richcreator
August 24th, 2011, 17:12
The events in Tripoli brings back memories and got me to wondering.
Has this event been registered or depicted in any SOH add-on missions?
On 9 November 1958, British geologists flying over the Libyan Desert spotted an aircraft resting on the sand dunes
approximately 400 statute miles (640 km) south of Benghazi, Libya. A ground party reached the site in March 1959
and discovered the plane to be the Lady Be Good, a B-24D Liberator of the USAAF's 376th Bomb Group (AAF Serial No. 41-24301).
The USAAF bomber had disappeared after a 4 April 1943 high-altitude bombing attack by 25 Liberators from an AAF base at
Sulûq (near Benghazi) against the harbor facilities at Naples, Italy.
All planes but one returned to Allied territory that night—the one missing was the Lady Be Good.
Evidence at the site indicated that the Lady Be Good crew had become lost in the dark on the return from Naples and mistook
the nighttime desert for the Mediterranean Sea. The aircrew had overflown Sulûq southward into the desert. With the B-24's
fuel supply depleted, the nine men aboard had bailed out and disappeared while attempting to walk northward to civilization.
Intensive searches were made for clues as to the fate of the crew to no avail. In 1960, the remains of eight airmen were found,
one near the plane and the other seven far to the north. The body of the ninth crewman was never found. Five had trekked
78 miles (125 km) before perishing, and one had gone 109 miles (175 km). In addition, they had lived eight days rather than
only the two expected of men in the desert with little or no water.
Numerous parts from the Lady Be Good were returned to the U.S. for technical study.
On leaving Turkey in 1956, I spent some time at Whellus AFB in Tripoli where I listened to the radio broadcast of the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen in the world series.
46679
Has this event been registered or depicted in any SOH add-on missions?
On 9 November 1958, British geologists flying over the Libyan Desert spotted an aircraft resting on the sand dunes
approximately 400 statute miles (640 km) south of Benghazi, Libya. A ground party reached the site in March 1959
and discovered the plane to be the Lady Be Good, a B-24D Liberator of the USAAF's 376th Bomb Group (AAF Serial No. 41-24301).
The USAAF bomber had disappeared after a 4 April 1943 high-altitude bombing attack by 25 Liberators from an AAF base at
Sulûq (near Benghazi) against the harbor facilities at Naples, Italy.
All planes but one returned to Allied territory that night—the one missing was the Lady Be Good.
Evidence at the site indicated that the Lady Be Good crew had become lost in the dark on the return from Naples and mistook
the nighttime desert for the Mediterranean Sea. The aircrew had overflown Sulûq southward into the desert. With the B-24's
fuel supply depleted, the nine men aboard had bailed out and disappeared while attempting to walk northward to civilization.
Intensive searches were made for clues as to the fate of the crew to no avail. In 1960, the remains of eight airmen were found,
one near the plane and the other seven far to the north. The body of the ninth crewman was never found. Five had trekked
78 miles (125 km) before perishing, and one had gone 109 miles (175 km). In addition, they had lived eight days rather than
only the two expected of men in the desert with little or no water.
Numerous parts from the Lady Be Good were returned to the U.S. for technical study.
On leaving Turkey in 1956, I spent some time at Whellus AFB in Tripoli where I listened to the radio broadcast of the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen in the world series.
46679