Date:	Tuesday 2 January 1945
Time:	23:10
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk III
Owner/operator:	153 Squadron RAF
Registration:	PB515
MSN:	P4-N
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sudbrooke, West Lindsey, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
During the night of 2-3 January 1945, actually mostly if not all during the evening of the 2nd, RAF Bomber Command flew 1069 sorties and lost 15 aircraft: 5 crashed in Germany, 6 in England and 4 in France. Crew losses were 48 killed, 7 captured and 1 injured. The following operations were flown:

- 514 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 6 and 8 Group attacked Nuremberg, scene of so many disappointments for Bomber Command. It finally succumbed to this attack. The Pathfinders produced good ground-marking for the attack, visibility was good with a rising full moon. The city was devastated by the bombing runs with 4,640 houses destroyed. The centre of the city, particularly the eastern half, was destroyed. The castle, the Rathaus, almost all the churches and about 2,000 preserved medieval houses went up in flames. The industrial area in the south, containing the important M.A.N. and Siemens factories, as well as the railway system were severely damaged. 415 industrial buildings were destroyed. 1,838 people were killed and at least 50 more missing, injuries were not recorded. Six Lancasters were lost in Germany and France and four more crashed in England.

- 351 Halifaxes, 22 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitoes of 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked Ludwigshafen. The aiming point for this raid was the area of the two I.G. Farben chemical factories. A local report shows that the bombing was accurate, with severe damage to the main I.G. Farben factory and to the same firm’s factory at nearby Oppau. Estimated totals of 500 HE bombs and 10,000 incendiaries fell inside the limits of these factories, causing much damage. 10 large, 30 medium and 200 small fires were recorded at the main factory. Production failure at both plants was complete because of ’loss of power’. 13 other industrial firms and several railway installations were also hit; the train of a railway repair unit was destroyed. Only a small proportion of the bombing fell in housing areas. 103 houses were destroyed and 251 seriously damaged. 1,800 people were bombed out, but the people of Ludwigshafen must have been provided with very good shelters as only five were killed and 50 injured. One Halifax crashed in France and two in England

- 53 Mosquitoes raided Berlin. One was lost in Germany.
- 9 Mosquitoes raided Castrop-Rauxel. One was lost in Germany.
- 7 Mosquitoes raided Hanau.
- 49 RCM sorties.
- 41 Mosquito patrols.
_____________________________________________

On return from the Nuremberg raid, the Lancaster I NG421 IQ-M of 150 Sqn and the Lancaster III PB515 P4-N of 153 Sqn collided in the air at 23:10 hrs and both aircraft came down at Sudbrooke, West Lindsey, Lincolnshire, 3 miles NNE of Lincoln. There were no survivors.

Crew:-
Pilot: Flying Officer Daniel Clifford Reid RCAF J/89185 [Killed]*
Flight Engineer: Sergeant Reginald Charles Richards RAFVR 1398924 [Killed]: Commemorated St. Pancras Cemetery, United Kingdom
Navigator: Flight Sergeant Charles Herman Pogson RCAF R/193831 [Killed]*
Bomb Aimer: Flight Sergeant Maurice Vaughn Durling RCAF R/195383 [Killed]*
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: Sergeant Roy Taylor RAFVR 1590841 [Killed]: Commemorated Sheffield (Shiregreen) Cemetery, United Kingdom
Mid-Upper Gunner: Flight Sergeant Donald Dunk Hoskins RCAF R/259913 [Killed]*
Rear Gunner: Flight Sergeant Arthur Jason Eberle RCAF R/201129 [Killed]*

*The five RCAF members of the crew rest in Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Harrogate, North Yorkshire

1. "Royal Air Force Bomber Command losses, vol 6. Aircraft and Crews Losses 1945", by W R Chorley, ISBN 0-904597-92-X
2. "The Bomber Command War Diaries", by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt, ISBN 1-85780-033-8
3. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
4. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
5. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49938599
6. 153 Squadron Operational Record Book (Record of Events for the period 1 to 31 January 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/1029/26 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8389813
7. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/Lancaster/PB474-PB560/mobile/index.html
8. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/February/prt1/1.html
9. http://www.gatheringourheroes.ca/hero/hoskins-donald-dunk/
10. http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx
11. Info on RCAF tail gunner http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2623734
12. http://aircrewremembered.com/lawson-kenneth.html
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._153_Squadron_RAF#History
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Scampton
15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbrooke

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
25-Aug-2013 10:55	JINX	Added
25-Aug-2013 17:49	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source, ]
25-Aug-2013 17:49	JINX	Updated
27-Aug-2013 14:33	JINX	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Country, Source, Narrative, ]
31-May-2016 17:07	Red Dragon	Updated [Narrative, ]
26-Jan-2018 19:58	tachel	Updated [Date, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, ]
08-Nov-2018 06:36	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator, ]
02-Jan-2019 11:16	Laurent Rizzotti	Updated [Time, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Narrative, ]
19-Feb-2019 11:33	TigerTimon	Updated [Other fatalities, ]
02-Jan-2024 08:08	Rob Davis	Updated [Departure airport, Source, Narrative, ]
28-Jan-2025 21:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]