The famous British Mosquito – known to many as "Mossie" – was a versatile aircraft used extensively during World War II. Constructed primarily of plywood with a balsa wood core, it had excellent speed, altitude and range. First flown on November 25, 1940, the Mosquito entered production in mid-1941 and was produced until well after the end of the war. Almost 8,000 Mossies were built in Great Britain, Canada, and Australia.

Although best known for its service with the Royal Air Force, the Mosquito flew in several US Army Air Force units as a photographic and weather reconnaissance aircraft, and as a night fighter. During the war, the USAAF acquired 40 Canadian Mossies and flew them under the American F-8 (photo reconnaissance) designation. In addition, the British turned over more than 100 Mosquitoes to the USAAF under Reverse Lend-Lease. These aircraft retained their British designations.

The aircraft on display is a British-built B. Mk. 35 manufactured in 1946 (later converted for towing targets) and is similar to the P.R. Mk. XVIs used by the USAAF. It was flown to the museum in February 1985. This Mosquito, serial RS709, has been restored to a Mk. XVI configuration and painted as NS519, a weather reconnaissance aircraft of the 653rd Bombardment Squadron based in England in 1944-1945.

It had a ceiling of 42,000 feet, a max speed of 415mph and a range of almost 2000 miles