Date:	Tuesday 2 January 1945
Time:	23:10
Type:	Avro Lancaster Mk I
Owner/operator:	150 Sqn RAF
Registration:	NG421
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Other fatalities:	7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Sudbrooke, Lincolnshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:
Destination airport:

Narrative:
During the night of 2-3 January 1945, actually mostly if not all during the evening of the 2nd, RAF Bomber Command flew 1069 sorties and lost 15 aircraft: 5 crashed in Germany, 6 in England and 4 in France. Crew losses were 48 killed, 7 captured and 1 injured. The following operations were flown:
_ 514 Lancasters and 7 Mosquitoes of 1, 3, 6 and 8 Group attacked Nuremberg, scene of so many disappointments for Bomber Command. It finally succumbed to this attack. The Pathfinders produced good ground-marking for the attack, visibility was good with a rising full moon. The city was devastated by the bombing runs with 4,640 houses destroyed. The centre of the city, particularly the eastern half, was destroyed. The castle, the Rathaus, almost all the churches and about 2,000 preserved medieval houses went up in flames. The industrial area in the south, containing the important M.A.N. and Siemens factories, as well as the railway system were severely damaged. 415 industrial buildings were destroyed. 1,838 people were killed and at least 50 more missing, injuries were not recorded. Six Lancasters were lost in Germany and France and four more crashed in England.
_ 351 Halifaxes, 22 Lancasters and 16 Mosquitoes of 4, 6 and 8 Groups attacked Ludwigshafen. The aiming point for this raid was the area of the two I.G. Farben chemical factories. A local report shows that the bombing was accurate, with severe damage to the main I.G. Farben factory and to the same firm’s factory at nearby Oppau. Estimated totals of 500 HE bombs and 10,000 incendiaries fell inside the limits of these factories, causing much damage. 10 large, 30 medium and 200 small fires were recorded at the main factory. Production failure at both plants was complete because of ’loss of power’. 13 other industrial firms and several railway installations were also hit; the train of a railway repair unit was destroyed. Only a small proportion of the bombing fell in housing areas. 103 houses were destroyed and 251 seriously damaged. 1,800 people were bombed out, but the people of Ludwigshafen must have been provided with very good shelters as only five were killed and 50 injured. One Halifax crashed in France and two in England
_ 53 Mosquitoes raided Berlin. One was lost in Germany.
_ 9 Mosquitoes raided Castrop-Rauxel. One was lost in Germany.
_ 7 Mosquitoes raided Hanau.
_ 49 RCM sorties.
_ 41 Mosquito patrols.
_____________________________________________

On return from the Nuremberg raid, the Lancaster I NG421 IQ-M of 150 Sqn and the Lancaster III PB515 P4-N of 153 Sqn collided in the air at 2310 hrs and both aircraft came down at Sudbrooke, 3 miles NNE of Lincoln. There was no survivor.

Crew:-
Pilot : Flying Officer Geoffrey Lomax Russell RAFVR 161392 [Killed] (NCO:984646 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 28 December, 1943)
Flight Engineer : Sergeant Geoffrey Hargreaves RAFVR 1595729 [Killed]
Navigator : Flight Sergeant Peter Henry Rodwell RAFVR 1585725 [Killed]
Bomb Aimer : Flight Sergeant Frank Jones RAFVR 1320065 [Killed]
Wireless Operator : Sergeant Joseph Geoffrey Hammond RAFVR 2209047 [Killed]
Mid-Upper Gunner : Sergeant John Thomas Frampton RAFVR 1899438 [Killed]
Rear Gunner : Sergeant George Edward William Redmile RAFVR 1596594 [Killed]

This aircraft was lost on its first operation with a total of seven hours.

"Royal Air Force Bomber Command losses, vol 6. Aircraft and Crews Losses 1945", by W R Chorley, ISBN 0-904597-92-X
"The Bomber Command War Diaries", by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt, ISBN 1-85780-033-8
http://www.bcar.org.uk/1945-incident-logs
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudbrooke
http://www.maplandia.com/united-kingdom/england/east-midlands/lincolnshire-county/sudbrooke/
Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
02-Jan-2019 11:13	Laurent Rizzotti	Added
19-Feb-2019 11:33	TigerTimon	Updated [Other fatalities]
02-Jan-2024 08:07	Rob Davis	Updated [Source, Narrative]