By
Scott Schwartz
Besides the physical discomforts, Lady Be Good's crew was starting to recognize the fruitlessness of continuing on. Reaching Naples after dark would make it difficult to spot targets. And then what?
As the time approached 7:45 PM, Lady Be Good was approximately one hundred, sixty miles east of Naples. The crew believed that they were approaching Naples, but, because of the poor visibility, some of the crew members wondered how they would know when they arrived. At this time, neither waist gunner, nor the tail gunner could see anything outside of the aircraft.
A nervous Dp Hays sat at his little table, trying to figure out what was happening. His last log notes had been made at 7:00 PM, and those were sketchy at best. His notes indicate, though, that he knew that the aircraft was near the "heel" of Italy at 7:15 PM. Now, with Lady Be Good flying a heading of 330 degrees, he realized that the aircraft was flying up the east side of Italy. There was approximately five hours of fuel left in the B-24's tanks, at this point.
Hatton believed that 330 degrees would take Lady Be Good to Naples. Toner suggested a heading of 270 degrees (i.e. a more westerly heading) and that Hatton descend below 10,000 feet so that the crew could remove their oxygen masks. Toner figured that they'd have a better chance of figuring out where they were, if they were lower. Plus, the fires from the previous raid would still be burning, making Naples identifiable.
Hatton descended to 9,000 feet and steered the aircraft to a heading of 270 degrees.
To be continued.
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