The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

In 2003 Classic Publications released a very interesting book: "On Special Missions - The Luftwaffe's Research and Experimental Squadrons 1923-1945". It has many photos of the captured aircraft of Cirkus Rosarius, including the well-known Mosquito B Mk IV DZ466 "T9+XB". On page 110 it states in a footnote regarding Cirkus Rosarius: "There is no evidence that the Staffel had two Mosquitos despite Rosarius' assertion."
Furthermore at the top of page 118 there is a photo of a captured razorback Thunderbolt, said to have been taken after re-capture by US forces at Göttingen at the end of the war. Recently a large uncropped copy of this photo appeared on the internet and amazingly it reveals an unknown Mosquito in the background:

http://www.digitalaviationart.com/fo...y_mossie_1.jpg

Could this be Rosarius' second Mosquito? And if so, which airframe is this?
A close-up reveals it is most likely a 613 Sqn machine, possible SY-F.

http://www.digitalaviationart.com/fo...y_mossie_2.jpg

As fuselage code/serial number combinations aren't well documented for RAF Mosquitoes, further identification wasn't possible until this week a Dutch model accessory company, Dutch Decal, announced a new release: a decal sheet dealing with Dutchies in the RAF featuring a Mosquito of 613 Sqn regularly flown by Rob Cohen (in RAF records as F/O Robert Stevens to hide his Jewish descent, KIA 11-8-1944). It was MM408 SY-F! Looking through this Mosquito production list we find the following entry for MM408:

MM408 - FBVI - 613 - Missing (Rouen) 27.8.44

Could MM408 be the one? Could it have belly landed in salvageable condition and transported to Germany to join Cirkus Rosarius?

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Nice picture, but the best explanation is that the Mosquito was being broken down for spare parts,since it still had its British markings and is clearly non-flyable.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

I believe the scene shows the capture of these hangars and everything is as yet untouched. In other words, all aircraft shown belonged to the Germans. Note the jeep at the entrance. All other equipment like the truck, Kettenkrad and tractor are German. The Mustang seems to confirm this too, as it's most likely 44-14687 of the 350th FS/353rd FG, which was lost on 24 March 1945 with its pilot made POW.
There is no sense in repainting a captured Mosquito before restoring it. And naturally it had to be disassembled to be transported from France to Germany. T9+XB was never flown, despite being in much better condition.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

This is the text on the back of the picture,

"Along with several German planes abandoned by Nazi's, U.S. First Army troops found this P-47 with German markings at an air field near Goettingen, Germany. 4/9/45" (April 9, 1945)

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Good to know the exact date, thanks!

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Hello ,

Obviously it can't be MM408 as both crew members were killed .

Another possibility would be LR290 lost 14 January 1944 near Dieppe .
The crew made a crash-landing with bombs aboard . Individual letter is not known however .

Zorglub .

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Hi Zorglub and others,

According to the ORB 2 Group the radio letter of LR290 was 'T'. Perhaps the 'F' visible on the picture is actually a 'T'?

Regards,
Hans

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Aircraft sometimes survive a crash that crew members don't. But seeing as the Mustang was captured just a couple of weeks before it was "liberated", August 1944 is a bit of a stretch, let alone January 1944. I reckon we need to look closer to the date of the photo. Here are alternative possibilities:

NS859 on 29 February 1945
NS899 on 22 February 1945
RS563 on 22 February 1945

All these are 613th Sqn a/c which went MIA. Perhaps one was SY-E or a replacement SY-F?

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

It was! RS563 SY-F, at last, found here on Andreas Zapf's webpage:
http://www.chronicles-of-the-luftwaffe.de/?p=799
Six years well-spent! :D


It does raise a troubling question: if their airplane was in such a good shape, how come the crew were apparently both killed?




PS. The pilot's logbook was up for auction once. I always find that very sad, but I hope it's in good hands: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthoped...ion-1110959792

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

The Cirkus Rosarius Mosquito "T9+XB" was on show at the September 1943 display of captured aircraft. At that time the Mk IV had already had been repainted in Luftwaffe markings.
If I am correct it was the same aircraft that was found on a beach DZ466 ?

The first "T9+XB" was the captured P-38, so the Mosquito followed.

This Mosquito was the subject of discussion at some stage between the Finn's and German's. The Finn's had thought to build copies and power them with the DB engines.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Alex, DZ466 is well-documented. It was this second Mosquito I was interested in and I seem to have found the answer in RS563.


I found a bit more information on the other contenders as well:

We can exclude NS899 as it came down in allied territory (crew safe). (http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/sho...-613Sqn-1-3-45)

NS859 came down near Bergen with both crew KIA in the middle of the night. The chances of that airframe being recoverable while both crew were killed seems unlikely, plus we don't know the fuselage code. (also: http://www.chronicles-of-the-luftwaffe.de/?p=799)

Therefore it is highly likely that Cirkus Rosarius indeed obtained RS563. But the airplane apparently survived the crash in good condition, while the crew were KIA. Were they heavily wounded when they came down and did they succumb to their wounds, or was there foul play? It was a daytime crash and many locals weren't overly kind to allied airmen landing on their territory. Even German pilots who were shot down often went through some scary moments, as angry locals often assumed they were allied airmen.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Just one question : why did Cirkus Rosarius has to do with a Mosquito lost on 22 Feb. 45 ,
as the party was almost over ? I think you have it wrong and this plane was lost previously certainly in 1944 , furthermore I still suggest LR290 .

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

The Luftwaffe did not lose interest in examining captured enemy equipment. It had intelligence value, whether or not the aircraft could be flown. Also, an unflayable machine might be a source of parts to make another flyable.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

That's suggesting Cirkus Rosarius wouldn't be doing their assigned job in 1945. I agree with Nick and I'm sure they went on to the end. In fact, the Mustang in the foreground proves it. That's 44-14687 LH-N of 350th FS/353rd FG lost on 24 March 1945, with its pilot made POW. A Mosquito lost only a month earlier fits very well in this picture.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Found on my old papers that at some time in the early 2000's I found that the Luftwaffe code was T9+AB, and not as always reported T9+XB.
Unfortunately I now have no idea where it came from.
Perhaps someone on the Other Luftwaffe forum who is a member of this forum can look up the LEMB details held within their forum and report back to us here ?
Alex

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Hi, Here are a couple of pics from the old LEMB board and it is understandable that the XB could be seen as AB given the quality of the pics, however it is T9+XB. A second is SB-T there was some mention of it could be -T this was also talked about back then.
take care stay safe
regards
sorry need to change the extension on SB-T put up later.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

SB-T ...

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Thanks for the SB-T pic Kaiyan. This is another Mosquito though, as the photo clearly shows SY-F (or SY-E) fuselage codes.

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

I don't know if this will help or not?

Scroll down to The US Missing Air Crew Listing of Allied A/C Losses
http://www.chronicles-of-the-luftwaffe.de/

There's a list of Mosquito's lost in German Occupied Territory

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Thank you Kaiyan,
Those two pictures of T9+XB shown from two different angles and light.
The second one is the one that I recall looking like an "A".
But it clearly is an"X" .
The center of the "X" and "B" is in line with the center of the "T9" on the a/c which means that the top of the "X" and "B" are effected by the light and does not appear visible.
Thank you for sharing the photographs as they clear up my question and refresh my memory ☺

Re: The mystery Mosquito of Cirkus Rosarius - solved?
 

Glad to have helped..

Re SB-T, this machine was also under discussion back in 200? as a another possible as parts of a Mossie had been dug up in Holland with German ammunition, possibly from another forum, sorry for the confusion, I have pics of SK machines and will post them when I find them.
Take Care Stay Safe