Death in the Desert: The Lady Be Good.

By 

Scott Schwartz

Lady Be Good was one of twenty five B-24's that were being prepared for take-off.  The time was 1 PM.  

As Hatton and is crew sat in Lady Be Good, its four big Pratt & Whitney engines rumbled as Hatton and his co-pilot Toner went through their pre-take off checklists.  Mission 109 was a risky one; enemy fighters-both German and Italian-were expected to be encountered, as well as heavy anti-aircraft fire.  

But, first the Liberators had to get off the ground; the storm was still blasting men and machines alike with sand.  Crews could not see outside their aircraft.  All hatches were closed, raising the B-24's interior temperatures to over one hundred degrees.  It was no wonder that many of the bomber crews were in their underwear.  Once the aircraft began climbing to the cooler air, the men would don their heavy flying suits.

To be continued...