LADY BE GOOD: the True Story of WWII Bomber That Vanished Into Sahara

A bomber vanished into the Sahara. Sixteen years later, the wreckage was found-but the real mystery was only beginning.On April 4, 1943, nine American airmen took off from Libya aboard a B-24D Liberator named Lady Be Good on their first combat mission. They were expected to return after attacking the harbor at Naples.They never came back.For years, Lady Be Good was believed to have disappeared somewhere over the Mediterranean. Then, in 1958, British oil exploration personnel discovered the wreck far inside the Libyan desert-remarkably preserved on a remote, featureless plain.But the aircraft was almost empty.The crew had survived the crash and parachuted into the darkness. With little water and no clear idea of their true location, they began walking north through one of the harshest environments on Earth. Their story would eventually be reconstructed from aircraft evidence, recovered equipment, search records, and a remarkable diary kept by co-pilot Robert Toner.The search for the missing airmen continued for years. Five were eventually found in 1960. Two more were discovered during a subsequent operation. One crew member was never recovered.Lady Be Good: The True Story of the WWII Bomber That Vanished Into the Sahara follows the evidence from the aircraft's final mission and mysterious disappearance to the discovery of the wreck and the painstaking recovery of its crew.Based on archival and official historical records, this illustrated account separates documented facts from later speculation and examines what the evidence can-and cannot-tell us about the final days of nine American airmen in the Sahara.A true story of wartime navigation, survival, discovery, and loss.