Staff at an aviation centre in Wisconsin turned to de Havilland Aircraft Museum in London Colney for help solving the mystery of the 'smelly Mosquito'.

Although nearly 8,000 de Havilland Mosquitos were made, only a handful remain - mostly in museums.

Staff at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, became increasingly anxious about the smell in the cockpit of Mosquito B.35 R5712 - worrying that it could be harmful.

Bob Kuenzi, who works at the Oshkosh museum, approached de Havilland Aircraft Museum for advice.

Although the smell probably emanated from the glue used 80 years ago, it was not found in any of de Havilland's three Mosquitos.

Watching a video from the London Colney museum practically frame by frame, Bob noticed that the cockpit windows and hatches were open in all three Mosquitos, whereas at Oshkosh the cockpit was sealed.

Venting the Mosquito in Oshkosh fixed the problem in about six weeks. As Bob described: "The bird can breathe".

Bob toured de Havilland during a recent visit to the UK, and left a spent 20mm to augment the museum's collection of ammunition used by the Mosquito.

Established in 1959, the de Havilland Aircraft Museum was Britain’s first aviation centre.

Among the aircraft on display are the Mosquito, used during the Second World War, and Comet, the world's first commercial jet airliner.