Date:	Wednesday 24 September 1947
Time:	night
Type:	Avro Lincoln B Mk 2
Owner/operator:	97 (Straits Settlements) Sqn RAF
Registration:	RE373
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 9 / Occupants: 9
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Mautby, 1 mile west of Caister, Norfolk, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire
Destination airport:	RAF Hemswell, Lincolnshire

Narrative:
Avro Lincoln RE373 of 97 (Straits Settlement) Squadron RAF is believed to have crashed as the result of a lightning strike, followed by loss of control. Crashed in Mautby, one mile west of Caistor, Norfolk, near RAF Coltishall 24 September 1947

Aircraft dived into the ground, out of control, whilst on Night Navigational Exercise (routed Hemswell-Cherbourg (France)-Hemswell). It is believed to have lost control or broken up when flying in a heavy cu-nimbus cloud as it crossed the Norfolk coast near Great Yarmouth…but evidence was inconclusive. All nine crew were killed:

Pilot I Stanley Frederick WHITLOCK Age 26, Service Number 926800
Pilot IV Jack Anthony GUEST Age 22 Second Pilot, Service Number 1820826
Flight Lieutenant John George COOK Age 24 Navigator, Service Number 163572
Flight Lieutenant Ronald Vernon HAVARD Age 24 Navigator (617 Sqn – Flying as Bomb Aimer) Service Number 163917
Signaller II Albert WATTLEWORTH Age 21, Service Number 2218676
Air Gunner Vincent Orvill WOODS Age 22, Service Number 3031017
Flight Engineer II William ALLISON Age 32, Service Number 527043
Air Gunner II Roy Andrew TRUNDLE Age 22, Service Number 1866055
Aircraftman 1st Class Denis Frederick CUMMINGS Age 23, Service Number 2263628

All the crew except Roy Trundle, who is buried in Lowestoft cemetery, were interred in Caister cemetery.

Mautby is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, in the East Flegg Hundred. The parish comprises a largely rural area along the north bank of the river Bure, and also includes the small villages of Runham and Thrigby. It is located some 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of the town of Great Yarmouth and 30 km (19 mi) east of the city of Norwich.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.67. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Air Britain: RAF Aircraft PA100 - RZ999, published 1992
3. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.339-340
4. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/29/W2394: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578240
5. 97 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-6-1945 to 31-7-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2444/1: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8420937
6. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-694-lincoln-b2-mautby-9-killed
7. http://www.aircrewremembrancesociety.com/lincolnloss.html
8. http://www.kentfallen.com/PDF%20REPORTS/BRASTED.pdf
9. http://ww2talk.com/forums/topic/998-lincoln-bomber-re373/
10. https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=99238497
11. https://www.findagrave.com/page=gr&GRid=99302066
12. https://www.lowestoftjournal.co.uk/news/special-service-of-commemoration-marks-the-70th-anniversary-of-tragic-plane-crash-near-great-yarmouth-1-5207458
13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_Avro_Lincoln
14. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763809/whitlock,-stanley-frederick/
15. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763745/guest,-jack-anthony/
16. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763726/cook,-john-george/
17. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763750/havard,-ronald-vernon/
18. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763804/wattleworth,-albert/
19. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763813/woods,-vincent-orville/
20. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763714/allison,-william/
21. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2720937/trundle,-roy-andrew/
22. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2763728/cummings,-denis-frederick-george/
23. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6531796
24. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mautby

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
19-May-2011 22:00	angels one five	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
03-Jan-2012 05:44	Uli Elch	Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
12-Jan-2013 07:15	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Narrative]
26-Apr-2013 08:50	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
07-Jun-2013 13:50	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator]
02-Jun-2017 20:08	Anon.	Updated [Location]
26-Nov-2019 20:22	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
26-Nov-2019 21:11	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
08-May-2023 17:18	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]
13-May-2023 19:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[[Destination airport, Source, Narrative]]]