Consolidated PBY-5A "Blue Goose"[Cactus Air Force]
Project XV

- This specific PBY-5A was a personal ride of Marine General Roy Geiger. Its nickname is "Blue Goose. Usually used to transfer supplies to Henderson field on the Guadalcanal, famous Cactus Air Force. It was piloted by Major Jack Cram. On 15th of October he got a permanent nickname "Mad Jack". In two previous days of shelling, Japanese battleships and destroyers had all but destroyed Henderson Field and more than half of the Marines’ aircraft remaining on the island.
- Twelve miles up the beach, Japanese transport ships were preparing troops to retake Guadalcanal. At 7am , 30 Zeros circled at 15,000 feet over the invasion area.
- Marines could scrape only 12 Dauntless and 8 wildcats to defend. Major Jack volunteered for the attack with Blue Goose.
- Normally, the PBY was used only for transport, patrol, or reconnaissance missions, but Major Jack was not concerned about that. He mounted two 2,000-pound torpedoes on the wings and rigged wires from the cockpit to release them. Without a copilot and with only five minutes of instruction on torpedo bombing, he launched the “Blue Goose” for the attack.
- One mile from the enemy fleet, he went into dive manoeuvre and although the Catalina was built for a maximum speed of 160mph, Cram saw 270 mph as he hit the switch to release torpedos. Crew on board say that they could hear rivets fly of the aircraft.
Both torpedo's were a confirmed hit against a transporter.
- 5 Zeroes managed to take off and started to chase them. Crew fought back. Major Jack still had one Zero on his tail when he arrived at Henderson Field, but luckily, one F-4F was in the air. The Wildcat pilot extended his turn to final approach and shot down the Zero just as Cram landed. Upon inspection, the “Blue Goose” had more than 160 holes in it. Mission was a success!
- That's how he got his nickname Mad Jack Cram and he was awarded a "Navy Cross".
- Blue Goose reported to be lost lost without a trace on 1st October 1958 over Taiwanese airspace.