Quote:
Originally Posted by R Leo
B-24 "Lady Be Good"...April 4th 1943...returning to Benghazi after bombing Naples, passed over base because direction finder aerial could not differentiate between a signal ahead or behind the aircraft. Crashed +400mi inland. Found in 1958 by oil exploration crews. Crew perished, all but one of their remains were recovered in the 1960s.
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I remember watching a 'Special' on TV about this. It was probably in 1960 or so.
The flight was recreated under the same circumstances to try and get a feel for what the Pilots must have been thinking. It was found that at night and with only moonlight to see by the desert looks a lot like ocean waves. Therefore the Pilots must have thought they were still over water until they ran out of fuel and had no choice but to bail-out. A diary recovered from one of the crew's bodies confirmed this.