Date:	Thursday 8 March 1945
Time:	overnight
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk III
Owner/operator:	44 (Rhodesia) Sqn RAF
Registration:	PB417
MSN:	KM-R
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Wadden Sea, mouth of the Weser River, near Nordenheim, Lower Saxony -   Germany
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Spilsby, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	Harburg, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Germany

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B. Mk. III PB417/KM-R, 44 (Rhodesia) Squadron RAF: lost during combat operations on 8 March 1945. Reportedly ditched in to the Wadden Sea, at the mouth of the Weser River, near Nordenheim, Lower Saxony. However, all seven crew members on board survived.

Mission to Harburg, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Took off from RAF Spilsby at 18:26 hrs to bomb oil facilities. Sergeant I Graham is described as receiving hospital treatment in France, but it is not clear if this was immediately after the above events, or after cessation of hostilities on 8 May 1945. The loss card merely describes the crew as "safe", but this could be interpreted as "safe in captivity". Warrant Officer C A Dayton enlisted in Rhodesia circa June 1940.

Crew (All reported as safe)
Flying Officer P W B Morgans
Sergeant R P S Sawbutts
Warrant Officer C A Dayton
Flying Officer N D Nicolle
Sergeant Philip Brooks RAFVR (1853348)
Sergeant I Graham
Sergeant Edwin Ernest Barnes RAFVR (1897297)

Nordenham is a town in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located at the mouth (on the west bank) of the Weser River on the Butjadingen peninsula on the coast of the North Sea. The seaport city of Bremerhaven is located on the other side (east bank) of the river.

1. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
2. Royal Air Force Bomber Command losses of the Second world war 1945 Page 116.
3. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain
4. 44 Squadron RAF Operational Record Book (Record of Events for 1 to 31 March 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/452/5 at https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=PB417
5. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/
6. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/March/prt2/2.html
7. https://forum.rafcommands.com/forum/general-category/18117-57-sqn-raf-lancaster-losses-8th-march-1945?p=176504#post176504
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._44_Squadron_RAF#History
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Spilsby#Later_in_the_war
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weser#Course
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadden_Sea
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordenham#Geography

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Aug-2013 06:12	JINX	Added
27-Nov-2014 16:47	Emil Robot	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, ]
29-May-2016 16:29	Red Dragon	Updated [Cn, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Location, Country, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
26-Jan-2025 21:27	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]