See also  Piston * Parts.

In 1984 Danish police as a matter of routine read Den Blå Avis about second hand items
for sale to trace stolen goods if possible. In an alphabetical list they found this:

Cannon, 20 mm, from World War II, dismantled from Mosquito fighter in March 1945,
highest bid over DKR 10,000.

De Havilland Mosquito Great Britain flew in 27 variants during the war.
FB VI had four Browning .303 (7.7 mm) machine guns, four 20 mm (.79 inch) Hispano cannons.
It could also carry two 250 lb (113kg) or two 500 lb (227kg) bombs inside the bomb bay.
See 20 mm Hispano Machine cannon - photos by Alex Nors Nielsen.
Hispano-Suiza HS.404 see Specifications. Length 2.32 - 2.52 m, Weight: 68.7 kg.
2 machine cannons on MOS RS619  were dismantled by Danes before German soldiers arrived
at the crash site.


1. On 22 September 1984 the newspaper Jyllands-Posten had an article by Ulrik Haagerup:
Machine cannon, 70 kilos for sale by 28-year-old
Policemen visited the owner in his small flat near Copenhagen. The heavy weapon was from this Mosquito which was shot down over North Jutland.

"My Dad and my uncle were fast, so they managed to dismantle the cannon before the Germans arrived at the crash site. First they hid the cannon from the
Germans in a barn and later in a pit", the computer programmer, 28, related. He wanted to emphasize that he is not war-crazy. "I just inherited the weapon
2 years ago. It has been standing at a wall in my room and caused great hilarity among my friends."

The Police lugged along with the cannon. There was no ammunition for the weapon, but in the wrong hands it might cause a disaster!
Now it will be offered to The Museum of Danish Resistance 1940-1945. (Abstract by AS). The machine gun has disappeared somewhere. AS.

2. The other machine cannon was hidden in Tandrup, Bedsted. Poul Martin Kjær saw it lying wrapped up in a loft. When he had translated Escape from Denmark
with the original account from Raymond Harington and Bert Winwood he tried in vain to persuade the owner of this cannon to hand it over, so it could be
taken to a museum in England. Also Chr. Houmark Hammer, the author of Escape Route Thy-Stockholm-Scotland, tried some times without success.
Then one day the owner Hans Christen Lilleøre came and handed over the machine cannon! Chr. Houmark Hammer made the costum house in Thisted complete
the right documents. They were delighted to do that without charge! His son was a Squadron Leader in Fighter Wing Karup, so he took it to England. It appeared
in a Christmas greeting 1996 from Raymond Harington to Poul Martin Kjær, who sent a copy to AirmenDK:

”You probably know that the Mosquito cannon from Tandrup Farm has now been sent to England (back in June) via the Danish Air Force who
were exhibiting some objects at the International Air Transport Fair last June. The gun was passed through our Customs and is now in the possession of the
Police who are arranging for it to be disarmed permanently. The Mosquito Aircraft Museum at Hatfield will not get it until early next year.”

The museum is now The de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, formerly the Mosquito Aircraft Museum but it is unknown what happened to this machine gun.