:. }rx:f u~ed by the Royal Na:vy.. Investi·-
gations made at v~ious units are d~scribed be~ow.

• 2.1 308 M. U. Allahabad

Aircraft. ate receivedf'~omU.K. by air and.~e stored awaiting

squadron demands for.repla cenents, w~ich may mean a wait of 9 months
' or so. The· m~jori ty are stored in the open, the· available hangars
being used for repairs. · No provision has been made to .keep the sun
off the aircraft. .. In stunmer- it is very· hot (about ll0°F) and dry •
Due ·to the shortage of personnel the aircraft are not all maintaine d
serviceab le nor are they flovm regularly . Major inspectio ns, class
2 modifica tions, and S.T.I . are done b~ th~ unit. The following
matters were inves·l:;ig' ated. ·
...r ::..~
........
·· ..1:-.3·.(a) Crackiilg of ·p.erspex noses. Many cases had occurred of
crack:Lng f·rom the bolt holes. of the large no se fairing. .We advised
1
· . . a larger clearance at the .bolt holes to permit the whole
foi.ring to
'move forwat-d slightly as it s~x:ink.s _so that .:the circu.m:f"erence· through
the bolt holes could become sm~ler in length as the nose slides for-
ward on ;i. ts ta.pere9.. ring mou."'1ting (the front of the fuselage) . •·· ..,··
": .: '
(b) Cracks in fuselage bulkheads . Only one. ~craft of e.ll
t}"l..ose seen during the whole tour hr:.d this· de:t-aect. Bulkhead No. 5 is
mude in two h2J. ves, butted top ru1d bottom with t~in plywood cover
strc.ps. These strews hD.d split clong the butt joint line top and
bottom up to within 4 inch of i;;he sand-vvich shell, on one aircra.ft

-4- )
 tn~- R.F.5~1. The bulkhea d to main shell joints were satisfac tory. .,
·Bulkhea d· No. ·6 had been fotmd split down t}"l...rough the fin attachm ent
bracket ~d had been tempora rily reinforc ed for fly~ to de Havillan ds
at Karachi for repair. R.F.591 had only aone40 hoUrs total flying,
b..a.ving sp_enJG about 5 months in the M~ddle East and· 4· months in India. 0

· ··(c) Top surface deterior ation. A typic~. badly deterio rated

top surface was seen on N.S.780 which had been standing outside since
J~e tbxough hot weather and the monsoon . The dope finish (to D.T.D.
83A) was cracked , particu larly along diagona l grain lines of the ply-
wood. The fabric had deterior ated; it was brittle and chipped off
easi"ly. The vlooP. had develope d nopen pores n where water had got in
after' failure of· the dope protecti ve. Many such cases in various
stages of deterio ration were seen during the tour.. · They can . only be
avoided by storing out of the direct sun or by use of improve d doping
schemes.•

(d) Acciden ts

(i) A structu ral break-up in flight had occurred at the

'unit to L.R .. 52l.in May, 191+5, but no wreckag e was now avail?-b le, nor
were there~ tec}"l~ical papers on it: The latter·w ere seen at
B.A.F.S, E.A. in DelPi and comment s appear in section 8 below•

•• (ii) A case of serious vibra:cio n in .flight occurred at

the unit Yvith ISo-squit o XIX T.A.l90.
violent ly that the pilot decided
vibratio n died dov~n and he landed
to
the
reported
The airc.FB.f t o~cillated so
~bandon
aircro.f
that
it, but fortuna tely the

the
t. Some notes are
~iqr~tio n was started
•
given in section 8. It was
by loosene ss of the tailplan e front att0..cf1JUent fitting~ in Bulkheo. d
No. 7, · due to wood s}"lxink5 ge.

· (e) Wing sp2.r web se-parn.t ion. On our second visit to the
unit it we.s found tho.t a ln.rge proporti on of' the c.ircraf t ho.d re er
spnr web separati on from the ed.geboom . This was similo.r to thn.t
found so vddespre r.:.d e:.t other· units, ~d describe d in sections 2. 3( e:.)
and 2.5(n) belov~

· ·(f)· Fuselag e' skin lifting. Several air~r~f't were spovv.ing

bulges on the fuselag· e top skin at the t.ime of our second visit
(13. 2.46). Investig ation showed that these were all due initiall y
manufac ture. They are describe d in.

•
ses from faulty

•
to weaknes
Appepdi x II, and two are illustra ted in Fig. 5•

(g) Modific ations. During our- first visi·b (13.12. 45) the unit
was preparin g to do its first Mod.. 1:005, the weather ing strip ond
addition al long screws over front and .rear spars. Sets.' of parts· had
just been .rece.ive d includin g a set of jigs 1112.de by de Havillan ds at
fouling· of -Ghe nevf
..
...
Karachi . Di"fi'icu lty was experien ced in avoiding i ..·..::·:..
~·:·
long screws with those n.J..ready there. The unit wO.s s:b..ort of ·
cp.rpent ers for the job. -.1 •.•
0
0

2. 2· ·R.A.F. St;.· Thomas' Mount, Me.d.ta8

We saw two operatio nal squo.dron s (Nos.45 Dnd. 82) v(b..ich had been
oll. pc.cked up fof n: ~o~ time _.enJGiei pating orders :to. mov~.. _Their
·:·fiirc.re.fJG .:were alUllliniu m dope finished and their servicec..pility~ WO.S
then "[1.ig:h.;,_. All aircraf t had t~e positive lock modificD.tio~ (No.4'99)
.....
on their underco. .rrioge doors. . · None ho.d the- Mod~ 1005 wec.ther ing strips
Dnd the po..t'ts were still ~wD.i ted. ~ The modifico .tio:Q.s reinforc ing the
flcP and. aileron }"l~nge bro.cket s were being wprked on during the visit,
ond most aircraf t h~d been ~one. The ~craft wer~ kept st~ding out
all the· time. ~ ..
of
.
. . . ~
~

The enginee r officer s were Tiell. plec.sed with the lvi?:squi to ond
•• 0

foUnd it relative ly easy to maintn.i n, clthough the rather lc..rge number '

5
 _qf· ~peci~l, in_spec~P:-pn_s ~o~ structural troubles had caused a lot of e;~tra
work. They · took good· care of the top surface, rubb~ng down and
·. . ·re~d.oping... locally' as soon as :any ·cracks appeared, and· thus'· avoided lliuch
·.. ·fabric'' and ·:wo·od deterioratio n. . Also they ni.ade a point of giving_ each
aircraft. a ·short flight regulal:'ly.'' ."·They had··no complaints·· of wood or.·
• glue '·deterlorati 'on; :'des pi t·e· their· ·aircraft having
1
all experiencfed one
.. . .. ·mons~bon and: sorrie tvio. No ·special inspe.ction had at t·:hat time been
made for spar web separation~· · ·\ · · · .. · ·

·2~ ~~ . · Nd.·l ?~ M~·u. Kanc~i-ap~·a_;- caio1:1tt§;

. .. . .. . .. .
. No• ;I. C·.J\1. U. does major irispectipns and. repai~·s...
··It has. operated
· · 'in co-opepatio n ~th the Bengal and Assam ·Railway· Works. ~d is· now in
. process of closing dovm. We saw· a large,· number of. Mosquitos: at the
unit. ·in various stag·es of repair, and many 'Which were being re_duced to
salvage because repair of them had been considereq· uneconomica l •
. . ··'·
(a) Wing spar defects. During major inspections it had been
found that separation of the rear spar web :f'rom.. the..:.··edgeboom in the
f~s~lage to nacelle ~egion was present on a high proportion of aircra:-t~
Slight separation is an old defect for which a check is made at major
inspections , but only rece_ntly {at the time of our t'om.,) has the_· defe,.::·~

• •
'··
~.. .
appeared for the whole ·edgeboom depth over· such a grea:b.lengt h; ··.and
has be.en found on so many of the aircraft in s. E. Asia.
r•\ I # ..

. ·.
Typical defects examined at Kanchl:·apara iu:-e" described· in ~~ppencli.:
.- III. ··In general, therEf was complete or short ·rength· separation·. of tb.:;
·· ·glued joint between the.)edgeboo m ond the rear ·spar rear web from .Ribs
. 1 to 4 •.;· (See Fig. 3.) . ,r.·.!The· separation alvvais occurred· in the glv,e lines
. W~ich in many Cases We.t'e t'hick and made Yfi th insufficien t pressure"
: ·· Some. apparently sound ·joints parted easily with light· ·pressure .inserti...~n
of· a penknife.-· : In some cases the face· of ·the ·edgebo·om was~ inclined
forwards out of the plane of the we-b; and the web· :tiad tried to· follov-r.:
This niay be _a dif~erentiaJ.. movemer:-t effec . G. (m_oisture· chri.nge in the wood)
:producing tension ·across the glued joint. Iri other cases the web was
bo·wed backwards bet¥reen its securing screws.· Iri some. cases there vro.s
evidence to sUgge.st moisture in. crusion
. as i possible cause ·of f-ailure
of the glue: the signs were cracked .dope· ·ana· c1eteriorate d fabric over
the top of the butt joint, a poor joint bet'\yeen flap shr.oua..·skin onO. . che .
edgeboom, o.nd discolourat ion of the pc..rted glue surfaces. The latter
could have occurr.ed by moisture pf3ne.t:J?ation · sul;>seq~-~-l].t_ _:l;;€l- the joint

• separating.

and edgeboom.·
In the majority of case·s there was defini·i:iely no evidence
of moisture intrusion o.nd many hn.d ·sound joint-s betv;een--the sJ:"l..roud skin

A number of aircraft being reduced to salvage (as uneconomica l

repairs) were .examined and sections cut on·-' the =wing spar-s· outboard of
·.
••i%~
''•

the engine. These showe_d front and .rear spar glued joints to be
sound and .revealed no splitting· of the. booms. . .SPl.ll~- 'sections of the
rear ~par· between· Ribs 3 an~ 1 showed poor joint .of. rear web· to edgeboom
b~t .. t}fe~ 6ther jo:i.n:t.s were' sotind, the rear. web to main :top 'boom' join·t
fa~ling in. the wood when wrenched apart. . .. .
~.
.... ·: . .. . ··. - ;

The aircraft o.t :No.l C~M.U. had mostly spent ~po:u.t ...l.l.~ontP,s in
S. E • .A. c. and flovm less than 80. ho-qrs each, implying 'that they had spent
·a long 'time standing -a:bout, probably in storage at Mainte.n-ance Unitsr
The investigati on was continued dl:lring the visi·t to .390 M. U•. Seleta.r
(See 2.5(a) below).

(b) ·yveather.ing Test. A. :Mosquito wing :b..ad rec~ntly been. cut up·.
. :·
ci?.d sect-ions were .:photographe d· and dispatched to· u. Ki [1.3 exompl'es of'
deterio:t'·n.te d structure. , We s·uw. the remains of: this. wing. ·which hq.d been
k'ept· indoors since cutting. . But the sections hci.d ·suff-ered by d.rying
out t:b..rough end grain._ = The t'·op surfn.c'e had been very bQ.dly weathered
• .I

6-
 ... .·.·
.. R• .:.~.E. Tech. Note No. SI~:.iE. 364
by erazing of the dope· film and complete deterioration of the fabric,
leadi~ to' watersoakage· of the top ply. . The ailerqn and flap s:b_rouds
were badly deteriorated by watersoa~age. · These defects were not
surprising because it was learnt that the aircr.aft :b~d been written
off due to its bad condition and then, left standing out tJ:'l..roug'h another
monsoon with no maintenance whatsoever.
(c) Modifications •.:·... · ~i6.st ·ail the ·aircraft. h~d unde~­ the
carriage·· door, po'sitive locks. (Iv.Iod.499) and the strengthened escape
:b~tch (Mod.409) incorporated.. Parts were .. awaited for 1'iod.l005,
weathering strips; and the· aileron and fl..ap<t,..inge bracket reinforce-
ment modifications. · Frequent re~lacements:qf undercarriage cracked
wood packing ·b:l0cks under the rear spar have.·:to be made and the. unit
desired a supply of compressed fibre blocks~ as these were said to
have a longer life. ·.

2. 4 · R. A. F. Hmawbi, Bunna
...
Reports of web separation had... b'een received f'rom 47 ·Squadron at
Hmawbi. While held .up in B.angoon; · en route tO" ·singap6-re~ ··vve visited
Air H. Q. Burma and .R.A .. P. Station F.mawbi. ._;:: :. · · · -~ -~
···:-~
•• surface,
Mosquito VI H~ R~ 523 had many lines of dope cracks -on its top wing .
The starboard rear spar over· a short length outside. the fuse-
lage had ·been exposed· by cutting n:rray a piece of s:b_roud sk:in. The rear
web had be.en separated- from the edgeboom (reported to have been full
depth of edgeboom) but the·gap had been plugged·with glue before we
ar.r.ive<1:. There was slig.ht discolouro:l:;ion of the top cut edge of the
-rreb ply :indicating a little moisture int.I'usion but tf1..is·-may·.P,ave arisen
from condensation and not f'rom n:ny general water intrusion.:··, The·
flap ,shroud skin to
eageboom joint was· only effect'ive over ·about one
fifth, of its al?ea'due: to -a b'adly me~de glue joinJG :in manUfacture~ · In
th&i; nacelle regiori the· web had not separate·a:·- but·:the top of· the flap
· · jaqk,: pad had parted slightly from the web face.· - The rear ·web ."separa-
tib'n did not continue ··in way of the fuselage~. The aircraft at ·Hmawbi
had;'been standing out· for a long time -durin[; ··vv-hich they had· flovm
'. : · ·
little..· · .• · · · ··

2. 5 ·, H~ O.A. C~ S. E. A. nnd R.A.F. -Seletor·, Si11gn.pore

•
o! .. ~.. o o

• ~: ..f
H. Q.A.• c. s. E. A. were very vtorried about the le..rge number of
. 'Mosquitos with separated vreb joints to the edgeboom on front and rear
Inspection of all aircraft'was still ln progress and returns
spars.
·Were incomplete. · We investigated ·many cn.ses o.t 89· and 119 Squadrons,. tr~~~r
-and 390 M. U. n.t Seletar. · · ... l .. :::=.:
..
: .. Jl
;
J

Exmination .of'.· rhn.ny aircraft was m£'.de k-:_::~~:~

i :.·· ••
(a) Wing spar: defects.
to continue the investigation begup ~t ·KDnphro.po.r.o. ·($ee 2. 3(a) above) ..
The inspection s:b.owed sirnilat> seporatio.n of the ree.r ·spar web from the
edgeboom betvv-een the fusclo..ge side end just outbon.rd of the engine
nn.celle. It reve~ed.n.lso that there we~ separation betw~en the
front spar web and the eBgeboom in u few cases. TJ:1..is occur~eP. lo~D.lly
just outboc.rd of the nc~cclle, Q.Ud D.ls.o between the nn.celle· ~d the
fuselc:>.ge·, o.. very· dfff:i:cill:-f region to inspect. :Details· of_ typical
ai.I'draft at>e given in Appendix . IV.

Several. spD.l? septions were cut out of the' wings and on being
b.I'oken dovm ~evec~ed sound joints in ~i cuses except the web to ;J "· ·.-·••

• · edgeb.oom joints· wJ:1..ich -rre're· olmost invc.riably badly ·made and parted = .... :

· easily in the gtu~{ line.· · Some sper sections vrere noticeably disi:iorted
· due ·to differerrtiff1··m0vement ·:of tl~e wood, but t:b..is had not CD.UE?eP.
splitting of booms nG..'l:"opening of joints; n.n example is sketched in· !'"'• ....
Fig.4. This figure ['..lso sJ:'l.ows how the rcini?'Jrcing strips along the

- 7 -
 Ro Ao Ee Tech. Note No. Sl':iE, 364
front spar bottom boom had warpe d avay from the Yveb iri
one case; and a
local separ ation or web to bottom boom proba bly cause
d by diffe renti al
woqd movement betwe en a sold~_er pos·l:i and the boom.
A common .featu re
was a ridge of fabri~ and· crack ed d9pe' runni ng out
over the butt
join~ in the t,op skin over· t~e· spar (see Fig.
4), sugge sting worl~ing
of t}-l..e joint from swelli l}g and shrink age of :the timbe
r. With the
prote ctive cover thus drunaged water could seep in and
down .to the boom
t}-l~ough gaps in the dried up and broke n bits of
fille r in the joint
(the fille r was invar~ably in that condition)~ Water could lodge
there and might cause deter iorat ion of the top skin
glue joint s. Tpe
outer cover ply strip to be provi ded by 1\1:ocl.l005 yfill
guard again st
this water intru siqn. Work on the ~edification had only just
begun in S.E.A .C. · T}-l~s weath ering strip modi ficati
on canno t be.
expec ted to reduc e the web separ ation troub les appre
ciabl y becau se
the majo rity of them are not assoc iated vrith vvater. .intru
sion ..
Follow b1g defec ts in India in 1944 of the edgeb oom,
inner . skin,
and ·web join·b s, it was under stood tp.at great er care
was talcen early
in 1945 in manu factur e to ensur e that: (a) the edgeb
oom was· a good
fit; and (b) that it was secure~ held in both direc

• •
tions durin g glue
s'ettin g. Aircr aft manu factur ed after about Febru ary 1945 might
there fore be expec ted to suffe r less from web separ ation
defec ts.
Only four sucl'1 aircr aft, all Mk:. 34, were avail able at
Selet ar, and
· on inspe ction we fotmd· all to pe .fr~ee from _-the defec
ts, ~xcept for a
small local gap in the· nacel le regio n of one of them.-
Later howev er
(~t 308 M. U. Allah abad) it was obser ved that a
numb.~r of aircr aft of
qui,te late manu factur e had,. .-vy-eb separ ation defe.c ts.:
..
· .A~e~eral inspe ction of all vdngs at selec ted posit
ions (inclu ding
the ·fron t spar outbo ard of the engin e)- was arran ged
in consu ltatio n w:!.th
-q.s and the de Havil land repre senta tives .. It. was agree d that aircr aft
with full web to edgeboom separ ation could be flovm
(stra ight and level
only) to an M.U. for repai r, but those (if any) where
sep~ation exten ded
into the main top boom joint shoul d be groun sied. By the middl e of
Febru ary the resul ts of this· inspe ction revea led that
over ha.lf of the
:Mosq uitos in s. E. A. c. were unser vicea ble due to rear
web separ ation ,
but only a few of. these had front spar web p['..I'ti ng (that
1s, n:t Rib 4
or outbo ard, there being no inspe ction inboa rd at that
time)~ ·The
majo~ity are se~ious cases and will requi

•
re exten sive repai r.

•
repai r schem e (Mod. l008) has now beenp :-epar ed by do A new
Havill aY;lds ,. but
this too will entai l a consi derab le an1ouri·t of ·work on
each D.irc raft;
and there are acute short ages of skill ed perso nnel.

2.6 R.N.A .s. Trinc omale e, Ceylo n

.
A small numbe r of 1vll<:. 25 Canad ian built Mosq uito. aircr
recen tly been recei~ed E~d we~e stand ing out in the
aft had .· ........
~

open. On~ two

were being used - for dai~ meteo rolog ical fligh ts to
40,00 0 ft. -
and one of these was unser vicea ble due to on awkvfard
elect rical fault~
As the 'Unit had ..no' techn ical publi cation s· qr groun d
eq~ipment fol' the
aircr aft and had no previ ous exper ience vvi th Mosq uitos,
repai r and
maint enanc e are diffi cult and requi re impro visati ou.
On sever al of
·the aircre .f-t; stand ing out, the. top surfo.. ce dope (to
.D. T.D. 8.3AY had
crack ed on wings and tailpl anes. We stron gly advis ed :t;p.at the air-
craft shoul d be store d in hariga rs, as these could be
made avail able;
aJ..so that great care shoul d be taken to keep the prote
ctive cover in
good order . TJ:i-is is pe..rt iculnr ly impor tan-t becau se we ..were given
tinder stand th~t it is unlike~ that major repai rs such to
as recov ering
a wing corl be done. local ly. At the time of visit ing,t he unit had not
recei ved aqy inspe ction instru ction for.spc~ web separ
ation . We·
recom mende d that the Mosq uitos held in storcg e shoul
d be flov~ ut.
regul nr inter vals to venti late them.

- 8
 R.l~..o E.. Tecl1o No·'Ge No. SI•:IEo 364
2.7 Conclusions on Mosauito

During our visit the serious and vddespread defect of web

separation from eageboom came to light. Defects,d~~· to bad.manufacture
were being found on fuselages. Otherwise, apart from the .normal
deterioration pf top surface dope and fabric, the aircraft seemed to be ,·

withstanding the conditions sati~f~ctorily.

The wing spar web. separation defects were caused by combinations

of

faulty manufacture
differential movement of' the. wood (with change in moisture content)
deterioration by moisture •

.Almost invariably the joints had failed in the glue line; the glue
layer was too t:b..ick, unevenly spread giving bare patches, or had in-
sufficient pressure applied during setting, leaving areas of no contact.

Wood movement to a certain degree is inevitable but did not

•
appear to be the primary cause of the particular defects. Clearly

• a badly made joint will have little chance under distortion of the
spar ·section particu~arly if the joint becomes loaded in tension.
In such circumstances a .gooq join·(; may also fail, but would norma;Lly
do s:> by pulling out a layer. of. the wood. From the sections of spar
cut out it was evident that the wood movement had not been unduly
large, nor had it caused partition of the main web to boom joints, nor
'
i:

splitting of the booms (see Figs.4 and 7). It was noted that the
annular ring direction of solid wood members, such as edgebooms and top
skin stringers was inconsistent. Greater advantage could have been t •
taken of the unequal dimensional changes of wood in different directions
although it is appre·ciated that such careful selection has been diffi-
cult during the war.

Water soakage had in a few instances caused deterioration of the

urea formaldeP-Jt-de glue in the rear spar ·web joint defect. To cause
complete breakdovvn of this type of glue quite excessive and prolonged
soakage is required and it is doubtful if such conditions existed•
.Again it ·can be assumed that joints so affected were originally vreak

• •
and did not require an excessive amount of water soakage to cause
failure. Free water might h~ve entered through the Butt joint to the
shroud skin or come from condensation from o. saturated internal ! . -·
atmosphere.

The general top surface deterioration arises from standing exposed ~*W
in the., J:1..ot sun. . No provision had been made to protect the aircra:f•t. ,}'
.,~ ~ . ~
froin ·the sun, ~uch as by layers of native matting as suggested py :Dr. - · : ·... · 4 .... :~

Pryor ( qf R. A. E. ) after a visi·c to India in Dec.l944. The aircraft I

t
not on squadron strength spend their life at storage units and dp ·
practicalJ.y no flying - for instance HR. 521 had been about 12 montl;ls in
India mostly in storage yet had only done about 20 P..ours flying ;in tP.aJc
pe.l:'iod~:

. ·There had been four structural breakage accidents to Mosquitos

in fl~ht in 1945, and these are discussed in section 8.

3 Horsa

There. were a number of Hors a gliders er-ected· ·ana standing. ·out in !•'
I·
the operi at No. 1 c. :M. U. Kanchra.para, Nr. Calcutta~ Many others were thex-e
in crat,es, and wi1·1 be erected when required. . · A number of the·. erected
gliders had casein glued rear fusel8ges, but the remainder of the..
aircraft were synthetic resin glued. The doors were being opened each

- 9-
'I . : :· R.l.~.. E. Tech. Note. No. Si1·iE ..
morning and closea:· at .·night •... There was a certain -.amount of fabric
and dope deteriora·ti on. '· The gen~ral condition o~ the aircrB.ft struc-
ture appeared .t·o 'be sati~:f'~c-Gocy .th;ere bei~ no obv:i~us wood or glue
364

.. defects or deterior~tiop•. The,gliders were not 'being flovm regularly.

Tne conditi·on of these .. Horsas is being watched by Mr.D.G.Br'ad e, R.D.
Airborne representat ive, lvi.A.P. Tec'h11.;i.cal·-Mission· ~o B~.A.F.S.E.A.
·.. .. "'
~.

4 Oxford · ·
••,::~ ~ ~
. ,., ·.
• i ., • ,_:• : ~. ,, • I • ' .... • .,

Major overhaul and. repair qf: Oxfords :vras seen at No • .3 C.lVI. u.

at· "Cavmpore, b~ing done. ·almo~t w[l..olfJ..Y···by Inclians. A certain amou.'I"J.t
o"! timber shrinkage' is opse~ed ;fo;r-. in-stance at the root fittings which
are shiJn!Ile~ and t:igp.tened ,!lP•,. . Some :wa:ter· soakage trouble occurs 'at
v.arious places ··.such as fn the :.r:udder. ·.s[l.rotids on the fin and at the base
of the ster~ post·•... · · ·:· · . ~ · · · ' ·
. ..
Ox:('ord aircraft wer.fj seen .. at several other places notabJ.y at
R. N. A. s. KatukururiB.a., Ceylon. In general they C?-ppeared to be .
standing up ~ell to the. conditions, giving little wea~pering trouble
and seemed to haye a.more ·durable top surface protective than other
wocd~n aircraft (it is understood that the D.T.D.83A used-by· Airspeeds

• is made by a different firm from that 'used on other aircraft).·

5 ·
5~1
Adhesives

Synthetic Resin
•
. ·.
It is considered the perforJUance . of urea-formalde P.JTa.e glue has
been· good. Very few instances.o f glue· deteriorati on were seen~
Prolonged water soakage had- broken doWn some joints but there Yvas
some doubt whether the particular joints liad been proper~ made"in
manufacture . Many joints haa. .failed in the giue· line but this v7as
primarily due to bad manuf~cturing tec[l~ique," such 'as inadequate
pressure, bad contour, uneven spreading and th;Lck l;Lnes.. A l:L~i ted
amount of' erazing was seen due to the last· condition •

. No joints .'made with phenol f'ormaldehyd e giue were seen but in

vie:vr ·of their better durability than urea formaldeP.JTde· it .. is. reasonable
to suppose th?-t no troubl~ will be experienced with ·them.· ·

• !). 2 Casei..11
. ...
Very few casein joints were seen~ but in some deterib~ation was
well advanced. · This took the usual .:ro.r.in of softening and discolou.rat ion.
Worse deteriorati on has been met in the U.K. and it i~ tP.Dught that the
higher temperature s. of the East ·are a det..ei.r.ent to the ~re active fungi.
.-
~~\~l~
•. I • I
I o

It. is unforttmate that cas~in has to .be used for the. rep-air· of'
wooden aircraft overseas; it is hope~ that· it'vdll soon-~~ practicable
to use synthetic resin as in the U.Ko The worst.cas~in deteriorati on
seen was on joints made in repair and not. in original manufacture ;
this may be because the joints had be!en· ·made under a:d've.rse ?limatic
conditions and had beep stressed before properly set •. · It is clearly
desirable that the use of casein SP.Duld be terminate.d as soon as
popsible. ·
'•

At all units visited an investigati on was ·made into the stocks

of' casein kept f'9r repairs~ . It was disconoery:!-: ng to find t:Pn.t, .t~e.
approv.ed U.K~ mo.kes were practically u;nknoYm, ·and no st~cks were held
by the R.A.F~ · The only ~apein beld wn.s Aerofix, mnnu~actuted by S.U.
l-.
Peterson nnd Co. Ltd. , New Zea:f.andi··.. the. tin l9-qels. s~~ted. t~at th~
materio.l conformed to speci.f~cations ·3. V. 2 (now· obsolete) and 4. V. 2· r•
(current). On fUrther investigati on, it was found that the_materin l

- 10-
··.r
I'
!·
 --· - - ... -\I -;- - - - · • ""'""."""-- ./.."!"-"' • )..JJ..J.,L.;Jo .JV~

~~been approved locally during the war ovdng to dirficult.Y in .1

obtaining supplies from. the U.K. At Trincomalee the Navy had one
tin of Lactocol which bore the date 3lsJG January, 1940. This had
deteriorate d and was the only stock •held for repairs. A smal;L ·:.
sample was t·a.ken to De:b..ra Dun and it has 'sinc-e'. been learnt that the
cement ~ailed•at half the min~~_specificati6n figure •

. ·: · In ~ieW of the: varying cbnditions of storage it w~s ~uggested

..':t.ha,.t .all .stocks of C'asein held· in the East should be regarded as
doubtful after a life of 12 months ru1d s:b~uld be tested .before use.
If found to be satisfactor y, the material s:b~uld be used and period-
ically tested until unsatisfact ory test results. are obtained. A
visit was -made to t-he headqu~ters ·of ':the R.A.F~ .·Aircraft Inspection
. Service in Calcu·tta .-,?'here. su'ch :·tests are made. ' It vvas found that
all joints ·tested: to specificat1o 'n 4c v·. 2 were 1rlaa:e with spruce test
~lips ~d not ~eech ones as sp~cified~ .As ·would be expec~ed this
procedure was .giving failing loads wluch could.not be correlated
vd th those specified. .Arrangemen ts were made·· for a supply of beech I •

slips to be· dispatched from U.K. immediately. -

The stock scarcity and deterioratio n is 'f?er:j:ous. .. ·Tfl;e 'feW units

' wb..ich we.re fortunate. enough to possess any glue were never·' sh~e as to
its reliability . At Seletar, Singapore, where only one tin of doubt-

• 6
:fu_l c.asein vras held, a sample had to be flown to Calcutta for testing
at ~ -time when a large repair programme was in hand.

Monitor wing weathering trials

•
A Monitor wing had been sent to Ceylon- f.or long-· ferm weathering
trials to be made at R. N. A. S. Katukurunda . It will be ex·ected on an
exposed site' a~nd a periodic·in spection made for deterioration~ .WP..ile
i;n Ceylon:, the wing ·.was located· and seen at Colombo docks. .The·
packing case measured 99' 6" x 9' 6 11 . x 4 r 9". and weighed 3 tons· 16 cwts.
It had been standing on. the 'quay· for some time ovdi1g to d.ifficul ties
of r.oad transportat ion t_o katuku.runda . . ·:
! '·.
\

. The. officer-in-c harge had the case ·opened for us· to examine
for reterioratio n caused by the journey from the U.K. The case
itself was in excellent condition and showed no evidence of water
soakage. ·It is not knovm··wheth er i~G was shipped as deck c~go .
but this is v~ry likely due to its s~ze. ·

•
The wing was in one span and incorporate d two finishes - the
starboard half being silver, and the port ca1nouflage. ··The wing was
securely fixed in cradles with wing tips stow~d separ~tely. Certain
defects were observed as follows.
.,.
· · · '· · ·'. · ...· . :~ : -- · ·
! •

. (i). The port camoufiaged top sut•face dL?ffiag.e~ by. was_

scratches iv-vp..ich expose.d ·the skin. · It is t~~ught tYiat tP..is damage
must have been done in packing as it was unlikely ~o have happened
· in transit and was: certainly not done _during ope~:lng_ up .of the c~se
'in 6ur presence. • •• .. .. . . . . . • • f

(ii) The dope on both port and. starboard pides was peeling
off' metal· fixtures such as inspection covers~ .;. •. 1 •t•.' ••
. . ..
~ .
(iii) The metal packing ·angle supports· were showibg: signs
of corrosion. They wE!re stovved sepa.rn.tely. .. · · · 1
' ~ .
. . .
(iv)'' The metal finilges . ·f'or wing 'tip at'tachment. Vvere. • tj
corroCJ?.ng in .the b'olt···:b.oles:, iU though1 tne· fianges hud bee:ri· painted,
the ~~les a:-_ppeo.red to be untreated. . rt· is. possible,' tho.t"'at some time,
a film of preservativ e· such as ~nnolin had been prese~~ ·but this w~~
not evident at the· time of examination . ·· · · · · ·,;.
., .
. - 11-
 . ( v) The transparent w:i,.ng tip navigation light covers :b..a.d
shrunk badly. _They appeared ·bo be cellulose acetate. On the star-
t. boar<;!. .side th~ sJ:l..rinkage had been sufficient to distort the· screws.
securing it tq.the frame. It ·should.be noted that these had not been
exposed to direct sun. rays, but enclosed in the case since leav.ing U.K.

7 Research Establis:b.m ents in India: . .· ..

7.1 Forest Research I.n_sti~u~ehra Dun

A frontal view: of the main building of' the F.Re I .. · ·is. given in
Fig.l. It co~tains ext~nsive,impressive, and well equipped. modern
. .soientifi<? laboratori·e s dealing with every aspec·l:; of wood from forestry,
wood destroying _insects, fungi, mechanical c:b~acteristics, preserva-
tion, and methods of utilisation . Excellent museums are attached to
each branc}1_. Dr. Narayap.amu rt'i, officer in charge of seas9ning,
preservatio n, and composite wood sections conducted us around the

•.
Insti'tute·.
~:~~~:~
-In common with trials now proceeding· in other countries, wing t- -

•
temperature and moisture measurement s are·being made on a number of
aircraft components ·set up in ·!:;he open, (see Fig. 2). . There were ,,,;,
Mosquito, 1.1aster, Anson and Oxford wings.,-. and a Horsa tail unit. All
were erected in May,. 194-5 and re-doped by·. the R. A. F.; They- Bre wired
with thermocoupl es and various types of wood samples are housed in
the. interior compartment s for moisture change observation s.· · A great
deal of data has been obtained and is now being correlated for inc+usion
.in. the.first report which will be ayailable sJ:1nrtly.

All· the components· wer~ badly deteriorate d. ·No maintenance has

.been done and it is ·chus i{o be expected that· serious de"ceriorat·i on of
the top surfaces, cellulose acetate panels and casein glue would
result.· In service such advanced deteriorati on of the prote.ctiv,e cover
would not be allowed to occur on serviceable aircraft. In one ··instance-
Master wing- the ~op-ply sRin.had deterio~~ted.so badly ~h~t a section
· J:l..a.d to be patched to prevent atrect entry- of wn:ber. It was eyid~t
that the doping scheme (to D.T.D.83A) had long ceased to giye ~
proteption to the components.

•
Casein cemen:t J:1..a.d naturn.lly -deteriorate d uncler these conditions c.nd
was detected by its characteris tic bad smell, discolourat ion, loss of
adhesion and fungus. ~celium and fruiti~ bodies were ·se~n on the
trailing edge of thq ·.A.nson wing.

Most of the components J:i..ad cellulose acete~te :Pairings over navi-

.:
·.-

i~I~~
.. gn.tion and landing lights. The shri:nking and cracking of' this mo.terio.J..
was excessive.

Trials are also proceeding on the effect of vn.rious pre~ervo.ti ves

c..nd finishes on plywood. Panels are laid ~ut. in D.n exposed pO'si tion,
each' embodying a different type of _glue.,. .. Some ·had preservative s- in the
glue, 8Ud others in or on the veneers. ~ report is in preparation by
the F.R.I. on these trials.

The work 2n hand on aircraft matters' was discussed with the

President, Mr. D. Stewart. It was mutually o.greed. that ·close co-opero.tio n
and exchange .of information -was desirable. The Institute wo.s .very·
interested in the recent Australian work on the effect of' J:1.igh t emperc.-
tures on the strength of wood c.md was contemplati ng doing similnr
i;nvestigati ons.' We agreed thut ·this would be. useful 'DUd that we. Would
exch~e detcils of proposed. experimenta l work a.t ~ ln.ter do.te·. ·~ ·The
President s tc.ted that .the Institute would be· pleased to undertclce ffilY
worl~ that: vie considered desirable in the future. ·. · Iil view of· the· vrood

12 -
...
 \
R. A. Ea Tech. No·te No. SlvlE. 364
nnd glue problems WP~ch have arisen from time to time in the East it
i's conside~ed very helpful to 'have such 'good facilities. available..
_4..r~al?gements n~v:e been made for a consignment of Aeroli'te 306 to b'e
~.ent .to the Institute for storage trials, and certain o,ther it~ms
·such as"strain· gauges, synthetic resins - redux, phen61ics, ~d
. resorcinal.:.. literature and drawings are to follow. .. .

Ordnance Laboratories1 Cawnpore·

·.
The laboratories of. the Inspectorate 0f General ·Stores were · ·
seen af'te:r Vi$i ting No. 3 C. Ivi. U. at Cawnpore. These were excellently .
equipped, large !node.~n laboratories for chemistry, pP,ysic.s.~ textiles,
entomology~ biology, fuels and lubricants, met~lurgy, aJ?.d. me'chanical
testing. The EstablisP~ent does a fair amount of work'for'the R.A.F.
who ~eep ·a liaison officer :there. · ·

7. 3· R.A.F. Research· and Development Fli~ht, ·aawnpore

The R & D Flight; develop special installations n:nd mbdlfJ:cations, [...-·-;:-=

and conduct e~perimental. flig~~ .work on them. The organisation is
smal'l but iri a.ddiJcion ·to its flight vrork has managed,. to do e:>.."}Josure.
types doped ~anels mld internal ~~mperature measure-

•
tests on various oi'

• ments on them,. ·Of' interest are the ~~gh durability obtained' ·with
_tunerican dopes, 3118. the much Io•iver skin t~mperatur~,s recorded wit?.
Bluminium dope. compared with normal camoufloge finish. . ·.· ,.

8 Accident; s

There w~re small accident prevention sec~1ons at both A.C.S.E.A.

311d :a.A..F. S. E. A. headquarters, i.e. at Singapore and o.t Delhi. Both
had field investigators wP~ visited crash sites and conducted·
enqmrleso In cases yJi·!:;h structural fn.i.lure. or suSpected technical
cause~ en investigation would also be made by a member of the epgineering
brn.nch. It vro.s hoJ;>ed thc..t dU:ring the tour it. 17oplcl be possible to
thoroughly exruhihe ·!:;he -vrreckuge---of some. Ivrosqui to st~cturaJ.. fuilU:res
in order (c..) to compare the ch;.rc.ctcristics with those:v-v0..ich' hc.ve oqcured
in U.K. m1d (b) to discover to vrhut extent climatic effects w.ere. ~in.:.
fluencing the brea..l{cgesa ·

The only v;recknge available for exrunination was a number of wing and
.. miscellaneous pieces of T.A.l38 Qt R.A.~. Seletar, Sing~Fore.' T~~s

• aircraft had broken up over the airfield in October 1945.

of. these pieces reve0~ed that the wing h~d broken un~er ~plo~d. nt ~he
fuselage side, which is unusunl because c.ll the upload failU'r'es in· ·
U.K. have broken ou-tboard of the engine.
Examination

There vro.s however some

aefecti~-e structure at the fracture section:··· ·a iJ'D.dly_' ~~P,e glue joint
betYveen the front Sp2.!' Dnd inner top 'Skin, . and sepnrati.o:Q. ...o'f, the rear
•
spar web from the edgeboom; the front spc.r front web vras· ·missing 'but ·
in a few places along the.edgeboom a few feet outboard of the fracture
the joint ho.d failed in'. the glue lin'e' and the ~oint had no.t. been very
effecti v~. Detc?..ils of this accident ?f'e giv:en :.in. Appendix. V. Jt
see~ed 'to hav·e be·~·n caused by o.pplicn.tion of· .b.igh: g during a climbing'
• • • : • • t

ttirn. .. ;

At Hmawbi it was learnt tho.t a structural failure had occU'r'l:'ed

some months ago to Mosquito R.·F. 543 at Ipoh, :Mo.+ay?-~ .,.· It"was said .. .· ..
that tb:e. e.::!.~crnl':t broke up due to over stressing w~..ile · flY.ing ~P very
l· ... ... ·.-.
r .
bad weatl?..er·~: ··unfortunately no usefu~ information could ·be _qbt.ained for
··our purposes.

. TVvo. o.ther. Mo.squit.o stru.ct:ural ·accidents (L.R. 52~:.:~ci:;ii.R~-62-~.)

occurred in 1945, both.·in. I!?-dia; in Mn.y. No Yv~eckag·e. v_r~s avai~able
.:ana 'the te.chnico.l investigatcirs had d.is1)ersed~ .'So~e ~nforni,a.ti'on YvaS
·~
obtained from the :i.nv~sti'g~tors reports in the n<j~J..dent files· at . '

- 13 ....
 Ro .A.• E. Tech . No·be No. S1J5. 364
B.A. F.S.E .A. Some serio us attem pts had evid ently been made
to piec e
toge ther the brok en part s of the wing and
tail unit :lail ures , but in
dedu cing the mode of stru ctur al ·fail ure tr.e
inve stiga tors seem ed to
have been hand icapp ed somevvhat by poor kn·ov
rledge' o'r fligh t load s and
the way the stru ctur es with stan d them . (See Appe ndix v).
An unus ual incid ent invo lving seve re vibr atio n'in fligh
occu rred rece ntly with I1h:osquiJco XIX T.A. l90. t had
Such pers isten t vibr a-
tion occu rred that the pilo t deci ded to aban
don the airc raft , ·but as
he was doin g so the vibr atio n died dovm ano.
he resu med cont rol; fina lly
land ing the airc raft s&fe ly. The airc raft had been thorough~y exam ined
and a full repo rt had been sent to D.S.1i.i.
Air lviinistry~: ._.Thi~ repo rt
was seen at New Del}1..i. It had been 'foill ld that many of, the. b.o'lt ed-'
conn ectio ns to the stru ctur e had becom e slack
due to Food . Ehri nkag e, and
that in some part s. of the wing struc ture
there were par.: cial failu res
of rib join ts. The sour ce of the vibr ation was repo rted
the tailp lane fron t spar fitti ngs due to tp have been
slack arisi ng. from 's]:-l.rinkage
of bulk head 7. Vibr ation had star ted ther e and had ~xcite~-
of ailer on and vdng osci llati on.· a form
Tlus incid ent emphasis~s.the need
for insp ectin g for s}1~inkage wher e fittb 1gs
are bolt ed.to wood en mem bers,
and takin g up the slac k peri odic ally.
·

• In conc lusio n from the wrec kage seen and

from the acci dent reco rds, the char acte risti
failu res did not seem diff' eren t i'rom the
the posi tion of wing failu re on T.A. l38.
was seen to deci de the exten~ of influ ence
from info rmat ion glea ned
cs of the stru ctur al
bre.a kage s in the U.K... ·exce pt
Insu ffici ent wrec kage · ·
of clim atic effe cts on
•
stru ctur al f8ilu res.. In T. A.l.3 8 v;i.ng failu re ther e vvere glue Join
defe cts ·ir:b.ich thou gh poss ibly vrors ened by t
cl:im atic ~ffecte (woo d move -
ment main ly) were p_r:i maril y due to faul ty
maiJ. ufact ure- ... =: : . .• , •
9 Gene ral Obse rvati ons

The ·wooden aircr~rt w]:-l..ich have been used

in Indi a an~ the.E ast
have give n a cons idera ble runount of stru ctur
al trou ble. T}1.is has been
chie fly due to thei r inabili~y to vdthst~~ld
the sever~ ~emperu~ure and
hum idity cycl es w}1..ich caus e diff eren ticl move
ment of buil t up· 'sect ions ,
dete riora tion of dope ond f'o..b ric, ~d vvo..te
r soak age with g1:ue· dete riora -
tion . It must be emph e:.sis ed thn.t the. c:..ctuo. l defe
cts e~perienced hE~;ve
gene rolly not only been due to thes e clim
atic e~fccts: ~hey have been
part ly caus ed by unsu ito.b le stru ctur al desig

• •
n, ctUd f'aul ty manu factu re.
Wooden aircr D.ft beho..ved satis f'uct orily befo
re the war, beca use they
were usua lly kept unde r cove r nnd very care
fully main taine d. Such
has not been poss ible durin g the vv-ar bece.
use of the larg e numb ers of
airc raft and cann ot be expe cted unde r oper
ation al cond ition s.
stand ing, out in the open ine-v itabl y lead~
to crac king of' the dope
m1d dete. t'io.t 'o.tio n of the fabr ic, thus p.rov
iding an entl"'Y :for wate r
to the wood en st.t'ucture~ with cons eque nt
dete riora tion of wood nnd glue .
The only cure for this is a more dura ble
dopin g schem e and the D. '.r. D.
755 schem e is now bein g intl:'O duced .

As rega rds diff eren tial move ment of the timb

er, much trou ble cnn
be avoi ded by care ful des:i gn, by n.voi ding
mass ive sect ions of wood :md
using more lnmi nate d sect ions . Diff icul ties of s~.rinknge at bolt ed
conn ectio ns coul d only be overc ome by the
inve ntion of a spec in.l
sprin g wash ar; or by deve lopm ent of o.not
her form of conn ectio n to
wood en membe.t's.

It is unfo rtun ate for o..dv ocate s of wood en

cons truc tion that
there has been so much trou ble vvi th _exis ting
exam ples of "~lvooden ci.t'-
draf t in Indi a. Due cons idera tion shou ld be give n to poss
impr ovem ents of desig n and mate rials , befo ible futu re
re conde.nm.i.ne the prin cipl e
of build ing wood en oirc raft f~or tr.op ical
u.s o.

- 14 -
 R.A. E. Tec:b... Note No. SlVlE. 364
Attached:'

Figs.l .-.7 incl.

Appendices I, II,' III, IV and V.

Circulation:

- D. T·.R. D. (.Action copy)

D.A.R.D.·· ·
N • .t,.. /D. ·.A. R. D.
D. D. A•. R. D. ·(Service)
A.D.A.R.D. Ai~borne
A.D.R.D.A.
_;.. D.R. D. N.
R.D;L.l(e)
D.;D. A. R. D. Mat •
.~.·-..D. R. D. Iviat. N.lvi.
R. D. :Mat. N .lvi." 3.
A.D.R.Structures
R.D.T.l:..cciden'Cs
R. D• ..:~. Defects

•
D.D.I.L..
C. I.-Jl.ccident s
D. p • i.....
D.O.R.
D. S.lvi.
R. T. 0. de Ho.vil·la:nd . (2):
·-
I~ i/c A. I. D. de Havilland
·-R. T. O.J.".irspeeds . (2)
H. Q. L... C. S. E • .~.'l.. ·
H. ~. B. ;!... F. S. E .. ;-..
P.P.C.O.
:D. I. P ..
R. 'r.P. /T. I. B. (140 + 1)
Director, R.~·..~E. ·
C. S. (.:.'l.). , R.·:.·i.. E •.
C•. S. (E)., R.~;..E.·
·:M:ater'i als Dept.
Ae.!:o!J De:9a:rtment
Lihrn.ry: (2) ·-

• •
!.:.

.: ~ .

' .

- 15-
.. ~ ~ • •• • • • 0 ..
 Appendix I

pia.r.y of Visits

8.12.~-5 Report to E.~~. B. A. F. S. E. A., New Delhi.

10.12.45 to With 1vi. A.P~ Tec}:l..nical Mission and Engineering Branch of

19.12.45 H.. q. B. A. F. S. E. A. ·

20.12.45 to Visit Ca-rvnpore to No. 3 C. Ho U. :: the R. A. F. Research and

22.12. 4-5 Development Flight, and the Inspectorate of General
Stores Laboratories.

24- to At E.Q.B.A.F.S.E.A. New Del}:li.

29.12.4-5

31.12.4-5 to Visit No. 308 l\Iaintenance Unit, Bamhrauli, P~lahabad.

1.1.46 '·
; ;. :.·-.

2.1.46 to Visit No.42 and 82 Squadrons R.A.E'. St. Thomas' Mount,

• •
3.1.46 1'1adras •

6.1.46 to Visit No.l C. I-,i. U. Ka.nchrapara, Nr. Calcutta

8.1.46

10.1. 46 Visit Air H. Q. Burma and 47 Squadron R• .A.F. Hmawbi,

Nr. Rangoon, Burma.

12 to Visit H. t~ • .L~. C. S. E. A. Sing a pore and spend 5 da;ys at R. A. F.

21.1.4-6 Se1etar, (at 390 l1I. U. and with No."89 and 110 Squadrons).

23 to At H. Q.. B. A. F. S. E. A., Ne-rr Delhi.

30.1.46

4. 2. 4-6 Visited Capt. Joy Senior Air Engineer Of'f'icer, H. q. Flag

Officer (Air) East Indies at Katu._"lcurunda, Ceylon.

6 to Visit R. N. A. s. Trincomalee, Ceylon~

7. 2.46

• 12.2.46

13. 2.46

14 to
At H.q.B.A.F.S.E.A., New Delbi.

Visit No. 308 lvi. U. , Bambrauli,

At H.\~.B.A.F.S.E.J.~.., Nevv Delhi.

Allal•~bad. •
16. 2.4-:6

18 to Visit Forest Research Institute Dehra Dun (photo. Fig.l).

19. 2.46
20.2.46 At H.(:). B.l:~..F. S.E.A., New Delpi .. · (Last day in India).

- 16-
 I Appen dix II
!
/ bbsqu ito fusela ge defect s invest igated
/
I
at 308 M. U. Allaha bad

On a second visit to 308 M.U. some recen tly discov ered fusela
ge
defect s vrere invest igated . They all proved to be prima rily due to
faulty manuf acture . Detai ls are given below and illust rated in Fig. 5.

li.R.291
There was a circum ferent ial ridge on the port top region
forvva rd
of bulkhe ad four in the tPinne r skin just aft of the skin
scarf joint.
The ridge was one-e ighth inch in height and about 12 inches
long by 2
inches wide. The outer skin had not been glued to the balsa in manu-
factur e due to lack ~r contac t. The defect seemed to have been brough t
to notice by buckli ng of the outer skin U..."1der the compr essi
ve load from
tail up b<::nding of the fusela ge. The inner skin a11d balsa layer were .
bo·wed invrard s slight ly (about 1/32 inch). Bad alignm ent of the outer
skin scar:f joint may have aggrav ated the defect by provid ......
ing a local ..
--~-"

offset of the load just where the skin lacked s tabili sation
from the
bclsa core.

• R.F.666
There was a· slight circum ferent ial bulge on the port top
just aft of the strEJ:_p over bulkhe ad No. 3e
there had been no sepn.r ation of the s8lldw ich.
s2ae
Cuttin g op.en reveal ed that
:But the balsa ·had been
•
cut awqv far too deep~ to accormnod~te the tPin wood former
on the
inner skin. . This vras o. manui 'acturi ng error, . ~-rJ.-lich left
a weak sectio n
which presum ably had distor ted under loo.d.

H.X.90 0

The strap over bulkhec ..d three h~d pnrted from the fusela ge
locall y in the glue line on the starboc ..rd side. The joint h~d prob~bly
not been mo.de vvi th suffic ient pressu re. Wc..ter penet ration ho.d ~ssisted
by causin g deteri oratio n of the glu,e •.

Water soakng e hr~d caused separa tion oi' the outer skin from
the
bclso.. co.l:'e c.round the vent pipe exit on the starbo nrd side.

• H.J.73 0

On the stnrbo nrd top surfo.c e c..ft of bulkhe o.d 1\fo. 3 there
distin ct hump. Cuttin g open revec.. led tho.t Dll joints were sound,
nnd thus the hump D..l:'ose from gener cl lD.ck of profil e ..
1-vas o. •
Aft of bulkhe ad th..ree on the sturboc .:.rd sicle the longit udina
l
scarf in the outer skin was peelin g open over sever al feet.

- 17 -
 Ty-pical lVIosqui to w~ng defec·ts examined
at No.l C.1V1. U. Kanc:b.rapara

P~l aircraft were without the ~bd.l005 weathering strips over

front and rear spars. Inspection was made in a similar manner to
Drg. A.l044 by cutting out pieces of the shroud skin and testing for
web separation by feelers at a number or places on rront and rear
spars. The low flying houx·s of these aircra:f't usually indicate
that they have spent mont oi· their time stnncling about at J.,{. U. and
not with squadrons (the first 30 hours or so are taken in testing
and flying out from U.K .. ). .ill these aircraft had been manufactured
with synthetic resin glues. For genex·al discussion of defects see
.section 2. 3.

H.R.552
Rear spar. . Separated from edgeboom continuously from ribs 1
to 4 for 1 inch depth (15 thou. feeler)~ Both wings similar. Failed.
in thick glue line •

• Front spar. Web parted from edgehoom locally in glue line at

engine side near rib 4 for 1± inch depth (2 thou. feeler).
vrings similar.
Both
starboard nose rib at engine side parted from spar
due to water soa~age.

Completed on 31. 10. 4li. by Standat·d l\iotor Co. and since flovm
79.45 hours to·tal.
H.R.521
Rear spar. Continuous separation of web at edgeboom in glue
line from rib 4 to inside fuselnge, on both vring s, but vror se on
starboard side (at rib 2 sepuration of 1* inch depth vath 30 thou.
gap at top). Butt joint over edgeboom had evidently worked as a
sharp ruckle with cracked dope ho.d formed in the :fabric.

vYing top surface generally vras poor, ·bhe dope being cracked
in many places along the grein of the top ply.

• Completed on 20.10 .. 4-4- by Standard Motor Co. and flown 50.45

hours total. Most of life spent at 3l5 lvi~ U. and at No.l C.l\1. U., in
storage in India.

R.F.734
•
Rear spar. Separation of Vleb to edgeboom was confined to a
1 inch depth from rib 3 to rib 4 (nacelle bay). S8me signs of wa-Ger
penetration were present. The separation, which was in the glue line
was greatest at the flnp ~inge and undercarriage attac~Jment blocks.
Both vring s similar·. ·

Completed on 26.2.45 by Standard Motor Co. and flovm 51 nours

total. Spent 8 months in B~EeA,C.

R.F.593
Rear spar. Starboard rear spcr web parted from edgeboom betw·een
fuselnge ~d n~celle for fu:l depth of edgeboom, vdth no penetratton into
main top boom joint. Fn.ilure occurred in the glu~ line, and the web Y/as
distinct~ bowed bacbvnrds suggesting warping behveen securing screws.

Completed on 14.12.44- by Standard lviotor Co. and flovm. 58.40 hours

toto.l. Spent 11 months in S. E. A. C. ·

- 18 -
 R....'.... Ee '.rech. Note Noo S:!iiEc 364

each other at the centre; and distortio n fonvards of the top of the
edgeboom; these being due to dif£eren tial wood movement with change
in moisture content (see Figs.4 and 7). On the port vring there was
rear web separatio n for the· full depth of the edge boom froin aoout
rib 2 to 5, but no failure ·of the web to main boom joint.

Front spar. .A short length was cut out between rib 5 and just
outboard of rib· 4,- 1Nhere separatio n between the yv-eb and edge boom had been
found in the ·glue line. Breakdown of the cut ou·c length revealed areas
of no contact of the -vveb to edgeboom. .All other joints were found to
be sound; the frontweb to main top ·boom' exhibitin g a "case hardened"
failure Of the type USUally f'Oill1d Yvhen the plyvvood has oeen inadequa tely
sanded. There was some -rarping of the reinforci ng strip on the outside
of the v-rebs along the botJGom boom (see Fig. 4). They had parted from
the uebs slightly for a depth of about a half inch. There was slight
local sJ:l..rinkage separa:cio: n-· of the vv-eb at· the top laminatio n of the
bottom boom, probably due to differen tial movement between the soldier
post and the boom (see Fig.4). At rib 7 the £rant spar section was.
sound. .At 18 inches inboard of rib 3 a piece of the front web \Vas
removed and revealed a thick glue line with areas vrhich had never been
in contact with the edgeboom.· Tl;e joint to the main boom was sound.

• total.
Built by Standard Motor Co. in Noverhber 19411- and flovvn 74 hours
S~ent 14 months ~~ S.E • .A.C.

R. F. 943 :Nik:. VI

The only defect ;/;as separatio n of the starboard rear ·web to edge-
boom f'or 4 inches out from the fuselage side vrith depth varying betvveen
~ inch ana. B; inch4!_

T. A. 142 ll1k. XIX

Rear spar. Web separatio n from et]geboom on starboa.t..d- ·wing f6r

full depth of edgeboom from ribs 1 to 2. TP.e edgeboom and web still
had slight water soakage.. There was a very poor joint between the
edgeboom and s:b..roud sl:in, possibly ·assisted by deter~oration of the
glue from ;,-rater entering t:b..rough the butt joint, which vras only covered
by bulged ru1d cracked fabric ru1d dope. Inside the fus~lage·there was
. only about one-eightp _ incl:l deep separ3.tio n of Yreb from edgeboom. On
the port vring there vras three-eigh~ch inch deep parting in the gl"ue line

• over 4 inches locally at rib 2 •

Built in December 1~44 by de Havillnnd s ru1~ _fiown 110- hours.

Spent 12 months in S.E •.A.C.

R. G. 119 :Mk. X"\TI

On the starboard wing there ;,vas rear· web separatio n from 'rib 1
to 18 inches outboo.rd, vnrying from t inch to the full depth of the
edgeboom. A s:b~rt length of parting was present near rib l on the port
wing. This aircraft had h~d its inspectio n holes repaired and had been
flovm from its sg)1o.dro11:. at Bangkok to 390 Ivi. U•. for repair of the web.

1vlk. 34 Aircraft

Four Ivrk. 34 aircraft delivered to 684- Sauadron ·betvreen June and

October 1945 and thought to huve .been manufactu red after February 1945
(vn!en inspection·o~ fit of edgeboo~s.wns improved) were ~spected at the
selected plQces on front nnd rear spars (this did not cover inspectio n of
the front spo.r .inboard of rib 4, as such-v;,as impracticable)~ .All had
been roughly six mon~hs in S. E. A~ C. Tb:;.ir condition wc.s good except as
follows:-

- 20 -
 Typical :Mosquito wing detects investiga ted at;
No. 390 lvi. U. Seletar:, Singapore

.All aircraft except Dome l~ecently received (I\ik: • .34) Were Without
the Mod.l005 weatherin g strips over :eront anc1 rear spars. In no case
was there any wood or elue deteriora tion unless definitel y .mentioned .
For discussio n of the general character istic3 and causes of the defects
see sect.ion 2. 5.

. R. F. 604 Iv!k. VI

Rear spar. Betvr~en. ribs 1 and 4 on the port vring the vieb had
parted. from the edg~boom all 'along. The failure occurred in a bad:iy
glued joint. The web vras bovied backrm.rds bet1-veen securing screvrs.
But the edge boom rear f'ace had become. inclined so that at the .top it
was out of the plane of the rest of the ,vreb . (see example sketched in
Fig.-4). The shroud skin vras. levered off the.. edgebooEl and the f.t:acture
gave a 11 case hardened" appearanc e i.e. glue layer left on·· the .boom and
carrying only a few small fibres from the plyvrood - usually ~ indica-
tion of insuffici ent sanding of the plywood "case hBJ."deneo2' sur:race.
At rib 2 a. piece of reer web joineCl. to the 1aain top boom vvas 'remoYed,
and its glue joint found to be satis.fact ory. There was evidence of
a little vv-eatherin g due to moisture on· tl1e top of the vreb, but ·rrater
could not have reached it from the butt joint, beco.use the shroud
skin ~as well joined to the edgeboom.

Built in December 1944 by Standard I·:Iotor Co. and flovm 230 hours
.
total. Spent 11 months in S. E. A. c.

H.R.397 :Mk.VI
Rear spnr. The rear ~eb wns parted from the .~dgeboom bet~een
rib 1 and 4 on the starboard ~side. '_[lhe [Slue joint ha8. been badly 1nade,
as had also the fla:_p s:b..roud to edgeboom joint; but the vreb to ·m~in top
boom joint Ylas satisfuct qry ut a sectioD ·;-.rhcre a piece -rras cut QUt for
examinati on. We had n: section oi' spur cut~ out just outboD.rd of rib 2.
The whole section wc. s in sound condition , free, from cr.c.cks [1~d separ~­
tion except for vreb to edgeboom p2.rting.

Front spar. There wr.s a thick glue .LJ.ne betvreen vreb ond e(lgeboom
with poor contuct ut 18 inches inboard of rib 3, exumined by cutting out
o. piece of the web, o..s the 'wing h~·. d been classifie d as un.r:-epcir able.

tato.l.
Built in· August 1944 by St8!1derd lriotor
Spent 15 months in S.E.A.C.
Co. ond flown 330 hours
•
H.R.562 Mk.VI
This aircraft ho.d been vrri tten off recently c{l_i e:fly be.cause the
port ·wing had warped. .slightly ·and "lost diliedr.2J. "· We he.d various sec-
tions cut out o:r the wings. for investiga tion.

Ren.r spo..r. Just outboard of rib 1 there w~-..s some separe..tiqn

between the reur web nnd edgeboom, due to a poor glue joint. The
edgeboom to inner skin, c..n.d inner skin to mainboom joints were forced
apart o.nd fl:'.iled by pulling ou·(; wood fibres which showed they ·were
so.tisft:..cto l"Y• T~e rear sp&.:i"' WD.S clso cut out between ribs 2 and J
·of the starboard wing, nnd cll joints except rear web to edgeboom vrere
found· to be· sa.tisf2..ctory on breakdo~m;. ·(;here were no cracks in the Jl1ain
booms. The cross section of' ·l:;he spc.'l.t' ..showed bowing of the vrebs towards

- 19 -
 I
(i) R.G • .349. One inc h len gth of
fla p jac k pad blo ck on po
rt vving rea r spa r.
i- inc h dee p loc al par tin g at

(ii ) R. G. 25.3. Poo r sur f'ac e f.in i.sh - cra

had bee n inc orp ora ted but cke d dop e. l\tio d.l0 05
the scr ew s we re t inc h too
rea r spa r. Some had pen etr ate d bet vre f'ar . aft alo ng the
but had not sp lit the joi en the rea r Yieb and -'che eclg
nt ope n. ebo om ,

(ii i) R.G .l9 2. Sa tis fac tor y.

(iv ) R.G .l8 5. Satisf'acto~.

• ·-

••

- 21 -
 R. -·~·:ill •

.A.l:Jpendix V

Mosauito Accidents

1 T.~\..138

I\1!osg_uito N.P.XIX T.A .. l38 broke up in the air at Seletar,

Singapor.e in October, 19Lf-5. Fifty minutes after take off it flev1
· over the airfield at 'about. J-,. 000 ft. in 2. :f'orme.t ion of three at
about 300' m. p .. h. T.he airc'r.{;i't 1.-:as se; en to turn z~way upwaro.s aDd to
sto.rboe..rd . Almost immccliate l3T after leP.ving formation t-he port wing
folo.ca up to a right ::..nglc end the rest of tr~c: ,?:.ircr n.ft crasheo killing
both occupants . The all-up ~ilcight ~~-~s quote-d [·tS 20,50.0 lb.. and the
airfr2.me flying _hotu-·s ':Jcre 130.30 hours tot2.1; it '.·w.s me..nufact urEd
by de He..villand s ..

The v1rcckage tro.il Ylf:'..S ;"Gpori:eo. to hc:.vc extended 2..bout 1 mile

and the pc:.rts y,;hich came av;n.y in the c.ir ;~:ere: the:: port outer under-
. 'JD.rrie.gc O.OOr, top SUrf:tCC Of port inner Y~ing,, port irn10r tank door,
port outer mc.inplcme complete Yiith engine; _::na. p8.rts of in..ner v\dJ.'lg

• front and rear spars..

tor1ards the ITBin wrccko.go.
They wc.ro founCI. in thG O:bove oroc:r going

During our visit . to Seletar the rcmo..1n2ng pieces of wreckage vmrc

oxc:..mined. These Yrcrc -the nndGrc:lr.r i£tgG o.oQr, _the in..-rier tank door,
piece of inner skin ano short lengths of front 211.d ree..r spars close to
thc.fusel~ge. Our obscrv~tions on these piocos are given below.

The port outer undercarr iage door he.d ·the Mod.499 lockp:tul
fitted. The door was hD..rdly de.mnged and had not bee.n in impact \~=ith

anything.

Front spar. Only a 2 r 6 11 length of bottom boom -r;as availc~blc.

It had the tm1k door angles attached and: t:1cre v:ero tJomplctG frac-tures
of the boom E:.t ribs 1 and 2. These were be.dly dame.goa. D..l1d ho..d been
in a Si;rarrp but exhibi tco. m2.inly tonsil~ chc..ra:Jtc ristic:s.

Rear spc.r. A short length of ronr sp-::.r had. been- sawn off from
just outboard of rib 2 from -~hG outer wing portion, stmk in a s-r:amp.

• (See Fig.6). There. Ym.s a .ccmplct~ ·fra::Jturc of the sper at rib 1

(fuselage side). The f.cac:tu:"eS had been o.am.~:~gcd but -the genEral
appearanc e sugge-stco . up;,.-Jard bcn<iing fo.ilurG. The \·Jeb and skiri
to boom glue joints had been sotu1d LYl all placGs except the rear
to edgeboom. This joint hacl thick glue:: VJith patchy contact (
web
11 ducki s
•
fec:t 11 effect), the. glue rem2.ining on the ply face and having practical ly
no fibres of spruce adhering to it.. This is thG joint that has been
recently found separated in so many Mosquitos in S.E.A.C. (sec secticns
2 • .3( a.) and 2. 5( a)), nnd Yio.s probn.bly po..rted on 1'.1,_.138 sometime before
the accident. The ro2.r v;e1J to main top _bo0m joint had been quite
satisfact ory, failure having occurred ir- the:: wood of the boom.

The port inner tank panel YJas almost v:hole ahd ho.d a t~nsile
fracture along rib 1 ··tt!l"ough the line of attachmen t screw ·holes in the
fibrous strip confirmin g an upwro"'d be11ding ·failurG of the wing. At
rib 3, the outer end of the panel the scrG#S had been rippeo. out of
the panel, prGsumab ly in its tcarD1g e~ay from the wing, ·after main wing
fracture- at the fuselage sids.

The top skin portion consistin g of both skins and parts of the
front nnd renr edgebooms cxtc:.ncl.ca. from the fuselage sio.e at rib 1 to.
roughly rib 5. In scneral o..ll Eflut:d jnints had broken in a heal thy
manner except OV13r a. 2 foot lc;ngth of the front lower skin to top boom

- 22
 - ~ _, - - f._,i-'-·~· ../"-"f.-'-

join t betvv-een ribs 1 and 2. liere -'che join t had been Yery bad ly
made and larg e· area s· ci.' )che 1-~ly face
were -bare and had give n
p.t'a ctic ally no adhe si0n . ~·here vrere only sma ll patc hes
good adhe sion _, (see Fie. 6). of' reas ona bly
Un:t 'ortu na·b ely the top boom form ing
othe r half of the join t vras mis sing the .,
. I::: <.l. few plac es alon g the fron t
face of the edge boom outb oarc t of the
f'use l2ge ther e vras abse nce of
ef'f ective glue adhe sion betw een boom
and vve b.
Con clus iol:l • It was clea r that the porJG wing had
tl~e fuse lage side und er upvrarct bend ing brok en at
load s. This is the firs t time
ther e has been an u:plrH~.d brea.':cage so
:f'ar inbo ard, tb..ough ther e have
been sev eral do-..=nr.-rard fo.i lure s in the.
U.K.. :..:.t the :fus elag e side .. Usu ally
uplo ad fail ur·e s have occ' Jrre d outb oard
of the engi ne. In T. A.l.3 8
ther e v-rere two wea knes ses at the rib
1 sect ion and tb. ese may have
acco1111.ted for failU l."e occ urri ng ther
e. The rear web to edge boom join t
vras· inef fect ive a.11d the fron t top lJoom
to lo·N er top skin join t, a vita l
one, had been poo rly muCLe. Des1'itc:: thes e defe cts the wing mus t
been sub ject ed to hig: ! loading.~ saj- have
at leas t 6g, befo re bl"e akin g.
2 L.R .521 ··-~

The brie f inro rma tion belo w has beon

the inve stig atio n. obta ined from reco rds of

•
No wrec kage was ava ilab le for our exam

•
inat ion.
lv.Ik. III L. R. 521 brok e UJ? at Al1aho.ba
in a shal low di-·.re and slig ht ba.11k tc :J. on lst 'i!Iay 1945 . Whi le
po.r-·c .:.::(; betw een 1,50 0 Dnd 4,00 0 ft ..
the por t ydng brok e array follo wed by ,
thE. te.i l uni t, and the airc raft
spun to the grou nd kill ing both occu
po.n ts.. The :por t vv-ing had brok en
at betw een ribs 7 :md 8 2.11.d agai n at
rib 12, the top end bott om skin s
of the oute r vrin gs breo..."k::ing into seve
ro.l piec e;s. ·The fuse lage had
disi nteg rn.t ed into sma ll piec es, sca
tter ed ove r o. wide area . The
prirn.':l.r'y co.u se of the acci den t had not
been disc ove red, nor had any ,.
sati sfac tory tecb ...ni cal expl ro1o .tion
of the mode of brea knfi e been
dete rmin ed.
·
3 H.R.628
The brie f. info r-ma tion belo w (exc ept
for com men ts in brac kets )
ho.s been obtD .ined from reco rds of the
inve stig atio n. No wrec kage
was e..vc .iln.b le for our exGJ nino .tion .

lfJ.K. VI H. R. 628 brok e up on 14th 1\1c..y.

• •
ro.ng o Nr. Ranc!;..i, Bih ar, duri ng n. 1)ra l945 ove r R.:mdoin bom bing
ctic e run. It was seen to
ente r a dive of abou t 30 deg rees o.t
8,00 0 ft. At abor rt 5,00 0 ft.
a shov rer of piec es fle7 r off in all
dire ctio ns. Both wing s had
brok en off just outb oo.r d of the engi
nes ( c-·. :Lo.irl;y goo d tJt-- picc l
com pres sion fail ure of' the sturbo~..rcL
fron t edge boom ·tras noti ced in one
pho togr nph ( indi cc..t ing ru1 up·rrn.rd bend
ing fail ure , not men tion ed in
the rep ort )• . The fuse lo.g e had disi
nteg rate d, rmd so hucl the tcil -
pla.n e. Nee r. the sta.r boc. .rd tail plan e tip it
been a seve .t'e impc..ct by a heav y obje wn.s repo .rted ther e hn.d
ct; whic h had left oil mark s on tl:e
woo 4 ond dnm.ngecl the elev n.to: c "'Gip;
the obje ct had not been iden tifie cl.
(F.:i-pm pho togr nph s it was not2 .ced that
o.n und crco .rria ge doo r ho.d impc~c·~
dmn age at its f.t'o nt end, but it h:tCl..
the pos itiv e lock pau l on it but
the mod ifice .tion mey not ho.ve been
com plet e or pro perl y adju sted , i. c.
door hitt ini to.il plnn e mo..y· s·ti ll ho.ve
been n pos sibl e cuus e of t:b..e
acci den t, alth oug h not disc usse d by
tho investig~tor4) The inv esti -
gato r wc~s emph c..tic thr'..t no por tion
of the m.::. inplM e shov~ed sigi\ E of'
fn.i lure of glue ing. He cc.rne to no def init e con clus ion n.s
co.u se, but sugg este d thc.. t some obje to the
ct ndg ht hn.ve _str uck the tnilp lc:n e;
or that c. fn.i lure of the 1-:Iod. 638 st.t>
ip undo r the fron t spor hc..d
occu rred lead ing to tecr ing c:rey of
the bott om wing skin •
•

- 23 -
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....
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Z ·. ·..:_ . .
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u -:~
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(/) '; . .·
w
a:

ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABUSHMENT

PlliNTING DEPT.
( PHOTO GRA P HIC SECTION)

COPY NEO. NO. \ Date:

68 s 53 . ..... zcr.,3.:_t .6
 . l
f,
. ·. I
•1 : r

.,

HORSA TAIL ·UNIT & MOSQUITO WING

·oXFOR D WING
WOODEN AIRCRAF T COMPON ENTS WEATHERING . TRIALS

AT FOREST RESEARCH ~ INSTITUTE,DEHRA DUN.

ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABUSHMENT
PIJINTING DEPT.
( PHOTOGRAPHIC SECTION )
COPYNE6.NO. , Date:
68.5.5.4... . . . . Z5.J .:. 4h.
•• 4 ~QUAl\£ INSPEC110M MNELS WT
H

OUT Ofl aHROUD OR· NOR SKIN.

SEPARATED WE6 To EDGE BOOM

JOINT ON 'REAR M>AR •

• 1
I
I
I
,.--. - ---- --

NOT TO c5CALE. I
I

I
I
I
I
\. .
.... _- - ---- ----

5ECTION on, A-A

MOSQU ITO WING D~F'E:CT~.

ACCIDENT~ "ECTION a.~ M.E.D. ·8·3·~ ?.Ho&.&.O\

 FIG. 4.

~ CU.UE. JOINT.

• R£AR
ON
~AR
HR 56;l,
CR05~ ~ECTlON
SHOWING
BETWEEN
SHRINKAGE
R\B~ :Z. <f, 3
D\5TORTION. (&AGoEP.RTED.)

Si!!PRRATEJ) JOINT. AREAS OF

NO CONTA(.T WITH GLU£ •

,.WHOLE "OINT "HOWf.'D

CAS£ HARJ)£NEJ)" APPIARANC£
WHEN WRENCHED APART.

NoT TO StALE.

•
-+-+-t+-- SOLDIER P~T •

Loc.ll'- ~PAAATtON
Of' JOINT,

j_ J.
·~ ·~
T T

HR 562. rRONT "PAR JtCTION JU~T OUIBOARD OF RIB 4.

MOSQUITO WING :)PAR D£r£CT~.

Ac.c.tDENT6 S£c.TtOH. s.tiM.£.o. -·14·3·46· P-llo&.LOWAy.

IMuto &Y RovN. AaAtAAFT UTNL.I~· -Jn&.~S.M.t.I38SO. ,

:":....'
 .
IQ

Ital

~ I
i I

I I

•• FoRMER
To INNIR
6TUGK
~.

Men
Rr sas. TO kALE..

StiCTION ~ A-A.

:-:----~

Ncrr TO ~c.M..&.
HR 291.
~EC,TION on. :&-b.

MOSQUIT O FUSELAGE DEFECT~.

 ,

BAD CLU
. JOINT TO
. EDGE BOOM

·poRT WING REAR SPAR

LARCE AREAS OF
NO ADHESION

PORT WINC TOP SKIN (UNDERSID -E ).

MOSQUITO TA 138 WING FAILURE

ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABLISHMENT I

Pll/NTING DEPT. :
I : PHOTOG RA.PHI C SE C T IOf'o<l \ '"' i
COPY N EG.NO. ' Date : I
I 68555 'ZS ·J '16;
 t-ll:l./

~ ·
NOTE GAP AT TOP "AND BOTTOM OF 6 INCH RULE.

WE.BS BOWED TOWARDS EACH OTHER.

M 0 5 Q U IT 0 H R 5 62
' t
STBD Wl NG -REAR SPAR SECTION AT RIB 2.

ROYAL AIRCRAFT ESTABUSHitiEJIT

PRINTING DEPT.
(PHOTOGRAPHIC SECTION)
COPYNE6.NO. 'i Date:
.68&51 ....... &..4·4~