{"id":4151431,"date":"2026-07-06T16:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T14:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=4151431"},"modified":"2026-10-02T22:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T20:38:11","slug":"lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bomber the Desert Kept for 15 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color .15s}\n.mfsh-trigger:hover,.mfsh-trigger:focus-visible{background:#0F1720;color:#fff;outline:none}\n.mfsh-trigger svg{width:18px;height:18px;display:block;flex-shrink:0}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-bottom{margin:8px 0 28px}\n.mfsh-meta{position:relative;padding-right:190px}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta{position:absolute;right:0;bottom:0;margin:0;height:30px;padding:0 8.9px;font-size:13px}\n.mfsh-trigger.mfsh-inmeta svg{width:16px;height:16px}\n.mfsh-overlay{position:fixed;inset:0;background:rgba(15,23,32,.55);z-index:99999;display:flex;align-items:flex-end;justify-content:center;opacity:0;pointer-events:none;transition:opacity .2s}\n.mfsh-overlay.mfsh-open{opacity:1;pointer-events:auto}\n.mfsh-sheet{width:100%;max-width:520px;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;padding:18px 20px 28px;transform:translateY(24px);transition:transform .22s;box-shadow:0 12px 32px rgba(15,23,32,.25);font-family:inherit;max-height:92vh;overflow:auto;-webkit-overflow-scrolling:touch}\n.mfsh-overlay.mfsh-open .mfsh-sheet{transform:none}\n@media (min-width:640px){.mfsh-overlay{align-items:center}.mfsh-sheet{padding-bottom:20px}}\n.mfsh-head{display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:space-between;margin:0 0 14px}\n.mfsh-head strong{font-size:18px;font-weight:800;display:flex;align-items:center;gap:8px;line-height:1}\n.mfsh-head strong svg{width:18px;height:18px}\n.mfsh-close{background:none;border:0;padding:6px;margin:0;cursor:pointer;color:#0F1720;line-height:0;box-shadow:none}\n.mfsh-close svg{width:18px;height:18px}\n.mfsh-preview{display:grid;grid-template-columns:96px 1fr;gap:12px;border:1px solid #DCE3EE;background:#F5F7FB;padding:10px;margin:0 0 12px;align-items:center}\n.mfsh-preview img{width:96px;height:72px;object-fit:cover;display:block;margin:0}\n.mfsh-preview .mfsh-kicker{font-size:10px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5C91FF;margin:0 0 4px;line-height:1.2}\n.mfsh-preview .mfsh-title{font-size:14px;line-height:1.3;font-weight:700;margin:0;display:block}\n.mfsh-list{display:grid;margin:0;padding:0}\n.mfsh-item{display:flex;align-items:center;gap:14px;height:50px;width:100%;border:0;border-top:1px solid #DCE3EE;background:none;padding:0 4px;margin:0;text-align:left;font-family:inherit;font-size:15px;font-weight:600;color:#0F1720;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;line-height:1}\n.mfsh-item:hover,.mfsh-item:focus-visible{background:#F5F7FB;outline:none}\n.mfsh-item svg{width:20px;height:20px;color:#5C91FF;flex-shrink:0;display:block}\n.mfsh-item small{margin-left:auto;color:#5B6674;font-weight:500;font-size:12px}\n.mfsh-item.mfsh-done svg{color:#1E9E5A}\n.mfsh-toast{position:fixed;left:50%;bottom:32px;transform:translate(-50%,10px);background:#0F1720;color:#fff;padding:10px 16px;font-weight:700;font-size:13px;font-family:inherit;opacity:0;pointer-events:none;transition:opacity .2s,transform .2s;z-index:100000}\n.mfsh-toast.mfsh-show{opacity:1;transform:translate(-50%,0)}\n@media (prefers-reduced-motion:reduce){.mfsh-overlay,.mfsh-sheet,.mfsh-toast,.mfsh-trigger{transition:none}}\n<\/style>\n<svg width=\"0\" height=\"0\" style=\"position:absolute\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-share\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.9\" stroke-linecap=\"square\" d=\"M12 3v12M8 7l4-4 4 4M5 12v8h14v-8\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-close\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2\" stroke-linecap=\"square\" d=\"m5 5 14 14M19 5 5 19\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-wa\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M12 2a10 10 0 0 0-8.6 15.1L2 22l5.1-1.3A10 10 0 1 0 12 2Zm0 1.8a8.2 8.2 0 1 1-4.2 15.3l-.3-.2-3 .8.8-2.9-.2-.3A8.2 8.2 0 0 1 12 3.8Zm-3 4.4c-.2 0-.5 0-.8.4-.3.3-1 1-1 2.4s1 2.8 1.2 3c.1.2 2 3.2 5 4.4 2.5 1 3 .8 3.5.7.5 0 1.7-.7 2-1.4.2-.7.2-1.3.1-1.4l-.5-.3-2-1c-.3 0-.5-.1-.7.2l-.9 1.1c-.2.2-.3.2-.6.1-.3-.2-1.3-.5-2.4-1.5-.9-.8-1.5-1.8-1.7-2-.2-.4 0-.5.2-.7l.4-.5.3-.5v-.5l-.9-2.2c-.2-.5-.4-.5-.6-.5H9Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-x\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M17.8 3h3l-6.7 7.7L22 21h-6.2l-4.8-6.3L5.4 21h-3l7.2-8.2L2 3h6.3l4.4 5.8L17.8 3Zm-1.1 16.2h1.7L7.4 4.7H5.6l11.1 14.5Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-fb\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M13.5 22v-8h2.7l.4-3.2h-3.1V8.8c0-.9.3-1.6 1.6-1.6h1.7V4.4c-.3 0-1.3-.1-2.5-.1-2.5 0-4.1 1.5-4.1 4.2v2.3H7.4V14h2.8v8h3.3Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-li\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M6.5 8.5H3V21h3.5V8.5ZM4.8 3a2 2 0 1 0 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 0-4ZM21 13.4c0-3.4-1.8-5.2-4.5-5.2-1.6 0-2.7.8-3.2 1.7V8.5H9.9V21h3.4v-6.4c0-1.7.6-2.8 2.1-2.8 1.4 0 2 1 2 2.8V21H21v-7.6Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-rd\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M22 12.1a2.4 2.4 0 0 0-4.1-1.7 11.7 11.7 0 0 0-5.5-1.7l1-4.5 3.1.7a1.7 1.7 0 1 0 .2-1l-3.6-.8a.5.5 0 0 0-.6.4l-1.1 5.2a11.8 11.8 0 0 0-5.8 1.7A2.4 2.4 0 1 0 3 14.3v.5c0 3.4 4 6.2 9 6.2s9-2.8 9-6.2v-.5a2.4 2.4 0 0 0 1-2.2ZM7.5 13.8a1.7 1.7 0 1 1 3.4 0 1.7 1.7 0 0 1-3.4 0Zm8.9 4.5c-1.2 1.2-3.4 1.3-4.4 1.3s-3.3-.1-4.4-1.3a.5.5 0 0 1 .7-.7c.7.8 2.4 1 3.7 1s2.9-.2 3.7-1a.5.5 0 0 1 .7.7Zm-.6-2.8a1.7 1.7 0 1 1 0-3.4 1.7 1.7 0 0 1 0 3.4Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-tg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M21.9 4.6 18.7 19.9c-.2 1-.9 1.3-1.7.8l-4.9-3.6-2.3 2.3c-.3.3-.5.5-1 .5l.4-5 9-8.2c.4-.3-.1-.5-.6-.2L6.4 13.5 1.6 12c-1-.3-1.1-1 .2-1.5l18.8-7.2c.9-.3 1.6.2 1.3 1.3Z\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-mail\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.8\" d=\"M3 6h18v12H3z\"\/><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.8\" d=\"m3 7 9 6 9-6\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-link\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"1.9\" stroke-linecap=\"square\" d=\"M10 14a4 4 0 0 0 5.7 0l3-3a4 4 0 0 0-5.7-5.7l-1.5 1.5M14 10a4 4 0 0 0-5.7 0l-3 3a4 4 0 0 0 5.7 5.7l1.5-1.5\"\/><\/symbol>\n  <symbol id=\"mfsh-i-more\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><circle cx=\"5\" cy=\"12\" r=\"2\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><circle cx=\"12\" cy=\"12\" r=\"2\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><circle cx=\"19\" cy=\"12\" r=\"2\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/><\/symbol>\n<\/svg>\n<span class=\"mfsh-top-slot\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger\" data-mfsh-placement=\"top\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button><\/span>\n<script>\n(function(){\n  if (window.__mfsh) return; window.__mfsh = true;\n  var SECTION = 'afterburner';\n  function meta(p){ var m=document.querySelector('meta[property=\"'+p+'\"]'); return m ? m.getAttribute('content') : ''; }\n  function pageUrl(){ var c=document.querySelector('link[rel=\"canonical\"]'); return (c && c.href) || (location.origin + location.pathname); }\n  function pageTitle(){ var h=document.querySelector('h1.entry-title'); return (h && h.textContent.trim()) || meta('og:title') || document.title; }\n  function slug(){ return location.pathname.replace(\/\\\/+$\/,'').split('\/').pop() || 'home'; }\n  function kicker(){ var c=document.querySelector('.et_pb_title_container a[rel=\"category tag\"], .et_pb_title_container a[rel=\"category\"], a[rel=\"category tag\"]'); return 'Afterburner' + (c && c.textContent.trim() ? ' \u00b7 ' + c.textContent.trim() : ''); }\n  function shareUrl(ch, placement){ return pageUrl() + '?utm_source=share&utm_medium=' + ch + '&utm_campaign=' + SECTION + '&utm_content=sheet_' + placement; }\n  function track(ch, placement, extra){\n    window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];\n    var ev = { event:'share', share_channel:ch, share_variant:'sheet', share_placement:placement, page_section:SECTION, content_id:slug() };\n    if (extra) for (var k in extra) ev[k]=extra[k];\n    window.dataLayer.push(ev);\n  }\n  var CH = [\n    ['whatsapp','WhatsApp','mfsh-i-wa',''],\n    ['x','X','mfsh-i-x',''],\n    ['facebook','Facebook','mfsh-i-fb',''],\n    ['linkedin','LinkedIn','mfsh-i-li',''],\n    ['reddit','Reddit','mfsh-i-rd','r\/aviation, r\/WarplanePorn'],\n    ['telegram','Telegram','mfsh-i-tg',''],\n    ['email','Email','mfsh-i-mail',''],\n    ['copy','Copy link','mfsh-i-link',''],\n    ['native','More','mfsh-i-more','Instagram, Signal, AirDrop']\n  ];\n  var overlay, toastEl, toastT, placement = 'top';\n  function build(){\n    overlay = document.createElement('div'); overlay.className = 'mfsh-overlay'; overlay.setAttribute('role','dialog'); overlay.setAttribute('aria-modal','true'); overlay.setAttribute('aria-label','Share');\n    var img = meta('og:image');\n    var items = CH.filter(function(c){ return c[0] !== 'native' || !!navigator.share; }).map(function(c){\n      return '<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-item\" data-mfsh-ch=\"'+c[0]+'\"><svg><use href=\"#'+c[2]+'\"\/><\/svg>'+c[1]+(c[3]?'<small>'+c[3]+'<\/small>':'')+'<\/button>';\n    }).join('');\n    overlay.innerHTML = '<div class=\"mfsh-sheet\"><div class=\"mfsh-head\"><strong><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share<\/strong><button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-close\" aria-label=\"Close\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-close\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>'\n      + '<div class=\"mfsh-preview\">' + (img ? '<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"'+img+'\" alt=\"\">' : '<span><\/span>') + '<div><div class=\"mfsh-kicker\">'+kicker()+'<\/div><span class=\"mfsh-title\">'+pageTitle()+'<\/span><\/div><\/div>'\n      + '<div class=\"mfsh-list\">'+items+'<\/div><\/div>';\n    document.body.appendChild(overlay);\n    toastEl = document.createElement('div'); toastEl.className = 'mfsh-toast'; document.body.appendChild(toastEl);\n    overlay.addEventListener('click', function(e){\n      if (e.target === overlay || e.target.closest('.mfsh-close')) { close(); return; }\n      var b = e.target.closest('.mfsh-item'); if (b) act(b.getAttribute('data-mfsh-ch'), b);\n    });\n    document.addEventListener('keydown', function(e){ if (e.key === 'Escape') close(); });\n  }\n  function open(p){ placement = p || 'top'; if (!overlay) build(); overlay.classList.add('mfsh-open'); track('open', placement); }\n  function close(){ if (overlay) overlay.classList.remove('mfsh-open'); }\n  function toast(m){ toastEl.textContent = m; toastEl.classList.add('mfsh-show'); clearTimeout(toastT); toastT = setTimeout(function(){ toastEl.classList.remove('mfsh-show'); }, 1600); }\n  function act(ch, btn){\n    var url = shareUrl(ch, placement), t = pageTitle(), enc = encodeURIComponent;\n    if (ch === 'copy') {\n      var done = function(){ toast('Link copied'); btn.classList.add('mfsh-done'); setTimeout(function(){ btn.classList.remove('mfsh-done'); close(); }, 900); };\n      track(ch, placement);\n      if (navigator.clipboard && navigator.clipboard.writeText) navigator.clipboard.writeText(url).then(done, done); else done();\n      return;\n    }\n    if (ch === 'native') {\n      track(ch, placement, { share_result:'opened' });\n      navigator.share({ title:t, text:t, url:url }).then(function(){ track('native', placement, { share_result:'completed' }); close(); }).catch(function(){});\n      return;\n    }\n    var target = {\n      whatsapp: 'https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?text=' + enc(t + ' ' + url),\n      x:        'https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=' + enc(t) + '&url=' + enc(url) + '&via=MiGFlug',\n      facebook: 'https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=' + enc(url),\n      linkedin: 'https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/sharing\/share-offsite\/?url=' + enc(url),\n      reddit:   'https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/submit?url=' + enc(url) + '&title=' + enc(t),\n      telegram: 'https:\/\/t.me\/share\/url?url=' + enc(url) + '&text=' + enc(t),\n      email:    'mailto:?subject=' + enc(t) + '&body=' + enc('Thought you would like this, from Afterburner, MiGFlug\\'s magazine:\\n' + t + '\\n' + url)\n    }[ch];\n    track(ch, placement);\n    if (target) { if (ch === 'email') location.href = target; else window.open(target, '_blank', 'noopener,width=680,height=560'); }\n    close();\n  }\n  var mq = window.matchMedia('(min-width:981px)');\n  function place(){\n    var t = document.querySelector('.mfsh-trigger[data-mfsh-placement=\"top\"]'), slot = document.querySelector('.mfsh-top-slot');\n    var meta = [].slice.call(document.querySelectorAll('.et_pb_title_meta_container, .et_post_meta_wrapper .post-meta, .single .post-meta')).filter(function(m){ return m.offsetParent !== null; })[0];\n    if (!t || !slot) return;\n    if (meta && mq.matches) { meta.classList.add('mfsh-meta'); t.classList.add('mfsh-inmeta'); if (t.parentNode !== meta) meta.appendChild(t); var a = meta.querySelector('a'); if (a) { var pr = document.createElement('span'); pr.style.cssText = 'display:inline-block;width:0;height:0;vertical-align:baseline'; a.appendChild(pr); var base = pr.getBoundingClientRect().bottom; pr.remove(); var fs = parseFloat(getComputedStyle(a).fontSize) || 14, mb = meta.getBoundingClientRect().bottom; t.style.bottom = Math.max(0, mb - (base + fs * 0.12)) + 'px'; } }\n    else { t.classList.remove('mfsh-inmeta'); if (t.parentNode !== slot) slot.appendChild(t); }\n  }\n  if (document.readyState === 'loading') document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', place); else place(); window.addEventListener('load', place); if (document.fonts && document.fonts.ready) document.fonts.ready.then(place); window.addEventListener('resize', place);\n  if (mq.addEventListener) mq.addEventListener('change', place); else mq.addListener(place);\n  document.addEventListener('click', function(e){ var b = e.target.closest('.mfsh-trigger'); if (b) { e.preventDefault(); open(b.getAttribute('data-mfsh-placement') || 'top'); } });\n})();\n<\/script><!-- \/mfsh:top -->\n<\/p>\r\n<p>On 27 February 1959, three British oilmen were driving across a gravel plain deep in the Libyan Sahara, hundreds of miles from anything, when a twin-tailed shape rose out of the heat shimmer. It was an American heavy bomber, broken in two just behind the wings, lying where it had belly-landed. There were no tracks around it. There were no bodies in it.<\/p>\r\n<p>When investigators finally climbed inside, the aircraft seemed frozen in time. The .50-calibre machine guns still fired when the trigger was pulled. A radio lifted from the wreck and installed in a C-47 worked perfectly. A thermos of tea, sixteen years old, was still drinkable.<\/p>\r\n<p>The name painted on the nose read <em>Lady Be Good<\/em> \u2014 a B-24D Liberator that had vanished with nine young men on the night of 4 April 1943, on their very first combat mission. The desert had kept her secret for fifteen years. And the hardest part of the story lay another 85 miles to the north-west.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f5f5f5; border-radius: 8px; padding: 20px 24px; margin: 24px 0;\">\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 10px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 17px;\">Quick Facts: Lady Be Good<\/p>\r\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.6;\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Aircraft<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">Consolidated B-24D Liberator, serial 41-24301<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Unit<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">514th Bomb Squadron, 376th Bomb Group, Ninth Air Force<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Mission<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">Raid on Naples harbour, 4 April 1943 \u2014 the crew\u2019s first<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Crew<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">9 \u2014 one killed in the bailout, eight died in the desert<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Crash site<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">~710 km (440 mi) inland, at the edge of the Calanscio Sand Sea<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Found<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">Spotted from the air in 1958; reached on the ground in 1959<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Key evidence<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">Co-pilot Robert Toner\u2019s pocket diary, recovered February 1960<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 12px 4px 0; font-weight: 600; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top;\">Today<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 4px 0;\">Wreck held at a Libyan base near Tobruk; artefacts at the National Museum of the USAF<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">First Mission, Into a Sandstorm<\/h2>\r\n<p>The crew were as new as the aircraft. Pilot William Hatton and his men had arrived in Libya on 18 March 1943; <em>Lady Be Good<\/em> herself, named after the George Gershwin song, had joined the 514th Bomb Squadron a week later. On the afternoon of 4 April they took off from Soluch Field near Benghazi as part of a 25-bomber raid on the harbour at Naples.<\/p>\r\n<p>A sandstorm churned the formation almost immediately, and several bombers gave up and turned back. <em>Lady Be Good<\/em>, one of the last to take off at 2:15 p.m., pressed on alone toward Italy. Over Naples that evening, haze obscured the target, and the surviving records suggest she released no bombs there \u2014 aircraft on the raid either hit a secondary target or dumped their loads into the Mediterranean to save fuel for the long trip home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 24px 0;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; border-radius: 8px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ga8RM-gf0OI\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">A Bearing With Two Answers<\/h2>\r\n<p>Flying home alone in darkness, the crew ran into a problem that seems small until you understand it. At 12:12 a.m. Hatton radioed the direction-finding station at Benina and asked for a bearing. He was given 330 degrees \u2014 a perfectly correct reading. But the station\u2019s single loop antenna could not tell whether the bomber was north of the field, inbound over the sea, or already south of it, heading into the desert.<\/p>\r\n<p>The crew, on their first mission at night, believed they were still over the Mediterranean. They flew straight over Soluch \u2014 missing the flares fired to catch their attention \u2014 and droned on southward for two more hours, deeper into the Sahara. At around 2 a.m. on 5 April, with the fuel gauges collapsing, all nine men bailed out into blackness they took for open water. Toner\u2019s pocket diary, recovered seventeen years later, recorded the night in a few pencil lines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #5C91FF; padding: 20px 22px; margin: 18px 0 24px; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.7;\"><em>\u201cgot lost returning, out of gas, jumped, landed in the desert at 2:00 in morning, no one badly hurt, can\u2019t find John, all others present\u201d<\/em>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 10px; font-size: 14px; color: #555;\"><strong>2nd Lt. Robert F. Toner<\/strong> \u2014 co-pilot, diary entry dated 4 April 1943, recovered with his remains in 1960<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cJohn\u201d was bombardier John Woravka. His parachute failed to open properly, and he died on landing \u2014 the only man spared what came next. The other eight found each other in the dark by firing revolvers and signal flares, then gathered on the desert floor to wait for dawn.<\/p>\r\n<p>The empty bomber, trimmed by autopilot, glided on for roughly another 26 kilometres (16 miles) before settling onto the gravel on her belly, skidding some 700 yards and breaking in two. One engine was still turning when she hit. Nobody would touch her again for fifteen years.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">Eight Men, Half a Canteen<\/h2>\r\n<p>The men believed they had ditched close to the coast. In truth they were about 640 kilometres (400 miles) inland. They set out north-west on foot, leaving a trail of arrow markers made from parachute scraps weighted with stones, along with boots and life vests pointed toward help that never came.<\/p>\r\n<p>Between the eight of them they had half a canteen of water \u2014 rationed, in Toner\u2019s words, at <em>\u201c1 cap full per day\u201d<\/em> \u2014 in a desert where midday temperatures reached around 55\u00b0C (130\u00b0F). Survival experts later estimated men in those conditions might manage 25 or 30 miles. Hatton\u2019s crew walked about 85 miles in five days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #5C91FF; padding: 20px 22px; margin: 18px 0 24px; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.7;\"><em>\u201cStill waiting for help, still praying. eyes bad, lost all our wgt. aching all over, could make it if we had water; just enough left to put our tongues to, have hope for help very soon, no rest, still same place\u201d<\/em>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 10px; font-size: 14px; color: #555;\"><strong>2nd Lt. Robert F. Toner<\/strong> \u2014 diary entry, Sunday 11 April 1943<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>By 9 April, five of the men \u2014 Hatton, Toner, navigator Dp Hays, and sergeants Samuel Adams and Robert LaMotte \u2014 could go no further. The three strongest, Guy Shelley, Harold Ripslinger and Vernon Moore, pushed on north into the 600-foot dunes of the Calanscio Sand Sea to find help.<\/p>\r\n<p>Toner kept writing, in shorter and shorter lines, for three more days. The final entry, on Monday 12 April, reads simply: <em>\u201cNo help yet, very cold nite.\u201d<\/em> Back at Soluch, the squadron had long since concluded the bomber was lost at sea; the search had concentrated on the water, and found nothing.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 24px 0;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; border-radius: 8px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qpYlqP4_OVc\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">Found by Accident<\/h2>\r\n<p>The desert gave the story back in pieces. In 1958, British crews flying oil-exploration surveys for the D\u2019Arcy company \u2014 soon to be part of BP \u2014 reported a crashed aircraft far out in the Kufra District and passed the position to Wheelus Air Base. With no record of any aircraft lost in the area, nobody hurried; the wreck was simply marked on the maps.<\/p>\r\n<p>Then came the ground visit of 27 February 1959, when surveyor Gordon Bowerman and geologists Donald Sheridan and John Martin reached the site. Bowerman wrote to a friend who happened to command Wheelus, listing crew names found on clothing inside the bomber \u2014 and suddenly a sixteen-year-old missing aircrew file was open again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-wreckage-libyan-desert-aerial.jpg\" alt=\"Wreckage of the B-24D Lady Be Good lying broken in two in the Libyan desert\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">The Lady Be Good as the oil surveyors found her: broken behind the wings, otherwise eerily intact. U.S. Air Force photo, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>Ground and air searches through 1959 found the crew\u2019s trail markers but no crew, and were finally abandoned as equipment failed in the heat. Then, on 11 February 1960, a British Petroleum crew prospecting inside the sand sea stumbled on five bodies lying close together, surrounded by canteens, flashlights and flight jackets \u2014 and one small pocket diary.<\/p>\r\n<p>Toner\u2019s entries stunned the investigators. Eight men with almost no water had walked three times as far as anyone believed possible, and had survived for eight days. The news made <em>Life<\/em> magazine, and the U.S. Army and Air Force launched a joint expedition, Operation Climax, to find the last four men.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-nose-wreck-libya-1960.jpg\" alt=\"Nose section of the crashed B-24D Lady Be Good in the Libyan desert\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">The bomber\u2019s nose at the crash site. Investigators found working guns, a working radio and drinkable tea inside. U.S. Air Force photo, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>Shelley was found in May 1960 by oil workers, roughly 21 miles beyond the group of five. Days later a helicopter spotted Ripslinger on the slope of a dune another 26 miles on \u2014 the flight engineer had covered well over 100 miles on foot before he fell. In August, Woravka was found under his unopened parachute, just a few miles from the bailout point.<\/p>\r\n<p>Vernon Moore has never been officially found. A British Army desert patrol had buried unidentified remains in the same area in 1953, unaware anyone was missing there \u2014 researchers suspect, but cannot prove, that it was Moore.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 24px 0;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; border-radius: 8px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Aa-nWaWK0gE\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">The Lady\u2019s Long Shadow<\/h2>\r\n<p>Once the aircraft was identified, the U.S. military did something practical and slightly eerie: it salvaged parts from the perfectly preserved bomber and returned them to service. Aircrew soon built a legend around them. A C-54 fitted with the Lady\u2019s instrument transmitters reportedly developed propeller trouble; a C-47 that received her radio receiver went down in the Mediterranean; a U.S. Army Otter carrying one of her armrests crashed into the Gulf of Sidra \u2014 and, as the story is told, the armrest was among the few pieces that washed ashore.<\/p>\r\n<p>The rest of her life has been quieter. A <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/united-kingdom-royal-air-force\/\">Royal Air Force<\/a> desert team hauled out an engine and other components in 1968 for engineering study, and souvenir hunters slowly stripped the airframe over the decades. In August 1994 the Libyan government removed what remained of the wreck to a military base near Tobruk, where it is still held.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-tail-turret-desert.jpg\" alt=\"View past the tail turret of the B-24 Lady Be Good wreck in the desert\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">Looking past the tail turret at the crash site. The wreck lay untouched on the gravel plain for fifteen years. U.S. Air Force photo, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain)<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>Pieces of <em>Lady Be Good<\/em> \u2014 and the stained-glass memorial window from the chapel at Wheelus \u2014 are preserved today at the National Museum of the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/united-states-air-force\/\">U.S. Air Force<\/a>. The Army Quartermaster Museum keeps the small things: the watches, a survival map, a canteen, a flight jacket. An Elgin wristwatch recovered from the desert was still running accurately when engineers tested it in 1968. The men it belonged with had been failed by nothing except a bearing with two answers.<\/p>\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia; U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum; U.S. National Archives (The Unwritten Record); National Museum of the U.S. Air Force; Damn Interesting<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\r\n<!-- mf-faq -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}.mf-faq-answer a{color:#5C91FF}<\/style>\r\n<h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2>\r\n<details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>What was the Lady Be Good?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The Lady Be Good was a US Army Air Forces B-24D Liberator bomber that vanished with nine crew on 4 April 1943, during its first combat mission, a raid on Naples. The aircraft overflew its base in a sandstorm and ran out of fuel over the Libyan Sahara. Its wreck was not found until 1958\u201359.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>Where was the Lady Be Good found?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The Lady Be Good was found deep in the Libyan Sahara, about 710 kilometres (440 miles) inland at the edge of the Calanscio Sand Sea. British oil-survey teams spotted the wreck from the air in 1958 and reached it on the ground in 1959. It had lain undisturbed in the desert for roughly fifteen years.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>What happened to the crew of the Lady Be Good?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>All nine crew of the Lady Be Good died. Believing they were still over the Mediterranean, they bailed out into the desert when the bomber ran low on fuel. One man died in the jump; the other eight survived the landing but perished walking through the Sahara. Co-pilot Robert Toner's pocket diary, found in 1960, recorded their ordeal.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>What type of aircraft was the Lady Be Good?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The Lady Be Good was a Consolidated B-24D Liberator, serial 41-24301, of the 514th Bomb Squadron, 376th Bomb Group, Ninth Air Force. The four-engine B-24 was one of the most-produced American bombers of World War II. A few airworthy Liberators survive today, such as the restored <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/b-24-diamond-lil-returns-to-the-sky-after-two-years\/\">B-24 Diamond Lil<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>How was the Lady Be Good preserved for fifteen years?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The dry desert air preserved the Lady Be Good remarkably well. When investigators reached it, the .50-calibre machine guns still fired, a salvaged radio worked in another aircraft, and a thermos of tea remained drinkable after sixteen years. Such preservation is why enthusiasts still restore wartime types like the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/the-last-flying-privateer-heads-to-oshkosh\/\">PB4Y Privateer<\/a>, a naval B-24 derivative.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>Why did the Lady Be Good crash?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The Lady Be Good crashed because it overshot its home base at Soluch in a sandstorm and darkness on the night of 4 April 1943. The inexperienced crew, on their first mission, flew on out over the desert believing they were still over the sea, then bailed out when fuel ran out. The empty bomber belly-landed and was lost for years.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><\/div>\r\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What was the Lady Be Good?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Lady Be Good was a US Army Air Forces B-24D Liberator bomber that vanished with nine crew on 4 April 1943, during its first combat mission, a raid on Naples. The aircraft overflew its base in a sandstorm and ran out of fuel over the Libyan Sahara. Its wreck was not found until 1958\u201359.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Where was the Lady Be Good found?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Lady Be Good was found deep in the Libyan Sahara, about 710 kilometres (440 miles) inland at the edge of the Calanscio Sand Sea. British oil-survey teams spotted the wreck from the air in 1958 and reached it on the ground in 1959. It had lain undisturbed in the desert for roughly fifteen years.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened to the crew of the Lady Be Good?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"All nine crew of the Lady Be Good died. Believing they were still over the Mediterranean, they bailed out into the desert when the bomber ran low on fuel. One man died in the jump; the other eight survived the landing but perished walking through the Sahara. Co-pilot Robert Toner's pocket diary, found in 1960, recorded their ordeal.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What type of aircraft was the Lady Be Good?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Lady Be Good was a Consolidated B-24D Liberator, serial 41-24301, of the 514th Bomb Squadron, 376th Bomb Group, Ninth Air Force. The four-engine B-24 was one of the most-produced American bombers of World War II. A few airworthy Liberators survive today, such as the restored <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/b-24-diamond-lil-returns-to-the-sky-after-two-years\/\\\">B-24 Diamond Lil<\/a>.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How was the Lady Be Good preserved for fifteen years?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The dry desert air preserved the Lady Be Good remarkably well. When investigators reached it, the .50-calibre machine guns still fired, a salvaged radio worked in another aircraft, and a thermos of tea remained drinkable after sixteen years. Such preservation is why enthusiasts still restore wartime types like the <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/the-last-flying-privateer-heads-to-oshkosh\/\\\">PB4Y Privateer<\/a>, a naval B-24 derivative.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did the Lady Be Good crash?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Lady Be Good crashed because it overshot its home base at Soluch in a sandstorm and darkness on the night of 4 April 1943. The inexperienced crew, on their first mission, flew on out over the desert believing they were still over the sea, then bailed out when fuel ran out. The empty bomber belly-landed and was lost for years.\"}}]}<\/script><!-- \/mf-faq -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f5f5f5; border-radius: 8px; padding: 20px 24px; margin: 28px 0 8px;\">\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 10px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 17px;\">Related Posts<\/p>\r\n<ul style=\"margin: 0; padding-left: 20px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.8;\">\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/gulf-of-sidra-f14-tomcat-shootdowns-libya-1981-1989\/\">Gulf of Sidra: When Tomcats Tangled With Libya<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/air-transat-236-azores-glider-no-engines\/\">306 Souls, Two Dead Engines, One Glide<\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/the-peoples-fighter-heinkels-he-162-volksjager-was-built-in-72-days-to-be-flown-by-children\/\">The People\u2019s Fighter: Heinkel\u2019s He 162<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story On 27 February 1959, three British oilmen were driving across a gravel plain deep in the Libyan Sahara, hundreds of miles from anything, when a twin-tailed shape rose out of the heat shimmer. It was an American heavy bomber, broken in two just behind the wings, lying where it had belly-landed. There [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":4151112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4151431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Lady Be Good: The B-24 Lost in the Libyan Desert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The B-24 Lady Be Good vanished in 1943, its crew walking out into the Sahara. The wreck lay undiscovered for 15 years.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lady Be Good: The B-24 Lost in the Libyan Desert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The B-24 Lady Be Good vanished in 1943, its crew walking out into the Sahara. The wreck lay undiscovered for 15 years.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-06T14:05:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-02T20:38:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1012\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tamika Johnson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"13 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d\"},\"headline\":\"The Bomber the Desert Kept for 15 Years\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T14:05:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-02T20:38:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2015,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lady Be Good: The B-24 Lost in the Libyan Desert\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-06T14:05:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-02T20:38:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"The B-24 Lady Be Good vanished in 1943, its crew walking out into the Sahara. The wreck lay undiscovered for 15 years.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg\",\"width\":1800,\"height\":1012,\"caption\":\"Wreck of the B-24 Liberator Lady Be Good in the Libyan desert\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Bomber the Desert Kept for 15 Years\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\\/w:897\\\/h:278\\\/q:mauto\\\/ig:avif\\\/https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\\/w:897\\\/h:278\\\/q:mauto\\\/ig:avif\\\/https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d\",\"name\":\"Tamika Johnson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tamika Johnson\"},\"description\":\"Tamika Johnson tells the human stories of aviation \u2014 the pilots, pioneers and characters behind the machines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/author\\\/tamikajohnson\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lady Be Good: The B-24 Lost in the Libyan Desert","description":"The B-24 Lady Be Good vanished in 1943, its crew walking out into the Sahara. The wreck lay undiscovered for 15 years.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lady Be Good: The B-24 Lost in the Libyan Desert","og_description":"The B-24 Lady Be Good vanished in 1943, its crew walking out into the Sahara. The wreck lay undiscovered for 15 years.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-06T14:05:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-02T20:38:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1800,"height":1012,"url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tamika Johnson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tamika Johnson","Est. reading time":"13 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/"},"author":{"name":"Tamika Johnson","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d"},"headline":"The Bomber the Desert Kept for 15 Years","datePublished":"2026-07-06T14:05:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-02T20:38:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/"},"wordCount":2015,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/","name":"Lady Be Good: The B-24 Lost in the Libyan Desert","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-06T14:05:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-02T20:38:11+00:00","description":"The B-24 Lady Be Good vanished in 1943, its crew walking out into the Sahara. The wreck lay undiscovered for 15 years.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/lady-be-good-b24-libyan-desert-wreck-featured.jpg","width":1800,"height":1012,"caption":"Wreck of the B-24 Liberator Lady Be Good in the Libyan desert"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lady-be-good-b-24-libyan-desert\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Bomber the Desert Kept for 15 Years"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","description":"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/88afb39d0a02d6de10537662492fb68d","name":"Tamika Johnson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0aec3158aff3d47ac0cba1da9c62fe9994a454e4e6a14b6260de35a598abdb4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tamika Johnson"},"description":"Tamika Johnson tells the human stories of aviation \u2014 the pilots, pioneers and characters behind the machines.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/author\/tamikajohnson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4151431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4151431"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4151431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26211490,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4151431\/revisions\/26211490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4151112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4151431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4151431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4151431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}