Joe Lyons & Jimmy Carson

Jimmy Carson and Joe Lyons meet during the Spanish Civil War and fly together through three wars. In 1961, Lyons is killed when he is shot down at the Bay of Pigs. Unwilling to admit an American pilot was involved the CIA devises a cover story that Carson, who was not involved in the Cuban invasion, doesn’t believe. Years later he uncovers a bizarre incident that unravels the cover story.

There was no name on the C-46 but the crews who flew the Hump called her the Betty G. The airplane was identified by a painting of a scantily clad female on the side of the nose. In 1944 the Betty G encountered severe turbulence and crashed into the side of a mountain---attempts to reach the site were futile. Rumors circulated that gold coins for Chiang Kai-shek's payroll were aboard the Betty G.