EMC Mercedes-Benz 540K "The Blue Goose"

Since it seems the summer re-run season is in vogue here at Forum43, I thought I'd do my part with this post from a few years ago.

Only a few days after the Chicago model car shows in March 2012 I received this beauty from Vlad Sorokolat in the Ukraine (BTW, he is doing fine and starting up the 1905 Cadillac Osceola after only 5 had been shipped prior to hostilities). I had seen the pre-1945 versions of this car on ebay and a prior show, festooned with Nazi flags in top up or top down versions. This is the third version (limited to only 50, I presume numbered 101-150) and I jumped on it when it was offered to me. I have seen darn few since, some with the top up.

There is an outstanding history of the car here: http://www.literaryclub.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/bluegooseii.pdf.  

I encourage Forum members to read this as it was one of the most detailed and fascinating histories I've ever read of a classic car.

Hermann Goering was Hitler's right-hand man - among other things he was president of the German parliament and commander of the air force. He and Hitler attended the German auto show in Berlin in 1937 and Goering placed an order for the 540K, seeking to upgrade from his 500K. The Special Roadster was to have several modifications, including his blue spotlight, special metallic blue paint, siren, body armor, and bulletproof glass. (Why these were needed on an open roadster with a canvas top is beyond me, but, whatever...)

Goering lived a lavish lifestyle. As the war went downhill and Goering started to fall into disfavor, life became more stressful. Both factors led him to become, shall we say, portly, and the 540K was modified to set the driver's seat back a bit to allow clearance to the steering wheel. EMC caught this small detail.

By Spring of 1945 the war was winding down. On May 4, 1945, soldiers of the 101st Airborne entered a rather subdued Berchtesgaden. Entering a garage near the SS housing compound, they found two Mercedes automobiles, a Grosser Mercedes and this 540K. Suspecting booby-traps, Captain Joe Crilley directed his staff sergeant, Robert Smiley, to check out the cars. Smiley drew his weapon and fired at the driver's side window (which only chinked a bit) and put another 45 round into a left fender. Thinking everything must be OK, he looked in and found keys in the ignition.

You can guess what followed: joy riding with bottles of Cognac they found! They came to call it the "Blue Goose". Eventually Major General Maxwell Taylor decided this would make a great command car, and had his two-star plate affixed to the front, along with various registration markings. So there you have it: a metallic blue Mercedes US military vehicle.

The US Treasury Department had other ideas, and the car was shipped to the US to be paraded around at bond rallies and such. But by 1956 it was declared surplus, and auctioned off for a mere $2167. I'll leave a lot out here, succession of owners, blah, blah. But presently the car is/will be slightly restored to May 1945 condition. No frame off - the car is to be preserved with the two bullet marks since that is part of its lore. EMC left off these two damages, but I can live with that. It is an outstanding model, as you might expect. And this is the version to have, IMHO.