Niels Bohr lay in the bomb bay of the Mosquito during his 1943 flight from Sweden to Scotland. The aircraft had been adapted for transport work, so the normally utilitarian weapons compartment became an improvised passenger space.
The arrangement reflected the Mosquito’s unusual wartime role. BOAC used fast, civilian-marked Mosquitoes to carry small high-value cargoes, diplomatic bags, and important passengers across the dangerous route between Stockholm and Scotland. Because the aircraft was designed as a bomber, it did not have a conventional passenger cabin suitable for Bohr.
Bohr was given a mattress and equipped with a parachute, flying suit, and oxygen mask. The cramped bomb-bay position was more than uncomfortable: when the aircraft climbed to high altitude, Bohr did not hear the pilot’s instruction to turn on his oxygen. His flying helmet was too small, and he soon lost consciousness from oxygen starvation.
The pilot eventually descended after realizing that Bohr was not responding on the intercom. The descent restored his oxygen supply, allowing him to survive and reach Britain. The radio room, cockpit, and tail turret were not the passenger compartment used for this famous flight.