Date:	Thursday 21 February 1946
Time:	11:20
Type:	Avro Lancaster B Mk I
Owner/operator:	115 Sqn RAF
Registration:	PB373
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 6 / Occupants: 6
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Red House Farm, Fosse Lane, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Graveley, Huntingdonshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Avro Lancaster B. Mk. I PB373, 115 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 21 February 1946 when exploded in flight and crashed at Red House Farm, Fosse Lane, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. All six crew on board killed.

The crew was completing a test flight when the aircraft exploded in the air, disintegrated and eventually crashed in a field. The exact cause of the accident could not be determined with certainty. However, the elevator rib booms had failed under high stress loads, and the aircraft's wingtips failed.

It is also possible that the aircraft caught fire in flight. Several elements from elevators and wings were sheared off while the aircraft was diving into the ground. The explosion took place at 1,000 feet, and the wreckage was spread over a wide area with the largest "chunks" coming down at Fosse Cottages, Fosse Way, and Red House Farm, between Cubbington and Offchurch.

Crew of Lancaster PB373:
Pilot: Flight Lieutenant 153835 John Douglas Cantrell (aged 23) RAFVR killed on active service 21/2/46, buried at Fulford Cemetery, York, North Yorkshire
Flight Engineer: Flight Sergeant 1737531 Donald Frederick Payne RAFVR killed on active service 21/2/46, buried at St. Peter's Churchyard, Stockerston, Leicestershire
Air Bomber: Flight Lieutenant 154518 Frederick Reginald Berry (aged 21) RAFVR killed on active service 21/2/46, buried at Stapleford Cemetery, Cambridgeshire
Navigator: Flight Sergeant 1410814 Maurice John Newman (aged 23) RAFVR killed on active service 21/2/46, buried at Avonview Cemetery, Bristol, Gloucestershire
Wireless Op/Air Gunner: Flight Sergeant 1819939 Dennis William Crutchley (aged 21) RAFVR killed on active service 21/2/46, buried at Burton-upon-Trent Cemetery, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire
Air Gunner: Flight Sergeant 1811928 Ronald Stedman RAFVR killed on active service 21/2/46 buried at City of London Cemetery & Crematorium, Manor Park, East Ham, London

Of the six crew, one of the bodies was found within the fuselage of the aircraft, three in a field nearby to the wreckage, and two others 100 yards from the wreckage. It was feared that a seventh body could not be located despite a frantic search, but, in fact, the seventh man, Flt/Sgt. Robinson, who had been due to take part in the sortie, was safe and well back at base (RAF Graveley).

A single parachute had been observed to descend from the aircraft but on closer inspection it became clear that there was no harness attached to it and it must therefore have been blown clear and unfurled during its descent. There was an unfortunate event once the bodies had been located in which a man was seen trying to steal a wristwatch from one of the bodies. This was reported in several newspapers after the event. The individual concerned was spotted and told to put it back by a local resident. He did so, and made off without the watch.

Note that the official RAF/Air Ministry Board of Inquiry into the incident (National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/28/W2327: see link #15) gives the crash location as "Queniborough, Leicester" (sic). Not only that, but the official report also mis-identifies the aircraft involved as "Type: Lincoln 3 (PB-373)" [sic]. Perhaps an Air Ministry Official confused this incident with the loss of Avro Lincoln B.2 RF385 of 57 Squadron (which did indeed crash at Queniborough, Leicester on 20 February 1946 - the day before)?

However, Part of the wreckage was found by aviation enthusiasts belonging to Midlands Aircraft Recovery Group who were undertaking a field survey. Information given by that group to the Excavation Index suggests that the location of the wreckage was at SP 3380 5930 "off Fosse Way". Study of the Ordnance Survey 1:10000, 1977 map puts the National Grid Reference given as in the general vicinity of Field Farm Cottages, to the west of Fosse Way.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.33. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain,1992, p.8)
3. The Lancaster File (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1985 p 120)
4. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.78
5. https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1371724&resourceID=19191
6. http://aircrewremembered.com/cantrell-john-douglas.html
7. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.95: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
8. 115 Sqn RAF ORB for the period 1-8-1945 to 31-7-1947: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2443/10: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8420872
9. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-avro-683-lancaster-iii-leamington-spa-6-killed
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2407925/cantrell,-john-douglas/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2719354/payne,-donald-frederick/
12. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2651897/berry,-frederick-reginald/
13. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2651897/berry,-frederick-reginald/
14. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2450624/newman,-maurice-john/
15. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2712732/crutchley,-dennis-william/
16. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2734198/stedman,-ronald/
17. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/28/W2327: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578173
18. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/28/W2328: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578174
19. https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/loss/290035
20. https://www.avro-lancaster.info/pbseries/PB373
21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cubbington

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
27-Sep-2008 01:00	ASN archive	Added
23-May-2010 12:09	TB	Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Nature, Narrative]
26-Aug-2013 18:35	JINX	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Phase, Source, Narrative]
28-Oct-2018 16:18	Nepa	Updated [Time, Operator, Operator]
04-Nov-2019 23:07	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]
05-Nov-2019 22:45	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
21-Nov-2019 19:46	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
15-Jun-2021 23:58	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
16-Jun-2021 00:03	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Narrative]
16-Jun-2021 18:55	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
13-Jul-2021 16:17	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Category]
13-Jul-2021 16:19	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source, Category]
13-Jul-2023 13:23	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Source, Category]]