Kitty Mannock
Encyclopedia
Kitty Mannock is a fictional character created by novelist Clive Cussler
for his novel
Sahara. Despite being a character in only one novel, Mannock is a central character in the book Sahara as it relates to the location of a lost Civil War
era Confederate
ironclad.
In the book, Australia
n female pilot Kitty Mannock is an already well known early aviatrix, and is attempting a record breaking flight between London and Cape Town
when she experiences engine failure while flying over the Sahara desert in 1931. She brings her plane in safely during a sandstorm
, but before it rolls to a stop it plunges fifty feet into a ravine
, badly injuring Mannock.
Although suffering a broken ankle and other more minor injuries, she constructs a makeshift crutch, applies first aid to her injuries, and departs her crashed aircraft on foot in the hopes of locating a roadway. After a trek of some miles, she realizes she is walking in an old riverbed long since run dry, and she comes across an old ship of an odd design, mostly of steel
, and obviously used for battle
as it possessed numerous cannon
. The ship is mostly submerged in sand, and she takes shelter inside it for the night. Inside the vessel she discovers the remains of many of the crew members. The following day she hears an aircraft passing over, which was part of a massive rescue operation underway in search of her. Feeling she will never be located by walking, and short on water, she decides to return to her aircraft in the dim hope that there she will be found. Only days after she returns to her downed plane, she dies from exposure. Rescuers are unable to locate her or her plane, and she is listed as "lost without a trace". Her disappearance goes down in history as one of the great mysteries of aviation, though less known than the later disappearance of Amelia Earhart
.
Mannock had kept notes in her diary of everything that had happened since her plane went down, including her having located the odd vessel in the sand. Decades later, while traversing the desert, Dirk Pitt
and his partner Al Giordino
stumble across the wrecked aircraft. Pitt inspects the remains of the female pilot lying with the plane, and he knows of Mannock and the legend behind her disappearance. He reads the diary, and through this connects her detailed account of what he believes to be a lost ironclad, with detailed accounts he already had obtained. They use parts from her plane to construct a sand yacht
, which they use to return to civilization. Inevitably, the diary account made by Mannock greatly assists in pinpointing the location of the lost ironclad, which had allegedly escaped Richmond
in the closing days of the Civil War, taking with it the gold bullion of the Confederacy.
Ultimately, the ironclad is located, minus the gold which had been located and removed decades earlier by tribesmen of the Tuareg tribe. They also uncover a conspiracy
involving Abraham Lincoln
in the process. In the end, all bodies of the former crew are removed and returned home to the United States with full military honors, along with the ship's wreckage. Mannock's remains and her crashed plane, including the parts used by Pitt and Giordino for their sand yacht, are recovered by a special team from Australia, who return her to her home country, where she is received with national honors and her plane and articles placed in a museum
.
Though the scenes were deleted in the final cut, Cussler's daughter Dayna Cussler
portrays Kitty Mannock in the 2005
film Sahara
, starring Matthew McConaughey
and Steve Zahn
. The deleted scenes may be viewed on the DVD release of the film.
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
for his novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Sahara. Despite being a character in only one novel, Mannock is a central character in the book Sahara as it relates to the location of a lost Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
era Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
ironclad.
In the book, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n female pilot Kitty Mannock is an already well known early aviatrix, and is attempting a record breaking flight between London and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
when she experiences engine failure while flying over the Sahara desert in 1931. She brings her plane in safely during a sandstorm
Dust storm
A dust / sand storm is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Particles are transported by saltation and suspension, causing soil to move from one place and deposition...
, but before it rolls to a stop it plunges fifty feet into a ravine
Ravine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
, badly injuring Mannock.
Although suffering a broken ankle and other more minor injuries, she constructs a makeshift crutch, applies first aid to her injuries, and departs her crashed aircraft on foot in the hopes of locating a roadway. After a trek of some miles, she realizes she is walking in an old riverbed long since run dry, and she comes across an old ship of an odd design, mostly of steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, and obviously used for battle
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
as it possessed numerous cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
. The ship is mostly submerged in sand, and she takes shelter inside it for the night. Inside the vessel she discovers the remains of many of the crew members. The following day she hears an aircraft passing over, which was part of a massive rescue operation underway in search of her. Feeling she will never be located by walking, and short on water, she decides to return to her aircraft in the dim hope that there she will be found. Only days after she returns to her downed plane, she dies from exposure. Rescuers are unable to locate her or her plane, and she is listed as "lost without a trace". Her disappearance goes down in history as one of the great mysteries of aviation, though less known than the later disappearance of Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Mannock had kept notes in her diary of everything that had happened since her plane went down, including her having located the odd vessel in the sand. Decades later, while traversing the desert, Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
and his partner Al Giordino
Al Giordino
Albert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...
stumble across the wrecked aircraft. Pitt inspects the remains of the female pilot lying with the plane, and he knows of Mannock and the legend behind her disappearance. He reads the diary, and through this connects her detailed account of what he believes to be a lost ironclad, with detailed accounts he already had obtained. They use parts from her plane to construct a sand yacht
Land sailing
Land sailing, also known as sand yachting or land yachting, is the act of moving across land in a wheeled vehicle powered by wind through the use of a sail. The term comes from analogy with sailing. Historically, land sailing was used as a mode of transportation or recreation...
, which they use to return to civilization. Inevitably, the diary account made by Mannock greatly assists in pinpointing the location of the lost ironclad, which had allegedly escaped Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in the closing days of the Civil War, taking with it the gold bullion of the Confederacy.
Ultimately, the ironclad is located, minus the gold which had been located and removed decades earlier by tribesmen of the Tuareg tribe. They also uncover a conspiracy
Cabal
A cabal is a group of people united in some close design together, usually to promote their private views and/or interests in a church, state, or other community, often by intrigue...
involving Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
in the process. In the end, all bodies of the former crew are removed and returned home to the United States with full military honors, along with the ship's wreckage. Mannock's remains and her crashed plane, including the parts used by Pitt and Giordino for their sand yacht, are recovered by a special team from Australia, who return her to her home country, where she is received with national honors and her plane and articles placed in a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
Though the scenes were deleted in the final cut, Cussler's daughter Dayna Cussler
Dayna Cussler
Dayna Gayle Cussler is an American film producer, screen writer, costume designer, and film actress. She is also the daughter of adventurer and novelist Clive Cussler....
portrays Kitty Mannock in the 2005
2005 in film
- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
film Sahara
Sahara (2005 film)
Sahara is a 2005 action-comedy adventure film directed by Breck Eisner and based on the best-selling book of the same name by Clive Cussler...
, starring Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
and Steve Zahn
Steve Zahn
-Early life:Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, the son of Zelda, who worked for the YMCA, and Carleton E. Zahn, a retired Missouri Synod Lutheran pastor. Zahn spent part of his childhood in Mankato, Minnesota, attending Kennedy Elementary School...
. The deleted scenes may be viewed on the DVD release of the film.