AA32822 De Havilland Mosquito FB.VI LR364/SY-E, Wg Cdr John R.D ‘Bob’ Braham

When Britain’s population were desperate for heroic figures to galvanise the nation towards victory in their greatest hour of need, they were fortunate enough to be able to count on men like RAF airman John Randall Daniel ‘Bob’ Braham. An accomplished twin engined fighter pilot, Braham would go on to believe that flying ‘freelance’ hunting sorties at the same time as the main RAF bomber formations over enemy occupied Europe might draw enemy nightfighters to them and away from RAF bombers, where the Luftwaffe’s nocturnal hunters could be targeted by this proven nightfighter specialist and his powerful aircraft. 

In this role, he is thought to have shot down at least four of the Luftwaffe’s leading nightfighter aces, becoming the scourge of German defensive operations against Allied night raids. Britain’s most decorated Fighter Command airman, ‘Bob’ Braham ended the war as the most successful British pilot operating twin-engined aircraft, and was also a leading nightfighter ace, scoring 19 of his 30 aerial victories under the cover of night. He had 9 intruder victories whilst flying the de Havilland Mosquito to his name, and must have proved significant in saving the lives of many hundreds of Bomber Command airmen as a result of his actions. 

The aircraft presented here is the de Havilland Mosquito he borrowed from RAF No.613 Squadron on 5th March 1944, the aircraft in which he scored his first Mosquito victory.