Lady's Men: The Saga of Lady Be Good and Her Crew: A Haunting Story of the Second World War

by Mario Martinez

Book Overview

The fate of the American Liberator bomber Lady Be Good, lost in the African desert in April 1943, remained a mystery for many years. This compelling story reveals details of its tragic, last mission and the heroic crew's desperate attempt to survive.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 155750511X
• ISBN13: 9781557505118
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
• Length: 196 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

happy customer

The book was shipped on time and the condition as described. I would gladly use this seller again in the future.

GREAT BOOK

GREAT BUY, VERY INFORMATIVE AND UNIQUE SPIN ON HISTORY.BEST BOOK I'VE READ ON THIS SUBJECT.

Not read but given as a gift

I heard a talk on Lady Be Good and purchased it for my son who is interested in this subject. Very interesting story and the lack of the support system available in that era.

Very detailed and interesting account of the doomed crew of Lady Be Good

This book does a good job of explaining what may of happened to the crew of the Lady Be Good. Of course no one knows for sure what exactly they were thinking or why they did what they did, this book attempts to explain this. It still left me with a lot of unanswered questions, like why they did not try and find the plane after they realized they were in the desert, supposedly it had plenty of survival gear that would of sustained them for sometime, also it had a radio, weather balloon, flares etc etc. I think I would of made finding the B24 my first priority. It is suggested that they probably thought they were closer to the shore than they really were, still after the first day without any sign of help and the increasing lack of water they should of made an attempt to find the B24. Canteens with water were found inside the wreckage even after 20 years of sitting in the dry desert. I also wish the Author would of gone into more detail on that 20mm projectile found inside one of the engines?? Still a great book .

A well researched, engaging tale of World War II tragedy.

Martinez' well researched story of the B-25 Liberator bomber, "Lady Be Good," and her crew of nine men clears up many of the myths surrounding this tragic tale of aviation. After an abortive, maiden bombing run over Naples Italy in 1942, the B-25 "Lady Be Good" overshot her base on the north coast of what is now Libya, and flew into the desert an additional 440 miles. Her fate remained a mystery until 1958, when she was discovered, nearly intact, deep in the Sahara desert by British Petroleum field engineers who had heard reports of an aerial spotting. The remains of her dead crew were not found until many years later, as they had bailed out of the craft thinking they were still over the Mediteranean Sea. The plane ran out of fuel and crashed some 14 miles south of their bail-out point. Their desert ordeal was well recorded in personal diaries, recovered from their remains many years later. Martinez' story is slow to start out, but lays a good foundation for the environment the young aviators operating out of N. Africa faced at the time. He has done as good a job as anyone, including the Army (Air Corps) and the Air Force at documenting the plight of these men. One of the most sad, tragic, and depressing stories of World War II. An easy, "must read" for any aviation or WWII history buff. David J. Armbruster