Wouldnt a long time veteran pilot know how high rescue planes would fly and know being spotted would be impossible without a large signal that could be seen from that altitude (ex...a giant wooden S.O.S or carrying pieces of the Electra's panneling as signaling mirrors, or ripping out large sections of the light/medium brush on the island to make a signal sign{think Nasca Lines}, etc...)?
There is a lot of material in your questions to which responses can be fashioned, but it would take time. They are interesting questions. They do not arise from having studied the subject material but they do reflect misperceptions that have been reflected elsewhere by those more knowledgeable. There has been a lot of recent discussion of late concerning why Earhart and Noonan would not have carved their names on a tree, or why has the G feature not been interpreted as the initial in Earhart's last name. This, of course, reinforces the need to heed Mr. Gillespie's long-standing admonition against, for want of a better name, the
"Would have" fallacy. As for the G feature, I do suspect, but do not know, that there is something about it that is relevant. However, discussion of that matter belongs in another thread.
I would like to point out, relative to your comment about the absence of any large legible distress signal from the island, that Greg Daspit, about a year ago, posted a thread about
the possible discernment of an S.O.S. on the bow of the Norwich City in two photographs. At the risk of committing a flagrant "would have" error of my own, I would like to remark on this. I've looked at the thread, studied the picture both here and the version on p. 146 of Dr. King's book, Amelia Earhart's Shoes, and I must say I really don't see any SOS there.
No, what I see is S, period, O, period, S, period. I want to remark as well that the pdf attachment Mr. Daspit posted on how this "sign" could have been painted was extremely well done. It even came complete with people drawn to scale in the illustration. Nice job, Greg!
I can't say for any certainty whether AE or FN painted SOS on the bow of the Norwich City, but upon re-reading a
Norwich City report and the
Board of Trade Inquiry, I fail to see any mention of the Norwich City survivors having embarked upon such an ambitious project. Surely it would have been remembered and mentioned in their detailed survivor's account. I also fail to understand how various populations on Nikumaroro after the survivors would have felt the need to paint such a message. But again, I am trespassing upon a well-worn fallacy and do not mean to offend those sensitive to its incursion.
Looking at TIGHAR's
Radio Signal Catalog, I can find 6 signals in which the phrase S.O.S. is mentioned. McMenamy heard (signal 2115MC) "KHAQQ - SOS - southwest Howland" and Charles Miguel (signal 31455ML) heard "SOS calls." Arthur Monsees (signal 90200MS) heard "SOS KHAQQ EAST HOWLAND LIGHTS TONIGHT MUST HURRY CANT HOLD." Mr. and Mrs. George Roland (signal 90300RD) "heard Amelia Earhart, SOS, calling SOS. Can’t last much longer," but this could have been heard on the March of Time broadcast so must therefore be discounted. These four signals were determined to be not credible and therefore we should ignore them. However, two of the signals were judged credible. Mabel Larremore (signal 30800LE) said she "heard her SOS loud and clear." Perhaps she was using the term SOS colloquially, but it's impossible to know.
Betty's Notebook (signal 52130KK) has two mentions of SOS.
The short answer, Marty, to your questions is this: You say you do not understand why AE and FN would not have done something. They might have done several things you posit they did not do, and here is just one example. But I need to be careful as well to say that I am using a veiled "would have" to respond to your "they should have" and therefore what I say needs to be labeled as opinion rather than judgment of any fact.
Joe Cerniglia
TIGHAR #3078 ECR