Mosquito-equipped squadrons performed medium bomber , reconnaissance , tactical strike , anti-submarine warfare and shipping attack and night fighter duties, both defensive and offensive. Despite an initially high loss rate due to low-level daylight attack operations, the Mosquito ended the war with the lowest losses of any of the aircraft types in RAF Bomber Command service.
On its introduction to service, the aircraft was about as fast as the German fighters that opposed it, particularly the Bf F and the Fw A. Although the differential in speed was low, the agility of the Mosquito was often an advantage. Aerial interception usually occurred when enemy fighters had already been "scrambled" by reports of visual sightings as the flights crossed the Continental coastlines.
In the first few years of Mosquito service, most of the dedicated Luftwaffe night fighter groups were equipped with aircraft such as the Bf or Junkers Ju 88 , both of lower performance. There were enemy attempts to address this but problems included engine troubles and the intensifying Allied bombing campaign, especially as the USAAF daylight bombing started to complement the RAF Bomber Command campaign.
In terms of better propeller-driven night fighters, the Heinkel He and Junkers Ju simply did not enter large-scale production. With the introduction of the nitrous oxide -boosted Messerschmitt Bf G series and, in the spring of , [ 2 ] the jet-powered Me , the Luftwaffe had relatively low numbers of fighters with a speed and altitude capability [ nb 1 ] effectively to intercept the pressurised variants of Mosquito.
But the German High Command would not give clear orders for their quantity production, which in any case would have been difficult because construction work had to be taken further east and carried out in concealed factories and tunnels. Aircraft fuel supplies were by then also becoming highly critical for the Nazis. Hitler in particular was at this stage fixated on "vengeance" weapons rather than fighters, denying leaders such as Adolf Galland any effective resources.
