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Original Text (Annotation: EAW000469 / 2013843)
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The Standard Motor Company Ltd, had produced excellent quality cars before the war, and was fully engaged in war work, with their workforce of 4,500 building Bristol Beaufighter fuselages, Bristol Mercury radial engines – suitable for Bristol Blenheim bomber and the Miles Martinet target tug – and the Airspeed Oxford. Given the company’s demonstrated expertise, and their existing link to the de Havilland company (Airspeed was a wholly owned subsidiary of de Havilland), it was logical that Standard would be chosen as a major supplier of Mosquitoes. Mr Ted Grinham of de Havilland was instrumental in the establishment of the production line at Standard’s plant at Canley (airframes were assembled and test-flown from the nearby airfield at Ansty)The variant chosen by MAP was the FB.VI, the ‘all-rounder’ in the Mosquito family. The very first ‘Standard’ Mosquito FB.VI, serial number ‘HP828’, was delivered to the RAF in May, 1943, and a veritable flood of these potent fighter-bombers followed – totalling 1,066 in all. '