Curse of the "Lady Be Good"?

Adrian Roberts · Oct 11, 2008

I expect most of us know about the B24 "Lady Be Good" which was discovered in the Libyan desert sixteen years after she disappeared in 1943. But is seems that not only were some parts of her reused, but her bad luck continued....
Intriguing, but I wouldn't make too much of it!

Fact Sheets : Consolidated B-24D "Lady Be Good" : Consolidated B-24D "Lady Be Good"

Numerous parts from the "Lady Be Good" were returned to the United States for technical study. Some of the parts were installed in other planes, aircraft which then experienced unexpected difficulties. A C-54 in which several autosyn transmitters were installed had propeller trouble and made a safe landing only by throwing cargo overboard. A C-47 in which a radio receiver was installed ditched in the Mediterranean, and a U.S. Army "Otter" airplane in which a "Lady Be Good" seat armrest was installed crashed into the Gulf of Sidra with 10 men aboard. No trace was found of any of them; one of the few pieces washed ashore was the armrest of the "Lady Be Good."
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Antipodean Andy · Oct 12, 2008

Certainly is intriguing but you're right in saying a pinch of salt needs to be taken with it. I was wondering why the parts were reused given the remote location needed to recover them from. Surely the older aircraft the parts were installed in could have had parts sourced from an easier source? Odd to say the least.

Kyt · Oct 12, 2008

This is a very interesting article

http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1973/mar-apr/holder.html

The final section explains why some pieces were re-used, though not why the Otter had the armrest, unless it was the pilot who used it as a lucky charm or something similar

The equipment of the Lady has made its way all over the world. Many small pieces of equipment were stripped off by members of the search parties and kept as souvenirs.

Many items of clothing and equipment, including two government-issue watches that would still run, were found with the remains of the crew. These items are on display at the Quartermaster Museum, Fort Lee, Virginia. There is also some Lady equipment in the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, one of the major items being a propeller. All the small arms went to the Libyan police, and all the rafts were eventually thrown away because over the years they had been ruined by the heat.

The first Air Force party at the crash site found flight suits hanging undisturbed in the bent fuselage, and in odd corners they found cigarettes, gum, and bits of flight rations. The butts in one ashtray had been smoked down to the last puff, probably slowly and almost confidently, the way a young flyer might drag on a weed during his first mission. In another tray they had been crushed out by nervous hands, the way a man smashes a cigarette when he is out of time.

The radio set from the Lady was removed and installed in the recovery C-47, where it worked perfectly in place of a radio that had failed on the flight from Wheelus. The story has it, though, that this aircraft some time later went down with all aboard lost. Thus began the “jinx” stories.

Several servomotors that had once driven some of the instruments on the Lady were installed in a C-54 assigned to Wheelus. On a Thanksgiving Day flight to Bengazi, carrying mail and Thanksgiving turkeys, one of the plane’s engines feathered, and even with maximum power on the other three engines the crew had to dump all cargo in order to make Bengazi safely.

But the most tragic of the “jinx” incidents involving parts from the ghost bomber happened with an Army Otter observation aircraft. Only the armrests had been removed from the Lady and installed in the Otter. Shortly thereafter, the Otter crashed into the Gulf of Sidra. No trace of its ten-man complement was ever discovered. Amongst the scattered debris washed up on the Libyan coast by the waves was an armrest.

These incidents have added an air of mystery to the old “ghost bomber.” In fact, it is said that native caravans skirt the site of the crash because they believe it is haunted. And as the years pass, the haunted aspects of the Lady Be Good will grow more fixed with each repetition of her anguished saga.
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Antipodean Andy · Oct 12, 2008

I wonder if she has a stigma around her now she's sitting in a yard in Tripoli?

Adrian Roberts · Oct 12, 2008

I wonder if she has a stigma around her now she's sitting in a yard in Tripoli?
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So she does still exist? Can't be more than a shell now though.

Reminds me of the "jinx" of the Porsche Spyder in which James Dean died. It was used in road safety exhibitions; several more incidents were associated with it, and someone was killed when it fell when being loaded onto a railway wagon.

Antipodean Andy · Oct 12, 2008

AR, yep, a couple of years ago (ish), the Libyans recovered her quite sympathetically in order to save her from further degradation. No idea what their plans for her are though. A big shed with a lot of sand and a display of how she was found would be great - but not in the US, in Libya as that's where her crew were lost and, I reckon, a more fitting memorial.

Tobruk, not Tripoli apparently. All of the links and pics I saw previously are now dead. However, google - "Lady Be Good" wix - and you'll find a little bit more.

liverpool annie · Oct 12, 2008

Looks like this will be a good site when it's done !!

The Lady Be Good - Ghost Bomber of WWII

Theres even some books Andy .... just in case you get the urge to buy one !!

Antipodean Andy · Oct 12, 2008

That site looks like it's off to a good start, Annie.

And :> for mentioning books. I see you've been around Kyt too long...:lol:

liverpool annie · Oct 12, 2008

Antipodean Andy said: ↑

That site looks like it's off to a good start, Annie.

And :> for mentioning books. I see you've been around Kyt too long...:lol:
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Heres something interesting ... :clapping:

Damn Interesting » The Remains of Lady Be Good

PS ... I'm surrounded by books myself .... don't you just love 'em !!

Antipodean Andy · Oct 12, 2008

A little too much!

Tony John · Nov 1, 2014

I am the only survivor of the Otter crash due to being pulled
off of the plane before it left Wheelus AFB in Tripoli.
If any of you are interested in my story, contact me at :
teajae23@yahoo.com
Tony John
Woodstock,Va.

DancingLady · Nov 2, 2014

That is fascinating, but I do not believe in luck, so I don't think that has anything to do with it.

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