Dude, calm down.
Cubs2jets wrote:
This might all be FUN to SPECULATE about, but you guys are running like wild horses to a conclusion that will only be an urban myth that will have to be untangled in the future.
We're
talking on an online forum, not writing the authoritative book on Mustangs. I don't think one WIX thread will establish the story as unimpeachable fact.
Cubs2jets wrote:
The first problem I see is you are working with information from only ONE source - the book P-51 Mustang by Robert Grinsell and Rikyu Watanabe. What are their "bona fides"?
Well, Mr. Watanabe worked with Robert Mikesh on
another book in the same series about the Zero. Mr. Mikesh was a curator at NASM and
the expert on WWII Japanese aircraft. So, I would expect any book series that includes someone of Mr. Mikesh's caliber is likely to use equally qualified authors for the other volumes. This may be a mistake, but it's more than you can say for a lot of the other warbird books out there.
However, do I agree that it is sometimes important to question certain author's bona fides. For example, I have found that a lot of Martin Caidin's works contain errors. I can't find the it anymore, but there was a good article that noted a number of discrepancies between the English and Japanese versions of Saburo Sakai's
Samurai!Cubs2jets wrote:
Be careful with your declarative statements!
If you'll note, my comment read: "You guys
might just have it!", not "You guys have it!".
I am the first one to qualify my statements. In fact, if you were to look through some of the historical notes I have made, I have probably watered down some of my statements with so many "mays" and "mights" and "possiblys" as to make them worthless.
As a matter of fact, literally two days ago I made a
post on the talk page for the B-17 Wikipedia article questioning the exact story behind the origin of the Flying Fortress nickname. I think it sufficiently demonstrates my dedication to the truth as well as questioning what has been taken as long established fact.
At the museum where I work, I have made it my policy that all questions be answered truthfully. I right now, I literally have notes in an app on my phone for a potential future volunteer policy that read "be honest, don't make things up" and "if a visitor asks a question you don't know the answer to: let them know that you don't know the answer".
So, I apologize if my response seems harsh, but you have touched on something I have very strong feelings about; and while I appreciate your dedication to accuracy, I think
you might be the one going overboard.
EDIT: Found the Saburo Sakai
article!