man---I wish someone could explain the aerial navigation thing for me-------If the wings come out of the Northwest, that would be a left quartering tailwind during the flight, and during the cloud cover during the night, could have pushed the plane on a more southernly course. So at daybreak, Noonan shot his sunline, but they were south of Howland. Tell me how you find your location on the 157/337 line with no reference than open ocean? I'm not trying to be difficult, but apparently Commander Thompson made the same mistake I am---since he searched NORTH of Howland, instead of South. Hense , the search that was conducted, versus the one that could have been conducted. Hindsight is a wonderful tool, but I assure you that history would be much different if Itasca had search Southeast immediately, instead of Northwest..
Tom