We are talking about a Blue USS Arizona. While Don Montgomery and Steve Wiper were the originators of the Blue Arizona theory, the present research was done by an all-new team and located all-new *textual* records to back up this threory and more.

The conventional wisdom has been that the US fleet at Pearl was painted mainly in 5-D Dark Gray; we can now say that some ships were in a modified Measure 2 using 5-D as well as either 5-S Sea Blue or 5-O Ocean Gray, and others, such as Arizona, were in a modified Measure 1 using 5-S Sea Blue in place of 5-D. Additionally, her #1,2, &4 turret tops were insignia red.

I can't post the proof to this

I too have read all of the controversy with interest. Unfortunately, I have some questions about your approach to all of this, especially in light of what has been said in other forums, and in your own statement above. Since you are unable to provide any documentary evidence of these claims, why are you posting this? Wasn't Don Preul, the builder of this model, also a part of the original group who proposed this change in color? In reading what has been posted about the sunken ship film, why does all of the information about orders seem to be coming from Atlantic Fleet records rather than Pacific Fleet ones? Since the only evidence thus provided is one model painted blue, and one survivor's recollection of "mediterranean blue", why should this be accepted without further evidence? Mr. White, I don't want to violate Gator's set rules, but there are questions that need to be answered before any discussion of this can take place. Otherwise, this is just a large game of speculation.

Additionally, I intensely dislike research with an agenda, and that's what this was. Daniel Martiniez and I have some different opinions as well, and when I first heard that he wanted Don to paint the model blue and oh yeah, let's find the proof, I was not really that happy. Looking for results skews them. Let's get this straight; Don was CONTRACTED to paint the model 5-S, but not contracted to BELIEVE she was.

I'm telling you this because I think the fact that I went from that previous attitude to "she's blue" says something about what has been found.

As to WHY *I* am saying this now, before we "have" proof is that there are people out there who want to build an Arizona NOW and not wait. If you read Ron's North Carolina article in the Nautical Research Journal you know the type of research he does and the results he gets. For some people that's good enough to get started now. Others may want to wait, and I have no problem with that.

Admiral King was responsible for camouflage and the orders came from him and the Bureau of Ships. But at the same time Kimmel was responsible for the Pacific Fleet and had some say in things. Just because an Admiral says "paint XX as soon as possible" doesn't mean that they're going tot ake everything out of the line up to do it, so there's a duality in that regard.

As far as the survivor's recollection, that is not the only evidence; consider it a "clincher" as it were. Textual records STRONGLY point to Arizona being 5-S instead of 5-D. And then you have the survivor, who was a trained observer and in charge of the paint locker calling the ship Med Blue.... he was describing an RAF aircraft color that is a VERY close match to 5-S.

Just to understand what you are saying here, I will say this the way I understand it. This is not an accusation. You are saying that Dan Martinez contracted for a blue Arizona, and then contracted for proof? And that because of what was found to fit the contract, you believe it? I don't want to sound incredulous, but this, if it's what happened, really throws doubt on the findings.

Well, in many of your previous posts on other sites, you seem to be discounting quite a few of the other survivors recollections. Why does this one stand out? Also, you mention that he was in charge of the "paint locker". In other posts on the other sites, this has been mentioned also, but only the aviation paint locker, and since he has been described as part of the aviation department, would not have been in charge of the ship's paint locker. This is why I'm asking these questions, since the story that's been told so far is very confusing, and has changed from the start.