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Plane From WWII Found in the Libyan Desert! | Secrets in the Sand | Science Channel
Plane From WWII Found in the Libyan Desert! | Secrets in the Sand | Science Channel
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Phụ đề (191)
0:10
Dominated by actively shifting sand
0:13
dunes that reach heights of 350 ft. The
0:18
Kansu sand sea covers over 23,000 square
0:22
miles of desert in eastern Libya.
0:25
A sand sea or URG as it's known in
0:28
Arabic is an area consisting of at least
0:32
20% windblown sand and receiving no more
0:35
than 6 in of annual precipitation. So
0:39
the resulting climate in active ergs
0:41
like the Kalen shio is dry, hot and
0:45
windy, making this part of eastern Libya
0:48
particularly treacherous and
0:50
inhospitable.
0:53
While the intense sandstorms create
0:55
significant challenges for settlement,
0:57
underneath all that sand, Libya holds
1:00
massive oil reserves. Drilling for oil
1:02
was first authorized in 1955. And in
1:05
recent years, that country has been
1:07
producing over a million barrels per
1:09
day, creating billions of dollars in
1:12
annual revenue.
1:19
Geologists prospecting for an oil
1:21
company are flying over eastern Libya
1:24
when they spy something unusual on the
1:27
ground below.
1:28
>> They were conducting a survey of an area
1:30
that included the Kalanchu sand sea and
1:33
they spotted something that from the
1:35
plane looked like a huge damaged vehicle
1:37
of some kind half buried in the sand.
1:42
The geologists alert the authorities and
1:44
a ground crew is dispatched to
1:46
investigate.
1:49
What they find astounds them. It's an
1:54
airplane from World War II.
1:58
An American B24D Liberator bomber.
2:02
These planes measured roughly 65 ft long
2:05
and 18 ft high. had a high cruise speed,
2:09
long range, and the ability to carry a
2:12
heavy payload.
2:16
But in comparison with its
2:18
contemporaries, the B-24 was difficult
2:20
to fly and had poor low-speed
2:23
performance. Despite this, at around
2:26
18,500
2:27
units, it held the record for the
2:29
world's most produced bomber.
2:33
On first inspection, it was clear the
2:36
plane had not been shot down. It appears
2:40
to have made a controlled descent, then
2:43
skidded across a flat stretch of sand
2:45
and gravel for over 2,000 ft when it
2:50
landed.
2:52
The stress of the crash broke the main
2:54
body of the plane just behind the wings,
2:57
but aside from that, it was largely
2:59
intact, including the propellers.
3:02
So, what plane is this? And how did it
3:05
end up in the middle of the Libyan
3:08
desert?
3:11
Searching for answers, the team examines
3:14
the bombers's wreckage.
3:18
Eerily, the plane's interior contained
3:20
the crew's belongings, rations, even
3:23
flasks of water and coffee. The dry
3:26
desert conditions had preserved almost
3:28
everything from the aircraft's last
3:30
mission.
3:33
All of the plane's 50 caliber machine
3:35
guns and ammo were still there. One of
3:37
the machine guns was even still working.
3:39
The bombers's radio also working. But
3:42
although the airplane's engines did not
3:44
work anymore, it was clear from analyses
3:47
that the engine was running when the
3:49
plane crashed.
3:52
>> The rear escape hatch doors were open
3:54
and all of the plane's parachutes and
3:56
life preservers were missing. All these
3:59
findings support a mostly functional
4:01
airplane abandoned by its crew rather
4:04
than a terrible crash with all on board.
4:09
We know that during World War II there
4:12
was an Allied base in Suluch, Libya. So,
4:15
it's reasonable to assume that this
4:18
plane originated there. But that still
4:21
doesn't tell us the identity of the
4:23
mystery wreck.
4:27
Military records show that on April 4th,
4:29
1943,
4:32
25 American Air Force bomber planes took
4:34
off from the base at Saluch.
4:38
Their mission was a high alitude attack
4:40
on the Axis held port of Naples, Italy.
4:46
The strategic importance of their Naples
4:49
assignment cannot be overstated. By
4:52
1943, the fate of North Africa had
4:54
become critical to the outcome of the
4:56
war, as control of the region meant
4:59
access to Mediterranean sea routes and a
5:02
launchpad for invasions into southern
5:04
Europe.
5:08
At 2:50 p.m., the bomb group took off
5:10
for Italy.
5:12
Unfortunately, sandstorms created poor
5:15
visibility. So, all the planes aborted
5:17
the mission and returned safely to the
5:19
base at Soluch that night. That is all
5:22
of them but one. The lone exception was
5:25
the Lady Be Good.
5:28
The Lady Be Good carried on until she
5:30
was almost at her target, at which point
5:32
she turned around and headed home alone.
5:35
And that was the last known detail about
5:37
the plane's movements.
5:40
But the assumption was that it went down
5:41
somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea.
5:46
>> For several years following the war,
5:48
neither the plane nor its crew had been
5:50
located, making it one of the most
5:51
famous lost airplanes of World War II.
5:55
So the big question is, is the aircraft
5:57
in the desert the wreck of the Lady Be
6:00
Good?
6:04
A full inspection of the crash site
6:06
reveals the plane's identity,
6:08
but the mystery of its fate only
6:11
deepens. They found the flight logs and
6:14
two notebooks containing the names of
6:16
each of the nine crew members. And the
6:19
interior of the plane also contained
6:21
identifying marks of the Lady Be Good.
6:25
So without a doubt, this was the famous
6:28
missing airplane discovered, recovered,
6:32
and parts of it in remarkably good
6:34
working condition.
6:36
We know that the rear escape hatch doors
6:38
were open and all of the life preservers
6:40
and parachutes were gone. So it's safe
6:43
to assume that the crew bailed out of
6:45
the Ladyb Good at some point before the
6:47
crash. But where? And where are their
6:50
bodies?
6:54
An international search team is
6:56
assembled and dispatched
6:59
both on the ground and as a
7:01
groundcontrolled air search. During the
7:05
initial search, several items were found
7:07
in the sand, confirming the crew had
7:10
survived their jump from the plane.
7:13
Improvised arrowheads had been created
7:16
from used parachutes, all pointing
7:19
north. A pair of servicemen's rubber
7:22
boots were also discovered almost 20
7:24
miles north of the crash site. It was
7:28
believed the crew placed these items as
7:31
directional markers to lead air and sea
7:34
rescue teams to their location. But
7:37
despite months of searching, no remains
7:41
were found.
7:43
>> A year later, oil surveyors discovered
7:45
the first five bodies of the Lady Begun
7:48
crew.
7:51
They were on a plateau under the sand
7:53
sea along with equipment, cantens,
7:56
flashlights, pieces of parachute, and
7:58
flight jackets. They had treked 85 miles
8:03
before finally succumbing to the brutal
8:06
desert heat.
8:10
Three more bodies were eventually
8:11
recovered at various distances from the
8:14
first five, indicating they had the
8:16
strength to continue, but ultimately
8:18
they too collapsed from dehydration and
8:20
exposure. The remains of the ninth crew
8:23
member has still not been found.
8:26
Tragically, if the airmen had walked
8:28
south instead of north after their
8:30
parachute escape, they would have
8:32
arrived at the plane wreck with a
8:34
working radio and plenty of rations.
8:38
The Ladyb Good crashed hundreds of miles
8:41
from its intended flight path and over
8:44
400 miles from the Mediterranean Sea,
8:46
where it was believed to have
8:48
disappeared.
8:49
So, what went so horribly wrong?
8:52
Is it possible the rookie crew couldn't
8:55
handle a bomber with a reputation for
8:57
being challenging to fly?
