Date:	Friday 30 March 1945
Time:	11:10
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk I
Owner/operator:	635 Squadron, RAF
Registration:	PB911
MSN:	F2-A
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	0.5 mile NW of Swayfield, South Kesteven, Lincolnshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Downham Market, Norfolk
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Lancaster B. Mk. I PB911/F2-A, 635 Squadron RAF: Written off (destroyed) 30 March 1945 when Dived into ground, believed iced up, half a mile North-West of Swayfield, Lincolnshire

Took off from RAF Downham Market, Norfolk. The Lancaster was undertaking a training mission, simulating blind bombing runs at 10,000-15,0000 feet, using the "FISHPOND" blind bombing system, when the aircraft was seen to emerge from clouds in a steep dive, from which it did not recover

Dived into the ground at 11:10 hrs just to the North West of Swayfield, 12 miles SSE from Grantham, Lincolnshire. All are buried in various cemeteries. It is believed that the Lancaster entered cu-nimbus clouds and iced up. All seven crew on board were killed (no survivors)

Crew:
Pilot: Flying Officer Donald Dixon RAFVR 177009 (NCO:1438515: Commission Gazetted Tuesday 25 July, 1944) [Killed] Cambridge City Cemetery, United Kingdom (52.212382/0.166554)
Flight Engineer: Sergeant Stanley Edward Robinson RAFVR 1894397 [Killed] Cambridge City Cemetery
Navigator: Flight Sergeant Ronald Goddard RAFVR 1315463 [Killed] Faringdon (All Saints) Churchyard, Berkshire, United Kingdom (51.659588/-1.583989)
Navigator: Flight Sergeant Stanley Albert Pimm RAFVR 1625985 [Killed] Cambridge City Cemetery
Wireless Operator/Air Gunner: Flight Sergeant Noel Davis RAFVR 658071 [Killed] Manchester Southern Cemetery, United Kingdom (53.429713/-2.261849)
Mid-Upper Gunner: Flight Sergeant James Georges William Harcourt RAFVR 1603593 [Killed] Cambridge City Cemetery
Rear Gunner: Flight Sergeant Robert MacLennan Wilson RAFVR 1558504 [Killed] Elgin New Cemetery, United Kingdom (57.639212/-3.297715)

Swayfield is a village and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Swayfield is 8 miles (13 km) from Bourne (via the A151), 12 miles (19 km) from Grantham (via the B1176), 15 miles (24 km) from Stamford (via the B1176) and 16 miles (26 km) from Oakham. It is 3 miles from the county boundary with Rutland (hence several sources put the crash location as "Swayfield, Rutland"[sic])

Ground discolouration at GPS 52.794481, -0.537591 may be the crash location. All of the crew's bodies were removed shortly after the crash. The crash site location was confirmed in 2015, after a metal detecting survey revealed an area of magnetic anomalies in this location.

A subsequent excavation of the crash site was conducted in August 2016. Many small, fragmentary and corroded parts of the aircraft were found, although various recognisable fragments were also located, including a propeller blade, the upper gun turret and remains of items from the instrument panel. No human remains were discovered, although items associated with the crew were recovered, including a 1936 penny, parts of a parachute, a fragment of a lifejacket and remains of several flight boots. Remains of the impact crater were also revealed. The excavation established that the aircraft had hit the ground at an angle of 45 degrees, left wing first, and that the engines were still working at this point. The cause of the crash still appeared to be icing. There also appears to have been a severe fire following the crash.

1. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999
2. Royal Air force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War 1945 Page 149.
3. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
4. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
5. Unpublished Document: Colin Lee. 2006. Pre-Excavation Report for Avro Lancaster PB911 Crash Site
6. Report: Defence Estates. 2006. Revealing the Pathfinder: Excavation of Avro Lancaster PB911, Swayfield.
7. https://www.bcar.org.uk/new1945-incident-logs#mar
8. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=PB911
9. 635 Squadron Operational Record Book (Record of Events for the Period 1 to 31 March 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2155/25 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8417590
10. https://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/issue.xhtml?recordId=1020431
11. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78):
12. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/March/prt2/2.html
13. https://heritage-explorer.lincolnshire.gov.uk/Monument/MLI89212
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Downham_Market
15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._635_Squadron_RAF#History
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swayfield

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
29-Aug-2013 08:15	JINX	Added
01-Jun-2016 20:55	Red Dragon	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, ]
23-Oct-2018 20:29	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport, Operator, ]
28-Sep-2024 08:53	Rob Davis	Updated [Other fatalities, Source, Narrative, ]
28-Sep-2024 08:53	Rob Davis	Updated [Other fatalities, Narrative, ]
15-Feb-2025 20:02	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]