Date:	Tuesday 13 February 1945
Time:	22:00 LT
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk I
Owner/operator:	550 Squadron, RAF
Registration:	NF932
MSN:	BQ-B2
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Stotts Farm, Apley, 3 miles south west of Wragby, Lincolnshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF North Killingholme, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B Mk. I NF932/BQ-B2, 550 Squadron, RAF: Took off at 21:39 on 13 February 1945 from RAF North Killingholm, Lincolnshire on "Operation Thunderclap" (the raid on Dresden) but twenty minutes after departure (at approximately 22:00 local time) collided at 8,000 feet with a 300 Squadron Lancaster (PA185) also en-route to Dresden.

Both aircraft fell to earth at Stotts Farm, Apley, 3 miles south west of Wragby, Lincolnshire. All seven crew on board Lancaster NF932 were killed. (All seven crew on board Lancaster PA185 were also killed - see separate entry). The bodies of the two Air Gunners were found but the rest of the crew could not be identified and they are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

Crew of Lancaster NF932
Flight Lieutenant Eric Sidney ALLEN (179320): Commemorated Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom
Pilot Officer John Riley BYRNE (188508): Commemorated Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom
Sergeant Reginald George CRUMP (1315733) Air Gunner: Commemorated Ebbw Vale Cemetery, United Kingdom
Flight Sergeant Alexander Beveridge DENNISON (1566359): Commemorated Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom
Flight Sergeant George Albert MAGINLEY (1565120): Commemorated Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom
Flying Officer James Edward MURRAY-SHIRREFF (173508) Air Gunner: Commemorated Lincoln (Newport) Cemetery, United Kingdom
Sergeant Edward Thomas SMITH (2221148): Commemorated Runnymede Memorial, United Kingdom

Sgt Edward Thomas Smith was 42, an exceptional age for a Lancaster crew member, and possibly one of the oldest Lancaster crew members to lose his life in operational service in WWII.

Apley is a hamlet and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) west from the hamlet of Kingthorpe and the site of Kingthorpe railway station, and approximately 2 miles (3 km) south-west from Wragby. The parish includes the hamlets of New Apley, Hop Lane, and Kingthorpe.

1. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999
2. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
3. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain 1985)
4. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/wardead/details.php?qnum=31390
5. https://www.bcar.org.uk/new1945-incident-logs#feb
6. 550 Squadron Operational Record Book (Record of Events for the period 1 to 28 February 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2307/32 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8415005
7. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.80): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/Lancaster/NF906-NF975/mobile/index.html
8. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/February/prt2/2.html
9. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1082691/eric-sidney-allen/
10.CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1531022/john-riley-byrne/
11. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2448029/reginald-george-crump/
12. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/232123/alexander-beveridge-dennison/
13. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1079805/george-albert-maginley/
14. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2358650/james-edward-murray-shirreff/
15. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1807415/edward-thomas-smith/
16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderclap_plan
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden
18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._550_Squadron_RAF#RAF_Killinghome
19: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_North_Killingholme#History
20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apley

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Jul-2024 17:44	Military Historian	Added
18-Jan-2025 17:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, ]
18-Jan-2025 17:04	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, ]
07-Feb-2025 15:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, ]