Editing De Havilland Mosquito (section)

===Air Ministry bomber requirements and concepts===
On 8 September 1936, the British Air Ministry issued [[list of Air Ministry specifications|Specification]] P.13/36, which called for a twin-engined medium bomber capable of carrying a bomb load of {{cvt|3,000|lb|kg}} for {{cvt|3000|mi|km}} with a maximum speed of {{cvt|275|mph|km/h|round=5}} at {{cvt|15000|ft|m}}; a maximum bomb load of {{cvt|8000|lb|kg}} carried over shorter ranges was also required.<ref name="Sharb30">Sharp and Bowyer 1971, p. 30.</ref> Aviation firms entered heavy designs with new high-powered engines and multiple defensive turrets, leading to the production of the [[Avro Manchester]] and [[Handley Page Halifax]].<ref name="Sharb31">Sharp and Bowyer 1971, p. 31.</ref>

In May 1937, as a comparison to P.13/36, [[George Volkert]], the chief designer of [[Handley Page]], put forward the concept of a fast, unarmed bomber. In 20 pages, Volkert planned an aerodynamically clean, medium bomber to carry {{cvt|3000|lb|kg}} of bombs at a cruising speed of {{cvt|300|mph|km/h|round=5}}. Support existed in the RAF and Air Ministry; Captain R. N. Liptrot, Research Director Aircraft 3, appraised Volkert's design, calculating that its top speed would exceed that of the new [[Supermarine Spitfire]], but counter-arguments held that although such a design had merit, it would not necessarily be faster than enemy fighters for long.<ref>Buttler 2004, pp. 76–77.</ref> The ministry was also considering using non-[[strategic materials]] for aircraft production, which, in 1938, had led to specification B.9/38 and the [[Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle]] medium bomber, largely constructed from spruce and plywood attached to a steel-tube frame. The idea of a small, fast bomber gained support at a much earlier stage than is sometimes acknowledged, though the Air Ministry likely envisaged it using light alloy components.<ref>Buttler 2004, pp. 74, 77.</ref>