The "Other" Lady Be Goods

[Wilson]

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.



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.



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



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

[wingman1]

WoW, no telling how many more of these aircraft are are out there.

[tom d. friedman]

great new thread!!!

[Matt_in_NC]

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?

[The Inspector]

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?

[tom d. friedman]

that s79 has to be retrieved!!! probably more rare than most japanese wrecks!!!

[Fearless Tower]

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.

[wingman1]

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?

[tom d. friedman]

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!!

[SaxMan]

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

[Steve Nelson]

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.

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

[Wilson]

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.

[Wilson]

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.

[wingman1]

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.

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

[airnutz]

Yes different, the earlier Savoia was found south of Benghazi, Libya...this bird is from Lebanon.