While the aircraft was flying on the Hamburg-Berlin air corridor over East Germany it was shot down by a Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 fighter.

The Avro Lincoln was operated by the Central Gunnery School at RAF Leconfield and was on a routine long-distance training flight.

[1][3] German civilians on the ground reported that two British airmen bailed out from the doomed aircraft, only to be strafed and killed by one of the MiG 15s.

[1] The Soviet news agency stated that the Lincoln had been flying over the German Democratic Republic and had failed to respond to lawful commands to land at the nearest airfield and had shot at the fighters.

[1] The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill condemned the attack in a statement to parliament and emphasised the Avro Lincoln was not armed and within the agreed air corridor.