Mosquito MkXVIII Tsetse

[sergey]

Another question. Is there any theory or indication as to the cause of the plane's destruction? Was it anti-aircraft fire from a trawler or engine failure?

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by sergey

According to Alex Crawford who wrote the book about the Mosquito Mk XVIII ...
HX902 618Sq lost 4 Nov 43 attacking a trawler
I read the same version in 248 Squadron documents. But the problem is that Tsetse pilots had strict orders to attack only submarines, so that the enemy wouldn't be able to detect the aircraft's 6-pounder gun. Therefore, the "trawler" was most likely escorting a submarine—Squadron Leader Rose had no reason to disobey orders, especially since he was flying in tandem with Flight Officer Turner's Mosquito. Perhaps there's information about this somewhere?

According to the Seekrieglsleitung diary, there were three U-boats inbound that day and two outbound.

[Chris Goss]

Passing over the ship, he appeared to start to pull out of the 30° dive, but went into the sea about half a mile from the trawler. Needless to say, we gave the trawler a punishing with our 57mm gun. I saw no wreckage of the aircraft on the surface. One theory was that he was killed outright from fire from the bow of the vessel.

[sergey]

Thank you, colleagues. I thank everyone for their help.

[sergey]

I'm reviewing the 248th Squadron log and don't see any mention of the Tsetse using any bombs, although I did see a reference to these aircraft being modified to carry depth charges from June 1944. Could you please tell me if the Tsetse used any bombs in the attacks, and if so, what kind?

[Chris Goss]

248 Sqn (not 248th Sqn) was essentially a fighter sqn and Tsetses were attached to 248 known as 248 SD. If carrying a massive gun and if payload allowed, the recoil would surely shake any bombs off. Des Curtis' book would confirm this one way or the other. 618 Sqn became designated as a Highball squadron later in 1944. One minor correction-I presume you refer to the F540 Operations Record Book (ORB) rather than a log?

[sergey]

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