Date:	Wednesday 20 February 1946
Time:
Type:	Avro Lincoln B Mk 2
Owner/operator:	57 Sqn RAF
Registration:	RF385
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1 mile east of Queniborough, near Barsby, Leicestershire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Avro Lincoln Mk.2 RF385/DX-G, 57 Squadron RAF: Took off from RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire, on a combined air test and cross-country navigation exercise. Lost control in cloud and crashed near Barsby, Leicestershire, all seven crew being killed. The crash was reported in the Daily Herald of 21 February 1946, which reported that it crashed 1 mile East of Queniborough, near Barsby, Leicestershire. It also appears that the crash of RF385 was the first ever fatal incident involving the Avro Lincoln.

Crew of Lincoln RF385
HORTON, Michael Geoffrey – F/Lt (Pilot) – 150654 – RAFVR – Oxford (Botley) Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
REES, Evan Donald – F/O (Nav) – 185845 – RAFVR – Merthyr Tydfil (Cefn) Cemetery, Brecknockshire.
DANSKY, Robert – F/Sgt – 1827224 – RAFVR – Glasgow (Glenduffhill) Jewish, Cemetery, Glasgow.
GRANT, Sydney Bond – F/Sgt (Air Bomber) – 1567881 – RAFVR – Ardrossan Cemetery, Ayrshire.
REEVE, Russell Mouatt – F/Sgt (Radio Op/Air) – 1876156 – RAFVR – Rugby (Whinfield) Cemetery, Warwickshire.
WELLS, George Arnold – W/O (A/G) – 1522610 – RAFVR – York Cemetery, Yorkshire.
YORK, Arthur John Alfred – W/O (A/G) – 1514962 – RAFVR – Irchester Cemetery, Northamptonshire.

Disbanded on 25 November 1945, 57 Squadron reformed the following day when 103 Squadron’s Avro Lincoln Flight was re-numbered as 57 Squadron. On 2 December 1945 the squadron moved to RAF Scampton before moving to RAF Lindholme with the Lincolns, then moved again in October 1946 to RAF Waddington

Lincoln RF385 was finished in the "Tiger Force" colour scheme (as applied to late-production Lancasters) with white upper surfaces and gloss black under surfaces with a low demarcation line. These also sported National Marking Type A upper surface roundels (red, white and blue with the narrow white ring) (see photo link #8)

The crash location was between Queniborough and Barsby in Leicestershire. Queniborough is an English village in the county of Leicestershire 2.5 miles (4 km) north-east of the town of Syston and of 7.5 miles (12 km) north-east of the city of Leicester. The two locations are three-and-a-half miles apart along the Croxton Road

Note that the official RAF/Air Ministry Board of Inquiry into the crash of Avro Lancaster PB373 of 115 Squadron at Cubbington, Warwickshire (National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/28/W2327) gives the crash location of that accident 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 the loss of Avro Lancaster PB373 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)?

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.32 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.75
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. Daily Herald 21 February 1946
5. 57 Squadron ORB for the period 1-1-1946 to 31-7-1950: National Archives (PRO Kew) file AIR 27/2423/2 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8420015
6. https://57squadron.wordpress.com/post-war-1945-1953/
7. Biography of Navigator: https://www.thejewsoftheraf.co.uk/dansky-robert/
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accidents_and_incidents_involving_the_Avro_Lincoln#1940s
9. Photo of Lincoln RF385 with white upper surfaces published in "Flight" January 17, 1946 p.52: https://www.worldwarphotos.info/wp-content/gallery/uk/raf/lincoln/Lincoln_RF385.jpg
10. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235025226-avro-lincoln-re424/&do=findComment&comment=2792698
11. https://losses.internationalbcc.co.uk/kiosk/loss/290030
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._57_Squadron_RAF#Early_Cold_War_(1945%E2%80%931957)
13. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.95: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
14. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2436895/michael-geoffrey-horton/
15. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2965295/evan-donald-rees/
16. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2452999/robert-dansky/
17. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2455316/sydney-bond-grant/
18. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2714767/russell-mouatt-reeve/
19. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2414631/george-arnold-wells/
20. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2949301/arthur-john-alfred-york/
21. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/28/W2327: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578173
22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsby
23. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queniborough

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-Jun-2021 22:29	Dr. John Smith	Added
15-Jun-2021 22:31	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
15-Jun-2021 22:32	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative]
16-Jun-2021 08:09	Adelaida	Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Operator]
13-Jul-2023 17:34	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Time, Operator, Location, Operator]]