Date:	Thursday 14 February 1946
Time:	18:04 LT
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk III
Owner/operator:	429 (Bison) Squadron RCAF
Registration:	RF259
MSN:	AL-H
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B. Mk. III RF259/AL-H, 429 (Bison) Squadron, RCAF: Written off (damaged beyond repair) in a takeoff accident 14 February 1946 at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire

During the evening of 14th February 1946 this 429 Squadron aircraft was to be flown on a local flying exercise. As the aircraft was in the process of taking off at Leeming airfield at 18.04hrs, the flight engineer mistook what the pilot was telling him on the intercom and retracted the undercarriage legs before the aircraft was airborne. The undercarriage then folded and the aircraft skidded to a halt on its belly. The damage was assessed as being Cat. E/FA and the aircraft was struck off charge some days later.

Pilot - Flight Lieutenant Jack McLean Snelgrove DFC RCAF (J/18668) plus four further crew - Names unknown. As far as is known, all five crew on board survived uninjured.

Aircraft not repaired, declared FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E) and Struck Off Charge as "damaged beyond economic repair".

429 (Bison) Squadron RCAF was formed on 7 November 1942 as the 429 (Bomber) Squadron RCAF with No 4 Group at RAF East Moor, but reassigned to No. 6 Group shortly after. The squadron moved to RAF Leeming in 1943 and disbanded on 31 May 1946.

Brief history of Lancaster RF259
Built by Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton, Coventry to Contract Acft/239
10-04-1945: Issued to 433 (Porcupine) Squadron RCAF at RAF Skipton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire
14-04-1945: Transferred to 429 (Bison) Squadron RCAF at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire as 'AL-H'
14-02-1946: Cat. E(FA) flying accident at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire as per the above
27-02-1946: Struck off charge as Cat. E(FA)

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.31 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.72
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
5. 429 Squadron Operational Record Book (Record of Events for the Period 1 November 1945 to 31 May 1946) National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/1854/15 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8404705
6. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/Lancaster/RF209-RF294/mobile/index.html
7. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1946/February/1.html
8. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.95: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
9. https://www.avro-lancaster.info/rfseries/RF259
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/429_Transport_Squadron#History
11. https://www.rcafassociation.ca/heritage/history/rcaf-and-the-crucible-of-war/429-squadron/
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Leeming#1940s

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
12-Jun-2021 21:40	Dr. John Smith	Added
12-Jun-2021 21:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, ]
13-Jun-2021 08:36	DG333	Updated [Operator, Operator, ]
14-Jul-2023 22:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated
26-Jan-2025 00:08	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Cn, Operator, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]