In 1937, aviatrix Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific ocean. There was a photo that (maybe) proves that it is not broke
June 1, 1937 Amelia Earhart and her Navigator Fred Noonan took off from Miami to fly around the globe in a twin-engine plane “Lockheed Electra”. This journey must be the last record Earhart, who was the first woman crossed the Atlantic by plane.
July 2, Earhart and Noonan disappeared over the Pacific ocean: the most popular version, the weather prevented them from finding a tiny island, where they were waiting to refuel. According to another version, the pilots crashed and were captured by the Japanese. Now, 80 years later, found a photo which confirms this indirectly.
A girl with unusual interests
Amelia Earhart was born in 1897 in Kansas family lawyer and the daughter of a local judge; she grew up an active child — climbing trees and even hunting rats with a rifle that my father gave her. According to her biographers, the interests of girls differed from what was expected of her same age: for example, in the seven years she and her uncle built the barn slide and trampoline. The trial in a wooden box ended with a torn dress and a broken lip; Amelia was ecstatic.
To get off the ground really, she managed soon. In 18 years, Amelia and a friend were at an Airshow. Pilot one of the planes performing maneuvers in front of the audience, I decided for fun to “dive” into them. Instead of throwing away or bend down, the girl remained standing; the plane swept nearby.
“I didn’t realize it, but I believe that this red plane something told me” — she recalled later.
Two years later, Earhart finally for the first time rose in air on a California air show, where for $ 10 it was a ride of the famous pilot and abiogensis Frank hawks. The flight only lasted ten minutes, but it is so impressed that a month later, in January 1921, Earhart went to study to be a pilot.
A year later, she has put her first record, rising to a height of 4300 meters; above so high up no woman-pilot.
By this time Earhart was flying a small private plane, she managed to save up for a used bright yellow biplane she named “Canary.” In 1923 she got a license to fly, becoming only the 16th certified pilot in the world. At the same time her parents divorced, had no money, so to earn on training and missions had different; including servicing aircraft.
Alone across the Atlantic
My first transatlantic flight Amelia Earhart made almost by accident. In its place was to be a philanthropist and Aviaavtomatika Amy Guest, who bought a plane and secretly cooked it and command to fly from the States to the UK. When her relatives found out, the plan failed, and Gest had to urgently look for a replacement: “the girlfriend experience of piloting and good looks.” It is recommended Earhart. Since she already had plaque in 500 hours, she was appointed commander of the command, but in flight the pilot was not even given the control.
“I was carried like a sack of potatoes” — she recalled later.
However, Earhart became famous at home, and the crew held a reception at the White house. A year later she became President of the organization of women pilots “Devyanosto nine” — so named for the number of its participants; in the same year was held the first women’s air race it participated and Earhart.
In may 1932, Amelia Earhart flew the same route — but quite one. Before crossing the Atlantic alone was only the American Charles Lindbergh in 1927 he flew from new York to Paris. Earhart first came to the storm, and then due to the freezing of the fuselage fell into a tailspin, “catching” the plane is almost above the waves. The car was badly used up, and fly to France failed — had to urgently sit in the field in Northern Ireland, literally in the backyard of the farm, scaring away the cows. For the flight she gave US the flying Cross of merit, which was only given to male military personnel, and in France was awarded the Legion of honor.
Your flight she thought was proof that “men and women are absolutely equal in intelligence, coordination, speed of reaction and strength of will.”
The year before Earhart was married to publisher George Putnam; she considered marriage an equal partnership, and the husband in turn fully supported her flying career. In particular, in 1935, she again crossed the ocean alone — this time Quiet. However, towards the fortieth anniversary of Amelia Earhart started thinking about the children; she also said that the era of heroic pilots passed — and its place is the era of civil aviation and brilliant engineers. Finally, she wanted to fly around the world at the most longest route, keeping near the equator.
In his last letter to her husband, Earhart wrote:
I want to do it because I want to. Women should try to do that tried men. And if they are defeated — it should be an incentive for others.
The last flight
The first attempt has not worked once: on the acceleration of the plane of the chassis gave way and he collapsed on the runway. The second start of this voyage was appointed on 1 June 1937, Earhart and her Navigator Fred Noonan departed from Miami on a converted plane “Lockheed Electra” and the end of the month got to Papua New Guinea. Most of the way was behind, it was only 11 thousand kilometers over the Pacific ocean. According to the plan in the middle of a cut they had to stop to refuel on Howland island: especially for Earhart plane on this piece of land about 800 meters wide and two and a half kilometers in length built runway.
Nearby was on duty the coast guard ship, and two more vessels were to serve as beacons along the way. But, apparently, the weather conditions prevented the pilots and navigators to see the island; the radio also worked intermittently.
To the island, the plane never flew. Earhart, Noonan and their “ELEKTRA” was searched for more than two weeks; it was extensive and expensive search operation that involved American aircraft carriers and fleet. Checked and the numerous uninhabited Islands in the expected area of the crash — to no avail. January 5, 1939 Amelia Earhart was presumed dead. On the island of Howland put the lighthouse in her honor, and in 1967 on her route and in exactly the same plane could fly the American Ann Pellegrino with a team of three people; his flight, she devoted Eckhart.
Photographic evidence of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan in the Marshall Islands has been found in the National Archives. pic.twitter.com/sCcJoGx4fK
— HISTORY (@HISTORY) July 5, 2017
Despite the fact that there was no credible evidence that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan could have survived (or at least somewhere to sit), these versions still exist. For example, in 1940, on an uninhabited Pacific Atoll Nickumaroro found the remains, which were then considered masculine — but in 2016, scientists came to the conclusion that it could be a woman. Also some researchers argue that the pilots of different airlines were caught the signal: from 2 to 6 July there were about a hundred. If you follow this version, Eckhart managed to land and for some time the pilot was still alive. Another popular theory is that the plane was able to land on one of the Islands in the Pacific ocean, where there was a secret Japanese military base, and American pilots captured.
New evidence
Now there is indirect (and very vague) proof that it really could be. July 9 in the American History Channel will premiere a documentary film about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart “Lost evidence”. Actually, as the evidence stands photo, discovered in the National archives of the United States former special agent: presumably, she made an American spy on the Atoll Jaluit (included in the system of the Marshall Islands) in 1937.
It depicts a group of people in the port; according to some experts, one of the men standing facial features reminiscent of Noonan, and the figure sitting with his back to the photographer, Eckhart.
They also note that in the right corner of the frame (where it looks “Eckhart”) in water is a subject that can be a plane.
Inside Edition
According to a former employee of the FBI who is now working with NBC, the photo is definitely not fake. According to him, the evidence which will be presented in the documentary, leave no questions — the photo shows Earhart and Noonan. However, so consider not all. For example, curator of the National Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics, USA calls the photo is interesting, but unconvincing, and suggests that it is a way to draw attention to the film. “I want to believe that Amelia Earhart was a quicker death than a prisoner of the Japanese”, commented the finding of the curator of the Museum.
Olga Strahov