Date:	Thursday 5 April 1945
Time:	05:36 LT
Type:	Avro Lancaster B.I
Owner/operator:	166 Squadron, RAF
Registration:	LM289
MSN:	AS-Y
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Old Mill Farm at Barnetby-le-Wold, Melton Ross, Lincolnshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Kirmington, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Kirmington, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B.1 LM289/AS-Y, 166 Squadron, RAF with Flying Officer Raymond Attwell Ayton RNZAF and crew on their first operation crashed and destroyed near Mill Farm, Barnetby-le-Wold, Melton Ross, Lincolnshire on the morning of 5 April 1945.

They were part of a large force sent to bomb a synthetic oil plant at Lutzkendorf. Three aircraft took off from RAF Kirmington, Lincolnshire at 21:16hrs on the evening of 4 April 1945 and had been in the air for over eight hours before crashing on approach to Kirmington airfield. In a crowded circuit in poor visibility, the Lancaster dived to avoid another 166 Squadron Lancaster at 800 feet; the bomber dived to avoid another aircraft spotted by the rear gunner and hit rising ground near Old Mill Farm at Barnetby-le-Wold, on the Melton Ross to Bigby Road at 05.36am local time. The aircraft was in broken into 2 sections with 2 engines actually on the road.

Five of the seven crew died. The only survivors were the pilot, Flying Officer Raymond Attwell Ayton, and the rear gunner, Sgt J Benson. Both were seriously injured.

Flying Officer Raymond Attwell Ayton RNZAF (Service Number 4211714)(Pilot) - survived but seriously injured
Sgt. Kenneth Hardy Butcher RAFVR (Service Number 1605645)(Pilot/Flight Engineer aged 24): Son of William Hardy Butcher and of Dora Daisy Butcher, of Southall, Middlesex. Buried at Cambridge City Cemetery.

Sgt. Adrian Gordon Stewart Laidlaw RAFVR (Service Number 1588408)(Navigator aged 21): Son of Edward Douglas and Isabel Stewart Laidlaw, of Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. Buried at Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire.

Flt/Sgh Ronald James McClean Bell RNZAF (Seervice Number 4215788) (Air Bomber aged 22): Son of Garnet Garvin Bell and Ethel Eliza Bell, of Matamata, Auckland, New Zealand.(His brother Peter Garvin Bell, also died in service). Buried at Cambridge City Cemetery, Cambridgeshire.

Sgt. Alwyn Nicholson RAFVR (Service Number 1990583)(Wireless Operator/Air Gunner aged 20): Son of Mr and Mrs Arnold Nicholson of York, Buried at Acomb St Stephen Churchyard, East Yorkshire.

Sgt. Denis John Blackie Barlow RAFVR (Service Number 1193636) (Mid Upper Gunner aged 22): Son of Victor George and Margaret May Barlow, of Headley. Awarded the Bronze Medal of the R.S.P.C.A., 1934. Buried at Headley All Saints Churchyard, Hampshire.

Sgt. J Benson RAFVR (Service Number 2228305)(Air Gunner) - survived but seriously injured.

Barnetby le Wold is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England, located between Brigg and Immingham. The village is also near Barton-upon-Humber.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents:
2. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 108)
3. https://www.bcar.org.uk/new1945-incident-logs#apr
4. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=LM289
5. https://forum.rafcommands.com/forum/general-category/12443-166-squadron-crash
6. https://www.northlincsweb.net/RAFElshamWolds/html/4-5th_april_1945_-_166_sqn_raf_kirmington_-_avro_lancaster_i__-_.html
7. 166 Squadron RAF Operations Record Book (1 January 1943-30 November 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/1089 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2503728
8. https://www.raf166squadron.com/Individuals.htm
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._166_Squadron_RAF#History
10. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2650952/kenneth-hardy-butcher/
11. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2651274/adrian-gordon-stewart-laidlaw/
12. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2650908/ronald-james-mcclean-bell/
13. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2406214/alwyn-nicholson/
14. CWGC: https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2438873/dennis-john-blackie-barlow/
15. https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/101118/
16, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melton_Ross
17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnetby_le_Wold

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Jan-2025 00:00	Dr. John Smith	Added
15-Jan-2025 00:05	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, ]