Warbird Information Exchange

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed on this site are the responsibility of the poster and do not reflect the views of the management.
It is currently Mon Jul 07, 2025 4:38 pm

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Classic Wings Magazine WWII Naval Aviation Research Pacific Luftwaffe Resource Center
When Hollywood Ruled The Skies - Volumes 1 through 4 by Bruce Oriss


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 23 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:11 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:13 pm
Posts: 149
Location: "Out Californee Way"
In addition to Lady Be Good, there are two lesser known aircraft and crew who suffered an identical fate:

Bristol Blenheim T1867, Free French Air Force
On February 5, 1941, Blenheim T1867 became lost on its return flight to Faya, Chad after bombing Kufra, Libya. The aircraft, with the remains of the three crew beside it, was found 18 years later (1959) in Ennedi, 250 kilometers to the south east of Ounianga, Chad, by nomads, who reported it to French authorities. A French recon patrol was sent to investigate and after recovering the bodies, it was ordered to burn the plane to prevent it from being reported again in the future.

Image

Savoia Marchetti S.79 MM 23881, Italian Regia Aeronautica
On April 21, 1941, S.79 MM 23881 became lost while returning to Berka (Benghazi) after attacking a convoy of British troop ships south of Crete. On October 5, 1960, the plane was found 485 kms south of Benghazi. The plane had landed on its wheels after running out of fuel. The remains of three crewmen were found outside the plane, while a fourth was found inside. Three months earlier, a geological field party had found the remains of a final crew member who had decided to go north to find help. He had traveled 90 kms. If he had been able to trek a few more kms, he would have reached the Jalu-Giarabub caravan route and, most likely, been found.

Image

Unfortunately, the S.79 was heavily vandalized after its location became known. These photos were taken by an Italian desert tour group in 2005:

Image

And for you Lady Be Good fans, this photo was taken at that crash site a few days later by the same group:

Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:17 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:35 pm
Posts: 219
Location: Graniteville SC formerly Ware Shoals SC
WoW, no telling how many more of these aircraft are are out there.

_________________
You can't see me!!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:55 pm 
Offline
Long Time Member
Long Time Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2004 4:43 pm
Posts: 7501
Location: northern ohio
great new thread!!! :supz:

_________________
tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 11:06 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Nov 01, 2007 12:05 pm
Posts: 195
Location: Durham, NC, U.S.
Those photos are amazing! Is it just me, or does the desert and similarly barren wilderness of the former USSR seem to be the last great "frontiers" for finding WW2 aircraft in restorable condition? I'm sure there's tons of red tape to cut through, but I see future recovery expeditions scouting these areas...what would some of the potential drawbacks be?

_________________
I'm looking for that buried Corsair(s) that I can dig up, pressure wash, and fly!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:04 am 
Offline
Long Time Member
Long Time Member

Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 12:36 am
Posts: 7961
Location: Mt. Vernon, WA.
Plus what's in deep mountain lakes, glaciers, and so forth. The Chilkoot Pass ice fields still kicks out the occasional miner, box of supplies, or horse carcass well over 105 years since the Klondike gold strike. There's a C-54 somewhere in Alaska that disappeared back in 1947/48 in Northern Canada or Alaska carrying a military payroll, not to be confused with the NWA DC-4 that crashed on a glacial field there in 1949 and has been discovered and logged.

Any more entrants?

_________________
Don't make me go get my flying monkeys-


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 1:30 am 
Offline
Long Time Member
Long Time Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2004 4:43 pm
Posts: 7501
Location: northern ohio
that s79 has to be retrieved!!! probably more rare than most japanese wrecks!!!

_________________
tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:29 am 
Offline

Joined: Thu May 26, 2011 5:14 pm
Posts: 365
tom d. friedman wrote:
that s79 has to be retrieved!!! probably more rare than most japanese wrecks!!!

Did you see the second picture of what is left of it today?

Nothing really left to retrieve - just some internal metal tubing. Vandals got the rest.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:24 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:35 pm
Posts: 219
Location: Graniteville SC formerly Ware Shoals SC
Fearless Tower wrote:
tom d. friedman wrote:
that s79 has to be retrieved!!! probably more rare than most japanese wrecks!!!

Did you see the second picture of what is left of it today?

Nothing really left to retrieve - just some internal metal tubing. Vandals got the rest.


mabe they is more of the airframe under the sand?

_________________
You can't see me!!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:54 pm 
Offline
Long Time Member
Long Time Member
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 10, 2004 4:43 pm
Posts: 7501
Location: northern ohio
wingman1 wrote:
Fearless Tower wrote:
tom d. friedman wrote:
that s79 has to be retrieved!!! probably more rare than most japanese wrecks!!!

Did you see the second picture of what is left of it today?

Nothing really left to retrieve - just some internal metal tubing. Vandals got the rest.


mabe they is more of the airframe under the sand?






that's positive thinking!!

_________________
tom d. friedman - hey!!! those fokkers were messerschmitts!! * without ammunition, the usaf would be just another flying club!!! * better to have piece of mind than piece of tail!!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:04 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:11 pm
Posts: 1559
Location: Damascus, MD
It would be great if the desert spat out a Martin Maryland or Baltimore.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:23 pm 
Offline
3000+ Post Club
3000+ Post Club

Joined: Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:32 am
Posts: 4333
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Quote:
mabe they is more of the airframe under the sand?

if there is, it wouldn't be much. The wings of the SM.79 were made of wood..if it still exists at all, it's probably in pretty bad shape.

Quote:
It would be great if the desert spat out a Martin Maryland or Baltimore.

I've wished that for years. The Martin twins are among my favorite obscure, extinct warbirds. I'd love to see a restorable example of either turn up.

All this talk about the saga of The Lady has gotten me thinking. I wonder how many other tragic stories there are of WWII aircrews who survived crashes/forced landings and later succumbed to the elements after heroic efforts to survive or find help, but we'll never know, simply because no trace of the aircraft or crew was ever found. They simply didn't come back, and are just noted in the records as "Missing, Presumed Dead." I think that's one of the reasons the tragedy of The Lady's crew is so captivating to me..because it's just one example of what must be dozens (if not hundreds) of similar stories.

SN


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:51 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:13 pm
Posts: 149
Location: "Out Californee Way"
Steve Nelson wrote:
Quote:
All this talk about the saga of The Lady has gotten me thinking. I wonder how many other tragic stories there are of WWII aircrews who survived crashes/forced landings and later succumbed to the elements after heroic efforts to survive or find help, but we'll never know, simply because no trace of the aircraft or crew was ever found. They simply didn't come back, and are just noted in the records as "Missing, Presumed Dead." I think that's one of the reasons the tragedy of The Lady's crew is so captivating to me..because it's just one example of what must be dozens (if not hundreds) of similar stories.

SN


This “lost in the desert” story is extremely sad:

http://samilitaryhistory.org/vol122jc.html

In a nutshell, three South African Air Force Blenheims get lost on a local orientation flight. They land together after one has engine problems. Low on fuel, they transfer the remaining fuel to one plane and then fly various reciprocal headings with no luck. In the meantime, their airfield is slow launching a serious search and aren’t sure where to look. Then a sandstorm starts that lasts several days. When a persistent Wellington pilot finally finds them, they’re all dead except one. When they ran out of water, they drank the alcohol out of the compasses. They tried to cool their bodies with the fire extinguishers, only to have the chemicals burn their skin. Several shot themselves. Sad.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:37 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:13 pm
Posts: 149
Location: "Out Californee Way"
The story of ‘The Lost S.79” has the same significance to Italians as the Lady Be Good does to us Americans. In 2008, the Volandia Museum of Flight (Milan, Italy) put one of the four S.79s obtained from Lebanon on display as a tribute to MM 23881.

Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 2:01 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:35 pm
Posts: 219
Location: Graniteville SC formerly Ware Shoals SC
Wilson wrote:
The story of ‘The Lost S.79” has the same significance to Italians as the Lady Be Good does to us Americans. In 2008, the Volandia Museum of Flight (Milan, Italy) put one of the four S.79s obtained from Lebanon on display as a tribute to MM 23881.

Image



i take it that this a a different aircraft than before in the thread?

_________________
You can't see me!!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 3:20 am 
Offline
3000+ Post Club
3000+ Post Club

Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 9:33 pm
Posts: 4707
Location: refugee in Pasa-GD-dena, Texas
Yes different, the earlier Savoia was found south of Benghazi, Libya...this bird is from Lebanon.

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 23 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 55 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group