The Blue Goose Revisited

[Steve Birdsall]

Perhaps I was being too diplomatic in previous comments about that Don Greer sideview.

It is just guesswork, and not very good guesswork. As pointed out, the radio call number would not have been applied in that format. The blue vertical tail stripe is a pre-war marking, the red and white rudder stripes and the red-centered cocarde had been discontinued by the time 41-2616 reached Hawaii.

The name on the nose might borrow a little of the style of lettering on 98th Bomb Squadron planes like The Skipper but it is pure speculation.

Nothing in that sideview is based on photographic or documentary evidence. I recall that Ernie was struggling to find “Pacific” subjects for sideviews because we knew so little about them. Unfortunately, this was the result.

[Steve Birdsall]

No, The Aztec’s Curse was standard OD/NG.

[robstitt]

Thanks for the kind words, Scott and Steve.

For anyone interested, I've been building an Additions and Amendments document that expands on topic areas in the book and provides corrections.

Happy to send a copy to anyone who would like it. You can contact me via the email or PM links in my forum profile.

Robert

[Steve Birdsall]

Another year has passed and the fabled Blue Goose remains . . . fabled. A footnote to the story is this press item, published on August 30, 1942, that is unique and interesting because it describes the Waskowitz plane as navy-blue rather than "baby blue".