Date:	Monday 18 March 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk I
Owner/operator:	1653 HCU RAF
Registration:	NG437
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF North Luffenham, Rutland, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Initial climb
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Luffenham, Rutland
Destination airport:	RAF North Luffenham, Rutland

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B. Mk. I NG437/"A3-H", 1653 HCU (Heavy Conversion Unit), RAF: Written off (destroyed) 18 March 1946 when crashed at RAF North Luffenham, Rutland. All seven of the crew were killed

Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, the aircraft encountered serious difficulties to gain height and was in a constant stall attitude, with nose up and tail down. The captain increased engine power but the aircraft lost height, hit the ground and crashed in a huge explosion. All seven crew members were killed. Some sources state that this flight was the pilots first flight with a full crew on board

Crew (1653 HCU):
Sergeant Anthony Fredrick Barnard Blaikley (Navigator) Service Number 1812758, buried at Burwash (St. Bartholomew's Church) East Sussex
Warrant Officer Reginald Thomas Nutting (Pilot) Service Number 1392418, buried at Chingford Mount Cemetery, Chingford, Essex
Sergeant Anthony Bone (Air Gunner) Service Number 1893897, buried at St. Andrews Churchyard, Whitchurch, Devon
Flight Sergeant Frank Keighley Dexter (Air Gunner) Service Number 1588838, buried at Burnley Cemetery, Burnley, Lancashire
Flight Sergeant Alexander John Rossiter (Navigator) Service Number 1850694, buried at Shepton Mallet Burial Ground, Shepton Mallett, Somerset
Flight Sergeant Alfred Albert Willis Thomas (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) Service Number 1818932, buried at St. John The Baptist Church, Halesowen, Worcestershire
Sergeant Thomas Edward Valler (Air Gunner) Service Number 3051950, buried at Mont L'Abbe New Cemetery, Jersey, Channel Islands

Probable cause: The pilot was completing his first flight on this aircraft as a captain and probably put the elevators in a wrong setting at takeoff. At Burwash (St. Bartholomew's Church) East Sussex, a Memorial Plaque in the village church remembers Sgt F.B. Blaikley.

No. 230 Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) was first created on 15 March 1947 - almost one year (to the very day) after this incident - at RAF Lindholme, by re-designation of No. 1653 Heavy Conversion Unit RAF, to convert crews onto the Avro Lancaster, Avro Lincoln and de Havilland Mosquito bombers.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.34. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.98
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-683-lancaster-iii-raf-north-luffenham-7-killed
5. https://www.facebook.com/InternationalBomberCommandCentre/posts/1897247310327503/
6. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.97: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2722969/blaikley,-anthony-frederick-barnard/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2733852/nutting,-reginald-thomas/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2812161/bone,-anthony/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2698110/dexter,-frank-keighley/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2692241/rossiter,-alexander-john/
12. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2712175/thomas,-alfred-albert-willis/
13. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2709743/valler,-thomas-edward/
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conversion_units_of_the_Royal_Air_Force
15. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?11000-Sgt-AFB-Blailkey-1946&p=64098#post64098
16. https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/290039/
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._230_Operational_Conversion_Unit_RAF
18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_North_Luffenham

A F B Blaikley Board © John MIller (WMR-16967) RAF North Luffenham on 2 March 1944

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
23-May-2010 12:12	TB	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Narrative]
01-Dec-2011 13:06	Anon.	Updated [Location, Phase, Departure airport, Narrative]
26-Apr-2013 02:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative]
11-Mar-2019 07:23	stehlik49	Updated [Operator]
06-Nov-2019 00:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
12-Nov-2019 22:33	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
22-Jun-2021 21:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Phase, Source]
23-Jun-2021 10:27	Coufal	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]
01-May-2023 05:32	Richard	Updated [[Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]]
08-Jul-2023 17:02	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Narrative, Operator]]]