This Plane Vanished In 1943 and Was Found 15 Years Later

The Vanishing

On the night of April 4, 1943, a violent sandstorm swept across the Libyan desert, smothering Soluch Airfield in dust. Despite near-zero visibility and sand-choked engines, B-24 Liberators of the 376th Bomb Group took off for a bombing mission over Naples. Most turned back as conditions worsened. One aircraft didn’t: Lady Be Good.

Though struggling against the storm, Lady Be Good pressed on. But 30 minutes from their target, pilot Lt. William J. Hatton realized something was wrong—failing engines, failing instruments, and nothing but darkness outside. The crew attempted to turn back, but they were already hopelessly lost.

Navigator Lt. D.P. Hays radioed base: their direction finder had failed. Believing they were flying over the Mediterranean, the crew headed “home” by dead reckoning. In reality, Lady Be Good was drifting deeper into the Sahara Desert—hundreds of miles off course and nearly out of fuel.

A Missing Plane

By dawn, every B-24 had returned to Soluch—except Lady Be Good. At first, there was no panic. She’d taken off last; surely, she’d be back soon. But as the hours passed, worry grew. Rescue efforts were launched but found nothing—no signal, no wreckage, no trace.

Stranded in the Desert

Unbeknownst to rescuers, the crew had overflown the Libyan coast in darkness, missed the base entirely, and bailed out over the vast, featureless desert. With fuel gone and the radio silent, the men parachuted into the night. The plane flew on, crashing gently into the sand nearly 400 miles inland.

The crew, unaware of how far they were from safety, began a desperate march north, hoping to find rescue—or at least be found.

Discovery, Years Later

In November 1958, British oil surveyors spotted the downed bomber from the air. A ground team reached the site in March 1959. Remarkably intact after skidding nearly 700 yards, the aircraft still held working equipment and weapons. But there were no parachutes aboard—evidence the crew had bailed out before impact.

By May, the U.S. military launched a formal search. Scattered across the desert, investigators found boots, parachutes used as markers, and trails showing the crew’s movement. In February 1960, the remains of five airmen were recovered, along with personal items. Among them was Lt. Robert Toner’s diary—eight days of brief, heartbreaking entries chronicling their struggle to survive.

The Final Search

Determined to find the rest, the military launched Operation Climax, a joint Army-Air Force mission. Two more bodies were found: Sgt. Shelley, 21 miles from the others, and Sgt. Ripslinger, another 26 miles beyond him. The last two crew members were never found.