B-24 "Lady Be Good" Desert Paint

Dan Jones · **Posted:** Sun May 09, 2021 5:08 pm

A very good video on Lady Be Good and her crew on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxJ74y_cwLE&t=94s

My question is would the airplane have been painted in it's desert sand scheme at the factory when it was built, or would that have been done once it was assigned to, or had arrived, in North Africa?

mike furline · **Joined:** Wed May 05, 2004 3:45 pm **Posts:** 2635

This image appears to show both Sand and O/D paint, fourth and fifth A/C back look darker. Possibly A/C in right row too.

Maty12 · **Joined:** Wed Apr 15, 2015 8:11 pm **Posts:** 74

While I'm not sure if it was applied at the factory or in the field, I'm fairly confident that there was a layer of Olive Drab under the layer of Desert Pink, given photos of the wreck:

Notice that the serial number is visible twice, once in yellow and once in a very faded color that is most likely black, and that both pink and olive drab can be seen. Most recent pictures of the wreck are a mix of pink and olive drab, as the paint continues to deteriorate.

Clifford Bossie · **Posted:** Sun May 09, 2021 11:23 pm

I am not sure if this photo shows a factory shot, or depot. It looks like Fort Worth to me. But the desert sand was painted over the OD stateside:

Left Seat · **Joined:** Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:44 pm **Posts:** 151

Old news:

Lady be Good is thought to be stored at "Jamal Abdelnasser" (Gamal Abdel Nasser) Airbase in Tobruk.

Credit:Rambles in the Air https://airbornerambler.wordpress.com/2020/11/09/lady-be-good/
Moved out of the desert by Libyan Archaeologist, Dr. Fadel Ali Mohammed in 1994.

Credit:WW2 Today
https://ww2today.com/4th-april-1943-b-24-bomber-lady-be-good-takes-off-on-first-operation

Dan Jones · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 10:04 am

That last picture is kinda interesting as it's not a prop from a B-24. It almost looks like a four-bladed Curtiss Electric prop.

p51 · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 12:45 pm

The plane was found not too many years after the war was over, so I assume the wreck had things happen since then? Like maybe a few wind storms tossed the remains around? If they went to the trouble of moving it at all, it would seem they weren't going to just tear it up for the heck of it. So, did all/most of that damage happen just sitting out in the desert all those years?

Steve Nelson · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 12:59 pm

Most of the damage was caused by souvenir hunters, who had thoroughly stripped the wreck and torn it apart by the 1970s. By the time it was hauled out of desert in 1994, there wasn't much left except an empty shell. As for the worn paint, that's just the result of decades of exposure to the desert sun and blowing sand.

SN

Dan Jones · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 3:24 pm

Now, just for fun, assuming the aircraft was rebuilt and made flyable again, as regards the airplane's supposed "curse", is there anyone here who wouldn't go for a flight in her, given the chance?

phil65 · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 3:29 pm

It would be nice to get her back to U.S. soil...

Phil

p51 · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 3:42 pm

Dan Jones wrote:

Now, just for fun, assuming the aircraft was rebuilt and made flyable again, as regards the airplane's supposed "curse", is there anyone here who wouldn't go for a flight in her, given the chance?

Not me. In my mind, it's a war grave.
To restore it to fly, you'd have to replace so much there wouldn't much of the original airplane left to fly anyway.

Dan Jones · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 9:10 pm

I don’t know that I’d call it a war grave. They all jumped. One chap’s chute didn’t open but when the airplane crashed it had been abandoned. The “curse” wouldn’t bother me, but I’m sure one day the Libyan’s will just feed it to the smelter. Sad but probably inevitable.

tulsaboy · **Posted:** Wed May 12, 2021 9:22 am

The best thing that could possibly be done for that airplane is one of two things: either a diorama display at a museum, complete with an interpretive display about the story of the airplane and its crew, or alternatively a conservation/reconstruction of the airplane where the airplane would be completely reassembled with all of its original parts plus replacements as necessary, but back in a form of looking like an intact airplane. With all of the genius work that folks can do now, especially if the goal was not an airworthy airframe, that would be an achievable goal with enough time and money. The airplane could be reworked one major structure at at time, with the end result a complete airframe.
kevin

Scott Rose · **Posted:** Wed May 12, 2021 2:48 pm

tulsaboy wrote:

The best thing that could possibly be done for that airplane is one of two things: either a diorama display at a museum, complete with an interpretive display about the story of the airplane and its crew, or alternatively a conservation/reconstruction of the airplane where the airplane would be completely reassembled with all of its original parts plus replacements as necessary, but back in a form of looking like an intact airplane. With all of the genius work that folks can do now, especially if the goal was not an airworthy air frame, that would be an achievable goal with enough time and money. The airplane could be reworked one major structure at at time, with the end result a complete air frame.
kevin

Considering nature of the notoriety of this air frame I think the diorama idea would be best, IMHO. It's fame is primarily as a long lost ghost of the desert.

Richard W. · **Posted:** Thu May 13, 2021 9:55 am

I'm not sure what kind of politics are involved with the Libyans, but I can't think of any practical reason they shouldn't sell it to a group or museum in the US and use the money to help their people.

Has the P-40 the Egyptians "restored" turned out to be a big tourist draw for them?

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B-24 "Lady Be Good" Desert Paint

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