The Chief of Staff of the Army Air Corps at the time was a tough, no-nonsense character, General Buluois.
Shortly after the new Curtiss prototype was sent to the 17th Pursuit Squadron for testing painted in a new "subdued scheme", General Buluois was preparing a tour of all continental U.S. Air Corps installations. His itinerary was indeed hectic.
Many of the bases along the General's route were alerted by radio, but some were very small and out of the way.
These bases didn't have radios. Another means of communication was used.
It may seem surprising, but messenger homing pigeons were used through W.W. II.
So word of the Chief of Staff's planned visit was sent to the small base at Bad Flats, South Dakota. Unfortunately, there was a mis-print in the Air Corps' code book. The General's intended message of "I shall arrive in one weeks time and will bring my staff. Please be prepared." decoded as "I shall arrive in a week wearing my pink feather boa. Please be ready my sweet beefcake."
Once the Chief of Staff's staff discovered how this message would decode, panic ensued. It was suggested the new Curtiss Spatted Hawk be sent to intercept the pigeon. Few peace-time missions were more important as a man's military career hung in the balance.
The pilot was 100% committed to his mission and he pushed the prototype hard.
Unfortunately, this photo was as close as he ever got. The Tennyson inline engine imploded over Breakdown Pass and though the pilot landed safely, the pigeon and its miscommunication flew on to its destination.
The C.O. at Bad Flats had no idea his code book was full of mis-prints and took the message literally. After calling in the Military Police, he dispatched a sharp memo to the Congressional Air Corps Fitness Board. The headlines soon told the tale of the Chief of Staff's downfall.
Not only did this spell doom for General Buluois, but also for the very sleek, spatted Curtiss prototype. The test batch that were built were scrapped and Curtiss went back to the drawing board. However, many of the innovative concepts in this design would bear fruit in the famous P-40.
Brian da Basher
