NZ2336, as of 1956

This Mosquito lives in New Zealand

The New Zealand Airforce bought 85 Mosquitos from Australia and the UK just after the war. They came from both Australia and the UK, and 47 of them were built by the Standard Motor Company. The planes were built at Canley  and taken to Ansty Airfield for final assembly and test flights.

This plane, given the NZ registration of NZ2336 was sold on by the RNZAF to a private owner in 1956, when it is believed that the above photo was taken. The owner still has the aircraft, it is under cover and although complete it has understandably deteriorated since then. There is no sign of it being restored, which is a shame, since it is believed to be the only surviving Standard-built Mosquito from the 1066 that the company built.

If you know of any other surviving Standard-built Mosquitos, anywhere in the world, I would be delighted to hear about them. I would also be grateful to hear stories or to display memorabilia that any one has related to these magnificant aircraft.

My acknowledgement to Peter Lewis for the help in preparation and the photograph shown here.

Words by Phil Homer

August 2010