Lady Be Good

[Tim Landers]

Last week at the HGCA gun show a gentleman walked up to our booth and and asked if I had heard of B-24 Lady Be Good, and I said of course! He proceeds to tell me that when he was in the Army he was doing a survey in the Libyan desert and was one of the original guys that found her and had photos, so I gave him our e-mail addy. I recieved these and this is him in the pictures Hope you enjoy them.

Tim Landers

[137 Squadron]

Please remind me: was the Lady Be Good ever recovered in full or is there still some of it out there in the desert? Maybe a good time to recover any remnants as Colonel Gadaffi is very cooperative these days!

[DaveM2]

Recovered a few years ago in a lot sadder condition than shown in the pics. Can't remember exactly where, but it is on display in Libya.

Dave

[TimAPNY]

I've seen pictures of it chopped into large pieces in some lot in Libya. I think it was fully recovered, A by the airforce B by the Libyan Government.


But I agree it would be great to see someone bring her back home.

[Tim Landers]

By the early-1970s the Lady Be Good had been stripped down to the frame by oil exploration teams and various souvenir hunters. What remains of the aircraft was removed from the desert in August 1994 by the Libyan government, under the direction of Dr. Fadel Ali Mohamed, Controller of Antiquities, Cyrene, for safekeeping at a military barracks in Tobruk.

[tom d. friedman]

alot of artifacts, memorabilia, old equipment, at the usaf museum dayton ohio (go bucks ) from the lady be good crash. some interesting recovered fyi tidbits generated enough raised usaf eyebrows to promote further research from the airforce in lubrication preservation in extremely hostile environments etc. my descriptions are vague but to the point....... hydraulic fluid in the aircraft control lines were as pure as the day they were put in during the war after found 15 odd years later. same with other engine fluids etc. bodies found miles from the crash were mummified, still in uniform etc, with trail markings as to route, pretty spooky!! tom

[tom d. friedman]

an additional note..... with improved relations w/ libya & colonel moammar kaddahfy (1 of 20 spellings or however you spell it) it is indeed promising that what ever is left of the lady could be recovered as a gesture of good will through libya & sent to a proper place for appreciation such as usaf museum, dayton ohio. regards, tom

[bdk]

Hmmm... Seen stuff worse than that restored to airworthy. Mr. Allen, Mr. Weeks, where are you when we need you?

[Shay]

She is in alot worse shape than the pictures above. I saw pictures of her, taken about 2 years ago, and what appears to be a fairly intact forward fuselage in those pics is now a pile of shredded aluminum. They cut her up pretty good to load her on the back of a truck. But the wings and rear fuselage didn't appear to be in any worse shape. Here a good website for LBG http://www.ladybegood.com/

Shay

[agent86]

Did anybody mention how cool these pictures are?Now we all know(or should know)that the Lady be good was discovered by British Oil exploration workers and not the U.S. Army,so he had to be part of the U.S. response to the British discovery.Whenever he was there it was obviously real soon after her discovery because all of her goodies and bits are still intact.How exciting must this have been?also the majorityof the crew remains were discovered by British oil workers over a number of years despite massive U.S. efforts.I own a book titled"the Lady's men" that is an excellent book and should be read by anyone interested in the "Lady be good". Tim

[Cees Broere]

The only sensible way to display her is in as found condition IMHO. Restoration would destroy her charisma.

Cees

[wendovertom]

I'm sure nothing is there BUT during the late 1940's and early 50's there were a number of B-29s operating out of Libyia on "Dark OPS" missions - the rear lower turret was removed and parachutists could drop on out.

I've often wondered what happened to those birds. I'll have to look up the name of the base they were stationed at.

Tom P
www.wendoverairbase.com

[tom d. friedman]

i agree with cees broere. restoration would destroy her charisma, & i'd like to add it would destroy her mystique with the story & all. i say a giant diorama be made in a museum portraying her as she was found in the 50's. we can get sand out the wazoo, most of the restored artifacts are their & long recovered. it would be to cool!! best, tom

[Shay]

Not me. I would love to see her restored and flying. Travelling from airshow to airshow telling her story of her lost crew. I think the aircraft displayed with all pictures of her discovery and artifacts would still exemplify her "charisma". I grew up seeing one her engines covered in sand along with one of her bent props at the NMUSAF. Kind of creepy. But all the same I would rather see her rolling down the runway taking to the sky. But that just me.

Shay

[tom d. friedman]

sorry shay, i can't agree!! in my opinion she is to historically significant to risk losing in a possible accident. were lucky to have what little remains now!! to me the lady also symbolizes all the lost planes & crews that are still out their, regardless of what war, geography & circumstances of crash. she's like a poster child & will hopefully make people think of the loss & self sacrifice that american aircrews unselfishly gave in defending the u.s.a.