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| Date: | Tuesday 24 February 1942 |
| Time: | 23:07 |
| Type: |  Avro Lancaster Mk III |
| Owner/operator: | 97 (The Straits Settlements) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | R5486 |
| MSN: | OF-P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire, England -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Woodhall Spa. Lincolnshire |
| RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire |
Lancaster I R5486 "OF–P" of 97 Sqn., RAF. Took off at 19:35 from Woodhall Spa for a night cross country exercise and bomb load test. Encountered poor visibility and crashed at 23:07 while trying to land at its diversion airfield at Finningley. The aircraft crashed while making a landing there and sustained enough damage to deem it to be written off. The undercarriage is believed to have collapsed and the aircraft then caught fire.
No injuries, but the port undercarriage collapsed and the incendiary bomb load was ignited and the aircraft burned out. Sgt Mayland's DFM Gazetted 11 June 1943.
Crew:-
Pilot : Sergeant Gordon Herbert Hartley RAF 754106 (Officer:122056 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 09 June, 1942)
2nd Pilot : Sergeant C Smith RAFVR 1123550
Navigator : Flight Sergeant John Lorimer Neville Canham RAF 581438 (Officer:50577 : Commission Gazetted Tuesday 19 January, 1943)
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Flight Sergeant George Henry Peter Dean RAF 551023
Wireless Operator / Air Gunner : Sergeant Robert George Watson Gross RAF 993302
Air Gunner : Sergeant Martin Thomas Griffiths RAF 1158662
Air Gunner : Sergeant Clifford Mayland DFM RAFVR 993680
Sergeant Douglas Frank Suckling RAF 548385
This accident was the first Lancaster mishap in Yorkshire.
Sources:
1. http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/aircraft/yorkshire/york42/r5486.html
2. http://www.sonsofdamien.co.uk/Man-Lanc%20serials%20page2.htm
3. http://www.planetrace.co.uk/1940-1949_28.html
4. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 27-Aug-2013 06:13 | JINX | Added |
| 29-Dec-2014 20:06 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Date, Time, Registration, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Country, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 03-Jan-2015 19:25 | Dr. John Smih | Updated [Total fatalities, Narrative, ] |
| 06-Jun-2015 09:43 | Charlie Harper | Updated [Time, Operator, ] |
| 07-Nov-2017 16:52 | Red Dragon | Updated [Cn, ] |
| 07-Nov-2017 16:53 | Red Dragon | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 01-Nov-2018 15:15 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Location, Operator, ] |
| 22-Dec-2019 09:40 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator, ] |
| 20-Aug-2024 06:42 | Rob Davis | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 28-Aug-2025 10:51 | Rob Davis | Updated [Narrative, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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