Date:	Friday 1 February 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk III
Owner/operator:	BTU RAF
Registration:	PB758
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	RAF Castle Kennedy, 3 miles East of Stranraer, Wigtownshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Castle Kennedy, Dumfries & Galloway
Destination airport:	RAF Castle Kennedy, Dumfries & Galloway
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B. Mk. III PB758, BTU (Bomber Training Unit): Written off (damaged beyond repair) 1 February 1946. The aircraft had been flown away from the airfield (RAF Castle Kennedy, 3 miles East of Stranraer, Wigtownshire) in contradiction to the instructions given to the crew in the pre-flight briefing. These instructions were given to the crew, as the briefed sortie involved feathering three of the Lancaster's four engines at once.

The pilot could not maintain altitude on one engine only, and all attempts to unfeather any (or all) of the other three engines failed, as the batteries were flat. On landing back at RAF Castle Kennedy, the undercarriage of Lancaster PB758 collapsed on touchdown, as the undercarriage had not been locked in the down position.

The subsequent RAF Board of Inquiry discovered that all of the aircraft batteries had become discharged, due to the daily inspection of the batteries not having been carried out correctly. No checks were made as to the state of charge of the batteries. This error was compounded by the Flight Engineer of Lancaster PB758 failing to set the battery charging switch to the ON position prior to take off.

Although the Lancaster was written off (deemed "damaged beyond repair") all of the crew survived uninjured. Lancaster PB758 was Struck Off Charge on 20-3-46 as Cat. E(FA)

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.27. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
3. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985)
4. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.57
5. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.95: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
6. https://www.avro-lancaster.info/pbseries/PB758
7. https://www.solwaymilitarytrail.co.uk/trail-attractions/raf-castle-kennedy/
8. https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/castle-kennedy-lochinch-stranraer/
9. https://canmore.org.uk/site/79025/castle-kennedy-airfield
10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Castle_Kennedy

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Aug-2013 20:37	JINX	Added
01-Nov-2019 20:11	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
04-Nov-2019 03:00	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Nov-2019 10:28	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator]
07-Jun-2021 00:42	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
07-Jun-2021 00:43	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Phase]
08-Jun-2021 21:10	Anon.	Updated [Operator, Operator]
18-Jul-2023 02:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Operator, Operator]]