Date:	Tuesday 8 May 1945
Time:	12:08
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk III
Owner/operator:	576 Squadron, RAF
Registration:	NN806
MSN:	UL-M
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Take off
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B Mk. III NN806/UL-M of 576 Squadron, RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire; Written off (destroyed) 8 May 1945 in a take-off accident at RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire.

The Lancaster was engaged in Operation MANNA - dropping of food supplies to the people of the Netherlands in the Rotterdam area. During the takeoff run from RAF Fiskerton at 12:08hrs, Lancaster NN806 swung off the runway at speed, causing the undercarriage to collapse, and the aircraft sustained sufficient damage to cause the airframe to be written off. The lancaster skidded along the main runway for some 100 yards stopping opposite the now demolished T2 Hanger. The site of this Hanger is now the present day Firing range. The Hanger base now covered in an earth mound

Of the seven crew on board, only one - Flying Officer G R Cross - sustained any injuries (a sprained/broken wrist). All the other six crew members were uninjured.

This incident was the final flying accident involving 576 Squadron - and indeed the final flying incident in the whole of Lincolnshire involving a Lancaster - before VE Day (Victory In Europe) which was declared the same day.

Brief History of Lancaster NN806
Built by Austin Motors at Longbridge, Brimingham to Contract Acft/2827
07-02-1945: Delivered to 576 Squadron, RAF Fiskerton, Lincolnshire as 'UL-M'
08-05-1945: Sustained Cat.E(FA) damage in a flying accident at RAF Fiskerton as per the above
18-05-1945: Struck off charge as FACE (Flying Accident Cat. E)

1. Air-Britain Royal Air Force Aircraft NA100-NZ999
2. Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War 1945
3. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain 1985)
4. Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database
5. 576 Squadron RAF Operational Record Book (Summary of Events for the period 1 May to 30 May 1945): National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 27/2047/35 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8415155
6. https://www.bcar.org.uk/new1945-incident-logs#may
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/database/serials/details.php?uniq=NN806
8. Aircraft Movement Card (Air Ministry Form AM.78): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-78s/Lancaster/NN765-NN816/mobile/index.html
9. Aircraft Accident Record Card (Air Ministry Form AM.1180): https://lancasterbombersinfo.ipage.com/Data/Form-1180/Lancaster/1945/May/prt1/1.html
10. https://www.avro-lancaster.info/nnseries/nn806
11. Photo of accident: http://fiskertonairfield.org.uk/images/lanc_crash_copy.jpg
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operations_Manna_and_Chowhound#Operation_Manna
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._576_Squadron_RAF#History
14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Fiskerton

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
23-Feb-2025 00:09	Dr. John Smith	Added
24-Feb-2025 03:19	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Embed code, ]