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Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937

2013-02-16T18:11:28Z

Rickerjones: /* The World Flight */ add Weems to Earhart Letter

<div align=center>{{hint|“The factors which contribute to inaccuracies in surface navigation--currents other than anticipated or estimated, lack of sights, inaccurate radio bearings, etc.--are all encountered in aerial navigation and commonly in intensified form.”
Fred J. Noonan, [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am Memo], Subect: Navigation: Hawaiian Flight of NR 823-M, April 29, 1935}}</div>
Aviation’s early decades saw the continuing development of aircraft with more powerful, reliable engines enabling aviators to venture far out of sight of land. The need became apparent for improved air navigational capabilities--cockpit instrumentation, charts of appropriate scale with special symbols and features, more comprehensive wind and weather forecasting, faster celestial procedures, sextants with artificial horizons, two way radio communication and radio navigational aids among them. Aviation was the benefactor of maritime navigational technology and procedural “hand-me-downs”, often not easily adapted for aircraft use. Bulky, heavy marine equipment was ill-suited for the limited lift of air machines. Even the slowest aircraft cruised at speeds in the magnitude of 10 times that of ships. Navigational positions needed to be determined more rapidly; equipment needed to be easier to use in a small cockpit by pilots who often wore gloves. Aviators, like Charles A. Lindbergh, coped with navigational requirements while piloting the aircraft, but it soon became apparent that for extended flights, an additional crew member would be useful to allow the pilot to devote his full attention to controlling the aircraft. Aerial navigation began, however, with the maritime legacy as its progenitor.

==Early maritime navigation==
[[Image:Portolan_Chart_1024.png|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center"> Enhanced drawing of the Carta Pisana portolan navigational chart showing the method of portraying magnetic compass courses to the principal central and eastern Mediterranean ports. The mileage scale is depicted in the circles. Pilots did not reference latitude and longitude which are not portrayed on portolan charts. Courtesy, Douglas T. Peck, and http://www.NewWorldExplorersInc.org</div>]]
Ocean navigation began to develop during the European Renaissance with the advent of the magnetic compass. It was the compass that enabled ships to steer and hold a magnetic heading to their intended destination. The compass card defined 32 points known as winds. “Portolan” charts, depicted routes based on these winds and had no latitude and longitude reference. These charts were used by the vessel’s pilot, in conjunction with the “rutter” (from French “routier”), or sailing instructions, in order to follow a given magnetic heading to the destination. Navigation was done exclusively by [[dead reckoning]]--experienced pilots gauged the speed of their vessels by the wind in the sails, the wake, and the sounds and feel of their ships. Charted distances were often given in days of sailing time. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]
By the Columbian period, dead reckoning had become highly developed and quite reliable. Using pilotage, the master took his ship along the coast to a point at the same latitude as his destination, then followed the compass due east or west to destination. This technique was called “easting” or “westing”. A confidant of Columbus’ wrote, “A good pilot or master is not considered such if, in traveling over a great distance from land to land, out in the open sea with no indication of any land, he is off by ten leagues even when the trip is a thousand leagues long.” An empirical reconstruction of Columbus’ first voyage in 1492 was made using his logged magnetic headings and distances sailed for the 136 legs of the voyage, and demonstrated that Columbus’ dead reckoning provided 99.7% accuracy from departure to destination and return. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]

Little effort was made to integrate the “New Navigation” (celestial) with the proven dead reckoning, as celestial positioning was the province of the learned mathematicians and cosmographers, not the vessels’ pilots. Celestial navigation was not reliable on a rolling vessel with instruments of the period; sight reduction was immensely time consuming and very challenging mathematically. Celestial observations were primarily used on land by the cosmographers along on the voyage to determine the latitude at destination. Its purpose was to update the Master Chart for the Crown in order to validate claims of sovereignty over new territories, not for navigation. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/] Significant advances in reliable [[celestial navigation]] did not occur until the eighteenth century following the invention of the marine sextant (octant) and John Harrison’s development of a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time aboard a ship under sail.<ref>Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995</ref>

==Balloon navigation==
By the 19th century, balloon pilots were largely restricted to map reading as a method of navigation, pointing up the need for international cooperation for procedures to cross borders and to create dedicated aeronautical charts—ones which included symbols and information of obstructions, rail lines, roads, town and village shapes, forests and bodies of water. The need for more frequent and accurate wind forecasts became apparent. Although balloon pilots attempted to use celestial navigation, balloons rotated, making it difficult; cramped space made tedious computation and plotting impractical, even though balloonists experimented with bubble horizons on sextants and tabulated reduction methods. Not until lighter-than-air craft were powered by engines could they maintain a course for which the magnetic compass was useful. Development of the zeppelin and dirigible permitted longer voyages off-shore and they soon used adaptations of the mariner’s navigational equipment and techniques.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 3</ref>

==Aerial navigation of WW I==
[[Image:Gatty-Weems_Speed_&_Drift_Indicator_Patent.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Harold Gatty and P.V.H. Weems collaborated on this "Speed and Drift Indicator" patented in 1934. Both men had numerous inventions relating to air navigation.</div>]]
[[Image:Dalton_MK_VII_DR_computer_ca.jpg|200px|thumb|right| <div align="center">The Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer ca. 1935. Noonan's letter to P.V.H. Weems stated he used this model while flying the Pacific survey flights. (Used by permission.)</div>]]

The United States did not have a significant military aviation capability before its entry into the World War. The role of World War I aircraft was primarily that of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and aerial pursuit which required only pilotage, or map reading. Blimps and longer range aircraft were used to a lesser degree for patrolling off shore or for bombing behind enemy lines but had little additional navigational capability or crews trained in navigation. The Great War saw the development of the drift meter, more for use as a bomb sight than for navigation. The evolution of the compass accelerated during this period, as the inherent characteristics of the airborne compass detracted from its usefulness and had to be addressed. Rapid turns and attitude changes caused the compass card to swing excessively. Movement of the rudder pedals and control stick, if made from ferrous metal, caused the compass reading to change, as did the expenditure of bombs and ammunition, which had high iron content. Improvements developed by the end of the war included a remote indicating compass with the sensor near the tail, and another, having a lighter card with less inertia called an” aperiodic” compass. A later, development was the earth inductor compass which proved to be more stable, but difficulty in keeping the sensing component level during flight was never resolved. Night navigation was facilitated by providing instrument lighting. Two-way radios preceded the experimentation and development of rudimentary directional radio navigation using ground based stations, even though engine magneto interference, long antennas and oversized equipment were problematic.

The dead reckoning computer was another important development, with each country's air arm finding a different solution. The French favored a large plotting board used in conjunction with a chart. The U.S. and Britain used a circular slide rule, subsequently integrated with a graphic plotting surface which was placed on the reverse side. Later improved by Ensign Philip Dalton and called the Dalton computer, it eventually became commonly known as the E-6B. Instruments which contained optics, like the drift meter, and sextant were adversely affected by aircraft attitude changes, and their use required the pilot to maintain a level, stable platform. Sperry’s early gyroscope was imperfect, though it improved after the war and gyroscopic stabilization provided significant improvement for a number of navigational instruments. Other instruments that saw successful development were the altimeter with ranges expanding to 20,000 feet, the turn and bank indicator and the artificial horizon. [[Harold Gatty]] developed a method of wind determination called the “double drift maneuver” in the U. S. and the “wind star” in Britain,
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543] to calculate winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically by plotting vectors on a graph. (Wind could alternatively be determined by reading the drift on a single heading, at two different airspeeds, but the former was the preferred method.)

==World War to World Flight==
[[Image:M-130_Clipper_Nav_Station.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> The navigator's station on the M-130 Pan Am Clipper is shown with Flight Engineer Vic Wright. What may be Noonan's "preventer" in a Brandis sextant box is on the shelf above the chart table. (Used by permission)</div>]]

'''Commercial Aviation:''' The period following World War I saw the emergence of commercial aviation and expansion of air routes across both oceans. Planes which made the early transatlantic crossings were generally capable of carrying only the fuel required for the trip, but by the 1930’s several countries were using larger craft to experiment with passenger service between continents. France and Germany had experimental routes to South America. In 1931 the Graff Zeppelin offered service to Rio de Janeiro which lasted until 1937. By 1934 Deutsche Lufthansa began service across the South Atlantic followed by Air France in 1936. Pan Am had developed a network of routes in the Caribbean and South America, and in 1935 opened a Pacific Division carrying mail to Manila in November of that year. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 6</ref>

North Atlantic service developed more slowly, with political difficulties hindering international agreements. The Hindenburg made 10 round trips before exploding in 1937 during the first trip of that season. Pan Am and Imperial jointly developed the route from New York to Bermuda, but it was 1939 before Pan Am offered North Atlantic passenger service.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch 6</ref>

Airlines were very concerned with the safety of their passengers and the regularity of their service. They adopted near-universal policies regarding navigation—most stipulated that all forms of navigation available would be used at all times, with a comparison made of the results of each. If the navigational data was consistent, there was reasonable assurance of the aircraft’s position. If, not, the navigator attempted to verify the position with additional data. Navigation was sometimes called an “art”, as the navigator’s evaluation of the data used in interpolating a position was subjective based on his assessment of each element’s reliability. (Fred Noonan discussed some limitations of navigational methods, radio equipment, and the affects of personal errors in an internal [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am memo] written following the Alameda to Honolulu Clipper route surveys of April 1935.) Aside from dead reckoning, celestial navigation and radio bearings were the only overwater navigational methods available during this period. When flying in conditions of overcast skies or when in the clouds, radio alone could be relied upon and compared with a dead reckoning position. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

'''Instrument Technology:''' Instruments and equipment continued to improve during the decade of the 1930’s. The 1-5% instrument errors of the 1920’s gave way to substantial improvements in the 1930’s. Pitot and venturi systems were improved and relocated away from turbulent areas of the aircraft. Sperry, after a 10 year effort, developed a successful air bearing for the gyroscope (steel bearings affected the magnetic compass) enabling the gyro compass and autopilot to become reliable instruments. Combining the magnetic compass with the gyro was still some time away, but using the compass to reset the gyro was a workable alternative and was used aboard Earhart’s Electra. Aircraft stability with the use of the gyro compass and autopilot also increased the accuracy of celestial observations. Companies like Kollsman, Pioneer, Sperry Gyroscope, Link Aviation, and Aera of Paris continued to make many small incremental improvements in instruments, which together greatly increased their function and reliability.

There were two additional instruments under development, that didn’t appear until 1938, after the World Flight. One was the absolute or radio altimeter, necessary for accurate ground speed timing made with the drift meter; the other was the gyro-stabilization of the drift meter optics to permit more accurate drift determination in turbulent air. A method sometimes used to determine absolute altitude over oceans was to descend to sea level and reset the altimeter. The downside was the increased fuel consumption for the climb back to altitude. German zeppelin navigators were extremely interested in the atmospheric pressure system’s usefulness in wind determination and lowered an aneroid sensor on a tether to the ocean’s surface to determine the sea level atmospheric pressure.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, pp. 142-144</ref>

'''Celestial Navigation:''' Bubble chambers in sextants continued to be problematic. P. V. H. Weems, probably the period’s foremost proponent of celestial air navigation, exhorted sextant manufacturers to produce a more durable, reliable bubble chamber for the sextant. Weems also experimented by taking a series of celestial observations which were averaged to mitigate the acceleration errors induced in the bubble by aircraft axes motions. He made eleven groups of ten observations each, and even though one was 128 miles in error, he found that by averaging the observations, the overall error was 3 miles. The error using 10 observations, was 5 miles.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, p. 316</ref> Though none were available for the World Flight, several companies had mechanical sextant averagers under development with some being evaluated by the airlines in 1938.
[[Image:Dreisonstok_Reduction_Tables_&_Nautical_Almanac.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Dreisonstok's sight reduction tables and the 1937 Nautical Almanac like those used by Noonan on the second attempt of the World Flight. The Dreisonstok tables were very compact, but required more arithmetical operations than some other available methods. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

[[Image:Nautical Almanac 2 Jul 37.jpg|250px|thumb|right| <div align="center">This page of the 1937 American Nautical Almanac includes data for 2 July 1937. The Luke Field inventory listed two copies of this edition of the Nautical Almanac carried on board during the first attempt of the World Flight. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

'''Sight Reduction:''' Sight reduction is the mathematical solution of the spherical celestial triangle which provides the navigator with a geographical line of position from a celestial observation. As done by the mariner, it was a twenty minute procedure, adequate for slow
moving ships, but not suitable for aircraft. In 1874, a French naval officer, Captain (later Admiral) Marcq St. Hilaire, devised an iterative procedure, now called the intercept method. This concept was based upon an assumed position and calculated with haversines, resulting in a [[line of position]], or as some knew it, a “Sumner line”. Philip Van Horn Weems took the next giant step in speeding up the celestial sight
reduction process to five minutes or less. Weems challenged the hallowed methods of the Navy and set out to simplify calculations using the Moon for celestial navigation. He developed “The Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators” which worked so well, he applied it to stars, planets and the sun. It was published as the “Air Almanac” in 1933, though it was discontinued in 1934 by the [http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937 Nautical Almanac Office.] An enthusiastic endorsement of his Air Almanac by the British led them to publish it every year since 1937; the U.S Nautical Almanac Office resumed publication in 1941.<ref>Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac</ref> Weems encouraged fellow Naval officers Dreisonstok and Ageton who developed popular tabulated “short methods” in very concise formats, well suited for aviation. Not satisfied, Weems simplified the reduction process even further with his pre-computed “Star Altitude Curves” for pre-selected stars capable of producing good “cuts”. The navigator had only to enter a graph with the appropriate arguments and extract the data to plot his fix.<ref>Emmot, N.W., "The Grand Old Man of Navigation”</ref> [http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm] In his ''Air Navigation'' (1938) Weems wrote: “The weak link in celestial navigation at the present time is that altitudes cannot be observed with extreme accuracy with the present aircraft sextant. When, however, accurate altitudes can be observed, the recent methods (of sight reduction) give positions with great speed and accuracy.”
<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938</ref> In 1939 it was discovered celestial observations were in error due to acceleration of the bubble from the coriolis affect. This error of up to several miles varied with ground speed and latitude, and was uncompensated for at the time of the World Flight. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 153</ref>

'''Radio:''' Aircraft radio developed rapidly during the 1930’s, analogous to the fast-changing computer technology of today. A leader in the field of radio communications, the Western Electric division of AT&T, manufactured the Model 13C radio transmitter and the Model 20B receiver which were selected for the Earhart “Flying Laboratory”, but it was already three-year- old technology at the time of the World Flight.<ref>Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1]The Western Electric radios were adequate, but couldn’t be considered “top of the line”. Model 13C was 50 Watt, three-frequency transmitter operating in the 2500-6500 KHz range and was factory modified to operate on the maritime distress frequency of 500 KHz. As installed, it was capable of transmitting a Morse code signal as well as phone (voice).

Radio [[direction finding]] circuitry had been developed in the 1920’s. Ships and ground stations operated direction finding radio for years, but weight had been a limiting factor for aircraft. The first radio direction finder, or radio compass, designed for aircraft became available in the early 1930’s, and newer, upgraded technology developed by several companies was available by the mid thirties. The Earhart Lockheed was equipped with a new generation radio direction finder in 1936 (which became known as the automatic direction finder or ADF), designed by Frederick J. Hooven, Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Radio Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corp. However, Earhart removed this state of the art [[Hooven Radio Compass]] and installed one of lesser capability with older technology having a manually rotated [[loop antenna]], ostensibly to save 30 pounds of weight.<ref>Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html]

[[Image:Electra Navigator's Station.jpg|500px|thumb|center|<div align="center">The Electra's navigator's station was in the aft cabin behind the fuel tanks. Communication with the pilot was by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. ((c)William F. Harney,2006;(c)TIGHAR,2009)</div>]]

==The World Flight==
'''Navigational Equipment:''' The Electra’s navigator station was in the aft cabin, behind the internal fuselage fuel tanks. Communications between the navigator and pilot were by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. Following the [[Luke Field]], Hawaii takeoff accident, equipment for the first World Flight attempt was inventoried by U.S. Army personnel who shipped the Electra to Lockheed for repairs. This inventory gives us a glimpse of the equipment available for the second attempt of the World Flight.

'''Navigation Equipment Taken from the Luke Field Inventory'''[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field.html]
{|{{Prettytable}}
|-
|30
|align="right"|12
|Ea.
|Aircraft Water Lights
|-
|31
|align="right"|7
|Ea.
|Aluminum Direction Bombs
|-
|60
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Base Plate for speed and drift meter
|-
|89
|align="right"|1
|Book
|Radio Aids, Navigation
|-
|90
|align="right"|1
|Box
|Lead Pencils
|-
|91
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Broadcasting stations
|-
|92
|align="right"|2
|Books
|American Nautical Almanac 1937
|-
|93
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Coast Stations & Ship Stations
|-
|94
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Aeronautical Stations and aircraft stations
|-
|95
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Stations performing special services
|-
|96
|align="right"|2
|
|Navigation tables for Mariners and Aviators
|-
|97
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Envelope containing miscellaneous navigation papers
|-
|98
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Parallel
|-
|99
|align="right"|2
|Ea.
|Dividers
|-
|103
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Triangle
|-
|106
|align="right"|1
|Pkg.
|Navigation Charts and airplane log
|-
|107
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Speed & drift indicator, type D-270, with handbook
|-
|108
|align="right"|5
|Rolls
|Miscellaneous maps
|-
|112
|align="right"|3
|
|Folders with maps
|-
|115
|align="right"|1
|
|Pencil type flashlight
|-
|117
|align="right"|4
|
|Clocks, Start & Stop "Omega"
|-
|118
|align="right"|1
|
|Airspeed Indicator "Pioneer"
|-
|119
|align="right"|1
|
|Gage Air Temp. Model 602
|-
|121
|align="right"|1
|
|Altimeter, Kohlsman, 0 to 20,000
|-
|122
|align="right"|1
|
|Pelorus drift sight, MK II B with extra base
|-
|123
|align="right"|1
|
|Straight flight compass
|-
|125
|align="right"|2
|
|Parachute flares
|}

[[Image:Pioneer_Mark_III_Octant_Patent.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Carbonara's 1934 patent of the Pioneer Mk III octant similar to the one used on the first attempt of the World Flight. The bubble chamber of this octant was difficult to adjust and the averager,which provided a mean of several observations over a few minutes, had not been developed yet.</div>]]

A bubble octant is not listed in the inventory. [[Harry Manning]] had signed for Navy Pioneer Bubble Octant, Serial No. 12-36 from the Naval Air Station in San Diego and retained possession of it rather than have it shipped back with the damaged aircraft. Noonan then signed a receipt for the octant on Matson Line stationery and gave it to Manning following the Luke Field accident. We do not know whether Noonan used that instrument on the second attempt or whether he returned it and used something else. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Forum_Archives/200202.txt] <ref>Long, Elgen M., Amelia Earhart, the Mystery Solved, Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y., 2001, p. 73</ref>
[[Image:Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot.jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot cockpit control unit. The gyroscopic stabilized autopilot improved the accuracy of sextant observations by reducing acceleration errors in the bubble chamber from aircraft axes movements. ((c)Tighar)</div>]]

Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with the Sperry “AutoGyro Automatic Pilot”, providing a more stable platform for the navigator’s celestial observations increasing their accuracy. Also on the Electra was a Mk IIB Pelorus drift sight with an extra base to facilitate its use on either side of the aircraft. Adequate for drift readings during stable flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate drift readings in any amount turbulence. The inventory also listed a second “Speed and Drift Indicator, type D-270” with a base. A ''New York Herald Tribune'' article included in ''Amelia, My Courageous Sister'', by Earhart’s sister Muriel Morrissey, described how the drift sight was used. “An arrangement has been devised to open the cabin door about four inches, where it is held rigidly in place. A Pioneer drift indicator is mounted for use looking down through this aperture to check wind drift on the earth or sea below. For this work flares are used at night over water, smoke bombs in daylight.” <ref>Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987, p. 192</ref> Drift bombs, used in lieu of the less visible smoke bombs, were ceramic or glass bomblets filled with either bronze or aluminum shavings. They broke on impact with the water, and created a spreading reflective surface on the water that could be tracked with the drift sight. Magnesium water lights were used similarly during darkness.

The Lockheed Electra 10E was fitted with low distortion windows in several positions to minimize refraction errors during celestial observations. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 156</ref> (Military navigators were later cautioned to avoid using windows for celestial observations, and not to observe celestial bodies below 11 degrees, due to the excessive refraction error.)<ref>Air Force Navigator Observer Association, "DR Ahead",Vol 27 No. 1, January 2011 </ref> [http://www.afnoa.org/]

While the Earhart Electra 10E Special was initially equipped with adequate navigational equipment, modifications to communications equipment made following the Luke Field accident were not well thought out, and were accomplished by technicians who may not have been fully aware of the nuances of radio wave [[propagation]]. The [[trailing antenna]] system had been a victim of the accident and was not replaced. A modification to lengthen the dorsal “V” antenna inadequately compensated for the trailing wire antenna’s loss, and resulted in degraded radio performance on all frequencies.

''' Noonan’s Navigational Procedures:''' In a letter to Weems, [[Fred Noonan]] described his navigational procedures during a 1935 Pan Am Pacific flight, stating that he used a “Pioneer octant with a mariner’s [[sextant]] as a “preventer”. Noonan also described carrying marine general, coastwise, and harbor charts, as well as aviation strip charts of the California coast. During the Pan Am flights overwater navigation was done on VP-3 and VP-4 plotting sheets (blank charts for a band of latitudes with user defined longitude lines). These were reused by relabeling the longitude lines and transferring his position to continue at the appropriate latitude on the same chart. This allowed him to use only two charts for the overwater passage. In the letter, Noonan also told of his preference for Dreisonstok’s reduction tables, and the Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, pp. 423-425</ref> Pan Am navigational policy, which Noonan helped develop, dictated that celestial positions were to be taken hourly, or more frequently, day or night. All forms of navigation would be used, and positional data would be cross checked between the different methods. It was also Pan Am policy that at least two direction finding stations would “track” the aircraft at all times, and aircraft [[DF]] equipment would be used to take bearings. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

Original charts of the Oakland to Honolulu leg of the World Flight [[first attempt]] illustrated the use of the following navigational techniques:
* 7 radio bearings
* 14 star/planet LOP’s
* 9 navigational fixes
* 4 course corrections
The flight path proved to be consistent with subsequent meteorological patterns for the area, and that corrections were made when deviation from course became too great.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D., The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR,2006</ref> [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html]
The archived chart for the June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil to [[Dakar]], Senegal, leg of the second attempt of the World Flight, showed that Noonan used 5 sun line LOP’s including a noon position. A portion of this chart is shown
[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf here] to illustrate his chart work.

[[Image:Weems to Earhart Letter Courtesy National Air and Space Museum.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">PVH Weems offered to provide Earhart with celestial navigational and radio skills, including Morse code, which he felt were necessary for overwater flight. His May 14, 1937 letter was 5 days before Earhart’s Oakland departure on the second attempt of the World Flight. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History via National Air and Space Museum</div>]]
[[Image:Putnam Reply to Weems Courtesy National Air & Space Museum.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">George Putnam's reply to Weems' offer of navigational and radio training. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History via National Air and Space Museum</div>]]
'''Training--A Missed Opportunity''' Commander PVH Weems offered to provide Earhart with celestial navigational and radio skills, including Morse code, which he felt was necessary for overwater flight. His May 14, 1937 letter was 5 days before Earhart’s Oakland departure on the second attempt of the World Flight and was politely parried by George Putnam. Neither Earhart nor Noonan possessed Morse code skills.

== Photo Gallery ==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Potting Sheet Example.bmp|An example of a plotting sheet devoid of geographic features. Used off-shore, the navigator must assign the longitude (and in this example the latitude also) for the area he is traversing. The VP-3 and VP-4 used by Noonan while with Pan Am were similar. (Courtesy: Ed Falk,www.efalk.org)
Image:Ceramic_Drift_Bomb.jpg‎|Ceramic or glass drift bombs were filled with aluminum or bronze flakes and dropped over water during daylight, breaking on impact. The metal particles would spread to form a bright reflection which the navigator could follow with the drift sight. (Used by permission)
Image:MK_IIB_Pelorus_Drift_Sight.jpg‎|A Mark IIB pelorus drift sight like that installed on the Earhart Lockheed Electra 10E for the World Flight. A U.S. Army inventory made following the Luke Field accident included this type drift sight and an extra base, plausibly for mounting the drift sight on either side of the aircraft. (Courtesy: Chris Rudge www.warbirdsite.com)

</gallery>
</div>
== Footnotes ==
<references />

==Bibliography==

Ageton, Arthur A., Manual of Celestial Navigation, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942

Dreisonstok, J. Y., Navigation Tables for Mariners and Aviators, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1930

Eberle, William C. and Weems, P.V.H., Learning to Navigate, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York and Chicago, 1939

Kells, Kern & Bland, Spherical Trigonometry with Naval and
Military Applications, USNA, 1942.

Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987

Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995

Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938

Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

==References==
[http://www.erikdeman.de/html/sail040u.htm Ageton's Tables for Sight Reduction]

[http://www.afnoa.org/ Air Force Navigator Observer Association]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543 BBC Home Page, Harold Gatty, Prince of Navigators]

[http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm Emmot, N.W., The Grand Old Man of Navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1| Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020]

[https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/ Fred Noonan and Amelia Earhart plus general flight navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/AEdescr1.html The Institute for Aviation History: The Earhart Project]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D.,The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR, 2006]

[http://kakopa.com/geo/cnhist.htm Milestones in Celestial Navigation]

[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937| Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac]

[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf Noonan’s South Atlantic Chart of the World Flight June 7, 1937]

[http://www.texlex.com/images/NavigationOptimum1.pdf Sight Reduction for Navigation]

[http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/EarlyNavigation.pdf Peck, Douglas T., The History of Early Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation: Empirical Reality Versus Theory]

[http://searchforamelia.org/category/research/overview-research Waitt Institute for Discovery, Search for Amelia, 2009]


[[Category:Navigation]]

Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937

2013-02-16T17:59:45Z

Rickerjones: /* The World Flight */ add Putnam letter to Weems

<div align=center>{{hint|“The factors which contribute to inaccuracies in surface navigation--currents other than anticipated or estimated, lack of sights, inaccurate radio bearings, etc.--are all encountered in aerial navigation and commonly in intensified form.”
Fred J. Noonan, [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am Memo], Subect: Navigation: Hawaiian Flight of NR 823-M, April 29, 1935}}</div>
Aviation’s early decades saw the continuing development of aircraft with more powerful, reliable engines enabling aviators to venture far out of sight of land. The need became apparent for improved air navigational capabilities--cockpit instrumentation, charts of appropriate scale with special symbols and features, more comprehensive wind and weather forecasting, faster celestial procedures, sextants with artificial horizons, two way radio communication and radio navigational aids among them. Aviation was the benefactor of maritime navigational technology and procedural “hand-me-downs”, often not easily adapted for aircraft use. Bulky, heavy marine equipment was ill-suited for the limited lift of air machines. Even the slowest aircraft cruised at speeds in the magnitude of 10 times that of ships. Navigational positions needed to be determined more rapidly; equipment needed to be easier to use in a small cockpit by pilots who often wore gloves. Aviators, like Charles A. Lindbergh, coped with navigational requirements while piloting the aircraft, but it soon became apparent that for extended flights, an additional crew member would be useful to allow the pilot to devote his full attention to controlling the aircraft. Aerial navigation began, however, with the maritime legacy as its progenitor.

==Early maritime navigation==
[[Image:Portolan_Chart_1024.png|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center"> Enhanced drawing of the Carta Pisana portolan navigational chart showing the method of portraying magnetic compass courses to the principal central and eastern Mediterranean ports. The mileage scale is depicted in the circles. Pilots did not reference latitude and longitude which are not portrayed on portolan charts. Courtesy, Douglas T. Peck, and http://www.NewWorldExplorersInc.org</div>]]
Ocean navigation began to develop during the European Renaissance with the advent of the magnetic compass. It was the compass that enabled ships to steer and hold a magnetic heading to their intended destination. The compass card defined 32 points known as winds. “Portolan” charts, depicted routes based on these winds and had no latitude and longitude reference. These charts were used by the vessel’s pilot, in conjunction with the “rutter” (from French “routier”), or sailing instructions, in order to follow a given magnetic heading to the destination. Navigation was done exclusively by [[dead reckoning]]--experienced pilots gauged the speed of their vessels by the wind in the sails, the wake, and the sounds and feel of their ships. Charted distances were often given in days of sailing time. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]
By the Columbian period, dead reckoning had become highly developed and quite reliable. Using pilotage, the master took his ship along the coast to a point at the same latitude as his destination, then followed the compass due east or west to destination. This technique was called “easting” or “westing”. A confidant of Columbus’ wrote, “A good pilot or master is not considered such if, in traveling over a great distance from land to land, out in the open sea with no indication of any land, he is off by ten leagues even when the trip is a thousand leagues long.” An empirical reconstruction of Columbus’ first voyage in 1492 was made using his logged magnetic headings and distances sailed for the 136 legs of the voyage, and demonstrated that Columbus’ dead reckoning provided 99.7% accuracy from departure to destination and return. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]

Little effort was made to integrate the “New Navigation” (celestial) with the proven dead reckoning, as celestial positioning was the province of the learned mathematicians and cosmographers, not the vessels’ pilots. Celestial navigation was not reliable on a rolling vessel with instruments of the period; sight reduction was immensely time consuming and very challenging mathematically. Celestial observations were primarily used on land by the cosmographers along on the voyage to determine the latitude at destination. Its purpose was to update the Master Chart for the Crown in order to validate claims of sovereignty over new territories, not for navigation. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/] Significant advances in reliable [[celestial navigation]] did not occur until the eighteenth century following the invention of the marine sextant (octant) and John Harrison’s development of a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time aboard a ship under sail.<ref>Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995</ref>

==Balloon navigation==
By the 19th century, balloon pilots were largely restricted to map reading as a method of navigation, pointing up the need for international cooperation for procedures to cross borders and to create dedicated aeronautical charts—ones which included symbols and information of obstructions, rail lines, roads, town and village shapes, forests and bodies of water. The need for more frequent and accurate wind forecasts became apparent. Although balloon pilots attempted to use celestial navigation, balloons rotated, making it difficult; cramped space made tedious computation and plotting impractical, even though balloonists experimented with bubble horizons on sextants and tabulated reduction methods. Not until lighter-than-air craft were powered by engines could they maintain a course for which the magnetic compass was useful. Development of the zeppelin and dirigible permitted longer voyages off-shore and they soon used adaptations of the mariner’s navigational equipment and techniques.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 3</ref>

==Aerial navigation of WW I==
[[Image:Gatty-Weems_Speed_&_Drift_Indicator_Patent.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Harold Gatty and P.V.H. Weems collaborated on this "Speed and Drift Indicator" patented in 1934. Both men had numerous inventions relating to air navigation.</div>]]
[[Image:Dalton_MK_VII_DR_computer_ca.jpg|200px|thumb|right| <div align="center">The Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer ca. 1935. Noonan's letter to P.V.H. Weems stated he used this model while flying the Pacific survey flights. (Used by permission.)</div>]]

The United States did not have a significant military aviation capability before its entry into the World War. The role of World War I aircraft was primarily that of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and aerial pursuit which required only pilotage, or map reading. Blimps and longer range aircraft were used to a lesser degree for patrolling off shore or for bombing behind enemy lines but had little additional navigational capability or crews trained in navigation. The Great War saw the development of the drift meter, more for use as a bomb sight than for navigation. The evolution of the compass accelerated during this period, as the inherent characteristics of the airborne compass detracted from its usefulness and had to be addressed. Rapid turns and attitude changes caused the compass card to swing excessively. Movement of the rudder pedals and control stick, if made from ferrous metal, caused the compass reading to change, as did the expenditure of bombs and ammunition, which had high iron content. Improvements developed by the end of the war included a remote indicating compass with the sensor near the tail, and another, having a lighter card with less inertia called an” aperiodic” compass. A later, development was the earth inductor compass which proved to be more stable, but difficulty in keeping the sensing component level during flight was never resolved. Night navigation was facilitated by providing instrument lighting. Two-way radios preceded the experimentation and development of rudimentary directional radio navigation using ground based stations, even though engine magneto interference, long antennas and oversized equipment were problematic.

The dead reckoning computer was another important development, with each country's air arm finding a different solution. The French favored a large plotting board used in conjunction with a chart. The U.S. and Britain used a circular slide rule, subsequently integrated with a graphic plotting surface which was placed on the reverse side. Later improved by Ensign Philip Dalton and called the Dalton computer, it eventually became commonly known as the E-6B. Instruments which contained optics, like the drift meter, and sextant were adversely affected by aircraft attitude changes, and their use required the pilot to maintain a level, stable platform. Sperry’s early gyroscope was imperfect, though it improved after the war and gyroscopic stabilization provided significant improvement for a number of navigational instruments. Other instruments that saw successful development were the altimeter with ranges expanding to 20,000 feet, the turn and bank indicator and the artificial horizon. [[Harold Gatty]] developed a method of wind determination called the “double drift maneuver” in the U. S. and the “wind star” in Britain,
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543] to calculate winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically by plotting vectors on a graph. (Wind could alternatively be determined by reading the drift on a single heading, at two different airspeeds, but the former was the preferred method.)

==World War to World Flight==
[[Image:M-130_Clipper_Nav_Station.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> The navigator's station on the M-130 Pan Am Clipper is shown with Flight Engineer Vic Wright. What may be Noonan's "preventer" in a Brandis sextant box is on the shelf above the chart table. (Used by permission)</div>]]

'''Commercial Aviation:''' The period following World War I saw the emergence of commercial aviation and expansion of air routes across both oceans. Planes which made the early transatlantic crossings were generally capable of carrying only the fuel required for the trip, but by the 1930’s several countries were using larger craft to experiment with passenger service between continents. France and Germany had experimental routes to South America. In 1931 the Graff Zeppelin offered service to Rio de Janeiro which lasted until 1937. By 1934 Deutsche Lufthansa began service across the South Atlantic followed by Air France in 1936. Pan Am had developed a network of routes in the Caribbean and South America, and in 1935 opened a Pacific Division carrying mail to Manila in November of that year. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 6</ref>

North Atlantic service developed more slowly, with political difficulties hindering international agreements. The Hindenburg made 10 round trips before exploding in 1937 during the first trip of that season. Pan Am and Imperial jointly developed the route from New York to Bermuda, but it was 1939 before Pan Am offered North Atlantic passenger service.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch 6</ref>

Airlines were very concerned with the safety of their passengers and the regularity of their service. They adopted near-universal policies regarding navigation—most stipulated that all forms of navigation available would be used at all times, with a comparison made of the results of each. If the navigational data was consistent, there was reasonable assurance of the aircraft’s position. If, not, the navigator attempted to verify the position with additional data. Navigation was sometimes called an “art”, as the navigator’s evaluation of the data used in interpolating a position was subjective based on his assessment of each element’s reliability. (Fred Noonan discussed some limitations of navigational methods, radio equipment, and the affects of personal errors in an internal [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am memo] written following the Alameda to Honolulu Clipper route surveys of April 1935.) Aside from dead reckoning, celestial navigation and radio bearings were the only overwater navigational methods available during this period. When flying in conditions of overcast skies or when in the clouds, radio alone could be relied upon and compared with a dead reckoning position. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

'''Instrument Technology:''' Instruments and equipment continued to improve during the decade of the 1930’s. The 1-5% instrument errors of the 1920’s gave way to substantial improvements in the 1930’s. Pitot and venturi systems were improved and relocated away from turbulent areas of the aircraft. Sperry, after a 10 year effort, developed a successful air bearing for the gyroscope (steel bearings affected the magnetic compass) enabling the gyro compass and autopilot to become reliable instruments. Combining the magnetic compass with the gyro was still some time away, but using the compass to reset the gyro was a workable alternative and was used aboard Earhart’s Electra. Aircraft stability with the use of the gyro compass and autopilot also increased the accuracy of celestial observations. Companies like Kollsman, Pioneer, Sperry Gyroscope, Link Aviation, and Aera of Paris continued to make many small incremental improvements in instruments, which together greatly increased their function and reliability.

There were two additional instruments under development, that didn’t appear until 1938, after the World Flight. One was the absolute or radio altimeter, necessary for accurate ground speed timing made with the drift meter; the other was the gyro-stabilization of the drift meter optics to permit more accurate drift determination in turbulent air. A method sometimes used to determine absolute altitude over oceans was to descend to sea level and reset the altimeter. The downside was the increased fuel consumption for the climb back to altitude. German zeppelin navigators were extremely interested in the atmospheric pressure system’s usefulness in wind determination and lowered an aneroid sensor on a tether to the ocean’s surface to determine the sea level atmospheric pressure.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, pp. 142-144</ref>

'''Celestial Navigation:''' Bubble chambers in sextants continued to be problematic. P. V. H. Weems, probably the period’s foremost proponent of celestial air navigation, exhorted sextant manufacturers to produce a more durable, reliable bubble chamber for the sextant. Weems also experimented by taking a series of celestial observations which were averaged to mitigate the acceleration errors induced in the bubble by aircraft axes motions. He made eleven groups of ten observations each, and even though one was 128 miles in error, he found that by averaging the observations, the overall error was 3 miles. The error using 10 observations, was 5 miles.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, p. 316</ref> Though none were available for the World Flight, several companies had mechanical sextant averagers under development with some being evaluated by the airlines in 1938.
[[Image:Dreisonstok_Reduction_Tables_&_Nautical_Almanac.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Dreisonstok's sight reduction tables and the 1937 Nautical Almanac like those used by Noonan on the second attempt of the World Flight. The Dreisonstok tables were very compact, but required more arithmetical operations than some other available methods. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

[[Image:Nautical Almanac 2 Jul 37.jpg|250px|thumb|right| <div align="center">This page of the 1937 American Nautical Almanac includes data for 2 July 1937. The Luke Field inventory listed two copies of this edition of the Nautical Almanac carried on board during the first attempt of the World Flight. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

'''Sight Reduction:''' Sight reduction is the mathematical solution of the spherical celestial triangle which provides the navigator with a geographical line of position from a celestial observation. As done by the mariner, it was a twenty minute procedure, adequate for slow
moving ships, but not suitable for aircraft. In 1874, a French naval officer, Captain (later Admiral) Marcq St. Hilaire, devised an iterative procedure, now called the intercept method. This concept was based upon an assumed position and calculated with haversines, resulting in a [[line of position]], or as some knew it, a “Sumner line”. Philip Van Horn Weems took the next giant step in speeding up the celestial sight
reduction process to five minutes or less. Weems challenged the hallowed methods of the Navy and set out to simplify calculations using the Moon for celestial navigation. He developed “The Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators” which worked so well, he applied it to stars, planets and the sun. It was published as the “Air Almanac” in 1933, though it was discontinued in 1934 by the [http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937 Nautical Almanac Office.] An enthusiastic endorsement of his Air Almanac by the British led them to publish it every year since 1937; the U.S Nautical Almanac Office resumed publication in 1941.<ref>Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac</ref> Weems encouraged fellow Naval officers Dreisonstok and Ageton who developed popular tabulated “short methods” in very concise formats, well suited for aviation. Not satisfied, Weems simplified the reduction process even further with his pre-computed “Star Altitude Curves” for pre-selected stars capable of producing good “cuts”. The navigator had only to enter a graph with the appropriate arguments and extract the data to plot his fix.<ref>Emmot, N.W., "The Grand Old Man of Navigation”</ref> [http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm] In his ''Air Navigation'' (1938) Weems wrote: “The weak link in celestial navigation at the present time is that altitudes cannot be observed with extreme accuracy with the present aircraft sextant. When, however, accurate altitudes can be observed, the recent methods (of sight reduction) give positions with great speed and accuracy.”
<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938</ref> In 1939 it was discovered celestial observations were in error due to acceleration of the bubble from the coriolis affect. This error of up to several miles varied with ground speed and latitude, and was uncompensated for at the time of the World Flight. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 153</ref>

'''Radio:''' Aircraft radio developed rapidly during the 1930’s, analogous to the fast-changing computer technology of today. A leader in the field of radio communications, the Western Electric division of AT&T, manufactured the Model 13C radio transmitter and the Model 20B receiver which were selected for the Earhart “Flying Laboratory”, but it was already three-year- old technology at the time of the World Flight.<ref>Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1]The Western Electric radios were adequate, but couldn’t be considered “top of the line”. Model 13C was 50 Watt, three-frequency transmitter operating in the 2500-6500 KHz range and was factory modified to operate on the maritime distress frequency of 500 KHz. As installed, it was capable of transmitting a Morse code signal as well as phone (voice).

Radio [[direction finding]] circuitry had been developed in the 1920’s. Ships and ground stations operated direction finding radio for years, but weight had been a limiting factor for aircraft. The first radio direction finder, or radio compass, designed for aircraft became available in the early 1930’s, and newer, upgraded technology developed by several companies was available by the mid thirties. The Earhart Lockheed was equipped with a new generation radio direction finder in 1936 (which became known as the automatic direction finder or ADF), designed by Frederick J. Hooven, Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Radio Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corp. However, Earhart removed this state of the art [[Hooven Radio Compass]] and installed one of lesser capability with older technology having a manually rotated [[loop antenna]], ostensibly to save 30 pounds of weight.<ref>Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html]

[[Image:Electra Navigator's Station.jpg|500px|thumb|center|<div align="center">The Electra's navigator's station was in the aft cabin behind the fuel tanks. Communication with the pilot was by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. ((c)William F. Harney,2006;(c)TIGHAR,2009)</div>]]

==The World Flight==
'''Navigational Equipment:''' The Electra’s navigator station was in the aft cabin, behind the internal fuselage fuel tanks. Communications between the navigator and pilot were by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. Following the [[Luke Field]], Hawaii takeoff accident, equipment for the first World Flight attempt was inventoried by U.S. Army personnel who shipped the Electra to Lockheed for repairs. This inventory gives us a glimpse of the equipment available for the second attempt of the World Flight.

'''Navigation Equipment Taken from the Luke Field Inventory'''[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field.html]
{|{{Prettytable}}
|-
|30
|align="right"|12
|Ea.
|Aircraft Water Lights
|-
|31
|align="right"|7
|Ea.
|Aluminum Direction Bombs
|-
|60
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Base Plate for speed and drift meter
|-
|89
|align="right"|1
|Book
|Radio Aids, Navigation
|-
|90
|align="right"|1
|Box
|Lead Pencils
|-
|91
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Broadcasting stations
|-
|92
|align="right"|2
|Books
|American Nautical Almanac 1937
|-
|93
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Coast Stations & Ship Stations
|-
|94
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Aeronautical Stations and aircraft stations
|-
|95
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Stations performing special services
|-
|96
|align="right"|2
|
|Navigation tables for Mariners and Aviators
|-
|97
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Envelope containing miscellaneous navigation papers
|-
|98
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Parallel
|-
|99
|align="right"|2
|Ea.
|Dividers
|-
|103
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Triangle
|-
|106
|align="right"|1
|Pkg.
|Navigation Charts and airplane log
|-
|107
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Speed & drift indicator, type D-270, with handbook
|-
|108
|align="right"|5
|Rolls
|Miscellaneous maps
|-
|112
|align="right"|3
|
|Folders with maps
|-
|115
|align="right"|1
|
|Pencil type flashlight
|-
|117
|align="right"|4
|
|Clocks, Start & Stop "Omega"
|-
|118
|align="right"|1
|
|Airspeed Indicator "Pioneer"
|-
|119
|align="right"|1
|
|Gage Air Temp. Model 602
|-
|121
|align="right"|1
|
|Altimeter, Kohlsman, 0 to 20,000
|-
|122
|align="right"|1
|
|Pelorus drift sight, MK II B with extra base
|-
|123
|align="right"|1
|
|Straight flight compass
|-
|125
|align="right"|2
|
|Parachute flares
|}

[[Image:Pioneer_Mark_III_Octant_Patent.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Carbonara's 1934 patent of the Pioneer Mk III octant similar to the one used on the first attempt of the World Flight. The bubble chamber of this octant was difficult to adjust and the averager,which provided a mean of several observations over a few minutes, had not been developed yet.</div>]]

A bubble octant is not listed in the inventory. [[Harry Manning]] had signed for Navy Pioneer Bubble Octant, Serial No. 12-36 from the Naval Air Station in San Diego and retained possession of it rather than have it shipped back with the damaged aircraft. Noonan then signed a receipt for the octant on Matson Line stationery and gave it to Manning following the Luke Field accident. We do not know whether Noonan used that instrument on the second attempt or whether he returned it and used something else. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Forum_Archives/200202.txt] <ref>Long, Elgen M., Amelia Earhart, the Mystery Solved, Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y., 2001, p. 73</ref>
[[Image:Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot.jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot cockpit control unit. The gyroscopic stabilized autopilot improved the accuracy of sextant observations by reducing acceleration errors in the bubble chamber from aircraft axes movements. ((c)Tighar)</div>]]

Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with the Sperry “AutoGyro Automatic Pilot”, providing a more stable platform for the navigator’s celestial observations increasing their accuracy. Also on the Electra was a Mk IIB Pelorus drift sight with an extra base to facilitate its use on either side of the aircraft. Adequate for drift readings during stable flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate drift readings in any amount turbulence. The inventory also listed a second “Speed and Drift Indicator, type D-270” with a base. A ''New York Herald Tribune'' article included in ''Amelia, My Courageous Sister'', by Earhart’s sister Muriel Morrissey, described how the drift sight was used. “An arrangement has been devised to open the cabin door about four inches, where it is held rigidly in place. A Pioneer drift indicator is mounted for use looking down through this aperture to check wind drift on the earth or sea below. For this work flares are used at night over water, smoke bombs in daylight.” <ref>Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987, p. 192</ref> Drift bombs, used in lieu of the less visible smoke bombs, were ceramic or glass bomblets filled with either bronze or aluminum shavings. They broke on impact with the water, and created a spreading reflective surface on the water that could be tracked with the drift sight. Magnesium water lights were used similarly during darkness.

The Lockheed Electra 10E was fitted with low distortion windows in several positions to minimize refraction errors during celestial observations. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 156</ref> (Military navigators were later cautioned to avoid using windows for celestial observations, and not to observe celestial bodies below 11 degrees, due to the excessive refraction error.)<ref>Air Force Navigator Observer Association, "DR Ahead",Vol 27 No. 1, January 2011 </ref> [http://www.afnoa.org/]

While the Earhart Electra 10E Special was initially equipped with adequate navigational equipment, modifications to communications equipment made following the Luke Field accident were not well thought out, and were accomplished by technicians who may not have been fully aware of the nuances of radio wave [[propagation]]. The [[trailing antenna]] system had been a victim of the accident and was not replaced. A modification to lengthen the dorsal “V” antenna inadequately compensated for the trailing wire antenna’s loss, and resulted in degraded radio performance on all frequencies.

''' Noonan’s Navigational Procedures:''' In a letter to Weems, [[Fred Noonan]] described his navigational procedures during a 1935 Pan Am Pacific flight, stating that he used a “Pioneer octant with a mariner’s [[sextant]] as a “preventer”. Noonan also described carrying marine general, coastwise, and harbor charts, as well as aviation strip charts of the California coast. During the Pan Am flights overwater navigation was done on VP-3 and VP-4 plotting sheets (blank charts for a band of latitudes with user defined longitude lines). These were reused by relabeling the longitude lines and transferring his position to continue at the appropriate latitude on the same chart. This allowed him to use only two charts for the overwater passage. In the letter, Noonan also told of his preference for Dreisonstok’s reduction tables, and the Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, pp. 423-425</ref> Pan Am navigational policy, which Noonan helped develop, dictated that celestial positions were to be taken hourly, or more frequently, day or night. All forms of navigation would be used, and positional data would be cross checked between the different methods. It was also Pan Am policy that at least two direction finding stations would “track” the aircraft at all times, and aircraft [[DF]] equipment would be used to take bearings. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

Original charts of the Oakland to Honolulu leg of the World Flight [[first attempt]] illustrated the use of the following navigational techniques:
* 7 radio bearings
* 14 star/planet LOP’s
* 9 navigational fixes
* 4 course corrections
The flight path proved to be consistent with subsequent meteorological patterns for the area, and that corrections were made when deviation from course became too great.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D., The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR,2006</ref> [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html]
The archived chart for the June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil to [[Dakar]], Senegal, leg of the second attempt of the World Flight, showed that Noonan used 5 sun line LOP’s including a noon position. A portion of this chart is shown
[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf here] to illustrate his chart work.
[[Image:Putnam Reply to Weems Courtesy National Air & Space Museum.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">George Putnam's reply to Weems' offer of navigational and radio training. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History via National Air and Space Museum</div>]]
'''Training--A Missed Opportunity''' Commander PVH Weems offered to provide Earhart with celestial navigational and radio skills, including Morse code, which he felt was necessary for overwater flight. His May 14, 1937 letter was 5 days before Earhart’s Oakland departure on the second attempt of the World Flight and was politely parried by George Putnam. Neither Earhart nor Noonan possessed Morse code skills.

== Photo Gallery ==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Potting Sheet Example.bmp|An example of a plotting sheet devoid of geographic features. Used off-shore, the navigator must assign the longitude (and in this example the latitude also) for the area he is traversing. The VP-3 and VP-4 used by Noonan while with Pan Am were similar. (Courtesy: Ed Falk,www.efalk.org)
Image:Ceramic_Drift_Bomb.jpg‎|Ceramic or glass drift bombs were filled with aluminum or bronze flakes and dropped over water during daylight, breaking on impact. The metal particles would spread to form a bright reflection which the navigator could follow with the drift sight. (Used by permission)
Image:MK_IIB_Pelorus_Drift_Sight.jpg‎|A Mark IIB pelorus drift sight like that installed on the Earhart Lockheed Electra 10E for the World Flight. A U.S. Army inventory made following the Luke Field accident included this type drift sight and an extra base, plausibly for mounting the drift sight on either side of the aircraft. (Courtesy: Chris Rudge www.warbirdsite.com)

</gallery>
</div>
== Footnotes ==
<references />

==Bibliography==

Ageton, Arthur A., Manual of Celestial Navigation, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942

Dreisonstok, J. Y., Navigation Tables for Mariners and Aviators, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1930

Eberle, William C. and Weems, P.V.H., Learning to Navigate, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York and Chicago, 1939

Kells, Kern & Bland, Spherical Trigonometry with Naval and
Military Applications, USNA, 1942.

Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987

Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995

Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938

Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

==References==
[http://www.erikdeman.de/html/sail040u.htm Ageton's Tables for Sight Reduction]

[http://www.afnoa.org/ Air Force Navigator Observer Association]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543 BBC Home Page, Harold Gatty, Prince of Navigators]

[http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm Emmot, N.W., The Grand Old Man of Navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1| Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020]

[https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/ Fred Noonan and Amelia Earhart plus general flight navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/AEdescr1.html The Institute for Aviation History: The Earhart Project]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D.,The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR, 2006]

[http://kakopa.com/geo/cnhist.htm Milestones in Celestial Navigation]

[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937| Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac]

[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf Noonan’s South Atlantic Chart of the World Flight June 7, 1937]

[http://www.texlex.com/images/NavigationOptimum1.pdf Sight Reduction for Navigation]

[http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/EarlyNavigation.pdf Peck, Douglas T., The History of Early Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation: Empirical Reality Versus Theory]

[http://searchforamelia.org/category/research/overview-research Waitt Institute for Discovery, Search for Amelia, 2009]


[[Category:Navigation]]

Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937

2013-02-16T17:41:32Z

Rickerjones: /* The World Flight */ Add para on training

<div align=center>{{hint|“The factors which contribute to inaccuracies in surface navigation--currents other than anticipated or estimated, lack of sights, inaccurate radio bearings, etc.--are all encountered in aerial navigation and commonly in intensified form.”
Fred J. Noonan, [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am Memo], Subect: Navigation: Hawaiian Flight of NR 823-M, April 29, 1935}}</div>
Aviation’s early decades saw the continuing development of aircraft with more powerful, reliable engines enabling aviators to venture far out of sight of land. The need became apparent for improved air navigational capabilities--cockpit instrumentation, charts of appropriate scale with special symbols and features, more comprehensive wind and weather forecasting, faster celestial procedures, sextants with artificial horizons, two way radio communication and radio navigational aids among them. Aviation was the benefactor of maritime navigational technology and procedural “hand-me-downs”, often not easily adapted for aircraft use. Bulky, heavy marine equipment was ill-suited for the limited lift of air machines. Even the slowest aircraft cruised at speeds in the magnitude of 10 times that of ships. Navigational positions needed to be determined more rapidly; equipment needed to be easier to use in a small cockpit by pilots who often wore gloves. Aviators, like Charles A. Lindbergh, coped with navigational requirements while piloting the aircraft, but it soon became apparent that for extended flights, an additional crew member would be useful to allow the pilot to devote his full attention to controlling the aircraft. Aerial navigation began, however, with the maritime legacy as its progenitor.

==Early maritime navigation==
[[Image:Portolan_Chart_1024.png|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center"> Enhanced drawing of the Carta Pisana portolan navigational chart showing the method of portraying magnetic compass courses to the principal central and eastern Mediterranean ports. The mileage scale is depicted in the circles. Pilots did not reference latitude and longitude which are not portrayed on portolan charts. Courtesy, Douglas T. Peck, and http://www.NewWorldExplorersInc.org</div>]]
Ocean navigation began to develop during the European Renaissance with the advent of the magnetic compass. It was the compass that enabled ships to steer and hold a magnetic heading to their intended destination. The compass card defined 32 points known as winds. “Portolan” charts, depicted routes based on these winds and had no latitude and longitude reference. These charts were used by the vessel’s pilot, in conjunction with the “rutter” (from French “routier”), or sailing instructions, in order to follow a given magnetic heading to the destination. Navigation was done exclusively by [[dead reckoning]]--experienced pilots gauged the speed of their vessels by the wind in the sails, the wake, and the sounds and feel of their ships. Charted distances were often given in days of sailing time. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]
By the Columbian period, dead reckoning had become highly developed and quite reliable. Using pilotage, the master took his ship along the coast to a point at the same latitude as his destination, then followed the compass due east or west to destination. This technique was called “easting” or “westing”. A confidant of Columbus’ wrote, “A good pilot or master is not considered such if, in traveling over a great distance from land to land, out in the open sea with no indication of any land, he is off by ten leagues even when the trip is a thousand leagues long.” An empirical reconstruction of Columbus’ first voyage in 1492 was made using his logged magnetic headings and distances sailed for the 136 legs of the voyage, and demonstrated that Columbus’ dead reckoning provided 99.7% accuracy from departure to destination and return. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]

Little effort was made to integrate the “New Navigation” (celestial) with the proven dead reckoning, as celestial positioning was the province of the learned mathematicians and cosmographers, not the vessels’ pilots. Celestial navigation was not reliable on a rolling vessel with instruments of the period; sight reduction was immensely time consuming and very challenging mathematically. Celestial observations were primarily used on land by the cosmographers along on the voyage to determine the latitude at destination. Its purpose was to update the Master Chart for the Crown in order to validate claims of sovereignty over new territories, not for navigation. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/] Significant advances in reliable [[celestial navigation]] did not occur until the eighteenth century following the invention of the marine sextant (octant) and John Harrison’s development of a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time aboard a ship under sail.<ref>Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995</ref>

==Balloon navigation==
By the 19th century, balloon pilots were largely restricted to map reading as a method of navigation, pointing up the need for international cooperation for procedures to cross borders and to create dedicated aeronautical charts—ones which included symbols and information of obstructions, rail lines, roads, town and village shapes, forests and bodies of water. The need for more frequent and accurate wind forecasts became apparent. Although balloon pilots attempted to use celestial navigation, balloons rotated, making it difficult; cramped space made tedious computation and plotting impractical, even though balloonists experimented with bubble horizons on sextants and tabulated reduction methods. Not until lighter-than-air craft were powered by engines could they maintain a course for which the magnetic compass was useful. Development of the zeppelin and dirigible permitted longer voyages off-shore and they soon used adaptations of the mariner’s navigational equipment and techniques.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 3</ref>

==Aerial navigation of WW I==
[[Image:Gatty-Weems_Speed_&_Drift_Indicator_Patent.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Harold Gatty and P.V.H. Weems collaborated on this "Speed and Drift Indicator" patented in 1934. Both men had numerous inventions relating to air navigation.</div>]]
[[Image:Dalton_MK_VII_DR_computer_ca.jpg|200px|thumb|right| <div align="center">The Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer ca. 1935. Noonan's letter to P.V.H. Weems stated he used this model while flying the Pacific survey flights. (Used by permission.)</div>]]

The United States did not have a significant military aviation capability before its entry into the World War. The role of World War I aircraft was primarily that of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and aerial pursuit which required only pilotage, or map reading. Blimps and longer range aircraft were used to a lesser degree for patrolling off shore or for bombing behind enemy lines but had little additional navigational capability or crews trained in navigation. The Great War saw the development of the drift meter, more for use as a bomb sight than for navigation. The evolution of the compass accelerated during this period, as the inherent characteristics of the airborne compass detracted from its usefulness and had to be addressed. Rapid turns and attitude changes caused the compass card to swing excessively. Movement of the rudder pedals and control stick, if made from ferrous metal, caused the compass reading to change, as did the expenditure of bombs and ammunition, which had high iron content. Improvements developed by the end of the war included a remote indicating compass with the sensor near the tail, and another, having a lighter card with less inertia called an” aperiodic” compass. A later, development was the earth inductor compass which proved to be more stable, but difficulty in keeping the sensing component level during flight was never resolved. Night navigation was facilitated by providing instrument lighting. Two-way radios preceded the experimentation and development of rudimentary directional radio navigation using ground based stations, even though engine magneto interference, long antennas and oversized equipment were problematic.

The dead reckoning computer was another important development, with each country's air arm finding a different solution. The French favored a large plotting board used in conjunction with a chart. The U.S. and Britain used a circular slide rule, subsequently integrated with a graphic plotting surface which was placed on the reverse side. Later improved by Ensign Philip Dalton and called the Dalton computer, it eventually became commonly known as the E-6B. Instruments which contained optics, like the drift meter, and sextant were adversely affected by aircraft attitude changes, and their use required the pilot to maintain a level, stable platform. Sperry’s early gyroscope was imperfect, though it improved after the war and gyroscopic stabilization provided significant improvement for a number of navigational instruments. Other instruments that saw successful development were the altimeter with ranges expanding to 20,000 feet, the turn and bank indicator and the artificial horizon. [[Harold Gatty]] developed a method of wind determination called the “double drift maneuver” in the U. S. and the “wind star” in Britain,
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543] to calculate winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically by plotting vectors on a graph. (Wind could alternatively be determined by reading the drift on a single heading, at two different airspeeds, but the former was the preferred method.)

==World War to World Flight==
[[Image:M-130_Clipper_Nav_Station.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> The navigator's station on the M-130 Pan Am Clipper is shown with Flight Engineer Vic Wright. What may be Noonan's "preventer" in a Brandis sextant box is on the shelf above the chart table. (Used by permission)</div>]]

'''Commercial Aviation:''' The period following World War I saw the emergence of commercial aviation and expansion of air routes across both oceans. Planes which made the early transatlantic crossings were generally capable of carrying only the fuel required for the trip, but by the 1930’s several countries were using larger craft to experiment with passenger service between continents. France and Germany had experimental routes to South America. In 1931 the Graff Zeppelin offered service to Rio de Janeiro which lasted until 1937. By 1934 Deutsche Lufthansa began service across the South Atlantic followed by Air France in 1936. Pan Am had developed a network of routes in the Caribbean and South America, and in 1935 opened a Pacific Division carrying mail to Manila in November of that year. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 6</ref>

North Atlantic service developed more slowly, with political difficulties hindering international agreements. The Hindenburg made 10 round trips before exploding in 1937 during the first trip of that season. Pan Am and Imperial jointly developed the route from New York to Bermuda, but it was 1939 before Pan Am offered North Atlantic passenger service.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch 6</ref>

Airlines were very concerned with the safety of their passengers and the regularity of their service. They adopted near-universal policies regarding navigation—most stipulated that all forms of navigation available would be used at all times, with a comparison made of the results of each. If the navigational data was consistent, there was reasonable assurance of the aircraft’s position. If, not, the navigator attempted to verify the position with additional data. Navigation was sometimes called an “art”, as the navigator’s evaluation of the data used in interpolating a position was subjective based on his assessment of each element’s reliability. (Fred Noonan discussed some limitations of navigational methods, radio equipment, and the affects of personal errors in an internal [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am memo] written following the Alameda to Honolulu Clipper route surveys of April 1935.) Aside from dead reckoning, celestial navigation and radio bearings were the only overwater navigational methods available during this period. When flying in conditions of overcast skies or when in the clouds, radio alone could be relied upon and compared with a dead reckoning position. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

'''Instrument Technology:''' Instruments and equipment continued to improve during the decade of the 1930’s. The 1-5% instrument errors of the 1920’s gave way to substantial improvements in the 1930’s. Pitot and venturi systems were improved and relocated away from turbulent areas of the aircraft. Sperry, after a 10 year effort, developed a successful air bearing for the gyroscope (steel bearings affected the magnetic compass) enabling the gyro compass and autopilot to become reliable instruments. Combining the magnetic compass with the gyro was still some time away, but using the compass to reset the gyro was a workable alternative and was used aboard Earhart’s Electra. Aircraft stability with the use of the gyro compass and autopilot also increased the accuracy of celestial observations. Companies like Kollsman, Pioneer, Sperry Gyroscope, Link Aviation, and Aera of Paris continued to make many small incremental improvements in instruments, which together greatly increased their function and reliability.

There were two additional instruments under development, that didn’t appear until 1938, after the World Flight. One was the absolute or radio altimeter, necessary for accurate ground speed timing made with the drift meter; the other was the gyro-stabilization of the drift meter optics to permit more accurate drift determination in turbulent air. A method sometimes used to determine absolute altitude over oceans was to descend to sea level and reset the altimeter. The downside was the increased fuel consumption for the climb back to altitude. German zeppelin navigators were extremely interested in the atmospheric pressure system’s usefulness in wind determination and lowered an aneroid sensor on a tether to the ocean’s surface to determine the sea level atmospheric pressure.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, pp. 142-144</ref>

'''Celestial Navigation:''' Bubble chambers in sextants continued to be problematic. P. V. H. Weems, probably the period’s foremost proponent of celestial air navigation, exhorted sextant manufacturers to produce a more durable, reliable bubble chamber for the sextant. Weems also experimented by taking a series of celestial observations which were averaged to mitigate the acceleration errors induced in the bubble by aircraft axes motions. He made eleven groups of ten observations each, and even though one was 128 miles in error, he found that by averaging the observations, the overall error was 3 miles. The error using 10 observations, was 5 miles.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, p. 316</ref> Though none were available for the World Flight, several companies had mechanical sextant averagers under development with some being evaluated by the airlines in 1938.
[[Image:Dreisonstok_Reduction_Tables_&_Nautical_Almanac.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Dreisonstok's sight reduction tables and the 1937 Nautical Almanac like those used by Noonan on the second attempt of the World Flight. The Dreisonstok tables were very compact, but required more arithmetical operations than some other available methods. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

[[Image:Nautical Almanac 2 Jul 37.jpg|250px|thumb|right| <div align="center">This page of the 1937 American Nautical Almanac includes data for 2 July 1937. The Luke Field inventory listed two copies of this edition of the Nautical Almanac carried on board during the first attempt of the World Flight. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

'''Sight Reduction:''' Sight reduction is the mathematical solution of the spherical celestial triangle which provides the navigator with a geographical line of position from a celestial observation. As done by the mariner, it was a twenty minute procedure, adequate for slow
moving ships, but not suitable for aircraft. In 1874, a French naval officer, Captain (later Admiral) Marcq St. Hilaire, devised an iterative procedure, now called the intercept method. This concept was based upon an assumed position and calculated with haversines, resulting in a [[line of position]], or as some knew it, a “Sumner line”. Philip Van Horn Weems took the next giant step in speeding up the celestial sight
reduction process to five minutes or less. Weems challenged the hallowed methods of the Navy and set out to simplify calculations using the Moon for celestial navigation. He developed “The Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators” which worked so well, he applied it to stars, planets and the sun. It was published as the “Air Almanac” in 1933, though it was discontinued in 1934 by the [http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937 Nautical Almanac Office.] An enthusiastic endorsement of his Air Almanac by the British led them to publish it every year since 1937; the U.S Nautical Almanac Office resumed publication in 1941.<ref>Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac</ref> Weems encouraged fellow Naval officers Dreisonstok and Ageton who developed popular tabulated “short methods” in very concise formats, well suited for aviation. Not satisfied, Weems simplified the reduction process even further with his pre-computed “Star Altitude Curves” for pre-selected stars capable of producing good “cuts”. The navigator had only to enter a graph with the appropriate arguments and extract the data to plot his fix.<ref>Emmot, N.W., "The Grand Old Man of Navigation”</ref> [http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm] In his ''Air Navigation'' (1938) Weems wrote: “The weak link in celestial navigation at the present time is that altitudes cannot be observed with extreme accuracy with the present aircraft sextant. When, however, accurate altitudes can be observed, the recent methods (of sight reduction) give positions with great speed and accuracy.”
<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938</ref> In 1939 it was discovered celestial observations were in error due to acceleration of the bubble from the coriolis affect. This error of up to several miles varied with ground speed and latitude, and was uncompensated for at the time of the World Flight. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 153</ref>

'''Radio:''' Aircraft radio developed rapidly during the 1930’s, analogous to the fast-changing computer technology of today. A leader in the field of radio communications, the Western Electric division of AT&T, manufactured the Model 13C radio transmitter and the Model 20B receiver which were selected for the Earhart “Flying Laboratory”, but it was already three-year- old technology at the time of the World Flight.<ref>Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1]The Western Electric radios were adequate, but couldn’t be considered “top of the line”. Model 13C was 50 Watt, three-frequency transmitter operating in the 2500-6500 KHz range and was factory modified to operate on the maritime distress frequency of 500 KHz. As installed, it was capable of transmitting a Morse code signal as well as phone (voice).

Radio [[direction finding]] circuitry had been developed in the 1920’s. Ships and ground stations operated direction finding radio for years, but weight had been a limiting factor for aircraft. The first radio direction finder, or radio compass, designed for aircraft became available in the early 1930’s, and newer, upgraded technology developed by several companies was available by the mid thirties. The Earhart Lockheed was equipped with a new generation radio direction finder in 1936 (which became known as the automatic direction finder or ADF), designed by Frederick J. Hooven, Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Radio Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corp. However, Earhart removed this state of the art [[Hooven Radio Compass]] and installed one of lesser capability with older technology having a manually rotated [[loop antenna]], ostensibly to save 30 pounds of weight.<ref>Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html]

[[Image:Electra Navigator's Station.jpg|500px|thumb|center|<div align="center">The Electra's navigator's station was in the aft cabin behind the fuel tanks. Communication with the pilot was by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. ((c)William F. Harney,2006;(c)TIGHAR,2009)</div>]]

==The World Flight==
'''Navigational Equipment:''' The Electra’s navigator station was in the aft cabin, behind the internal fuselage fuel tanks. Communications between the navigator and pilot were by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. Following the [[Luke Field]], Hawaii takeoff accident, equipment for the first World Flight attempt was inventoried by U.S. Army personnel who shipped the Electra to Lockheed for repairs. This inventory gives us a glimpse of the equipment available for the second attempt of the World Flight.

'''Navigation Equipment Taken from the Luke Field Inventory'''[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field.html]
{|{{Prettytable}}
|-
|30
|align="right"|12
|Ea.
|Aircraft Water Lights
|-
|31
|align="right"|7
|Ea.
|Aluminum Direction Bombs
|-
|60
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Base Plate for speed and drift meter
|-
|89
|align="right"|1
|Book
|Radio Aids, Navigation
|-
|90
|align="right"|1
|Box
|Lead Pencils
|-
|91
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Broadcasting stations
|-
|92
|align="right"|2
|Books
|American Nautical Almanac 1937
|-
|93
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Coast Stations & Ship Stations
|-
|94
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Aeronautical Stations and aircraft stations
|-
|95
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Stations performing special services
|-
|96
|align="right"|2
|
|Navigation tables for Mariners and Aviators
|-
|97
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Envelope containing miscellaneous navigation papers
|-
|98
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Parallel
|-
|99
|align="right"|2
|Ea.
|Dividers
|-
|103
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Triangle
|-
|106
|align="right"|1
|Pkg.
|Navigation Charts and airplane log
|-
|107
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Speed & drift indicator, type D-270, with handbook
|-
|108
|align="right"|5
|Rolls
|Miscellaneous maps
|-
|112
|align="right"|3
|
|Folders with maps
|-
|115
|align="right"|1
|
|Pencil type flashlight
|-
|117
|align="right"|4
|
|Clocks, Start & Stop "Omega"
|-
|118
|align="right"|1
|
|Airspeed Indicator "Pioneer"
|-
|119
|align="right"|1
|
|Gage Air Temp. Model 602
|-
|121
|align="right"|1
|
|Altimeter, Kohlsman, 0 to 20,000
|-
|122
|align="right"|1
|
|Pelorus drift sight, MK II B with extra base
|-
|123
|align="right"|1
|
|Straight flight compass
|-
|125
|align="right"|2
|
|Parachute flares
|}

[[Image:Pioneer_Mark_III_Octant_Patent.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Carbonara's 1934 patent of the Pioneer Mk III octant similar to the one used on the first attempt of the World Flight. The bubble chamber of this octant was difficult to adjust and the averager,which provided a mean of several observations over a few minutes, had not been developed yet.</div>]]

A bubble octant is not listed in the inventory. [[Harry Manning]] had signed for Navy Pioneer Bubble Octant, Serial No. 12-36 from the Naval Air Station in San Diego and retained possession of it rather than have it shipped back with the damaged aircraft. Noonan then signed a receipt for the octant on Matson Line stationery and gave it to Manning following the Luke Field accident. We do not know whether Noonan used that instrument on the second attempt or whether he returned it and used something else. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Forum_Archives/200202.txt] <ref>Long, Elgen M., Amelia Earhart, the Mystery Solved, Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y., 2001, p. 73</ref>
[[Image:Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot.jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot cockpit control unit. The gyroscopic stabilized autopilot improved the accuracy of sextant observations by reducing acceleration errors in the bubble chamber from aircraft axes movements. ((c)Tighar)</div>]]

Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with the Sperry “AutoGyro Automatic Pilot”, providing a more stable platform for the navigator’s celestial observations increasing their accuracy. Also on the Electra was a Mk IIB Pelorus drift sight with an extra base to facilitate its use on either side of the aircraft. Adequate for drift readings during stable flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate drift readings in any amount turbulence. The inventory also listed a second “Speed and Drift Indicator, type D-270” with a base. A ''New York Herald Tribune'' article included in ''Amelia, My Courageous Sister'', by Earhart’s sister Muriel Morrissey, described how the drift sight was used. “An arrangement has been devised to open the cabin door about four inches, where it is held rigidly in place. A Pioneer drift indicator is mounted for use looking down through this aperture to check wind drift on the earth or sea below. For this work flares are used at night over water, smoke bombs in daylight.” <ref>Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987, p. 192</ref> Drift bombs, used in lieu of the less visible smoke bombs, were ceramic or glass bomblets filled with either bronze or aluminum shavings. They broke on impact with the water, and created a spreading reflective surface on the water that could be tracked with the drift sight. Magnesium water lights were used similarly during darkness.

The Lockheed Electra 10E was fitted with low distortion windows in several positions to minimize refraction errors during celestial observations. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 156</ref> (Military navigators were later cautioned to avoid using windows for celestial observations, and not to observe celestial bodies below 11 degrees, due to the excessive refraction error.)<ref>Air Force Navigator Observer Association, "DR Ahead",Vol 27 No. 1, January 2011 </ref> [http://www.afnoa.org/]

While the Earhart Electra 10E Special was initially equipped with adequate navigational equipment, modifications to communications equipment made following the Luke Field accident were not well thought out, and were accomplished by technicians who may not have been fully aware of the nuances of radio wave [[propagation]]. The [[trailing antenna]] system had been a victim of the accident and was not replaced. A modification to lengthen the dorsal “V” antenna inadequately compensated for the trailing wire antenna’s loss, and resulted in degraded radio performance on all frequencies.

''' Noonan’s Navigational Procedures:''' In a letter to Weems, [[Fred Noonan]] described his navigational procedures during a 1935 Pan Am Pacific flight, stating that he used a “Pioneer octant with a mariner’s [[sextant]] as a “preventer”. Noonan also described carrying marine general, coastwise, and harbor charts, as well as aviation strip charts of the California coast. During the Pan Am flights overwater navigation was done on VP-3 and VP-4 plotting sheets (blank charts for a band of latitudes with user defined longitude lines). These were reused by relabeling the longitude lines and transferring his position to continue at the appropriate latitude on the same chart. This allowed him to use only two charts for the overwater passage. In the letter, Noonan also told of his preference for Dreisonstok’s reduction tables, and the Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, pp. 423-425</ref> Pan Am navigational policy, which Noonan helped develop, dictated that celestial positions were to be taken hourly, or more frequently, day or night. All forms of navigation would be used, and positional data would be cross checked between the different methods. It was also Pan Am policy that at least two direction finding stations would “track” the aircraft at all times, and aircraft [[DF]] equipment would be used to take bearings. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

Original charts of the Oakland to Honolulu leg of the World Flight [[first attempt]] illustrated the use of the following navigational techniques:
* 7 radio bearings
* 14 star/planet LOP’s
* 9 navigational fixes
* 4 course corrections
The flight path proved to be consistent with subsequent meteorological patterns for the area, and that corrections were made when deviation from course became too great.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D., The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR,2006</ref> [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html]
The archived chart for the June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil to [[Dakar]], Senegal, leg of the second attempt of the World Flight, showed that Noonan used 5 sun line LOP’s including a noon position. A portion of this chart is shown
[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf here] to illustrate his chart work.

'''Training--A Missed Opportunity''' Commander PVH Weems offered to provide Earhart with celestial navigational and radio skills, including Morse code, which he felt was necessary for overwater flight. His May 14, 1937 letter was 5 days before Earhart’s Oakland departure on the second attempt of the World Flight and was politely parried by George Putnam. Neither Earhart nor Noonan possessed Morse code skills.

== Photo Gallery ==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Potting Sheet Example.bmp|An example of a plotting sheet devoid of geographic features. Used off-shore, the navigator must assign the longitude (and in this example the latitude also) for the area he is traversing. The VP-3 and VP-4 used by Noonan while with Pan Am were similar. (Courtesy: Ed Falk,www.efalk.org)
Image:Ceramic_Drift_Bomb.jpg‎|Ceramic or glass drift bombs were filled with aluminum or bronze flakes and dropped over water during daylight, breaking on impact. The metal particles would spread to form a bright reflection which the navigator could follow with the drift sight. (Used by permission)
Image:MK_IIB_Pelorus_Drift_Sight.jpg‎|A Mark IIB pelorus drift sight like that installed on the Earhart Lockheed Electra 10E for the World Flight. A U.S. Army inventory made following the Luke Field accident included this type drift sight and an extra base, plausibly for mounting the drift sight on either side of the aircraft. (Courtesy: Chris Rudge www.warbirdsite.com)

</gallery>
</div>
== Footnotes ==
<references />

==Bibliography==

Ageton, Arthur A., Manual of Celestial Navigation, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942

Dreisonstok, J. Y., Navigation Tables for Mariners and Aviators, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1930

Eberle, William C. and Weems, P.V.H., Learning to Navigate, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York and Chicago, 1939

Kells, Kern & Bland, Spherical Trigonometry with Naval and
Military Applications, USNA, 1942.

Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987

Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995

Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938

Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

==References==
[http://www.erikdeman.de/html/sail040u.htm Ageton's Tables for Sight Reduction]

[http://www.afnoa.org/ Air Force Navigator Observer Association]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543 BBC Home Page, Harold Gatty, Prince of Navigators]

[http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm Emmot, N.W., The Grand Old Man of Navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1| Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020]

[https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/ Fred Noonan and Amelia Earhart plus general flight navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/AEdescr1.html The Institute for Aviation History: The Earhart Project]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D.,The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR, 2006]

[http://kakopa.com/geo/cnhist.htm Milestones in Celestial Navigation]

[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937| Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac]

[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf Noonan’s South Atlantic Chart of the World Flight June 7, 1937]

[http://www.texlex.com/images/NavigationOptimum1.pdf Sight Reduction for Navigation]

[http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/EarlyNavigation.pdf Peck, Douglas T., The History of Early Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation: Empirical Reality Versus Theory]

[http://searchforamelia.org/category/research/overview-research Waitt Institute for Discovery, Search for Amelia, 2009]


[[Category:Navigation]]

File:Putnam Reply to Weems Courtesy National Air & Space Museum.jpg

2013-02-16T17:30:38Z

Rickerjones: George Putnam's reply to Weems' offer of navigational and radio training. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History via National Air and Space Museum

George Putnam's reply to Weems' offer of navigational and radio training. Courtesy Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History via National Air and Space Museum

File:Weems to Earhart Letter Courtesy National Air and Space Museum.jpg

2013-02-16T17:16:31Z

Rickerjones: Commander PVH Weems offered to provide Earhart with celestial navigational and radio skills, including Morse code, which he felt was necessary for overwater flight. His May 14, 1937 letter was 5 days before Earhart’s Oakland departure on the second ...

Commander PVH Weems offered to provide Earhart with celestial navigational and radio skills, including Morse code, which he felt was necessary for overwater flight. His May 14, 1937 letter was 5 days before Earhart’s Oakland departure on the second attempt of the World Flight and was politely parried by George Putnam’s response. Courtesy, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History via National Air and Space Museum

SS Norwich City

2013-01-04T23:48:58Z

Rickerjones: /* Identification of the Norwich City */

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, then was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City taken following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://twitpic.com/9lrl3m/full Artist Derek Sarty's rendering of the sunken SS ''Trongate'']

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-10-05T20:37:28Z

Rickerjones: /* Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18 */

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs due to a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|400px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
'''POST SCRIPT'''

The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

==Links==
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/64_ReefLanding/64_ReefLanding.htm Better Than Average Luck]

[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/index.php?search=landing+on+the+reef&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch Landing on the Reef]



[[Category:Research Methods]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Navigation]]

Landing on the Reef?

2012-09-15T18:11:16Z

Rickerjones: /* Aerial photograph */ add links

== The Question of Where ==

A preponderance of evidence suggests that the Earhart/Noonan flight ended with a survivable, wheels-down landing at Gardner Island, now Nikumaroro. All of the available anecdotal evidence and the one known example of possible photographic evidence support the hypothesis that the landing occurred on the fringing reef north of the shipwreck at the western end of the atoll.

If the airplane was once there, subsequent events removed it, so the hypothesis cannot be tested in the sense of knowing for certain that the landing occurred there. However, the hypothesis can be tested in the sense of determining whether it can invalidated.

For the hypothesis to be valid, there must be a place on the reef north of Norwich City smooth enough, wide enough, and long enough for a Lockheed Electra to land and remain intact enough to run the starboard engine to recharge the batteries to make the post-loss radio calls.

To determine whether there is a place that meets those requirements it is necessary to quantify the constraints.

=== How smooth is smooth enough? ===

NR16020 was equipped with low-pressure, 35 inch, Goodyear Airwheels. These tires were designed for operations from unimproved airfields.

[[File:Lockheedspecs.gif|center]]

The aircraft should be able to land safely on a hard surface with perturbations not exceeding four inches in height or depth. This photo shows a smaller-diameter Goodyear Airwheel on Lockheed 10A c/n 1052 at the New England Air Museum with a 4-inch obstruction.

[[Image:4-inch-limit.jpg|400px|center]]

=== How wide is wide enough? ===

The Electra’s main landing gear track is 14 feet wide. Realistically, an inviting looking landing path would need to be at least 50 wide. This illustration shows NR16020 on a fifty foot wide path.

[[Image:runway-width.jpg|Fifty-foot landing path.|400px|center]]

[[File:Art-Carty-Reef.jpg|Looking SE toward N.C.|400px|center]]

=== How long is long enough? ===

Newsreel footage taken in early 1937 shows NR16020 making a full-flap approach to a full-stall, three-point landing on the paved runway at Burbank. The approach is quite steep and the roll-out surprisingly short. It appears that the plane could have come to a full stop in about 500 feet. An inviting-looking landing area would probably need to be at least a thousand feet long.

== The Landing Area ==

An area meeting these criteria has been identified in satellite imagery, aerial photos and has been confirmed by on-the-ground inspection and survey. There is a strip of reef surface near the reef edge north of the Norwich City more than a thousand feet long by at least 60, and often more than 75, feet wide. This is a satellite image of the subject area with the strip shaded in red and the Electra shown to approximate scale. The Electra is shown at roughly the halfway point in the strip – a logical stopping place whether the landing was made to the north or the to the south. A large, shallow depression in the reef surface just shoreward of the strip, marked “Landmark” in the illustration, is useful in identifying the subject area in other photos.

[[Image:landing-area.jpg|Electra halfway along strip.|400px|center]]
=== KAP panorama ===
This shows the aircraft to approximate scale in a KAP panorama of the area near the landmark.

[[Image:landing-area-kap.jpg|Scale image on KAP panorama|400px|center]]
=== Prevailing flow on the reef ===
As shown in this satellite image, the flow of water across the reef surface is predominantly southwesterly.

[[Image:nw-tip-w-sw-flo.jpg|Flow across reef.|400px|center]]
=== Aerial photograph ===
This illustration shows the landing area, aircraft, and landmark overlaid on an aerial photo taken December 1, 1938. Note the dark area off the edge of the reef southwest of the aircraft. The dark area in the 1938 photo may be aircraft wreckage.

[[Image:landing-area-1938.jpg|Aerial photo, 1 Dec 1938.|400px|center]]
==Links==
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/64_ReefLanding/64_ReefLanding.htm Better Than Average Luck]

[http://tighar.org/wiki/Landing_on_a_Reef:_A_Case_Study Landing on a Reef: A Case Study]



[[Category:Final Flight]]
[[Category:Nikumaroro]]
[[Category:Research Methods]]
[[Category:Maps]]

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T17:37:55Z

Rickerjones: /* Links */ add category

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|400px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
'''POST SCRIPT'''

The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

==Links==
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/64_ReefLanding/64_ReefLanding.htm Better Than Average Luck]

[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/index.php?search=landing+on+the+reef&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch Landing on the Reef]



[[Category:Research Methods]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:Navigation]]

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T17:14:46Z

Rickerjones: /* Air Accidents Committee’s Report */

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|400px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
'''POST SCRIPT'''

The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

==Links==
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/64_ReefLanding/64_ReefLanding.htm Better Than Average Luck]

[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/index.php?search=landing+on+the+reef&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch Landing on the Reef]



[[Category:Research Methods]]
[[Category:Maps]]

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T17:08:18Z

Rickerjones: /* Air Accidents Committee’s Report */ Add liinks

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|400px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}
==Links==
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/Bulletins/64_ReefLanding/64_ReefLanding.htm Better Than Average Luck]

[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/index.php?search=landing+on+the+reef&go=Go&title=Special%3ASearch Landing on the Reef]



[[Category:Research Methods]]
[[Category:Maps]]

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T16:53:12Z

Rickerjones: /* Rescue */ adjust image

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|400px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T16:49:40Z

Rickerjones: /* Rescue */ adjust image

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|350px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T16:48:39Z

Rickerjones: /* Landing On the Reef */

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|350|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

File:Proposed and Actual Track.jpg

2012-09-14T01:43:51Z

Rickerjones: Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destin...

Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T00:24:17Z

Rickerjones: /* Rescue */ add space

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|350|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|350|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area 70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T00:19:30Z

Rickerjones: /* Rescue */ clarify

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|350|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|350|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, the fishermen were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-14T00:05:42Z

Rickerjones: /* Landing On the Reef */ Photo Credit

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|350|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Image Courtesy of Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|350|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, they were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

Landing on a Reef: A Case Study

2012-09-13T23:58:56Z

Rickerjones: New page on Monospar Croydon Landing on Seringapatam Reef in 1936

Nine months prior to the disappearance of Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra, the General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18—a machine of the same class—powered by twin Pratt and Whitney Wasp Junior engines and having a10 passenger capacity, strayed off course and landed on a reef in the Timor Sea 462 miles West of Darwin. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] The crew did not know the name of the reef nor its location. A near analogue of TIGHAR’s Nikumaroro Hypothesis, startling similarities abound between the 7 September 1936 loss of the only Monospar Croydon ever built, and the posited Nikumaroro landing.

==Flight of the Monospar Croydon ST-18==
What was publicly announced as a personal flight became a promotional tour to demonstrate a competitively performing, economical new aircraft built on the “American formula”. The Monospar Croydon was a low wing, retractable gear machine with variable pitch propellers, stressed skin construction, and trailing edge flaps. The flight from London to Melbourne offered an opportunity to best the existing England to Australia record; however, time taken for necessary repairs from a hard landing caused the attempt to fail. A second attempt was planned for the return flight to England. The pilot of the £14,000 Monospar Croydon was Harold “Tim” Wood, assisted by the craft’s designer, Frederick F. Crocombe. Also on the crew were engineer, L. Davies and Wireless operator Charles Gilroy.[http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html]

==Compass Problems==
On the flight from Singapore to Darwin, Australia, the Croydon aircraft experienced varying compass deviations reaching a maximum in the Timor Sea area of around 15 degrees. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%203391.html] After arriving at Melbourne, however, the compass appeared to be correct and no instrument check or maintenance was performed. Though the crew anticipated a repeat of the compass deviations on their return flight, none materialized by the time they reached Darwin. Accordingly, the craft set out on a departure course for Koepang with no deviation adjustment applied to the compass heading. They were confident that the Darwin Royal Australian Air Force Base Directional Wireless Station would provide reliable bearings should a compass problem recur.

==Navigational Difficulties==
Departing Darwin before first light, the Croydon was established on a magnetic heading of 282°, with 4°E variation and 1° wind drift correction for the planned 2 ½ hour leg across the Timor Sea to Koepang. Twenty-five minutes out, a directional bearing was received from the Darwin station showing the aircraft was north of course. A heading adjustment was made to the south. Each of three successive bearings continued to show the craft north of course, and the heading was adjusted further to the south. The crew now suspected they were once again experiencing an erratic compass. Querying Darwin regarding the accuracy of the bearings, the crew was reassured that the bearings were “first class”, that is, within +/- 1°. As they neared their estimated time of arrival for Koepang, radio contact with Darwin was lost. When land did not appear at their estimated arrival time, the plane descended to 3000 feet below the clouds for better visibility. They maintained their present heading and at 0800 a reef was sighted. Thinking this was an indication of nearby land, they used the reef as a reference and reconnoitered in each direction, sighting three reefs in a north-south alignment, and a fishing boat near the reefs. Flying low over the boat, they “dropped a can with a note, asking for the directions to Koepang”, but there was no response. Now, with only an hour’s fuel left, two options presented themselves. Go to the north, hoping land would be within their 180 mile range (with the possibility of having to ditch in the sea), or make a landing on what appeared to be a suitable stretch of the reef. Sighting another boat fishing in the lagoon, the option to land on the reef was selected.

==Landing On the Reef==
[[Image:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg|350|thumb|left|<div align="center">The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Courtesy, Flightglobal)</div>]]Circling to find the best location to set the machine down, the pilot made a “touch and go” landing to confirm the suitability of the reef. It appeared firm. On a second flat approach a landing was successfully made with no damage to the aircraft. Bringing in fuel for a subsequent take-off from the reef even seemed a possibility. When the pilot elected to taxi to a higher dry area of the reef, the aircraft tail wheel fork fractured from the rough surface and dropped the tail to the ground. The neap tide was now at low water, but it was rising rapidly. (That day the tide would rise to three feet; in a few weeks it would rise to 14 feet, enough to submerge the aircraft, and during the spring tide, it would reach 20 feet, with heavy swells from the northwest monsoon possibly breaking up the aircraft.) [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47901763] The crew’s first action after landing was to run out the trailing wire antenna supported by two collapsible boat oars. Wireless communication was attempted and though they heard both Darwin and Surabaya, contact with neither could be made. The port engine with a generator was started in order to recharge the batteries run low by the radios. After two hours, it was realized that contact was not possible. Personal gear and four day’s rations and water were loaded into their collapsible boat.

==Rescue==
[[Image:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg|350|thumb|right|<div align="center">Proposed route from Darwin to Koepang, and the actual track of the Monospar Croydon after navigating with a faulty compass and erroneous night time DF bearings from Darwin. The aircraft landed on Seringapatam Reef 267 miles south of its intended destination.</div>]]The Maylayan fishing smack fished at Seringapatam Reef only once or twice a year. The boat ''St. Gambor Boelon'', from Boeton in the Celebes, was now fishing in Seringapatam’s lagoon. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] It was about a mile away from the west side of the reef where the Monospar Croydon landed. After the aircrew got their attention, the boat stood off to await them while they waded and pushed the collapsible boat with their possessions through deep rocky pools “infested with giant clams and occasional small sharks”. [http://www.lomcovak.com/museum-monospar.html] Arriving at the boat they found communicating with the fishermen extremely difficult. The only word the fishermen recognized was “Koepang”. It took five hours to convince them to take the aircrew aboard the boat, and then interrupt their fishing to transport them to Koepang. After boarding the fishing boat, they were given a pair of binoculars. It was a long 55 hours on the cramped, malodorous boat with rotting fish, surviving on short rations when they spotted the SS ''Nimoda'', a British cargo steamer 100 miles from Seringapatam Reef. Captain Sadlier, Master of the ''Nimoda'', brought his vessel closer and asked if he could be of service. “And how!” was the response. With the Croydon’s crew transferred aboard the ''Nimoda'' bound for Durban, the “exhausted, unshaven, hungry men” gave their first thoughts “to get out radio messages to their wives and next to notify their company of the plight of their machine”. [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62777569?searchTerm=crew's%20trying%20ordeal%20now%20safe%20on%20steamer&searchLimits=] Australian authorities, having learned of the overdue Croydon, dispatched a patrol launch to search an area70 miles from Koepang, the presumed position of the aircraft when contact was lost. Shipping was advised to be on watch, and the Dutch sent two flying boats to the area to begin searching. A message from the ''Nimoda'' was dispatched to authorities stating that they had picked up the aircrew from a fishing boat that had rescued them near Seringapatam Reef. On the ''Nimoda'', the aircrew learned that they had ended up 267 miles south of their destination, and that both their compass and the Darwin radio bearings were in error.

==Air Accidents Committee’s Report==
The Australian Air Accidents Investigation Committee released their findings in December following the 7 September 1936 incident. The report found that the plane’s crew was “guilty of negligence on the ground that the machine’s compass had shown a ten degree error on the flight to Australia, but no action was taken to correct it; that the personnel of the Direction Finding Station at Darwin, knowing the limitations of the Bellini-Tose system should not have consented to give bearings during hours of darkness; that the pilot of the plane, who was a qualified navigator and wireless operator, should have been well acquainted with the direction finding instructions relating to sunrise, sunset and night effects, and should not have relied on the signals for his direction.”
[http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/62779410?searchTerm=Monospar%20croydon%20Committee's%20report&searchLimits=]

{{hint|
POST SCRIPT
The month following the fishing crew’s return to Kaladupa, the Captain of the fishing boat received a letter advising him to go to Bau Bau to receive a reward for the rescue of the crew of the Monospar Croydon. A young member of the boat’s crew later stated for the record: “In the contents of the letter it was written 3000 ringgit. But they only received 300 ringgit because the amount had been reduced because of all the offices the letter had passed through, from Java to Makassar and to Bau Bau.” The Captain of the fishing boat received 90 ringgit; the other crewmembers divided the remainder. [http://epress.anu.edu.au/apem/boats/mobile_devices/ch04s03.html ] A second fishing boat, ''Asia'', had accompanied the ''St. Gambor Boelon'' to fish the reefs. It was south of Seringapatam Reef when the plane landed and was the boat the plane attempted to communicate with by dropping the can containing a note. After many years one of its crewmembers recalled: “We went to have a look at the plane afterwards and measured the wingspan¬-it was eight depa (fathoms) long.” “The frame of the plane is still there to this day” [1995].
}}

File:Proposed vs. Actual Track.jpg

2012-09-02T20:48:44Z

File:Monospar Croydon on Seringapatam Reef (Courtesy Flightglobal).jpg

2012-09-02T20:36:53Z

Rickerjones: The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged

The only General Aircraft Monospar Croydon ST-18 ever built is
shown after landing on Seringapatam Reef in the Timor Sea. While taxiing to a higher dry area on the reef, the tail wheel yoke fractured on the rough coral, otherwise the plane was undamaged. (Courtesy, Flightglobal)

SS Norwich City

2012-06-29T16:17:40Z

Rickerjones: /* SS Trongate */

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, then was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://twitpic.com/9lrl3m/full Artist Derek Sarty's rendering of the sunken SS ''Trongate'']

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2012-06-29T16:13:54Z

Rickerjones: /* A Postscript */ post new link

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, then was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.wrecksite.eu/imgBrowser.aspx?14447 Artis Derek Sarty's rendering of the sunken SS ''Trongate'']

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2012-06-17T20:33:28Z

Rickerjones: /* Norwich City’s Stranding on Gardner */

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, then was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.wrecksite.eu/imgBrowser.aspx?14447 Photo of SS ''Trongate'']

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2012-06-17T20:31:10Z

Rickerjones: /* Norwich City’s Stranding on Gardner */

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, and was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.wrecksite.eu/imgBrowser.aspx?14447 Photo of SS ''Trongate'']

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2012-06-17T03:11:06Z

Rickerjones: /* SS Trongate */ Replace discontinued link

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was then thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, and was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.wrecksite.eu/imgBrowser.aspx?14447 Photo of SS ''Trongate'']

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-17T02:33:22Z

Rickerjones: /* What equipment and provisions were available to the Norwich City surviving crew members? */

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.
[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]
It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
Following the sinking of the ''Titanic'' in 1912, an international convention called “Safety of Life at Sea" (SOLAS) was convened to develop uniform standards for ship construction and safety equipment used on ships carrying 12 or more passengers. SOLAS was implemented through the Board of Trade in the U.K., and though it originally did not apply to freighters, it influenced their safety equipment and lifeboat requirements. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge.

Article XL of SOLAS 1914, [http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=11806&filename=SafetyofLifeatSeaConvention1914.pdf] in effect at the time of the ''Norwich City'' grounding, mandated certain lifeboat equipment for passenger vessels and served as a model for other classes of vessels. SOLAS 1914 designated equipment included:
* Compliment of oars (two spare), crutches, boathook
* Two plugs for each plug hole, bailer, galvanized iron bucket
* Tiller or yoke and yoke lines
* Two hatchets
* Lamp filled with oil and trimmed
* Mast with one good sail and gear
* Suitable compass
* Lifeline becketed around the outside
* Sea anchor
* Painter
* Vessel containing 5 liters of vegetable or animal oil (calming oil) attachable to sea anchor
* Watertight vessel containing two pounds of provisions per person
* Watertight vessel containing one liter of water per person
* Number of self igniting red lights and a waterproof box of matches
Captains could also provision lifeboats with additional rations including fresh water, food and milk.

Lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2012-06-16T21:38:49Z

Rickerjones: /* Provisions and Equipment Left at the Norwich City Survivor's Shelter */ delete reference to board of trade mandated equipment.

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was then thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, and was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/halifax/DVD/fig78-eng.php Artist Derek Sarty's Rendering of ''Trongate'' Sunken in Halifax Harbour]

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2012-06-16T21:08:27Z

Rickerjones: /* Identification of the Norwich City */ Update with photo of lifeboat with no name on it

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was then thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, and was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The TIGHAR Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans
[[Image:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg|left|150px|thumb|<div align="center">This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)</div>]]

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible, however, a 1928 picture taken following the Vancouve, B.C. Second Narrows Bridge accident, showed no visible marking on the bow. (The lifeboat cover which was in place may have partially obscured any name.) SOLAS 1914 lifeboat marking requirements in effect at the time did not require the name of the mother ship to be painted on the bow. It stated: ''“The dimensions of the boat and the number of persons it is authorised to carry, shall be marked in clear permanent characters. These marks shall be specifically approved by the officers appointed to inspect the ship.”'' Markings with the name of the mother vessel and port of registry were not required by SOLAS until later, never-the-less it was common to do so. The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.”
<br style="clear: both" />

==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

The Board of Trade required certain equipment be available in lifeboats in the 1920’s. One example was:

'''''“Sails for each lifeboat and cutter were supplied and stowed in painted bags. Covers were supplied for the lifeboats and cutters, and a sea anchor for each boat. Every lifeboat was furnished with a special spirit boat compass and fitting for holding it; these compasses were carried in a locker on the boat deck. A provision tank and water breaker were supplied to each boat." '''''[http://www.titanic-titanic.com/lifeboats.shtml]

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/halifax/DVD/fig78-eng.php Artist Derek Sarty's Rendering of ''Trongate'' Sunken in Halifax Harbour]

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-16T20:02:04Z

Rickerjones: /* What equipment and provisions were available to the Norwich City surviving crew members? */

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-16T19:57:50Z

Rickerjones: /* Where was the survivors’ shelter located? */

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.
[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|400px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]
It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
Following the sinking of the ''Titanic'' in 1912, an international convention called “Safety of Life at Sea" (SOLAS) was convened to develop uniform standards for ship construction and safety equipment used on ships carrying 12 or more passengers. SOLAS was implemented through the Board of Trade in the U.K., and though it originally did not apply to freighters, it influenced their safety equipment and lifeboat requirements. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge.

Article XL of SOLAS 1914, [http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=11806&filename=SafetyofLifeatSeaConvention1914.pdf] in effect at the time of the Norwich City grounding, mandated certain lifeboat equipment for passenger vessels and served as a model for other classes of vessels. SOLAS 1914 designated equipment included:
* Compliment of oars (two spare), crutches, boathook
* Two plugs for each plug hole, bailer, galvanized iron bucket
* Tiller or yoke and yoke lines
* Two hatchets
* Lamp filled with oil and trimmed
* Mast with one good sail and gear
* Suitable compass
* Lifeline becketed around the outside
* Sea anchor
* Painter
* Vessel containing 5 liters of vegetable or animal oil (calming oil) attachable to sea anchor
* Watertight vessel containing two pounds of provisions per person
* Watertight vessel containing one liter of water per person
* Number of self igniting red lights and a waterproof box of matches
Captains could also provision lifeboats with additional rations including fresh water, food and milk.

Lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-16T19:53:15Z

Rickerjones: /* What equipment and provisions were available to the Norwich City surviving crew members? */

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.

It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
Following the sinking of the ''Titanic'' in 1912, an international convention called “Safety of Life at Sea" (SOLAS) was convened to develop uniform standards for ship construction and safety equipment used on ships carrying 12 or more passengers. SOLAS was implemented through the Board of Trade in the U.K., and though it originally did not apply to freighters, it influenced their safety equipment and lifeboat requirements. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge.

Article XL of SOLAS 1914, [http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=11806&filename=SafetyofLifeatSeaConvention1914.pdf] in effect at the time of the Norwich City grounding, mandated certain lifeboat equipment for passenger vessels and served as a model for other classes of vessels. SOLAS 1914 designated equipment included:
* Compliment of oars (two spare), crutches, boathook
* Two plugs for each plug hole, bailer, galvanized iron bucket
* Tiller or yoke and yoke lines
* Two hatchets
* Lamp filled with oil and trimmed
* Mast with one good sail and gear
* Suitable compass
* Lifeline becketed around the outside
* Sea anchor
* Painter
* Vessel containing 5 liters of vegetable or animal oil (calming oil) attachable to sea anchor
* Watertight vessel containing two pounds of provisions per person
* Watertight vessel containing one liter of water per person
* Number of self igniting red lights and a waterproof box of matches
Captains could also provision lifeboats with additional rations including fresh water, food and milk.

Lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-16T19:49:57Z

Rickerjones: /* What equipment and provisions were available to the Norwich City surviving crew members? */

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.

It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
Following the sinking of the ''Titanic'' in 1912, an international convention called “Safety of Life at Sea" (SOLAS) was convened to develop uniform standards for ship construction and safety equipment used on ships carrying 12 or more passengers. SOLAS was implemented through the Board of Trade in the U.K., and though it originally did not apply to freighters, it influenced their safety equipment and lifeboat requirements. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge. Article XL of SOLAS 1914, [http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=11806&filename=SafetyofLifeatSeaConvention1914.pdf] in effect at the time of the Norwich City grounding, mandated certain lifeboat equipment for passenger vessels and served as a model for other classes of vessels. SOLAS 1914 designated equipment included:
* Compliment of oars (two spare), crutches, boathook
* Two plugs for each plug hole, bailer, galvanized iron bucket
* Tiller or yoke and yoke lines
* Two hatchets
* Lamp filled with oil and trimmed
* Mast with one good sail and gear
* Suitable compass
* Lifeline becketed around the outside
* Sea anchor
* Painter
* Vessel containing 5 liters of vegetable or animal oil (calming oil) attachable to sea anchor
* Watertight vessel containing two pounds of provisions per person
* Watertight vessel containing one liter of water per person
* Number of self igniting red lights and a waterproof box of matches
Captains could also provision lifeboats with additional rations including fresh water, food and milk.

Lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-16T19:41:22Z

Rickerjones: /* What equipment and provisions were available to the Norwich City surviving crew members? */

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.

It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
Following the sinking of the ''Titanic'' in 1912, an international convention called “Safety of Life at Sea" (SOLAS) was convened to develop uniform standards for ship construction and safety equipment used on ships carrying 12 or more passengers. SOLAS was implemented through the Board of Trade in the U.K., and though it originally did not apply to freighters, it influenced their safety equipment and lifeboat requirements. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge. Article XL of SOLAS 1914, in effect at the time of the Norwich City grounding, mandated certain lifeboat equipment for passenger vessels and served as a model for other classes of vessels. SOLAS 1914 [http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=11806&filename=SafetyofLifeatSeaConvention1914.pdf] designated equipment included:
* Compliment of oars (two spare), crutches, boathook
* Two plugs for each plug hole, bailer, galvanized iron bucket
* Tiller or yoke and yoke lines
* Two hatchets
* Lamp filled with oil and trimmed
* Mast with one good sail and gear
* Suitable compass
* Lifeline becketed around the outside
* Sea anchor
* Painter
* Vessel containing 5 liters of vegetable or animal oil (calming oil) attachable to sea anchor
* Watertight vessel containing two pounds of provisions per person
* Watertight vessel containing one liter of water per person
* Number of self igniting red lights and a waterproof box of matches
Captains could also provision lifeboats with additional provisions including fresh water, food and milk.

Lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-16T18:37:42Z

Rickerjones:

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.

It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
The Board of Trade regulated merchant vessels and mandated the specifications and provisions for lifeboats carried on board. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge.

Certification of lifeboatmen was required by the Board of Trade, to include knowledge of equipment, its use, and its location aboard the lifeboats. John R. Stilgoe's ''Lifeboat'',discusses C.W.T. Layton’s training guide<ref>Layton,C.W.T.'' Ship’s Lifeboats: A Handbook for the Board of Trade Examination for Certificates in Lifeboat Efficiency''. Glasgow: Brown, 1938</ref> for the certification and provided a mnemonic to help seamen remember the list of lifeboat equipment on board: “PA SAW SOME BREAD MILK AND WATER BECOME PORK BALLS” for “painter, ax, sea anchor, warp, sails, oars, mast, and sailing gear (E for etc.), bread, milk, and water, bucket and bailer (BE), compass (COMe), plugs, oil bag and oil, rudder and tiller, boathook (K), box of matches, ax, lamps, lights (red), and a set and half of crutches (oarlocks). Layton warned students that the Board of Examiners would ask the location of these required items in the lifeboat. Captains could also provision lifeboats with added supplies such as additional fresh water, food and milk.

Board of Trade lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. (Dimensions were engraved or chiseled into the wood on the bow, and the name of the lifeboats’ mother vessel was painted on both sides of the bow.) Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2012-06-16T18:25:06Z

Rickerjones:

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried the mandated provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.

It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
The Board of Trade regulated merchant vessels and mandated the specifications and provisions for lifeboats carried on board. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge.

Certification of lifeboatmen was required by the Board of Trade, to include knowledge of equipment, its use, and its location aboard the lifeboats. John R. Stilgoe's ''Lifeboat'',discusses C.W.T. Layton’s training guide<ref>Layton,C.W.T.'' Ship’s Lifeboats: A Handbook for the Board of Trade Examination for Certificates in Lifeboat Efficiency''. Glasgow: Brown, 1938</ref> for the certification and provided a mnemonic to help seamen remember the list of lifeboat equipment on board: “PA SAW SOME BREAD MILK AND WATER BECOME PORK BALLS” for “painter, ax, sea anchor, warp, sails, oars, mast, and sailing gear (E for etc.), bread, milk, and water, bucket and bailer (BE), compass (COMe), plugs, oil bag and oil, rudder and tiller, boathook (K), box of matches, ax, lamps, lights (red), and a set and half of crutches (oarlocks). Layton warned students that the Board of Examiners would ask the location of these required items in the lifeboat. Captains could also provision lifeboats with added supplies such as additional fresh water, food and milk.

Board of Trade lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. (Dimensions were engraved or chiseled into the wood on the bow, and the name of the lifeboats’ mother vessel was painted on both sides of the bow.) Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2012-06-16T17:45:44Z

Rickerjones: /* Norwich City’s Stranding on Gardner */

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was then thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, and was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow.”'' At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== Disputed interpretations about site of the rescue ==
Questions have been raised in the Forum about the [[site of Norwich City Rescue]].

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The Tighar Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.” A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible.

<br style="clear: both" />
==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

The Board of Trade required certain equipment be available in lifeboats in the 1920’s. One example was:

'''''“Sails for each lifeboat and cutter were supplied and stowed in painted bags. Covers were supplied for the lifeboats and cutters, and a sea anchor for each boat. Every lifeboat was furnished with a special spirit boat compass and fitting for holding it; these compasses were carried in a locker on the boat deck. A provision tank and water breaker were supplied to each boat." '''''[http://www.titanic-titanic.com/lifeboats.shtml]

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].
* [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]].
* [[Site of Norwich City Rescue]].
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#1 Cover Letter to the Board of Trade, London.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2 Statement of Henry Cleveland Lott, Second Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html#3 Statement of John Harry Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4 Statement of Daniel Hamer, Master, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5 Statutory Declaration by J. H. Swindell, Master, S.S. Trongate.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#6 Position Report describing condition and location of S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#7 Report of J. Thomas, First Officer, S.S. Norwich City.]
* [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity5.html#8 Crew List.]
* [http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/4057093 Tichendorf, Master of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth,'' ''Melbourne Argus,'' "Wreck of the Norwich City," 16 Dec. 1929.]

----

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">

==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/halifax/DVD/fig78-eng.php Artist Derek Sarty's Rendering of ''Trongate'' Sunken in Halifax Harbour]

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

File:Norwich City Port Lifeboat (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives).jpg

2012-05-28T21:50:06Z

Rickerjones: This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding

This April 23, 1928 photo of the Norwich City following the Second Narrows Bridge collision offers a view of the port lifeboat. It does not appear to have the name of the mother vessel and port of registry painted on the bow a year before the grounding on Gardner Island. Although not required at the time of the collision for this class of ship, it was common for lifeboats to be so marked. (Courtesy Vancouver City Archives)

Captain Harry Manning

2012-05-18T20:09:41Z

Rickerjones: /* Manning's early career */

[[Image:Captain Harry Manning at the radar of the SS America's chart room in 1946© 1998-2010 Smithsonian Institution.jpg|300px|thumb|left| <div align="center"> Captain Harry Manning, Master of the SS ''America'' in 1946 is viewing the radar in the ship's chart room.© 1998-2010 Smithsonian Institution (used by permission)</div>]]
Harry Manning had just received a temporary assignment as Captain of United States Lines’ SS ''President Roosevelt'' when he met Amelia Earhart. It was his first command of a ship, and at age 31, he was the youngest Captain of a luxury liner on the seas. At a youthful appearing 5 ft 7 ½ inches and 130 pounds, he was chided as being “the boy Skipper”. It was June of 1928. The crew of the ''Friendship'', Captain Wilmer L. Stultz, pilot, Louis “Slim” Gordon, mechanic, and Earhart, boarded the ''Roosevelt'' in Southampton, England. They were returning to New York following a tumultuous welcome and a week of congratulatory activities as celebrities following their historic transatlantic flight. Captain Manning had sheltered Earhart from throngs of admiring onlookers by giving her refuge on the ''Roosevelt''’s bridge deck and the two established an enduring friendship through their shared interest in flying. Just six months her senior, Manning, like Earhart, neither drank nor smoked and they established a mutual bond through their common interests and shared values. In a letter describing his first trip as a Captain, Manning wrote: “a glorious experience, ending as it did by bringing the ''Friendship'' flyers back. I have become quite intimate with the “girl” flyer. I am trying to convince her to fly the ''Friendship'' back again with me—but she won’t be convinced.”<ref>St. Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p.112</ref>

But in 1937 Earhart was convinced that Manning was the right man to join her World Flight as the navigator. He was to guide the Lockheed [[Electra]] across the expanses of the Pacific from the flight’s origin in Oakland, then, disembark in Australia, leaving Earhart to continue on her own. Manning was a well qualified nautical navigator, possessed an amateur radio license and was proficient in sending and receiving [[Morse code]]. He had become a licensed private pilot in 1930. Seemingly, Harry Manning possessed all the attributes that Earhart felt would be required for the forthcoming World Flight.
==Young Harry Manning==
Harry V. Manning<ref>Manning’s seldom used middle initial “V.” appeared in only one reference used by the author: ''Life'', July 21, 1952, p. 62</ref> was born in Hamburg, Germany on February 3, 1897, to a British father and a German mother. His father, William Edwards Manning, was a junior diplomatic officer in the British Foreign Service. His mother, Ann M. Manning, was described as a woman of great beauty who had worked as an actress in Germany. In 1907 the Mannings moved from London to New York City where William Manning pursued a career in the import business. His untimely death, however, followed shortly after their relocation to New York. Young Manning and his mother continued to reside at 362 Riverside Drive in Manhattan where she found work as a model for several years. Harry remained very devoted to his mother and insured her welfare.

Harry Manning was a bright student, but being the smallest in his class, he was often picked on by classmates. Both smart and tough, it was not unusual for him to come home after school with the telltale signs of a fist fight.<ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952"</ref> He completed his grade school education with honors, and was eager to develop himself both intellectually and culturally.
[[Image:362 Riverside Drive, Manhattan where Manning grew up.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> Manning's childhood home at 362 Riverside Drive, now called the Carlton Arms, serves as student housing for Columbia University (Google Earth)</div>]]
At 16, young Manning qualified for the New York Nautical School, and trained on the New York Nautical training ship ''Newport''. In October of 1914, after two difficult years which included many more fights, Manning, at just 99 pounds and 5 feet, ½ inch tall,<ref>''Mast Magazine'', “United States Maritime Service Radio Training Station Huntington, Long Island, New York”, January 1944</ref> graduated from the school. Navigation fascinated him and he quickly absorbed the Marcq St. Hilaire method of celestial navigation which had recently been adopted by the U.S. Navy. With the Great War underway, job opportunities and advancement for mariners were ample. He signed on to the ''St. Paul'' as a seaman at a monthly wage of $15, and proved himself to be a competent navigator.

By his second voyage he was promoted to quartermaster. Unfortunately, Manning was fired when he suffered a bout of seasickness while at the helm, unable to carry out the Captain’s orders while approaching Nantucket in a choppy sea.<ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952"</ref> An 11 month apprenticeship on the four masted American barque ''Dirigio'' followed, making Manning one of few luxury liner Captains to have trained under sail--a fact respected by crewmen and superiors alike. An intimate understanding of winds and seas was to benefit him throughout his seafaring career.

==Manning's early career==
Harry Manning advanced rapidly through the junior officer ranks, shipping on cargo vessels, troop transports and tankers. He was acquiring a reputation as a perfectionist who wanted things done his way, but his tight discipline did not make him popular with crewmen detailed to his watch. ''Time'' magazine wrote: “on one ship, the stewards tried to poison him by dumping roach powder in his coffee. Says Manning: ‘I was an awful son of a bitch in those days.’ His hands still bear the scars of knives wielded by a stowaway and what Manning calls ‘various obstreperous members of the crew.’” <ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952”</ref> Once, as a junior officer, he was ambushed and beaten up by drunken sailors in Bremerhaven, Germany, an event that prompted him to become an accomplished boxer. His pugilistic skills were honed by sparring with ex-lightweight champion Benny Leonard (183-19-11). [http://united-states-lines.org/Harry%20Manning.htm] After receiving the rating of Chief Officer, Manning was employed by United States Lines in July of 1921 and shipped on several vessels, usually as Second Officer. Typical of Manning’s youthful daring and risk-taking was an escapade in which SS ''George Washington'' arrived in port behind schedule and, without the knowledge of the Captain, he set the bridge clock back to reflect an “on time” arrival.

==Career disappointments==
Manning’s career took a downward turn after being assigned as Second Officer under Captain Hartley on the SS ''Leviathan'' in 1923. The ''Leviathan'' was then the largest and fastest vessel afloat, one of three German ships interned after the outbreak of WW I, and seized as a prize of war when the United States entered hostilities in 1917. Manning had worked to help another officer obtain command of the ship, placing him in an awkward position when Hartley ultimately was selected for the captaincy. After a year’s difficult relationship, he was “detached”(fired) from the ''Leviathan'', causing a blemish on his career. Though he knew it would be difficult, Manning was determined to make a comeback. Satisfaction with his three year climb back is reflected in a March, 1927 letter: “I fell from the heights like a plummet…nothing left for me to do but begin all over…I have worked hard, handicapped with poor health as I have been, and now I am higher than ever”.<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 23.</ref>

Manning was plagued with self-doubt about many of his life and career decisions. He worried that he “always chose mediocrity” when faced with important choices. It was easier not to ask for the hand in marriage of a young lady he loved, than to propose and be turned down. Through his association with Amelia Earhart in 1928, he became acquainted with Richard Byrd, then planning an expedition to Antarctica. Asked by Byrd to command one of his three ships, Harry Manning agreed, but later recanted when his decision met with the disapproval of his Mother and closest friends. He continued to question whether he had done the right thing.

Manning developed an interest in aviation motivated by Lindbergh’s 1927 solo transatlantic flight, and he wrote of Lindbergh’s accomplishment, “…I could [do] it too…I think there is a future there—more exciting—seagoing is becoming rather tame after all these years. Navigators will be needed even more than aviators if one considers transatlantic flying.” <ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 111.</ref>

==Temperament issues==
Manning regained his career momentum just as another difficult relationship cropped up, this time with the Captain of the ''President Harding''. “I have arrived at my goal without the aid of a mustache”, he wrote in 1927. He explained that his dislike for the ''Harding'' Captain caused him to be afraid of a repeat of the ''Leviathan''. “…I have succeeded in losing most of my friends—same old sore—incompatibility of temperament—I have just had a severe discordance of views and I lost my temper as usual…”. His letter continued, “I do not indulge in much social life—people bore me—same old chatter—same old silly questions…”<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 83-84</ref> ''Time'' magazine wrote of Manning: “…Manning is, by his own admission, a stubborn, bullheaded, tactless introvert…who is called by his friends and enemies the best seaman in the world….an unsmiling perfectionist…his passion is to run a perfect ship.” <ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952”</ref>

In spite of his temperament, Manning worked diligently to become broadly educated. He was well read in classic literature, spoke three languages, loved both classical and modern music, was known to exchange lines from Shakespeare with passengers, became an accomplished boxer, and was an excellent dancer—he particularly loved to Tango. The stewards were directed to send the best dancers among the passengers his way so that he could Tango with them. He also learned to play the piano. Harry Manning had a grand piano in his stateroom quarters on the SS ''America'' and on a rough winter Atlantic crossing, the moorings that held the piano broke loose. The careening piano smashed the stateroom furnishings.
==The “Habitual Hero”==
[[Image:Harry Manning's Award for SS Florida Rescue.jpg|300px|right|thumb|<div align="center"> Medals and awards presented to Captain Harry Manning for his part in the heroic rescue of the 32 man crew of the Italian vessel ''Florida'' on January 23, 1929.(Courtesy: Hermann Historica Auctioneers, Munich)</div>]]

On January 22, 1929, the SS ''America'', commanded by Captain Fried, received an SOS from the Italian cargo vessel SS ''Florida'', adrift in a winter storm 700 miles off the Virginia Capes. The ship’s rudder chain had broken and she wallowed on her beam ends in the he rough running, ice strewn seas with her 32 crew members aboard. The ''Florida'' was taking on water and the bridge had been carried away. Chief Officer Manning and seven crewmen volunteered to row through the stormy seas in a life boat to rescue the crewmembers as the ''America'' stood off a quarter mile. A line was thrown to the ''Florid''a and one by one the crewmen were hauled to the lifeboat. At one point, a strong surge carried the line away, but Manning was able to reconnect to the ship and the remainder of the crew and its Captain were taken off. Near total exhaustion and unconsciousness, the crew members had to be hauled aboard the ''America'', as was Manning himself. The empty lifeboat could not be brought back aboard safely in the rough seas, and was cut adrift. By the time the ''America'' reached port, news of the rescue had already spread and a welcome party greeted the ship. Captain Fried announced to the press, “If recognition is given to men of ''America'' it should go to the lifeboat crew in [the] charge of one of the most gallant young officers I have ever met—Captain Harry Manning.” On January 28th, ceremonies with a presentation of awards took place, followed by the largest ticker tape parade down the “canyon of heroes” since Lindbergh’s in 1927. Manning’s courageous acts continued. On two occasions he dived over the side to save men who had gone overboard, one which of was not at all grateful, as he had attempted suicide.

Manning was assigned as Chief Officer on the SS ''Roosevelt'' under Captain Fried. The ''Roosevelt'' was approaching Ireland on May 13, 1932 when out of a dark, stormy sky appeared a Lockheed Altair, signaling an SOS with its lights. When the fuel starved plane ditched near the ship, it was Harry Manning who commanded the lifeboat that reached unconscious flyer, Lou Reichers. Reichers was pulled from the plane and taken back to the ship where his injuries were treated by the ship’s doctor. Reichers’ failed transatlantic flight occurred just one week prior to Amelia Earhart’s successful solo crossing.

Manning lost command of the ''American Trader'' when it was involved in collision in London and he was re-assigned to the SS ''California'', of the Panama Pacific Line (a line associated with United States Lines).<ref> St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 118</ref> In the latter part of 1933 he was again back with Captain Fried, this time on the United States Lines’ newbuild, the S S ''President Washington''. Then, ''The New York Times'' reported in its July 4, 1934 edition that Manning unexpectedly resigned from the sea to assume an executive position with National Ordnance and Forge Company of Irvine, Pa., <ref>''The New York Times'', July 4, 1934, “Manning, at 37, Quiting the Sea”, p. 33</ref> and again, without explanation, reported that he returned to the sea in September.<ref>''The New York Times'', September 12, 1934, “Manning, Who Quit the Sea, Returns”, p. 47</ref>

Licensed as a private pilot since 1930, Manning borrowed a 90 horsepower monocoupe from a friend for an afternoon flight in December of 1934. At 3000 feet, a portion of the propeller broke off, and severed the magneto grounding wire as it departed the aircraft. Unable to shut off the engine, the violently unbalanced propeller shook the engine loose on its mount. The oil and fuel lines were severed. Not wanting to bail out because of the possibility the aircraft would crash into houses below, Manning stayed with the aircraft and landed safely at Roosevelt Field. The last two bolts which held the engine were only seconds away from breaking. Newspapers again reported Manning’s heroic action.

==Earhart’s World Flight navigator==
[[Image:Paul Mantz, Amelia Earhart, Harry Manning and Fred Noonan, Oakland, California, 17 March 1937 (Wikimedia Commons).jpg|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center">Paul Mantz, Amelia Earhart, Harry Manning and Fred Noonan (L to R) on March 17, 1937 in Oakland, California prior to their departure to Honolulu on the World Flight's first attempt. (Wikimedia Commons)</div>]]
[[Amelia Earhart]] commented to Manning’s friend when they met during a lecture tour that Harry Manning was “quite a charmer”.<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 118</ref> Manning’s continuing exposure in the press, interest in aviation, navigational and radio expertise, and longstanding friendship with Earhart, made it natural for her to regard him a fitting choice as the World Flight navigator. On Manning’s part, he did not want to make another “decision for mediocrity”--and agreed to participate in the World Flight.
Preparations moved quickly after the United States Lines granted Manning a three month leave of absence to join the Earhart adventure. Manning’s only navigational experience, however, was maritime navigation; he needed practice using a bubble octant in the air, and to adapt to faster navigational pacing aboard an aircraft.
On February 17, 1937, Manning departed with the Putnams in the Electra, flying from New Jersey to Burbank, California. On the flight, Manning practiced celestial navigation and, as described by Elgen Long: “He gave Amelia a position showing they were in southern Kansas, but were actually a few miles across the border in northern Oklahoma. Though not a large discrepancy for celestial air navigation, Putnam’s confidence in Manning faded…as he didn’t even have them in the right state”.<ref>Long, Elgen M. and Marie K., ''Amelia Earhart, The Mystery Solved'', Simon & Schuster, 1999, NY¸ p. 60</ref>[[Image:GPP_to_WT_Miller_3-1-37_re_Pan_Am_Nav.jpg|200px|thumb|left| <div align="center">George Putnam appears to be less than comfortable with Harry Manning's expertise as an aerial navigator in this 3-1-37 letter written just days before the first attempt. In it, he suggests that "Manning may be able to talk to practicing Pan Am navigators to advantage".(Courtesy: John W. Davison, Jr. family)</div>]][[Paul Mantz]], too, was unsure that Manning was the right man to be the World Flight navigator. Mary Lovell wrote that Mantz “was somewhat skeptical of Manning’s confidence in finding a small island such as [[Howland]], knowing that air navigation took different skills than surface navigation”.<ref>Lovell, Mary S., ''The Sound of Wings, The Life of Amelia Earhart'', St. Martin’s Griffin, 1989, NY, p. 241</ref> Paul Mantz had selected the design for the Electra's navigator position based on those aboard the Pan Am Clippers. Pan Am was flying the new Pacific routes surveyed by their lead navigator [[Fred Noonan]] and Mantz was familiar with Pan Am’s successful navigational procedures. On March 1, 1937, George Putnam wrote a letter to [[William Miller]], the Bureau of Air Commerce employee who served as the Roosevelt Administration’s liaison for the World Flight project, and requested contact with one of Pan Am’s best practicing navigators. “…there doubtless is much that Manning can go over with them to advantage. Naturally his experience is limited in a job like this…”.
As it turned out, Fred Noonan’s schedule permitted him to join the World Flight crew.[[Image:Noonan Octant Receipt.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Harry Manning's receipt from Fred Noonan for U.S. Navy Pioneer Octant number 12-36 dated March 20, 1937, the date of the Luke Field take-off accident, and written on Matson Line note paper. Noonan was to return the octant Manning signed for from the Navy upon completion of the Earhart flight. (TIGHAR Archives)</div>]] Lacking time to obtain the necessary visas, he would only stay aboard the flight as far as Howland Island where the most difficult overwater leg of the trip would end. Paul Mantz, would be aboard only as far as Honolulu to join his fiancée there. Harry Manning would complete the remainder of the Pacific overwater portion and deplane in Darwin, Australia.

The crew arrived in Oakland on March 10th, 1937 with the start of the World Flight planned for the 15th, but bad weather and last minute details delayed their take-off. Harry Manning, a U.S. Naval Reserve officer, signed for a Pioneer Bubble Octant from the North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego which was expedited to Oakland. By March 17th, the weather cleared enough for the Lockheed Electra to take off on the first leg of the World Flight to Honolulu. The Lockheed arrived at Wheeler Field in Hawaii early on the morning of March 18th where maintenance was begun on the right hand Hamilton constant speed propeller which had frozen in a position of fixed pitch. Following a test flight, the Electra was flown to Luke field for servicing and the take-off would now be made from Luke’s 3000 ft runway at dawn on March 20th.

With the three person crew aboard, the aircraft began its take-off roll just after 5:40 a.m. During take-off the Electra veered slightly to the right, and Amelia corrected to the left with a change of engine power; as described in [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field_Crash_Report/LukeFieldProceedings.htm the Luke Field Crash Report:], the aircraft “began to swing to the left with increasing speed, characteristic of a ground-loop…sliding on its belly amid a shower of sparks…”. Luckily there were no serious injuries. Manning had only a bruised elbow, but it was obvious that the World Flight venture was over for the time being.
Public comments reported that Manning’s three month leave of absence could not be extended to permit him to participate in another attempt, but the Longs wrote, “Amelia…had talked to Manning, who was very gentlemanly about being replaced by Noonan when the flight resumed.”<ref>Long, Elgen M. and Marie K., ''Amelia Earhart, The Mystery Solved'', Simon & Schuster, 1999, NY, p. 108</ref>
Frederick Goerner spoke at the Amelia Earhart Symposium presented at the National Air and Space Museum library in 1983. He quoted Harry
Manning’s comments years after the Luke Field accident: “Amelia Earhart was something of a prima donna. She gave the impression of being humble and shy; but she really had an ego, and could be tough as nails when the occasion required it. I got very fed up with her bull-headedness several times. That's why she brought Noonan into the picture --in the event I were to give up on the flight. AE herself was not a good navigator; and Noonan was a happy-go-lucky Irishman. He wasn't a 'constant' navigator. I always felt he let things go far too long...” <ref>''Aviation Journal'' (California), “Amelia Earhart Symposium”, February 1984, p 5</ref> <ref>Lovell, Mary S., ''The Sound of Wings, The Life of Amelia Earhart'', St. Martin’s Griffin, 1989, NY, p. 252</ref>

{{hint|
==Other Researcher’s Comments==
"Manning was to have been the radio operator, and one of his jobs would be to manually reel out and in the trailing wire (as well as to throw the antenna selector switch, located in the aft section)" ([[Mike Everette]], 7 September 2000 [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/forum/Highlights101_120/highlights104.html Forum]).

"Amelia met Captain Manning on board his ship of which he was Captain, on her return from Europe. Amelia persuaded Capt. Manning to obtain a three months leave of absence from his shipping board, and join her for the around the world flight. Harry had the many qualifications so very necessary for making Amelia's flight a success. He had a private pilot's license, a ham (Amateur Radio) license, thus he knew code, and of course he was a completely competent navigator. You can understand that as Captain of America's largest ocean passenger liner, he was well versed in safety operations in every respect, including matters of survival in case of an emergency of any kind. Amelia was indeed lucky to have a man so completely qualified on her team." [[Gurr]] to [[Goerner]], 3 May 1982.

[[Mantz]] was scheduled to leave the plane in Honolulu; [[Noonan]] at [[Howland Island]], and '''Manning''' in Darwin, Australia.

According to [[Gurr]], "Captain Harry Manning's leave of absence would now run out before Amelia could make her flight, so he bowed out and returned to [the] ''Washington''" (letter to [[Goerner]], 3 May 1982). In his letter to [[Goerner]] on 12 September 1985, [[Gurr]] adds that the leave was from the Maritime Commission.}}

==Manning’s last flight==
On July 24, 1938, Manning was flying his Fairchild monoplane on a flight returning from Long Island. In his approach to Roosevelt Field at 700 feet, his aircraft entered a spin and fell to the ground, critically injuring him. Manning suffered compound fractures of both legs, a compound jaw fracture, fractured skull, broken arm, severe chest and internal injuries. At first it was first feared that he would not survive, and then that he would not be able to walk. During his nine month convalescence, Manning learned to play the piano and returned to sea duty as Captain of the ''Roosevelt'' in the spring of 1939 with a noticeable limp. Manning’s flying avocation had ended.

==World War II era==
On January 30, 1940, Harry Manning married. He had met Florence Isabella Trowbridge Heaton, a passenger, in 1934. Both were pilots with their own planes and enjoyed their mutual interest in aviation. It was not to last. Two years later, after their baby daughter, Florence, was born, they divorced, unable to combine Manning’s life at sea with marriage. <ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 129</ref>

The U.S. had not yet entered the war in 1940, but Europe was already deeply embroiled in hostilities. American nationals were being repatriated aboard ships sent to bring them home from Europe. Manning, in command of the SS ''Washington'', picked up 1020 passengers in Bordeaux and was steaming off the coast of Portugal. Near dawn on June 11, 1940, a German U-boat surfaced and blinked a signal to the ''Washington'': “heave to”, followed by a frightening “torpedo ship”. Manning ordered the passengers to board lifeboats and his signalman to blink the message “American ship, ''Washington''” to the submarine. “Captain has ten minutes to leave ship” came the U-boat response. With the passengers secured aboard lifeboats, Manning ordered the same message continuously flashed to the submarine. “''Washington'', American, ''Washington'', American”, hoping to delay the U-boat’s actions until the ship could be clearly identified in the morning light. After an unnervingly long silence, the U-boat blinked the signal, “Thought you were another ship, please go on, go on.” [http://www.usmm.org/washington.html] As the country neared war, regular passenger service came to an end. Ships were activated for wartime service and refitted; painted battleship gray, passenger capacity was increased to carry troops. Harry Manning’s assignment as Captain of the newly built ''America'' was cut short, when he was called to active service at his Naval Reserve rank of Lieutenant Commander. He became the chief navigation officer on the refitted ''Washington'', now renamed USS ''Mount Vernon''. His final sea duty aboard the ''Mount Vernon'' involved the 1942 evacuation of the remaining refugees from Singapore “under a hail of Japanese bombs”. Manning was next assigned to train seamen for the new ships under construction for the war. Promoted to Commander, he became Captain of the U.S. Maritime Service training ship ''American Navigator'', followed by the appointment as Superintendant of the Radio Training Station at Huntington, Long Island. In 1944, Manning became Superintendant of the U.S. Maritime Service Radio Training Station at Hoffman Island, New York. At war’s end Manning was released from active duty and resumed command of the ''Washington'', refitted for civilian service, and detailed to bring home young GI’s and their war brides from Europe.

==Commodore of the Fleet==
[[Image:S.S._United_States_and_S._S._America_(U.S._Navy_Photo).jpg|300px|thumb|300| <div align="center">The SS ''United States'' (background) and SS ''America'' (foreground) pass in New York Harbor. Harry Manning was Captain of the "Big U" in 1952 when it captured the Blue Riband for setting both the Eastbound and Westbound Atlantic speed records. (U.S. Navy Photo)</div>]]
[[Image:Commodore_Harry_Manning.gif|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center"> Harry Manning was named Commodore of the United States Lines fleet and assumed duties as the Captain of the flagship SS ''United States'' in July 1952. (Courtesy of The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA)</div>]] On September 26, 1946, Manning was designated “Commodore of the Fleet” for United States Lines, and was given command of its flagship, ''America'', following its refitting for civilian service. Now at the top of his profession, Manning found he was in demand as maritime expert. He was invited to participate in discussions with the Truman Administration on the postwar needs of the maritime industry. He also convinced British Parliament to allocate £600,000 to modernize the Southampton port channel. Manning relinquished command of the ''America'' in 1948 to become the advisor to United States Lines for construction of a newly designed super liner to be named SS ''United States''. The War Department had liked Britain’s use of Cunard’s ''Queen Mary'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'' converted for wartime troop transport, and thought such a flexible concept would work well for the United States. Large, fast vessels could outrun enemy submarines, and could carry 7 times the personnel after being refitted as troopships. The Government agreed to subsidize most of the $78 million cost of the new ship designed for dual use. Specifications were to be controlled by the Navy. Designed to be fast, it would have two separate engine rooms, 4 propellers, and reinforced decks which could accommodate gun turrets in the event of war. Not disclosed until the 1970’s, the top speed of the SS ''United States'' was 38.3 knots (44.1 mph). To reduce the risk of fire, the only wood permitted for use in its construction was a butcher block for the galley, and a wooden Steinway piano.

Fittingly, Commodore Harry Manning became the first Captain of the ''United States'', or “Big U” as it was affectionately called. When she departed on her maiden voyage from New York on July 3, 1952 there was anticipation that the “Big U” would set a new transatlantic speed record between Ambrose light ship in New York and Bishop Rock lighthouse, England. At 0516 GMT on July 7, 1952 the ''United States'' took the Blue Riband from Britain’s ''Queen Mary'' which had held the Atlantic crossing record since 1938. Over ten hours had been cut from the crossing time with an average speed of 35.59 knots. On the return trip the ''United States'' set the westbound record as well, with an average speed for the 5844 nautical mile round trip of 35 knots, or 40.8 miles per hour.
“Proudly flying a 40 ft Blue Ribbon from its mast and with the band playing ‘God Bless America’ and ‘I’m Wild About Harry’, the ''United States'' made a triumphant entry into New York…a flotilla of small boats tooted their approval…”.
[http://united-states-lines.org/Harry%20Manning.htm] On July 18, 1952 Harry Manning rode through the streets of New York--his second ticker tape parade--and received the red ribboned Municipal Medal of Honor presented to him by Mayor Impellitteri of New York.

==Retirement years==
On May 1, 1953, Commodore Harry Manning retired from United States Lines. His retirement from the U.S. Naval Reserve would be as a Vice Admiral. A letter he wrote at that time explained, “Forty years of this is sufficient—as you know I have worked very hard—too hard for my own good perhaps—and the time to quit is when one is on top. I have not been feeling too well these past few years—the injuries from my crash seem to be aggravated and cause me much pain. Now I can take care of myself—eat slowly—sleep late if I want to and in general enjoy life.”<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 144</ref>
Harry Manning remarried in the mid fifties to Mildred Bachmann Eisenhardt and moved to an estate in North Jersey. He endured slowly declining health brought about by his 1938 aircraft accident and continuing stomach ailments. On August 1, 1974, Harry manning died at home in Saddle River, NJ, at the age of 77.

==Footnotes==
<references />

==Bibliography==
Braynard, Frank O., ''World’s Greatest Ship: The Story of the Leviathan'', Vol. I, South Street Seaport Museum, 1972

Butler, Susan: ''East to the Dawn: the Life of Amelia Earhart'', De Capo, NY, 1997

Long, Elgen M. and Marie K., ''Amelia Earhart, The Mystery Solved'', Simon & Schuster, NY, 1999

Lovell, Mary S., ''The Sound of Wings, The Life of Amelia Earhart'', St. Martin’s Griffin, 1989,

St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001

Wright, Monte Duane, ''Most Probable Position'', The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

''Mast Magazine'', “United States Maritime Service Radio Training Station Huntington, Long Island, New York”, January 1944

''The New York Times'', July 7, 1952, “CAREER OF COMMODORE MANNING HAS BEEN A SAGA OF THE SEA LANES”

==References==

[http://www.fsmaa.org/NFFS/2000/nf000820.cfm Fort Schuyler ''Maritime Alumni Association News'' From Fort Schuyler August 20, 2000 - Volume 4, No. 26]

[http://united-states-lines.org/Harry%20Manning.htm “Harry Manning, Captain of the SS ''United States''”]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field_Crash_Report/LukeFieldProceedings.htm Luke Field Crash Report]

[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,859829,00.html ''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952”]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Leonard Wikipedia, Benny Leonard]

== Related articles ==

* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Manning and Noonan's navigation to Hawaii.]


[[Category:Navigation|Manning]]
* [[Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937]]

[[Category:Radio considerations|Manning]]

[[Category:Biographical Data|Manning]]

Pocket knife

2012-03-19T15:25:08Z

Rickerjones: Add link for number convention used by Catterougus

A piece of a '''pocket knife''' was found at the [[Seven Site]] during [[Niku V (2007)]]. It is a very close, though not perfect, match for the pocket knife mentioned in the [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Luke_Field.html Luke Field inventory] (22309).

[[File:Pocket knife.png|thumb]]"A Cattaraugus model 22309 '''pocket knife''' was for sale on ebay. The model number signifies 2 blades, 2 bolsters, style number 30, and the 9 indicates a bone handle. The number of the pocket knife on the [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Luke_Field.html Luke Field inventory] was 22309, which one of our experts thought might be a [http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/cattaraugus/cattaraugus_num_system.php Cattaraugus number]."<ref>[[Rick Jones]] to [[EPAC]], 26 April 2009</ref>

"In 2007 we found one small part of a pocket knife we were able to identify as an Easy-Open, bone handled, double bladed jackknife made by the Imperial Cutlery Company of Providence, RI between 1930 and 1945. This time we found the rest of the knife, except for the blades. It is now apparent that someone beat the knife apart with a blunt object, breaking it open for the express purpose of removing the blades. Why? To make spears for catching fish? We can only speculate, but at least we have a better understanding of what happened to the knife."<ref>[http://tighar.org/testhtml/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Expeditions/NikuVI/Niku6results.html "Niku VI Results."]</ref>

Heath Smith speculated that the pocket knife might be a Camillus model.<ref>[http://tighar.org/smf/index.php/topic,618.msg11083.html#msg11083 ''Forum,'' 12 March 2012.]</ref>

== References ==
<references />

== Links ==
* [http://tighar.org/Publications/TTracks/2008Vol_24/2_8_S_5.pdf "Artifact 2-8-S-5."]
* [http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/cattaraugus/index.php "Cattaraugus Knives."]
* [http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/cattaraugus/cattaraugus_num_system.php "Cattaraugus Knife Numbering System."]

[[Category:Artifacts]]

SS Norwich City

2012-01-27T18:47:04Z

Rickerjones: /* Norwich City’s Stranding on Gardner */ Add information of SS Lavington Court.

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa. Apia Radio then attempted to contact vessels in the vicinity of Gardner Island but none could be located closer than 850 miles from the ''Norwich City''.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was then thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, then was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”. At 6 p.m. Saturday, Apia Radio got through to the SS ''Lavington Court'' whose position was 350 miles from the ''Norwich City'' with an estimated arrival at Gardner at daybreak on Monday, but the ship did not participate in the rescue of the ''Norwich City'' crewmembers.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow”,'' . At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The Tighar Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.” A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible.

<br style="clear: both" />
==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==

The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

The Board of Trade required certain equipment be available in lifeboats in the 1920’s. One example was:

'''''“Sails for each lifeboat and cutter were supplied and stowed in painted bags. Covers were supplied for the lifeboats and cutters, and a sea anchor for each boat. Every lifeboat was furnished with a special spirit boat compass and fitting for holding it; these compasses were carried in a locker on the boat deck. A provision tank and water breaker were supplied to each boat." '''''[http://www.titanic-titanic.com/lifeboats.shtml]

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|
|}

== Links ==
[http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].

[http://tighar.org/wiki/Norwich_City_Survivors%27_Shelter Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">
==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/halifax/DVD/fig78-eng.php Artist Derek Sarty's Rendering of ''Trongate'' Sunken in Halifax Harbour]

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

SS Norwich City

2011-12-29T17:35:08Z

Rickerjones: /* Norwich City’s Stranding on Gardner */ Update Tongate's Involvement in Apia

[[Image:Norwich City (Courtesy Janet Powell).jpg|350px|thumb|left| <div align="center">SS ''Norwich City'' (Courtesy: Janet Powell)</div>]]
Historical records give us a fairly clear picture of the SS ''Norwich City''’s construction and operation as a cargo vessel in the British Mercantile Fleet, and her demise on the reef of [[Gardner Island]] in the Phoenix Group (29 November 1929). What is not so clear is whether she played a passive role in the saga of [[Amelia Earhart]] seven and a half years after her grounding. Knowing more about the '' Norwich City'' may help to understand if there was a relationship to artifacts found at [[The Seven Site]] and to a [http://173.45.236.139/wiki/Post-loss_Radio_Messages--Overview post loss radio message] that could have provided clues to Earhart’s location.
==Construction and Early History==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Yardbook_792_p1.JPG |300px|thumb|<div align="center">Originally Constructed as SS ''Normanby''</div>[http://www.hartlepoolbuilt.co.uk/ (Courtesy: Hartlepool Built)]]]
The ''Norwich City'' was launched as the ''Normanby'' on 12 July 1911, by William Gray and Company of West Hartlepool with the assigned yard number of 792 (similar to a constructor's number). Originally built for the London and Northern Steamship Company, she was registered out of London as ship number 132596. The 397 foot bulk carrier had a beam of 53 feet 5.5 inches. The keel had been laid five months earlier on 9 February 1911, and was constructed of steel. She was driven by a Central Marine 412 BHP (1960 IHP) triple expansion reciprocating steam engine whose three cylinders of 70, 40, and 26 inches propelled the ship at an operating speed of 9 knots. Fitted with two multitubular steel boilers, steam was produced at 180 psi. The steering gear and windlass machinery were also operated by steam. At launching, the gross tonnage was calculated to be 5633.2; her displacement was 8730 tons.

The London certificate was given up and cancelled on 24 April 1919, when the ship was re-registered at Bideford, UK, to the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, with Sir William Reardon Smith, Limited, designated to manage the vessel. The ship’s name was changed to ''Norwich City'' by Board of Trade minutes number 2544. In 1928 modifications to the ship had changed her gross tonnage to its last recorded gross tonnage of 5587.08.

By 1922 the [http://www.glamro.gov.uk/adobe/MaritimeRevised.pdf Reardon Smith] fleet had grown to 39 vessels. On 2 July 1928, the name of the St. Just Steamship Company, Limited, was changed to Reardon Smith Lines, Limited, and continued to expand.

== ''Norwich City'' and the Second Narrows Bridge==

[[Image:Norwich_City_at_the_Burrard_Drydock_Co._for_Repairs_(7346).jpg‎|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' in for Repairs at the Burrard Drydock Co. Following the Second Narrows Bridge Accident (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7346)</div>]]
[[Image:Norwich_City_at_Burrard_Dry_Dock_Co._Following_the_Second_Narrows_Bridge_Accident_(7347).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' and Her Cargo of Lumber with Derricks and Funnel Toppled. (North Vancouver Museum and Archives 7347)</div>]]
The ''Norwich City'' was involved in an accident, striking Vancouver’s Second Narrows Bridge the year prior to her grounding on Gardner Island. In Vancouver, B.C. the bridge across the tidal bore known as Burrard Inlet was completed in 1925 with its companion rail bridge completed in 1926. The name “Second Narrows” derives from the second narrowing of Burrard Inlet. The bridge was low, and the bascule was built near the south shore in shallow water in order to eliminate the cost of constructing two expensive towers for a lift span--against the recommendations of shipping experts. Accidents had plagued the bridge in its first years, [http://vancouverhistory.ca/chronology1928.htm] with major damage caused when the American freighter ''Eurana'' and the tug ''Shamrock'' struck the bridge in 1927, and on 23 April 1928 the ''Norwich City'' struck the Second Narrows bridge and was taken to the Burrard Dry Dock Company, where repairs and repainting were completed. In 1930 accidents continued when the American freighter ''Losmar'' struck the span, and the log carrier ''Pacific Gatherer'' toppled the bridge into Burard Inlest putting it out of commission for four years. [http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WYQKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fEsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5509,6197143&dq=burrard+norwich-city&hl=en]

== ''Norwich City''’s Stranding on Gardner==

[[Image:Argus,_Tue_3_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From ''Argus'',Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 3 Dec 1929, Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Thurs_5_Dec_1929,_p_7.jpg|200px|thumb|left|<div align="center">From Argus, Melbourne, Australia Newspaper, 5 Dec 1929 Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service</div>]]
[[Image:Routes_of_Norwich_City,Trongate,_and_Lincoln_Elsworth_2.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Planned Routes of ''Norwich City'' and '' Trongate''</div>]]
In Melbourne, Vic., Australia, the '' Norwich City'' off-loaded her cargo of coal for the Metropolitan Gas Company and with its crew of four officers and 31 men, departed for Vancouver, B.C., Canada, via Honolulu on 17 November 1929. Steaming in ballast and nearing the halfway point en-route to Honolulu, the ''Norwich City'' encountered a cyclonic weather disturbance with powerful westerly winds and heavy seas. Strong unexpected currents had set the vessel off its course. [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/WreckNorwichCity.html] Shortly after 11:00 p.m. on the night of 29 November 1929, in near total darkness, torrential rain, high winds, and heavy seas, the ''Norwich City'' slammed up on the fringing reef of Gardner Island.

Captain Daniel Hamer had the bridge watch. The order was given to don life jackets and prepare the lifeboats, as he and the officers conducted an assessment of the damage and made soundings around the ship--hoping that daylight would offer the opportunity to “let her off”. Lightning, heavy rain, and high winds, made radio communications difficult for wireless operator Clark. After three hours, contact was made with Apia, Western Samoa.

At 4:00 a.m. smoke was seen coming from the engine room. The wireless operator continued at his post long enough to report the fire to Apia. Hamer’s later testimony[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] painted a dramatic picture:“''Fanned by the strong wind it wasn’t long before the vessel presented an alarming spectacle. Minor explosions were occurring at frequent intervals while the crew were engaged getting out lifeboats and lowering them to the rail.”'' After lowering the starboard boat to the gunwale, Captain Hamer and the Chief Officer went to the port boat to lower it when a wave slammed into the weather side of the ship, carrying the lifeboat away. Captain Hamer was then thrown into the sea 40 feet below and given up for lost. By 5:15 a.m. the Mate orderd the starboard life boat lowered with the remaining crew aboard it. When they were ready to “let go” the lines, the lifeboat was swept aft under the quarter and immediately capsized by a wave.

[[Image:Norwich_City_in_1938_NZ_Pacific_Aviation_Survey_Photo.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">The New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Party Brings Equipment Ashore Past the Bow of the Grounded ''Norwich City'' in 1938. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
By 6:00 a.m. in Apia’s harbor, John Harry Swindell, Master of the SS ''Trongate'', received the harbormaster aboard the ship and was ordered to raise steam, and was summoned to Government House to meet with Administrator Allen. His Excellency, Administrator Allen of Western Samoa gave instructions to proceed to Gardner Island in the Phoenix Group and render assistance to the stranded vessel. With a Government guarantee to cover expenses, the ''Trongate'' was provisioned and a 19 foot whale boat with a six man native crew was brought aboard.

On the Gardner reef, the crew members of the ''Norwich City'' were repeatedly swept out to sea, then tumbled through the surf onto the reef, and swept back again for what seemed an eternity. Eleven men drowned or fell victim to the large number of sharks that gathered. One by one, including Captain Hamer, the survivors found their way across the reef to the shore. Four men were trapped under the overturned life boat. Three survived after the bottom was cut out of the boat to free them.

Sometime after daybreak Saturday morning, both lifeboats and most of the equipment had washed ashore. Provisions were gathered up and a camp was established about 100 yards into the brush to offer protection from the continuing rain and wind. After resting for a while, parties were dispatched to search for water. At noon the survivors had their first ration: a half tin of milk, water and biscuits with corned beef. Later Saturday afternoon, the rain eased some and a fire was started after several attempts.

In Apia, at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Captain Swindell commanded “Proceed ''Norwich City''”, and by 2:00 p.m. the ''Trongate'' left Apia Harbor “Full Away”.

Three crewmen whose bodies washed ashore on Gardner Island were buried; the steward first, the fireman who was trapped under the lifeboat was buried toward evening, and later, the carpenter. The remainder of the eleven men lost were never found.

Sunday was a showery day, but with more sun than was wanted. The ponds of rainwater were quickly drying up, though a three week supply had been stored in the lifeboats’ tanks. In the morning an issue of water was given, and the camp was moved. Parties were dispatched to look for water and coconuts and the remainder worked on building a [[Norwich City Survivors' Shelter|camp shelter]]. Upon return of the parties, rations were issued: biscuit, meat, diluted milk, and “coconut for dessert”.

On Monday the ''Trongate'' made contact with the Norwegian tanker, MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', and they made arrangements to rendezvous at Gardner Island at first light the following morning.

Survivors took to the beach at daybreak Monday to look for ships. None were sighted. The long day ended with evening rations, and a hope that the following day would see their rescue.

At dawn on Tuesday several men went to the beach to look for ships, but seeing none, returned to camp. An issue of milk and a biscuit was made, before several men walked to the other side of the island. Two ships were then spotted which came around to the wreck side of the island: one from the north and one from the south. Everyone gathered on the beach as the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' lowered a motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' lowered the whale boat from her aft deck.
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_10.jpg|''Argus'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:The_Canberra_Times,_Wednesday_4_December_1929,_page_1.jpg|''Canberra Times'' 4 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic)_Fri_6_Dec_1929,p_8.jpg|''Argus'' 6 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
Image:Argus_(Melbourne,_Vic.),_Monday_16_December_1929,_page_8.jpg|''Argus'' 16 Dec 1929 (Courtesy: Australian Newspapers Beta Service)
</gallery>
</div>

==Rescue of the ''Norwich City'''s Crew==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Rescue.jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center"> ''Norwich City'' Resue Map </div>]]
[[Image:Survivor_Camp_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|left|250px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City's'' Crew Survivor Camp in 1938(Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
With water and provisions loaded aboard the 19 foot whale boat, the native crew left the ''Trongate'' just after 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, and headed across the surf. The survivors on shore attempted to wave them away from the treacherous surf, not aware they were highly skilled islanders. The boat landed successfully and its water and provisions were taken to the shelter.

Feeling it was unsafe to re-cross the surf taking the survivors to the ship, it was decided to find a more favorable rescue location. The provisions were secured in the camp, and with some reluctance the shelter was abandoned. Captain Hamer wrote in his testimony [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html] ''"I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them”''. The survivors would not return to this shelter again.

Captain Hamer joined the whale boat crew, (perhaps with several other survivors) and proceeded southeast across the lagoon opposite the two ships which had cruised the shore and found a better location to effect the rescue. The ships had stopped about one and a half miles south of the wreck site. Again, the '' Lincoln Ellsworth'' launched its motor boat, and the '' Trongate'' launched a lifeboat. (It is not clear whether the ships “circled the island” and rounded the southeastern corner as stated in a dispatch by Captain Tichendorf[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4057093] of the ''Lincoln Ellsworth'', or if the ships proceeded directly down the shoreline to the new location, rounding the “southeast corner” of the island—meaning the turn of the shoreline on the southwest face of the island.) Either way, they ended up about a mile and a half south of the wreck.

Captain Hamer estimated the first attempt to take survivors across the surf from the new location was about 2:00 p.m., while Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'' said they tried the “whole of the morning”. At 2:30 p.m., a rocket line was fired to the survivors. A message was returned from Captain Hamer, fearing that they would be forced to spend another night ashore and away from their abandoned shelter, saying, ''“send, water, biscuits-- weather too bad-- try tomorrow”,'' . At 3 p.m., after many more attempts, three survivors were successfully taken across, with much cheering and blowing of the ships’ whistles. The whale boat returned to shore, but was unable to bring the requested provisions. Near sundown, after several more unsuccessful attempts, the native crew, unable to return to the ship, built a fire, caught crabs and birds for a meal, and settled in for the night.

After standing off for the night, the ships returned Wednesday morning. The survivors waited for high water to try crossing again. On the third attempt, at about noon, three more survivors were taken across, carrying another note from Captain Hamer.
''“To the Master Trongate-the position as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhea and any old boots (one pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
D. Hamer, Master”''

This time on its return to shore, the whale boat carried “liberal” provisions “enough for a month”. The remaining survivors had a ration of biscuits and a tin of water. Captain Hamer commented in his statement, ''“Water never tasted so sweet.”'' Five more successful crossings were made that afternoon. The last included Captain Hamer. The whale boat was loaded “''to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us.”'' All survivors were off the island and aboard the '' Trongate'' by 2:15 p.m.

At 2:30 p.m. twelve men were transferred to the ''Lincoln Ellsworth''; by 3:30 p.m. Captain Swindell of the ''Trongate'', commanded “Full Away”.
[[Image:Bideford_Registry_Document_Final_Entry.jpg|600px|center|thumb|<div align="center">The Final Registry Entry in the Bideford, U.K., Ship's Register. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]

== ''Norwich City'' Wreck as a Landmark==
From the time Captain Swindell described the location of the rescue as “A mile and a half south of the wreck”, the ''Norwich City'' served as the de facto bench mark for location references on Gardner Island. Even though not always known by name, the ship served as a landmark for over three quarters of a century as noted in these records of visitors and passers-by:

*'''Eric Bevington’s Journal:''' ''“Wednesday, October 13th (R.T.) We sighted Gardner at dawn. A wrecked cargo steamer was up on the reef and in the distance it looked O.K.”''

*[[New Zealand Survey (1938)|'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition: General Report:''']] ''“anchorage of sorts was found about one mile south of the wreck of the "City of Norwich”.''

*'''New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition Topographical Map Is Annotated:''' ''“Wreck: SS ''Norwich City'' Conspicuous But Breaking Up.”''
[[Image:Norwich_City_in_2007_(TIGHAR_Photo_by_John_Clauss).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">| ''Norwich City'' in 2007. (Courtesy: TIGHAR by John Clauss)</div>]]
*'''Capt. Wilhelm Friedell’s Report on the USS ''Colorado''’s Search for Earhart:''' ''“At Gardner Island a four thousand ton tramp steamer has piled up head on and remains there with her back broken.”''

*'''Lt. John Lambrecht’s Report on the Search of the Phoenix Islands:''' ”''At the western end of the island a tramp steamer (of about 4000 tons) bore mute evidence of unlighted and poorly charted “Rocks and Shoals”. She lay high and almost dry head onto the coral beach with her back broken in two places.”''

*'''Lt .John Short also described the wreck:''' ''“There was the wreck of a fairly large steamer -- of about five thousand tons hard up on the beach -- her back broken in two places and covered with red rust, but otherwise fairly intact.”''

*'''USS ''Colorado'' Log, 9 July 1937, 8 to 12:''' ''“…..sighted Gardner Island bearing 179.5 (True), distance about fifteen (15) miles. Sighted wrecked ship a little to the right of the island, bearing 180 (True)….”''

*'''“The ''Colorado'' Search”, Randall S Jacobson, Ph.D.:''' “''A letter from Captain Friedell to the Navy Hydrographic Office reports that the position of McKean is well off the charted position, that a conspicuous wreck lies to the northwestward side of Gardner, and that the size and shape of Gardner are not correct.”''

==Identification of the ''Norwich City''==
[[Image:Norwich_City_Aground_(Note_White_Paint_on_Bulwark)_(Wigram_AFB_Archives).jpg|300px|thumb| ''Norwich City'' With Unburned White Paint Still on Her Bow. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)]]
During the first years following her stranding, there may have been clues available to determine the name of the ''Norwich City'' by inspection. Because the build name of the vessel was ''Normanby'', she would not have had a name cut of steel plate welded on her bow to identify her as the ''Norwich City''. But, just as the white paint applied to her bow during the Vancouver repairs survived the fire that followed her grounding, the name painted on the bow may have similarly survived. In November, 1939, ten years after the grounding, a party from the USS ''Bushnell'' went aboard the ''Norwich City''. The following description was entered into Captain Coleman’s [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf| “Employment Report”] for November 16th 1939 (p.21).

'''“The party sent to hoist an electric beacon on the stranded steamer at GARDNER ISLAND reported that the steamer apparently was once owned by the W. R. Smith Company of England, as evidenced by the firm name on crockery and old silver pieces found in the Captain's cabin with inscribed name "Normanby". The ship is in an upright position on the coral ledge, the forward half high and dry, the after part submerged to the upper deck. A fire apparently gutted the ship before or after stranding. Both anchors are housed although the stoppers were released. The hull is broken on both sides amidships and, on the port side, a huge opening extends to the keel line. No one on the island seems to know when the steamer grounded. From the state of deterioration of the hull and the wooden boats, it is believed to have stranded at least 3-4 years ago. All nameplates and articles of value have been removed. Three clinker-type boats, believed to have belonged to the ship, were found on the beach. The ship's name had been removed but the barely legible name "BIDEFORD" was discerned on one boat. Kodak pictures taken from the BUSHNELL, at a distance of about 1000 yards, are forwarded with this report as enclosure (A)'''.”[http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/0/0a/Bushnell_Part_2.pdf]

Most documented visitors to Gardner Island prior to the ''Bushnell'' survey occurred between November, 1937 and December,1938, but there may have been earlier undocumented visitors who could have scavenged equipment from the ''Norwich City''. The fact that three clinker type boats were found on the beach, indicates that at least one of the two ship’s boats had been lowered after the time of the stranding. During the Board of Trade inquiry it was documented that only the two lifeboats washed ashore. The “Hailing Port” of Bideford (UK) was visible on one boat, but the name of its Mother ship (''Norwich City'') had been removed. It is unknown if this occurred before or after July of 1937.

The Tighar Forum Highlights from 9 May 2001 has the following description by Dick Evans of his visit to the ''Norwich City'' Wreck when he served with the [[USCG LORAN Station|U.S Coast Guard on Gardner Island]] during WW II.

'''Regarding the name ''Norwich City''. As I recall the name could be read on the bow of the ship (1944) although it was not very plain. On one occasion several of us walked thru the hole torn in the port side of the hull and climbed up to the forepeak. From there we could see several places where the name was painted on equipment. For the next few months we threatened to climb back up and work our way to the bridge, which was in good shape. But like most things, this got lost in the scope-watching and similar exciting things we were doing. Don't know if this is any use to you or Lawrence, but there it is.'''
[[Image:Norwich_City_Lifeboat_1938_(Wigram_AFB_Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">''Norwich City'' Lifeboat,1938 (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
'''Dick Evans

'''From Ric

'''Thanks Dick. This is really very interesting.
'''You're correct, of course, about the hole on the port side and it would make sense that there would be features aboard that bore the ship's name. Whatever you saw as the bridge, however, must have been something else. Photos of the ship prior to the accident show a white-painted superstructure just forward of the funnel and a smaller structure further aft that are missing in Bevington's 1937 photos of the wreck. These seem to have been of wooden construction and were consumed in the fire that engulfed the vessel at the time of its stranding.” Forum Highlights, Dick Evans, (9 May 2001)'''

The shipping specialist consulted by the reference library manager of the Hartlepool Central Library, England reported “The lifeboat would I believe have had the name of the ship it belongs to painted on the side of it.” A 1938 picture of the lifeboat taken by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition is not clear enough to determine if a name was visible.

<br style="clear: both" />
==Provisions and Equipment Left at the ''Norwich City'' Survivor's Shelter==
{| style="border:none" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:tin can.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Tin Can In Situ at the Seven Site in the Shape Consistent With That Used to Can Mutton. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;" rowspan="2"|The Board of Trade testimony indicated that most of the equipment aboard the lifeboats washed ashore, as did both lifeboats themselves. This included the lifeboat provisions, such as biscuits, meat, and water contained in “breakers” (small barrels used to provision lifeboats with water), as well as the first stores sent ashore from the ''Trongate''. Equipment such as sails, axes and floatation tanks (which keep the lifeboat afloat should it fill with water), or tanks used to pack provisions on the boat, may have also been at the shelter.

The Board of Trade required certain equipment be available in lifeboats in the 1920’s. One example was:

'''''“Sails for each lifeboat and cutter were supplied and stowed in painted bags. Covers were supplied for the lifeboats and cutters, and a sea anchor for each boat. Every lifeboat was furnished with a special spirit boat compass and fitting for holding it; these compasses were carried in a locker on the boat deck. A provision tank and water breaker were supplied to each boat." '''''[http://www.titanic-titanic.com/lifeboats.shtml]

Commonly supplied equipment placed in lifeboats according to a maritime forum[http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=5419] were: hatchets with lanyards, mast and sails, compass, bailer, dipper (tube to insert into fresh water breaker or tank to extract a measured amount of water ration) tin opener (on jackknife), signaling equipment and flares, whistle, flashlight (torch), sea anchor, storm oil, spare bungs (plugs attached to keelson with chain for drain holes) oars, painter (rope to tie boat), rustproof water vessels (for drinking), biscuits, water in breakers or tanks, condensed milk, first aid kit, and fishing line & hooks.

Seven-site artifacts that could have had their origin in the survivors’ shelter could include: An empty can of the shape used for mutton; a sheep or goat vertebrae, like that contained in canned mutton to enhance flavor; a [[Corks_found_on_Nikumararo|cork]] and brass chain like that used as a stopper or bung of a small wooden cask “breaker” used to store fresh water aboard the lifeboats.
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Photo_Library_-_379.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Chain and Stopper of a Small Wooden Cask Similar to Water Breakers Carried Aboard Lifeboats. (Courtesy: Andrew McKenna)</div>]]
|-
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Sheep_vertebrae.jpg|thumb|300px|<div align="center">Sheep or Goat Vertibrae Which May Have Been in Canned Mutton as a Flavor Enhancer. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|style="vertical-align:top;"|[[Image:Food-can_(Mutton).jpg|300px|thumb|<div align="center">Sketch of the Can Found at the Seven Site with Its Dimensions Indicated. (TIGHAR Collection)</div>]]
|}

== Links ==
[http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Expeditions/NikuV/gallery/NorwichCity/galleryNC.html Photo gallery] from [[Niku V (2007)]].

[http://tighar.org/wiki/Norwich_City_Survivors%27_Shelter Norwich City Survivors' Shelter]

<div style="margin-left:4em;background-color:#b0c4de;padding:2em 2em;clear:both;">
==A Postscript==
=== SS ''Trongate'' ===
Minesweeper HMCS ''Chedabucto'' sank the burning ''Trongate'', loaded with explosives at Halifax. Fears of a repeat of the 1917 Mont Blanc disaster lead to the decision to sink the merchant ship by gunfire in the confines of the port.[http://www.seawaves.com/newsletters/TDIH/april/10Apr.txt]

SS ''Trongate:'' Built in 1924 by Northumberland Shipbuilding Co., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 3979 Gross Tons, Official Number 145738, Registered in London, Greater London, England. Sunk 10 April 1942 by an Allied ship.

[http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/halifax/DVD/fig78-eng.php Artist Derek Sarty's Rendering of ''Trongate'' Sunken in Halifax Harbour]

=== MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' ===
On 6 April 1941 ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' was steaming in ballast, unescorted when she was struck by a German torpedo 150 miles west of Iceland. The crew abandoned ship in two lifeboats before a second torpedo struck. Not sinking, she was shelled from both sides. An hour and a half later she sank stern first. Captain Kristian Olsen and all 29 crewmen survived.

MT ''Lincoln Ellsworth:'' Oslo, Norway, Tanker, Built by in Gothenburg, 1927. 5580 Gross Tons, 8340 Tons displacement

[http://www.warsailors.com/singleships/lincolnellsworth.html Picture of ''Lincoln Ellsworth'']
</div>

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

Norwich City Survivors' Shelter

2011-11-27T22:34:46Z

Rickerjones: /* Where was the survivors’ shelter located? */

<div align=center>{{hint|“Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.”
Captain Daniel Hamer, Master of SS ''Norwich City''}}</div>

[[SS Norwich City|''Norwich City'']] ran aground on Gardner Island’s fringing reef (now Nikumaroro) late Friday night, November 29, 1929, thrown off course by a severe storm out of the west. Heavy rains and lightning made radio signals unreliable. Contact with Apia Radio was finally established after three hours--just as a fire in the ship’s engine room and stokehold forced the crew to abandon ship. Both of her Board of Trade certified lifeboats--about twenty-six feet in length and weighing 1800 pounds each—carried the mandated provisions and equipment stowed on board. But the port boat (on the weather side) was hit by a giant wave, torn from its davits and knocked into the sea, along with Daniel Hamer, the ship’s Master. The remaining crew of 34 men took to the starboard lifeboat. After it was lowered and released from the davit falls, the retreating surf swept the lifeboat under the quarter and capsized it. Eleven of the 34 men were lost. Captain Hamer and the other 23 surviving crew members eventually made their way through the surf and across the reef, reaching shore just before dawn. After both boats washed ashore, the crew mustered the provisions and equipment above the high water line. Subsequently a shelter was established and they were ultimately rescued.

To know if ''Norwich City's'' survivors’ shelter played a role in the saga of the Nikumaroro castaways, answers to these questions would be helpful:

*Where was the survivors’ shelter located?
*What equipment and provisions were available to ''Norwich City's'' surviving crew members?
*What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by ''Norwich City's'' crew?
*What was meant by “across the lagoon”?
*What was meant by the “southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?
*Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?
*Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?

==Where was the survivors’ shelter located?==
[[Image:Norwich_City_survivor's_camp_in_1938.jpg|400px|thumb|left|<Div align=center>''Norwich City'' survivors' camp photographed by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition in 1938 still showing identifiable equipment. (Courtesy, Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF </div>]]
[[Image:Wind_diagram_on_NZ_Survey_countour_map_with_North_orientation.jpg|250px|thumb|right|<div align=center>New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey contour map of Gardner Island with a wind diagram of Dec 1938-Jan 1939 data. Winds depicted are 1-16 mph and 17-32 mph. Calm:Nil Rain: Nil The map has been rotated so that North is at the top.(Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)</div>]]
Captain Hamer wrote in his statement for the Board of Trade inquiry,
“Both lifeboats and most of the equipment were washed ashore so all who were able gathered these together and placed them well clear of the tide. This done we all sought the shelter of the trees and laid down to rest.” Captain Hamer’s statement continued to describe the events later in the day: “The beach was very exposed so a camp site was selected some 100 yards into the woods, all hands assisting in carrying provisions etc.”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Hamer’s testimony described this first camp 100 yards into the woods: “The boats’ sails were used to make a tent to keep out the rain but when they became saturated rain began to come through making life fairly miserable.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]Inclement weather continued Saturday as Second Officer Lott noted in his testimony, “It rained hard right through the…day”. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]

The weather improved the next morning (Sunday) and the camp was reorganized. Captain Hamer’s testimony stated “…dawn came with the promise of fine weather and shortly afterwards each man was given a dipper of water, and the camp was reorganized. A more suitable site was selected and parties told off for various jobs. One party under the Second Officer was told off to obtain water, another for cocoanuts and the remainder to build a shelter. The lifeboat axes came in very useful for this. Small trees were cut down, trimmed and lashed between four large trees in the form of a square. A trellis of smaller trees and branches was formed on top and over this the two sails were spread. Around three sides a barricade was made to keep out the crabs, leaving the lee side open for the fire, which was soon got under way. The ground was cleared of twigs etc., and then covered with leaves over which was placed a couple of blankets and old canvas which had been washed ashore. Altogether it looked and was fairly comfortable.”
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Nutiran, then, was the site where the survivors rested “in the shelter of the trees” following their reaching the shore, and that night their first campsite was “100 yards into the woods”, with rain leaking through the canvas sails, and third, the final shelter on Nutiran was built on Sunday,“a nicer day”, with all the provisions and equipment moved to this location. This last shelter was used until rescuers arrived Tuesday morning.

It is likely that the location of this final “reorganized” shelter was near the previous shelter. Wind and surf conditions that carried the survivors and equipment across the reef to the beach would have put them somewhat south of the ship, as the winds and seas were out of the west northwest, perhaps even northwest (the port side of the ship was described as the “weather side”). This would be consistent with the data used for the wind diagram on the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Contour Map. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/New_Zealand_Survey_Report/imageslist.html]
Following the descriptions in the testimony, it is estimated the position of the survivors’ shelter may have been within a 150 yard radius some 200 yards south of ''Norwich City'' and 100 yards inland from the beach.

[[Image:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align=center>Both Norwich City lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' in length and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF) </div>]]

==What equipment and provisions were available to the ''Norwich City'' surviving crew members?==
The Board of Trade regulated merchant vessels and mandated the specifications and provisions for lifeboats carried on board. ''Norwich City'' carried two lifeboats and two ship’s boats (ship’s boats were used for utility and harbor work). The lifeboats were on either side, aft of the funnel; the ship’s boats were forward on either side of the bridge.

Certification of lifeboatmen was required by the Board of Trade, to include knowledge of equipment, its use, and its location aboard the lifeboats. John R. Stilgoe's ''Lifeboat'',discusses C.W.T. Layton’s training guide<ref>Layton,C.W.T.'' Ship’s Lifeboats: A Handbook for the Board of Trade Examination for Certificates in Lifeboat Efficiency''. Glasgow: Brown, 1938</ref> for the certification and provided a mnemonic to help seamen remember the list of lifeboat equipment on board: “PA SAW SOME BREAD MILK AND WATER BECOME PORK BALLS” for “painter, ax, sea anchor, warp, sails, oars, mast, and sailing gear (E for etc.), bread, milk, and water, bucket and bailer (BE), compass (COMe), plugs, oil bag and oil, rudder and tiller, boathook (K), box of matches, ax, lamps, lights (red), and a set and half of crutches (oarlocks). Layton warned students that the Board of Examiners would ask the location of these required items in the lifeboat. Captains could also provision lifeboats with added supplies such as additional fresh water, food and milk.

Board of Trade lifeboats were constructed with buoyancy tanks whose volume was based on a formula for the size of the boat. (Dimensions were engraved or chiseled into the wood on the bow, and the name of the lifeboats’ mother vessel was painted on both sides of the bow.) Buoyancy tanks were shaped to fit along the inside of the hull on each side of the lifeboat, under the thwarts, and at both ends of the boat. Originally fabricated from copper or zinc, they were later made from yellow metals (bronze or brass). When ''Norwich City'' survivors cut the bottom out of the overturned lifeboat to free four trapped men, it allowed the tanks to easily be removed and used for water or provision storage.<ref>Stilgoe, John R. ''Lifeboat''. University of Virginia Press: 2003</ref>

Tuesday morning ''Trongate'' and ''Lincoln Ellsworth'' arrived and stood off the island near the stranded vessel. ''Tongate''’s surfboat, manned by native islanders, came ashore bringing additional provisions. Second Officer Lott testified: “We took the stores and water from the surf boat and went to the camp.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] Food stores included in provisions at the shelter are described by Captain Hamer’s testimony of a meal: “we decided to have lunch. Biscuits, one in number covered with meat, and half a tin of milk. We used twelve tins of water to two of milk; for dessert we had cocoanut.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]

Dangerous surf precluded ''Trongate''’s surf boat from taking survivors off the island near the shelter location. A more suitable site needed to be found. Captain Hamer’s testimony describes their actions: “Before leaving camp all provisions etc., were placed in the shelter, but I sincerely hope that no-one will ever be so unfortunate as to need them.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
A few of the provisions including meat and probably water were taken along by the survivors when they left to find a better rescue location.

==Lifeboat equipment similar to that identified in the shelter photo.==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Lifeboat_diagram_showing_buoyancy_tank_location.jpg|The location of buoyancy tanks (air tanks) like those seen in the 1938 ''Norwich City'' shelter photo are shown in this lifeboat diagram. The tanks were shaped to fit the hull of the lifeboat. (Used by permission)
Image:Lifeboat_ration_tank_(brass).jpg‎|Provision tanks like this watertight brass canister were carried aboard lifeboats. One of the tanks pictured near the center of the 1938 shelter photo may have been such a provision tank. (Used by permission)
Image:Wooden_Cask_(TIGHAR_photo_by_Andrew_McKenna).jpg|This small wooden cask with a stopper on a chain is similar to the water "breaker" pictured in the Norwich City's survivors' shelter. (TIGHAR photo by Andrew McKenna)
Image:Sea_anchor_with_iron_ring.bmp|Conical sea anchor similar to one in the 1938 NZ Pacific Aviation Survey photo which had deteriorated. Note the iron ring at the large end which is also still visible in the photo. (Courtesy of www.globalsecurity.org)
Image:Lifeboat_Compass_(Courtesy_nauticalartifacts.com_).jpg‎|This lifeboat compass may be similar to what we see in the 1938 photo of the survivors' shelter. (Courtesy, nauticalartifacts.com)
</gallery>
</div>

==What was the “lee” of the island as referred to by the ''Norwich City'' crew?==
Second Officer Lott’s statement: “They told us that it was impossible to go through that surf again so we went to the lee side.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2] The prevailing wind on Gardner Island was from the northeast with the southwest side of the island generally referred to as the “lee” side. But during the storm, conditions for ''Norwich City'' survivors were reversed. With the wind blowing from the west or northwest, the lee side became the east or southeast of the island . “Lee side”, in nautical parlance means the side sheltered from the wind, or “down wind”. Therefore a location on the island’s south or southeast side would provide better shelter from the wind and seas, and a better chance of improved surf conditions.

==What was meant by “across the lagoon”?==
Captain Swindell stated, “When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Captain Swindell’s statement makes it clear that crossing the lagoon did not mean going across to Aukairame (north), but traversing its length, possibly portaging through Bauareke passage to reach the reef.

==What was meant by the” southeast corner” of the island as referred to by the rescuers?==
From Captain Hamer’s testimony: “The two vessels now cruised along the reef in search of a suitable place, the surf near the wreck being far too dangerous. A place was found about 1½ miles south of the wreck, the breakers being not quite so bad.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
Captain Swindell, Master of the ''Trongate'' gave similar testimony: “It was a physical impossibility to get the whale boat back to the TRONGATE at that spot, so I steamed along the reef to try to find a better landing. The Motor Ship LINCOLN ELLSWORTH which had arrived to render assistance followed the TRONGATE. When we rounded the south East corner of the Island, I observed the native crew taking the survivors across the lagoon towards the South East.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5]
When ''Trongate'' stopped about 1½ miles south of the wreck, she actually was near the southwest corner of the island, not the southeast; however, they cruised to the southeast to reach this corner, so it may be a matter of semantics. Nevertheless it was the “lee” of the island at the time.

==Were there other areas where provisions may have been left or where the survivors spent the night?==
After the Nutiran shelter containing the cached provisions was abandoned to find a more suitable location for rescue, one more night was spent on the island by remaining survivors. During the day Tuesday, as Captain Hamer testified, many attempts were made to cross the reef at the new rescue site 1½ miles south of the wreck. As crossing attempts continued, rescue locations were adjusted further and further to the southeast. Captain Hamer testified, “After several more unsuccessful attempts, it was suggested that they should go out alone, row along the edge of the surf to the southward, where possibly there would be a more suitable place, to which they agreed. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4] At the last minute, they attempted to take three survivors across, and this was successful. A note was sent with them from Captain Hamer which read:

"To the Master S.S.Trongate - the positions as to getting over that surf appears to be hopeless. The only thing I can see for it is a cruiser with a seaplane to alight in the lagoon inside, if possible. Send us as much water as you can as we have none. We have meat but a case of milk would come in useful also matches, chlorodyne as some of us are getting diarrhoea and any old boots (on pair size tens) and any old hats and tobacco. These (native) men from your ship say there is too much risk from sharks should the boat capsize when crossing the reef. Sorry to put you to all this bother and we all thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely Yours,
D Hamer, Master” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]

However, the boat returned to shore unable to bring the provisions requested by Captain Hamer. Now somewhat farther south than the original 1½ miles from the wreck, the native crew stayed ashore that night. Captain Hamer’s statement described the evening spent at this rescue site:
“The natives, however, were just beginning to get warmed up; they came back with what they considered a sumptuous meal, a few crabs as big as a plate and a sea bird or two, well pleased with themselves – in fact they were enjoying the outing. “A little matter of no matches, flint or steel didn’t worry them in the least. In less than half an hour we had a roaring fire, the natives making it by rubbing two pieces of dry stick together and setting fire to some fibre and dead cocoanut leaves. We made beds of leaves and settled down for the night.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity3.html#4]
This may have been where Henry E. “Harry” Maude and Cadet Officer Eric Bevington saw remnants of a bivouac mentioned in his journal entry of October 13, 1937, “We found many interesting things including signs of previous habitation.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Bevington_Diary.html]

The following morning three more survivors were taken across, the native crew returning with the requested provisions, but at a different location still, as described by Captain Swindell’s statement:
“We packed up all the stores and provisions asked for by the Master of the NORWICH CITY, and they were successfully taken ashore by the native boatmen: on this trip ashore they found a better landing.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity4.html#5] Second Officer Lott’s statement read “Shortly afterwards the boat returned but in a difference place, with water and provisions..” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity.html#2]
At this last location, further south still, the provisions requested by Captain Hamer were placed on the beach, and the remaining survivors were able to be taken off the island. Captain Hamer’s statement indicated some of the provisions brought ashore were taken back to the ship. “Finally there remained but three, the Second Officer, Senior Apprentice and myself and we decided to rest awhile, then if possible to take what we could of the stores etc., off with us. The natives gave us a hand to get them to the boat.” Captain Swindell described the final, trip across the surf: “Three more survivors over reef. From now on rescue completed. Boat taking water kegs and barrel each time and various requirements. The last survivors arrived on board "Trongate" 2.15 p.m.” [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Norwich_City/NorwichCity2.html]
It is unknown what provisions may have been left on the beach, if any; however the water barrels and kegs were returned to the ship. This location on the beach, if provisions were left, would have been the final repository of remaining provisions requested by Captain Hamer.

==Who may have had access to the provisions and equipment at the survivor’s shelter?==
It was extraordinarily difficult to cross the surf and reef to get ashore on Gardner Island (Nikumaroro), but unknown parties may have done so and had access to ''Norwich City'' provisions left on the island. There were, however, several posited and documented accounts of visitors who may have had access to the cached provisions between the 1929 grounding of ''Norwich City'', and the photographing of the ''Norwich City'' shelter by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey team in 1938.

*February 15, 1937, ''HMS Leith'' visited to erect a flagpole and placard proclaiming the island property of His Majesty the King.
*July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan may have landed on the reef (posited).
*October 13, 1937, Maude, Bevington and 19 Gilbertese “delegates” explored the island.
*November 30, 1938, New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition team of 15 men arrived.
*December 21, 1938, Maude and Gallagher dropped off a work party of 10 Gilbertese settlers.

==References:==
<references/>
==Links:==
[http://tighar.org/wiki/SS_Norwich_City SS ''Norwich City'']

[[Category:Nikumaroro|Norwich]]
[[Category:Maps|Norwich]]
[[Category:Archaeology of Nikumaroro]]

File:Norwich City Lifeboat 1938 (Wigram AFB Archives)).jpg

2011-11-27T22:27:40Z

Rickerjones: include length and weight in description.

Both ''Norwich City'' lifeboats washed ashore on Gardner. They were likely 26' and weighed 1800 pounds fully equipped. The bottom was cut out of one to free crewmen trapped under the capsized boat. This boat near the survivors’ camp was photographed in 1938 by the New Zealand Pacific Aviation Survey Expedition. (Courtesy , Wigram Air Force Base Archives, RNZAF)

Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937

2011-10-24T21:13:50Z

Rickerjones: /* The World Flight */

<div align=center>{{hint|“The factors which contribute to inaccuracies in surface navigation--currents other than anticipated or estimated, lack of sights, inaccurate radio bearings, etc.--are all encountered in aerial navigation and commonly in intensified form.”
Fred J. Noonan, [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am Memo], Subect: Navigation: Hawaiian Flight of NR 823-M, April 29, 1935}}</div>
Aviation’s early decades saw the continuing development of aircraft with more powerful, reliable engines enabling aviators to venture far out of sight of land. The need became apparent for improved air navigational capabilities--cockpit instrumentation, charts of appropriate scale with special symbols and features, more comprehensive wind and weather forecasting, faster celestial procedures, sextants with artificial horizons, two way radio communication and radio navigational aids among them. Aviation was the benefactor of maritime navigational technology and procedural “hand-me-downs”, often not easily adapted for aircraft use. Bulky, heavy marine equipment was ill-suited for the limited lift of air machines. Even the slowest aircraft cruised at speeds in the magnitude of 10 times that of ships. Navigational positions needed to be determined more rapidly; equipment needed to be easier to use in a small cockpit by pilots who often wore gloves. Aviators, like Charles A. Lindbergh, coped with navigational requirements while piloting the aircraft, but it soon became apparent that for extended flights, an additional crew member would be useful to allow the pilot to devote his full attention to controlling the aircraft. Aerial navigation began, however, with the maritime legacy as its progenitor.

==Early maritime navigation==
[[Image:Portolan_Chart_1024.png|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center"> Enhanced drawing of the Carta Pisana portolan navigational chart showing the method of portraying magnetic compass courses to the principal central and eastern Mediterranean ports. The mileage scale is depicted in the circles. Pilots did not reference latitude and longitude which are not portrayed on portolan charts. Courtesy, Douglas T. Peck, and http://www.NewWorldExplorersInc.org</div>]]
Ocean navigation began to develop during the European Renaissance with the advent of the magnetic compass. It was the compass that enabled ships to steer and hold a magnetic heading to their intended destination. The compass card defined 32 points known as winds. “Portolan” charts, depicted routes based on these winds and had no latitude and longitude reference. These charts were used by the vessel’s pilot, in conjunction with the “rutter” (from French “routier”), or sailing instructions, in order to follow a given magnetic heading to the destination. Navigation was done exclusively by [[dead reckoning]]--experienced pilots gauged the speed of their vessels by the wind in the sails, the wake, and the sounds and feel of their ships. Charted distances were often given in days of sailing time. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]
By the Columbian period, dead reckoning had become highly developed and quite reliable. Using pilotage, the master took his ship along the coast to a point at the same latitude as his destination, then followed the compass due east or west to destination. This technique was called “easting” or “westing”. A confidant of Columbus’ wrote, “A good pilot or master is not considered such if, in traveling over a great distance from land to land, out in the open sea with no indication of any land, he is off by ten leagues even when the trip is a thousand leagues long.” An empirical reconstruction of Columbus’ first voyage in 1492 was made using his logged magnetic headings and distances sailed for the 136 legs of the voyage, and demonstrated that Columbus’ dead reckoning provided 99.7% accuracy from departure to destination and return. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]

Little effort was made to integrate the “New Navigation” (celestial) with the proven dead reckoning, as celestial positioning was the province of the learned mathematicians and cosmographers, not the vessels’ pilots. Celestial navigation was not reliable on a rolling vessel with instruments of the period; sight reduction was immensely time consuming and very challenging mathematically. Celestial observations were primarily used on land by the cosmographers along on the voyage to determine the latitude at destination. Its purpose was to update the Master Chart for the Crown in order to validate claims of sovereignty over new territories, not for navigation. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/] Significant advances in reliable [[celestial navigation]] did not occur until the eighteenth century following the invention of the marine sextant (octant) and John Harrison’s development of a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time aboard a ship under sail.<ref>Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995</ref>

==Balloon navigation==
By the 19th century, balloon pilots were largely restricted to map reading as a method of navigation, pointing up the need for international cooperation for procedures to cross borders and to create dedicated aeronautical charts—ones which included symbols and information of obstructions, rail lines, roads, town and village shapes, forests and bodies of water. The need for more frequent and accurate wind forecasts became apparent. Although balloon pilots attempted to use celestial navigation, balloons rotated, making it difficult; cramped space made tedious computation and plotting impractical, even though balloonists experimented with bubble horizons on sextants and tabulated reduction methods. Not until lighter-than-air craft were powered by engines could they maintain a course for which the magnetic compass was useful. Development of the zeppelin and dirigible permitted longer voyages off-shore and they soon used adaptations of the mariner’s navigational equipment and techniques.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 3</ref>

==Aerial navigation of WW I==
[[Image:Gatty-Weems_Speed_&_Drift_Indicator_Patent.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Harold Gatty and P.V.H. Weems collaborated on this "Speed and Drift Indicator" patented in 1934. Both men had numerous inventions relating to air navigation.</div>]]
[[Image:Dalton_MK_VII_DR_computer_ca.jpg|200px|thumb|right| <div align="center">The Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer ca. 1935. Noonan's letter to P.V.H. Weems stated he used this model while flying the Pacific survey flights. (Used by permission.)</div>]]

The United States did not have a significant military aviation capability before its entry into the World War. The role of World War I aircraft was primarily that of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and aerial pursuit which required only pilotage, or map reading. Blimps and longer range aircraft were used to a lesser degree for patrolling off shore or for bombing behind enemy lines but had little additional navigational capability or crews trained in navigation. The Great War saw the development of the drift meter, more for use as a bomb sight than for navigation. The evolution of the compass accelerated during this period, as the inherent characteristics of the airborne compass detracted from its usefulness and had to be addressed. Rapid turns and attitude changes caused the compass card to swing excessively. Movement of the rudder pedals and control stick, if made from ferrous metal, caused the compass reading to change, as did the expenditure of bombs and ammunition, which had high iron content. Improvements developed by the end of the war included a remote indicating compass with the sensor near the tail, and another, having a lighter card with less inertia called an” aperiodic” compass. A later, development was the earth inductor compass which proved to be more stable, but difficulty in keeping the sensing component level during flight was never resolved. Night navigation was facilitated by providing instrument lighting. Two-way radios preceded the experimentation and development of rudimentary directional radio navigation using ground based stations, even though engine magneto interference, long antennas and oversized equipment were problematic.

The dead reckoning computer was another important development, with each country's air arm finding a different solution. The French favored a large plotting board used in conjunction with a chart. The U.S. and Britain used a circular slide rule, subsequently integrated with a graphic plotting surface which was placed on the reverse side. Later improved by Ensign Philip Dalton and called the Dalton computer, it eventually became commonly known as the E-6B. Instruments which contained optics, like the drift meter, and sextant were adversely affected by aircraft attitude changes, and their use required the pilot to maintain a level, stable platform. Sperry’s early gyroscope was imperfect, though it improved after the war and gyroscopic stabilization provided significant improvement for a number of navigational instruments. Other instruments that saw successful development were the altimeter with ranges expanding to 20,000 feet, the turn and bank indicator and the artificial horizon. [[Harold Gatty]] developed a method of wind determination called the “double drift maneuver” in the U. S. and the “wind star” in Britain,
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543] to calculate winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically by plotting vectors on a graph. (Wind could alternatively be determined by reading the drift on a single heading, at two different airspeeds, but the former was the preferred method.)

==World War to World Flight==
[[Image:M-130_Clipper_Nav_Station.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> The navigator's station on the M-130 Pan Am Clipper is shown with Flight Engineer Vic Wright. What may be Noonan's "preventer" in a Brandis sextant box is on the shelf above the chart table. (Used by permission)</div>]]

'''Commercial Aviation:''' The period following World War I saw the emergence of commercial aviation and expansion of air routes across both oceans. Planes which made the early transatlantic crossings were generally capable of carrying only the fuel required for the trip, but by the 1930’s several countries were using larger craft to experiment with passenger service between continents. France and Germany had experimental routes to South America. In 1931 the Graff Zeppelin offered service to Rio de Janeiro which lasted until 1937. By 1934 Deutsche Lufthansa began service across the South Atlantic followed by Air France in 1936. Pan Am had developed a network of routes in the Caribbean and South America, and in 1935 opened a Pacific Division carrying mail to Manila in November of that year. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 6</ref>

North Atlantic service developed more slowly, with political difficulties hindering international agreements. The Hindenburg made 10 round trips before exploding in 1937 during the first trip of that season. Pan Am and Imperial jointly developed the route from New York to Bermuda, but it was 1939 before Pan Am offered North Atlantic passenger service.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch 6</ref>

Airlines were very concerned with the safety of their passengers and the regularity of their service. They adopted near-universal policies regarding navigation—most stipulated that all forms of navigation available would be used at all times, with a comparison made of the results of each. If the navigational data was consistent, there was reasonable assurance of the aircraft’s position. If, not, the navigator attempted to verify the position with additional data. Navigation was sometimes called an “art”, as the navigator’s evaluation of the data used in interpolating a position was subjective based on his assessment of each element’s reliability. (Fred Noonan discussed some limitations of navigational methods, radio equipment, and the affects of personal errors in an internal [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am memo] written following the Alameda to Honolulu Clipper route surveys of April 1935.) Aside from dead reckoning, celestial navigation and radio bearings were the only overwater navigational methods available during this period. When flying in conditions of overcast skies or when in the clouds, radio alone could be relied upon and compared with a dead reckoning position. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

'''Instrument Technology:''' Instruments and equipment continued to improve during the decade of the 1930’s. The 1-5% instrument errors of the 1920’s gave way to substantial improvements in the 1930’s. Pitot and venturi systems were improved and relocated away from turbulent areas of the aircraft. Sperry, after a 10 year effort, developed a successful air bearing for the gyroscope (steel bearings affected the magnetic compass) enabling the gyro compass and autopilot to become reliable instruments. Combining the magnetic compass with the gyro was still some time away, but using the compass to reset the gyro was a workable alternative and was used aboard Earhart’s Electra. Aircraft stability with the use of the gyro compass and autopilot also increased the accuracy of celestial observations. Companies like Kollsman, Pioneer, Sperry Gyroscope, Link Aviation, and Aera of Paris continued to make many small incremental improvements in instruments, which together greatly increased their function and reliability.

There were two additional instruments under development, that didn’t appear until 1938, after the World Flight. One was the absolute or radio altimeter, necessary for accurate ground speed timing made with the drift meter; the other was the gyro-stabilization of the drift meter optics to permit more accurate drift determination in turbulent air. A method sometimes used to determine absolute altitude over oceans was to descend to sea level and reset the altimeter. The downside was the increased fuel consumption for the climb back to altitude. German zeppelin navigators were extremely interested in the atmospheric pressure system’s usefulness in wind determination and lowered an aneroid sensor on a tether to the ocean’s surface to determine the sea level atmospheric pressure.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, pp. 142-144</ref>

'''Celestial Navigation:''' Bubble chambers in sextants continued to be problematic. P. V. H. Weems, probably the period’s foremost proponent of celestial air navigation, exhorted sextant manufacturers to produce a more durable, reliable bubble chamber for the sextant. Weems also experimented by taking a series of celestial observations which were averaged to mitigate the acceleration errors induced in the bubble by aircraft axes motions. He made eleven groups of ten observations each, and even though one was 128 miles in error, he found that by averaging the observations, the overall error was 3 miles. The error using 10 observations, was 5 miles.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, p. 316</ref> Though none were available for the World Flight, several companies had mechanical sextant averagers under development with some being evaluated by the airlines in 1938.
[[Image:Dreisonstok_Reduction_Tables_&_Nautical_Almanac.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Dreisonstok's sight reduction tables and the 1937 Nautical Almanac like those used by Noonan on the second attempt of the World Flight. The Dreisonstok tables were very compact, but required more arithmetical operations than some other available methods. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

[[Image:Nautical Almanac 2 Jul 37.jpg|250px|thumb|right| <div align="center">This page of the 1937 American Nautical Almanac includes data for 2 July 1937. The Luke Field inventory listed two copies of this edition of the Nautical Almanac carried on board during the first attempt of the World Flight. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

'''Sight Reduction:''' Sight reduction is the mathematical solution of the spherical celestial triangle which provides the navigator with a geographical line of position from a celestial observation. As done by the mariner, it was a twenty minute procedure, adequate for slow
moving ships, but not suitable for aircraft. In 1874, a French naval officer, Captain (later Admiral) Marcq St. Hilaire, devised an iterative procedure, now called the intercept method. This concept was based upon an assumed position and calculated with haversines, resulting in a [[line of position]], or as some knew it, a “Sumner line”. Philip Van Horn Weems took the next giant step in speeding up the celestial sight
reduction process to five minutes or less. Weems challenged the hallowed methods of the Navy and set out to simplify calculations using the Moon for celestial navigation. He developed “The Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators” which worked so well, he applied it to stars, planets and the sun. It was published as the “Air Almanac” in 1933, though it was discontinued in 1934 by the [http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937 Nautical Almanac Office.] An enthusiastic endorsement of his Air Almanac by the British led them to publish it every year since 1937; the U.S Nautical Almanac Office resumed publication in 1941.<ref>Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac</ref> Weems encouraged fellow Naval officers Dreisonstok and Ageton who developed popular tabulated “short methods” in very concise formats, well suited for aviation. Not satisfied, Weems simplified the reduction process even further with his pre-computed “Star Altitude Curves” for pre-selected stars capable of producing good “cuts”. The navigator had only to enter a graph with the appropriate arguments and extract the data to plot his fix.<ref>Emmot, N.W., "The Grand Old Man of Navigation”</ref> [http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm] In his ''Air Navigation'' (1938) Weems wrote: “The weak link in celestial navigation at the present time is that altitudes cannot be observed with extreme accuracy with the present aircraft sextant. When, however, accurate altitudes can be observed, the recent methods (of sight reduction) give positions with great speed and accuracy.”
<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938</ref> In 1939 it was discovered celestial observations were in error due to acceleration of the bubble from the coriolis affect. This error of up to several miles varied with ground speed and latitude, and was uncompensated for at the time of the World Flight. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 153</ref>

'''Radio:''' Aircraft radio developed rapidly during the 1930’s, analogous to the fast-changing computer technology of today. A leader in the field of radio communications, the Western Electric division of AT&T, manufactured the Model 13C radio transmitter and the Model 20B receiver which were selected for the Earhart “Flying Laboratory”, but it was already three-year- old technology at the time of the World Flight.<ref>Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1]The Western Electric radios were adequate, but couldn’t be considered “top of the line”. Model 13C was 50 Watt, three-frequency transmitter operating in the 2500-6500 KHz range and was factory modified to operate on the maritime distress frequency of 500 KHz. As installed, it was capable of transmitting a Morse code signal as well as phone (voice).

Radio [[direction finding]] circuitry had been developed in the 1920’s. Ships and ground stations operated direction finding radio for years, but weight had been a limiting factor for aircraft. The first radio direction finder, or radio compass, designed for aircraft became available in the early 1930’s, and newer, upgraded technology developed by several companies was available by the mid thirties. The Earhart Lockheed was equipped with a new generation radio direction finder in 1936 (which became known as the automatic direction finder or ADF), designed by Frederick J. Hooven, Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Radio Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corp. However, Earhart removed this state of the art [[Hooven Radio Compass]] and installed one of lesser capability with older technology having a manually rotated [[loop antenna]], ostensibly to save 30 pounds of weight.<ref>Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html]

[[Image:Electra Navigator's Station.jpg|500px|thumb|center|<div align="center">The Electra's navigator's station was in the aft cabin behind the fuel tanks. Communication with the pilot was by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. ((c)William F. Harney,2006;(c)TIGHAR,2009)</div>]]

==The World Flight==
'''Navigational Equipment:''' The Electra’s navigator station was in the aft cabin, behind the internal fuselage fuel tanks. Communications between the navigator and pilot were by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. Following the [[Luke Field]], Hawaii takeoff accident, equipment for the first World Flight attempt was inventoried by U.S. Army personnel who shipped the Electra to Lockheed for repairs. This inventory gives us a glimpse of the equipment available for the second attempt of the World Flight.

'''Navigation Equipment Taken from the Luke Field Inventory'''[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field.html]
{|{{Prettytable}}
|-
|30
|align="right"|12
|Ea.
|Aircraft Water Lights
|-
|31
|align="right"|7
|Ea.
|Aluminum Direction Bombs
|-
|60
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Base Plate for speed and drift meter
|-
|89
|align="right"|1
|Book
|Radio Aids, Navigation
|-
|90
|align="right"|1
|Box
|Lead Pencils
|-
|91
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Broadcasting stations
|-
|92
|align="right"|2
|Books
|American Nautical Almanac 1937
|-
|93
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Coast Stations & Ship Stations
|-
|94
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Aeronautical Stations and aircraft stations
|-
|95
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Stations performing special services
|-
|96
|align="right"|2
|
|Navigation tables for Mariners and Aviators
|-
|97
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Envelope containing miscellaneous navigation papers
|-
|98
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Parallel
|-
|99
|align="right"|2
|Ea.
|Dividers
|-
|103
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Triangle
|-
|106
|align="right"|1
|Pkg.
|Navigation Charts and airplane log
|-
|107
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Speed & drift indicator, type D-270, with handbook
|-
|108
|align="right"|5
|Rolls
|Miscellaneous maps
|-
|112
|align="right"|3
|
|Folders with maps
|-
|115
|align="right"|1
|
|Pencil type flashlight
|-
|117
|align="right"|4
|
|Clocks, Start & Stop "Omega"
|-
|118
|align="right"|1
|
|Airspeed Indicator "Pioneer"
|-
|119
|align="right"|1
|
|Gage Air Temp. Model 602
|-
|121
|align="right"|1
|
|Altimeter, Kohlsman, 0 to 20,000
|-
|122
|align="right"|1
|
|Pelorus drift sight, MK II B with extra base
|-
|123
|align="right"|1
|
|Straight flight compass
|-
|125
|align="right"|2
|
|Parachute flares
|}

[[Image:Pioneer_Mark_III_Octant_Patent.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Carbonara's 1934 patent of the Pioneer Mk III octant similar to the one used on the first attempt of the World Flight. The bubble chamber of this octant was difficult to adjust and the averager,which provided a mean of several observations over a few minutes, had not been developed yet.</div>]]

A bubble octant is not listed in the inventory. [[Harry Manning]] had signed for Navy Pioneer Bubble Octant, Serial No. 12-36 from the Naval Air Station in San Diego and retained possession of it rather than have it shipped back with the damaged aircraft. Noonan then signed a receipt for the octant on Matson Line stationery and gave it to Manning following the Luke Field accident. We do not know whether Noonan used that instrument on the second attempt or whether he returned it and used something else. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Forum_Archives/200202.txt] <ref>Long, Elgen M., Amelia Earhart, the Mystery Solved, Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y., 2001, p. 73</ref>
[[Image:Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot.jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot cockpit control unit. The gyroscopic stabilized autopilot improved the accuracy of sextant observations by reducing acceleration errors in the bubble chamber from aircraft axes movements. ((c)Tighar)</div>]]

Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with the Sperry “AutoGyro Automatic Pilot”, providing a more stable platform for the navigator’s celestial observations increasing their accuracy. Also on the Electra was a Mk IIB Pelorus drift sight with an extra base to facilitate its use on either side of the aircraft. Adequate for drift readings during stable flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate drift readings in any amount turbulence. The inventory also listed a second “Speed and Drift Indicator, type D-270” with a base. A ''New York Herald Tribune'' article included in ''Amelia, My Courageous Sister'', by Earhart’s sister Muriel Morrissey, described how the drift sight was used. “An arrangement has been devised to open the cabin door about four inches, where it is held rigidly in place. A Pioneer drift indicator is mounted for use looking down through this aperture to check wind drift on the earth or sea below. For this work flares are used at night over water, smoke bombs in daylight.” <ref>Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987, p. 192</ref> Drift bombs, used in lieu of the less visible smoke bombs, were ceramic or glass bomblets filled with either bronze or aluminum shavings. They broke on impact with the water, and created a spreading reflective surface on the water that could be tracked with the drift sight. Magnesium water lights were used similarly during darkness.

The Lockheed Electra 10E was fitted with low distortion windows in several positions to minimize refraction errors during celestial observations. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 156</ref> (Military navigators were later cautioned to avoid using windows for celestial observations, and not to observe celestial bodies below 11 degrees, due to the excessive refraction error.)<ref>Air Force Navigator Observer Association, "DR Ahead",Vol 27 No. 1, January 2011 </ref> [http://www.afnoa.org/]

While the Earhart Electra 10E Special was initially equipped with adequate navigational equipment, modifications to communications equipment made following the Luke Field accident were not well thought out, and were accomplished by technicians who may not have been fully aware of the nuances of radio wave [[propagation]]. The [[trailing antenna]] system had been a victim of the accident and was not replaced. A modification to lengthen the dorsal “V” antenna inadequately compensated for the trailing wire antenna’s loss, and resulted in degraded radio performance on all frequencies.

''' Noonan’s Navigational Procedures:''' In a letter to Weems, [[Fred Noonan]] described his navigational procedures during a 1935 Pan Am Pacific flight, stating that he used a “Pioneer octant with a mariner’s [[sextant]] as a “preventer”. Noonan also described carrying marine general, coastwise, and harbor charts, as well as aviation strip charts of the California coast. During the Pan Am flights overwater navigation was done on VP-3 and VP-4 plotting sheets (blank charts for a band of latitudes with user defined longitude lines). These were reused by relabeling the longitude lines and transferring his position to continue at the appropriate latitude on the same chart. This allowed him to use only two charts for the overwater passage. In the letter, Noonan also told of his preference for Dreisonstok’s reduction tables, and the Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, pp. 423-425</ref> Pan Am navigational policy, which Noonan helped develop, dictated that celestial positions were to be taken hourly, or more frequently, day or night. All forms of navigation would be used, and positional data would be cross checked between the different methods. It was also Pan Am policy that at least two direction finding stations would “track” the aircraft at all times, and aircraft [[DF]] equipment would be used to take bearings. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

Original charts of the Oakland to Honolulu leg of the World Flight [[first attempt]] illustrated the use of the following navigational techniques:
* 7 radio bearings
* 14 star/planet LOP’s
* 9 navigational fixes
* 4 course corrections
The flight path proved to be consistent with subsequent meteorological patterns for the area, and that corrections were made when deviation from course became too great.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D., The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR,2006</ref> [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html]
The archived chart for the June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil to [[Dakar]], Senegal, leg of the second attempt of the World Flight, showed that Noonan used 5 sun line LOP’s including a noon position. A portion of this chart is shown
[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf here] to illustrate his chart work.

== Photo Gallery ==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Potting Sheet Example.bmp|An example of a plotting sheet devoid of geographic features. Used off-shore, the navigator must assign the longitude (and in this example the latitude also) for the area he is traversing. The VP-3 and VP-4 used by Noonan while with Pan Am were similar. (Courtesy: Ed Falk,www.efalk.org)
Image:Ceramic_Drift_Bomb.jpg‎|Ceramic or glass drift bombs were filled with aluminum or bronze flakes and dropped over water during daylight, breaking on impact. The metal particles would spread to form a bright reflection which the navigator could follow with the drift sight. (Used by permission)
Image:MK_IIB_Pelorus_Drift_Sight.jpg‎|A Mark IIB pelorus drift sight like that installed on the Earhart Lockheed Electra 10E for the World Flight. A U.S. Army inventory made following the Luke Field accident included this type drift sight and an extra base, plausibly for mounting the drift sight on either side of the aircraft. (Courtesy: Chris Rudge www.warbirdsite.com)

</gallery>
</div>
== Footnotes ==
<references />

==Bibliography==

Ageton, Arthur A., Manual of Celestial Navigation, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942

Dreisonstok, J. Y., Navigation Tables for Mariners and Aviators, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1930

Eberle, William C. and Weems, P.V.H., Learning to Navigate, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York and Chicago, 1939

Kells, Kern & Bland, Spherical Trigonometry with Naval and
Military Applications, USNA, 1942.

Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987

Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995

Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938

Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

==References==
[http://www.erikdeman.de/html/sail040u.htm Ageton's Tables for Sight Reduction]

[http://www.afnoa.org/ Air Force Navigator Observer Association]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543 BBC Home Page, Harold Gatty, Prince of Navigators]

[http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm Emmot, N.W., The Grand Old Man of Navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1| Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020]

[https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/ Fred Noonan and Amelia Earhart plus general flight navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/AEdescr1.html The Institute for Aviation History: The Earhart Project]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D.,The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR, 2006]

[http://kakopa.com/geo/cnhist.htm Milestones in Celestial Navigation]

[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937| Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac]

[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf Noonan’s South Atlantic Chart of the World Flight June 7, 1937]

[http://www.texlex.com/images/NavigationOptimum1.pdf Sight Reduction for Navigation]

[http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/EarlyNavigation.pdf Peck, Douglas T., The History of Early Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation: Empirical Reality Versus Theory]

[http://searchforamelia.org/category/research/overview-research Waitt Institute for Discovery, Search for Amelia, 2009]


[[Category:Navigation]]

Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937

2011-10-24T20:29:18Z

Rickerjones: /* Aerial navigation of WW I */

<div align=center>{{hint|“The factors which contribute to inaccuracies in surface navigation--currents other than anticipated or estimated, lack of sights, inaccurate radio bearings, etc.--are all encountered in aerial navigation and commonly in intensified form.”
Fred J. Noonan, [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am Memo], Subect: Navigation: Hawaiian Flight of NR 823-M, April 29, 1935}}</div>
Aviation’s early decades saw the continuing development of aircraft with more powerful, reliable engines enabling aviators to venture far out of sight of land. The need became apparent for improved air navigational capabilities--cockpit instrumentation, charts of appropriate scale with special symbols and features, more comprehensive wind and weather forecasting, faster celestial procedures, sextants with artificial horizons, two way radio communication and radio navigational aids among them. Aviation was the benefactor of maritime navigational technology and procedural “hand-me-downs”, often not easily adapted for aircraft use. Bulky, heavy marine equipment was ill-suited for the limited lift of air machines. Even the slowest aircraft cruised at speeds in the magnitude of 10 times that of ships. Navigational positions needed to be determined more rapidly; equipment needed to be easier to use in a small cockpit by pilots who often wore gloves. Aviators, like Charles A. Lindbergh, coped with navigational requirements while piloting the aircraft, but it soon became apparent that for extended flights, an additional crew member would be useful to allow the pilot to devote his full attention to controlling the aircraft. Aerial navigation began, however, with the maritime legacy as its progenitor.

==Early maritime navigation==
[[Image:Portolan_Chart_1024.png|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center"> Enhanced drawing of the Carta Pisana portolan navigational chart showing the method of portraying magnetic compass courses to the principal central and eastern Mediterranean ports. The mileage scale is depicted in the circles. Pilots did not reference latitude and longitude which are not portrayed on portolan charts. Courtesy, Douglas T. Peck, and http://www.NewWorldExplorersInc.org</div>]]
Ocean navigation began to develop during the European Renaissance with the advent of the magnetic compass. It was the compass that enabled ships to steer and hold a magnetic heading to their intended destination. The compass card defined 32 points known as winds. “Portolan” charts, depicted routes based on these winds and had no latitude and longitude reference. These charts were used by the vessel’s pilot, in conjunction with the “rutter” (from French “routier”), or sailing instructions, in order to follow a given magnetic heading to the destination. Navigation was done exclusively by [[dead reckoning]]--experienced pilots gauged the speed of their vessels by the wind in the sails, the wake, and the sounds and feel of their ships. Charted distances were often given in days of sailing time. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]
By the Columbian period, dead reckoning had become highly developed and quite reliable. Using pilotage, the master took his ship along the coast to a point at the same latitude as his destination, then followed the compass due east or west to destination. This technique was called “easting” or “westing”. A confidant of Columbus’ wrote, “A good pilot or master is not considered such if, in traveling over a great distance from land to land, out in the open sea with no indication of any land, he is off by ten leagues even when the trip is a thousand leagues long.” An empirical reconstruction of Columbus’ first voyage in 1492 was made using his logged magnetic headings and distances sailed for the 136 legs of the voyage, and demonstrated that Columbus’ dead reckoning provided 99.7% accuracy from departure to destination and return. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]

Little effort was made to integrate the “New Navigation” (celestial) with the proven dead reckoning, as celestial positioning was the province of the learned mathematicians and cosmographers, not the vessels’ pilots. Celestial navigation was not reliable on a rolling vessel with instruments of the period; sight reduction was immensely time consuming and very challenging mathematically. Celestial observations were primarily used on land by the cosmographers along on the voyage to determine the latitude at destination. Its purpose was to update the Master Chart for the Crown in order to validate claims of sovereignty over new territories, not for navigation. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/] Significant advances in reliable [[celestial navigation]] did not occur until the eighteenth century following the invention of the marine sextant (octant) and John Harrison’s development of a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time aboard a ship under sail.<ref>Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995</ref>

==Balloon navigation==
By the 19th century, balloon pilots were largely restricted to map reading as a method of navigation, pointing up the need for international cooperation for procedures to cross borders and to create dedicated aeronautical charts—ones which included symbols and information of obstructions, rail lines, roads, town and village shapes, forests and bodies of water. The need for more frequent and accurate wind forecasts became apparent. Although balloon pilots attempted to use celestial navigation, balloons rotated, making it difficult; cramped space made tedious computation and plotting impractical, even though balloonists experimented with bubble horizons on sextants and tabulated reduction methods. Not until lighter-than-air craft were powered by engines could they maintain a course for which the magnetic compass was useful. Development of the zeppelin and dirigible permitted longer voyages off-shore and they soon used adaptations of the mariner’s navigational equipment and techniques.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 3</ref>

==Aerial navigation of WW I==
[[Image:Gatty-Weems_Speed_&_Drift_Indicator_Patent.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Harold Gatty and P.V.H. Weems collaborated on this "Speed and Drift Indicator" patented in 1934. Both men had numerous inventions relating to air navigation.</div>]]
[[Image:Dalton_MK_VII_DR_computer_ca.jpg|200px|thumb|right| <div align="center">The Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer ca. 1935. Noonan's letter to P.V.H. Weems stated he used this model while flying the Pacific survey flights. (Used by permission.)</div>]]

The United States did not have a significant military aviation capability before its entry into the World War. The role of World War I aircraft was primarily that of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and aerial pursuit which required only pilotage, or map reading. Blimps and longer range aircraft were used to a lesser degree for patrolling off shore or for bombing behind enemy lines but had little additional navigational capability or crews trained in navigation. The Great War saw the development of the drift meter, more for use as a bomb sight than for navigation. The evolution of the compass accelerated during this period, as the inherent characteristics of the airborne compass detracted from its usefulness and had to be addressed. Rapid turns and attitude changes caused the compass card to swing excessively. Movement of the rudder pedals and control stick, if made from ferrous metal, caused the compass reading to change, as did the expenditure of bombs and ammunition, which had high iron content. Improvements developed by the end of the war included a remote indicating compass with the sensor near the tail, and another, having a lighter card with less inertia called an” aperiodic” compass. A later, development was the earth inductor compass which proved to be more stable, but difficulty in keeping the sensing component level during flight was never resolved. Night navigation was facilitated by providing instrument lighting. Two-way radios preceded the experimentation and development of rudimentary directional radio navigation using ground based stations, even though engine magneto interference, long antennas and oversized equipment were problematic.

The dead reckoning computer was another important development, with each country's air arm finding a different solution. The French favored a large plotting board used in conjunction with a chart. The U.S. and Britain used a circular slide rule, subsequently integrated with a graphic plotting surface which was placed on the reverse side. Later improved by Ensign Philip Dalton and called the Dalton computer, it eventually became commonly known as the E-6B. Instruments which contained optics, like the drift meter, and sextant were adversely affected by aircraft attitude changes, and their use required the pilot to maintain a level, stable platform. Sperry’s early gyroscope was imperfect, though it improved after the war and gyroscopic stabilization provided significant improvement for a number of navigational instruments. Other instruments that saw successful development were the altimeter with ranges expanding to 20,000 feet, the turn and bank indicator and the artificial horizon. [[Harold Gatty]] developed a method of wind determination called the “double drift maneuver” in the U. S. and the “wind star” in Britain,
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543] to calculate winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically by plotting vectors on a graph. (Wind could alternatively be determined by reading the drift on a single heading, at two different airspeeds, but the former was the preferred method.)

==World War to World Flight==
[[Image:M-130_Clipper_Nav_Station.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> The navigator's station on the M-130 Pan Am Clipper is shown with Flight Engineer Vic Wright. What may be Noonan's "preventer" in a Brandis sextant box is on the shelf above the chart table. (Used by permission)</div>]]

'''Commercial Aviation:''' The period following World War I saw the emergence of commercial aviation and expansion of air routes across both oceans. Planes which made the early transatlantic crossings were generally capable of carrying only the fuel required for the trip, but by the 1930’s several countries were using larger craft to experiment with passenger service between continents. France and Germany had experimental routes to South America. In 1931 the Graff Zeppelin offered service to Rio de Janeiro which lasted until 1937. By 1934 Deutsche Lufthansa began service across the South Atlantic followed by Air France in 1936. Pan Am had developed a network of routes in the Caribbean and South America, and in 1935 opened a Pacific Division carrying mail to Manila in November of that year. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 6</ref>

North Atlantic service developed more slowly, with political difficulties hindering international agreements. The Hindenburg made 10 round trips before exploding in 1937 during the first trip of that season. Pan Am and Imperial jointly developed the route from New York to Bermuda, but it was 1939 before Pan Am offered North Atlantic passenger service.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch 6</ref>

Airlines were very concerned with the safety of their passengers and the regularity of their service. They adopted near-universal policies regarding navigation—most stipulated that all forms of navigation available would be used at all times, with a comparison made of the results of each. If the navigational data was consistent, there was reasonable assurance of the aircraft’s position. If, not, the navigator attempted to verify the position with additional data. Navigation was sometimes called an “art”, as the navigator’s evaluation of the data used in interpolating a position was subjective based on his assessment of each element’s reliability. (Fred Noonan discussed some limitations of navigational methods, radio equipment, and the affects of personal errors in an internal [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am memo] written following the Alameda to Honolulu Clipper route surveys of April 1935.) Aside from dead reckoning, celestial navigation and radio bearings were the only overwater navigational methods available during this period. When flying in conditions of overcast skies or when in the clouds, radio alone could be relied upon and compared with a dead reckoning position. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

'''Instrument Technology:''' Instruments and equipment continued to improve during the decade of the 1930’s. The 1-5% instrument errors of the 1920’s gave way to substantial improvements in the 1930’s. Pitot and venturi systems were improved and relocated away from turbulent areas of the aircraft. Sperry, after a 10 year effort, developed a successful air bearing for the gyroscope (steel bearings affected the magnetic compass) enabling the gyro compass and autopilot to become reliable instruments. Combining the magnetic compass with the gyro was still some time away, but using the compass to reset the gyro was a workable alternative and was used aboard Earhart’s Electra. Aircraft stability with the use of the gyro compass and autopilot also increased the accuracy of celestial observations. Companies like Kollsman, Pioneer, Sperry Gyroscope, Link Aviation, and Aera of Paris continued to make many small incremental improvements in instruments, which together greatly increased their function and reliability.

There were two additional instruments under development, that didn’t appear until 1938, after the World Flight. One was the absolute or radio altimeter, necessary for accurate ground speed timing made with the drift meter; the other was the gyro-stabilization of the drift meter optics to permit more accurate drift determination in turbulent air. A method sometimes used to determine absolute altitude over oceans was to descend to sea level and reset the altimeter. The downside was the increased fuel consumption for the climb back to altitude. German zeppelin navigators were extremely interested in the atmospheric pressure system’s usefulness in wind determination and lowered an aneroid sensor on a tether to the ocean’s surface to determine the sea level atmospheric pressure.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, pp. 142-144</ref>

'''Celestial Navigation:''' Bubble chambers in sextants continued to be problematic. P. V. H. Weems, probably the period’s foremost proponent of celestial air navigation, exhorted sextant manufacturers to produce a more durable, reliable bubble chamber for the sextant. Weems also experimented by taking a series of celestial observations which were averaged to mitigate the acceleration errors induced in the bubble by aircraft axes motions. He made eleven groups of ten observations each, and even though one was 128 miles in error, he found that by averaging the observations, the overall error was 3 miles. The error using 10 observations, was 5 miles.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, p. 316</ref> Though none were available for the World Flight, several companies had mechanical sextant averagers under development with some being evaluated by the airlines in 1938.
[[Image:Dreisonstok_Reduction_Tables_&_Nautical_Almanac.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Dreisonstok's sight reduction tables and the 1937 Nautical Almanac like those used by Noonan on the second attempt of the World Flight. The Dreisonstok tables were very compact, but required more arithmetical operations than some other available methods. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

[[Image:Nautical Almanac 2 Jul 37.jpg|250px|thumb|right| <div align="center">This page of the 1937 American Nautical Almanac includes data for 2 July 1937. The Luke Field inventory listed two copies of this edition of the Nautical Almanac carried on board during the first attempt of the World Flight. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

'''Sight Reduction:''' Sight reduction is the mathematical solution of the spherical celestial triangle which provides the navigator with a geographical line of position from a celestial observation. As done by the mariner, it was a twenty minute procedure, adequate for slow
moving ships, but not suitable for aircraft. In 1874, a French naval officer, Captain (later Admiral) Marcq St. Hilaire, devised an iterative procedure, now called the intercept method. This concept was based upon an assumed position and calculated with haversines, resulting in a [[line of position]], or as some knew it, a “Sumner line”. Philip Van Horn Weems took the next giant step in speeding up the celestial sight
reduction process to five minutes or less. Weems challenged the hallowed methods of the Navy and set out to simplify calculations using the Moon for celestial navigation. He developed “The Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators” which worked so well, he applied it to stars, planets and the sun. It was published as the “Air Almanac” in 1933, though it was discontinued in 1934 by the [http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937 Nautical Almanac Office.] An enthusiastic endorsement of his Air Almanac by the British led them to publish it every year since 1937; the U.S Nautical Almanac Office resumed publication in 1941.<ref>Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac</ref> Weems encouraged fellow Naval officers Dreisonstok and Ageton who developed popular tabulated “short methods” in very concise formats, well suited for aviation. Not satisfied, Weems simplified the reduction process even further with his pre-computed “Star Altitude Curves” for pre-selected stars capable of producing good “cuts”. The navigator had only to enter a graph with the appropriate arguments and extract the data to plot his fix.<ref>Emmot, N.W., "The Grand Old Man of Navigation”</ref> [http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm] In his ''Air Navigation'' (1938) Weems wrote: “The weak link in celestial navigation at the present time is that altitudes cannot be observed with extreme accuracy with the present aircraft sextant. When, however, accurate altitudes can be observed, the recent methods (of sight reduction) give positions with great speed and accuracy.”
<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938</ref> In 1939 it was discovered celestial observations were in error due to acceleration of the bubble from the coriolis affect. This error of up to several miles varied with ground speed and latitude, and was uncompensated for at the time of the World Flight. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 153</ref>

'''Radio:''' Aircraft radio developed rapidly during the 1930’s, analogous to the fast-changing computer technology of today. A leader in the field of radio communications, the Western Electric division of AT&T, manufactured the Model 13C radio transmitter and the Model 20B receiver which were selected for the Earhart “Flying Laboratory”, but it was already three-year- old technology at the time of the World Flight.<ref>Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1]The Western Electric radios were adequate, but couldn’t be considered “top of the line”. Model 13C was 50 Watt, three-frequency transmitter operating in the 2500-6500 KHz range and was factory modified to operate on the maritime distress frequency of 500 KHz. As installed, it was capable of transmitting a Morse code signal as well as phone (voice).

Radio [[direction finding]] circuitry had been developed in the 1920’s. Ships and ground stations operated direction finding radio for years, but weight had been a limiting factor for aircraft. The first radio direction finder, or radio compass, designed for aircraft became available in the early 1930’s, and newer, upgraded technology developed by several companies was available by the mid thirties. The Earhart Lockheed was equipped with a new generation radio direction finder in 1936 (which became known as the automatic direction finder or ADF), designed by Frederick J. Hooven, Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Radio Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corp. However, Earhart removed this state of the art [[Hooven Radio Compass]] and installed one of lesser capability with older technology having a manually rotated [[loop antenna]], ostensibly to save 30 pounds of weight.<ref>Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html]

[[Image:Electra Navigator's Station.jpg|500px|thumb|center|<div align="center">The Electra's navigator's station was in the aft cabin behind the fuel tanks. Communication with the pilot was by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. ((c)William F. Harney,2006;(c)TIGHAR,2009)</div>]]

==The World Flight==
'''Navigational Equipment:''' The Electra’s navigator station was in the aft cabin, behind the internal fuselage fuel tanks. Communications between the navigator and pilot were by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. Following the [[Luke Field]], Hawaii takeoff accident, equipment for the first World Flight attempt was inventoried by U.S. Army personnel who shipped the Electra to Lockheed for repairs. This inventory gives us a glimpse of the equipment available for the second attempt of the World Flight.

'''Navigation Equipment Taken from the Luke Field Inventory'''[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field.html]
{|{{Prettytable}}
|-
|30
|align="right"|12
|Ea.
|Aircraft Water Lights
|-
|31
|align="right"|7
|Ea.
|Aluminum Direction Bombs
|-
|60
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Base Plate for speed and drift meter
|-
|89
|align="right"|1
|Book
|Radio Aids, Navigation
|-
|90
|align="right"|1
|Box
|Lead Pencils
|-
|91
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Broadcasting stations
|-
|92
|align="right"|2
|Books
|American Nautical Almanac 1937
|-
|93
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Coast Stations & Ship Stations
|-
|94
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Aeronautical Stations and aircraft stations
|-
|95
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Stations performing special services
|-
|96
|align="right"|2
|
|Navigation tables for Mariners and Aviators
|-
|97
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Envelope containing miscellaneous navigation papers
|-
|98
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Parallel
|-
|99
|align="right"|2
|Ea.
|Dividers
|-
|103
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Triangle
|-
|106
|align="right"|1
|Pkg.
|Navigation Charts and airplane log
|-
|107
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Speed & drift indicator, type D-270, with handbook
|-
|108
|align="right"|5
|Rolls
|Miscellaneous maps
|-
|112
|align="right"|3
|
|Folders with maps
|-
|115
|align="right"|1
|
|Pencil type flashlight
|-
|117
|align="right"|4
|
|Clocks, Start & Stop "Omega"
|-
|118
|align="right"|1
|
|Airspeed Indicator "Pioneer"
|-
|119
|align="right"|1
|
|Gage Air Temp. Model 602
|-
|121
|align="right"|1
|
|Altimeter, Kohlsman, 0 to 20,000
|-
|122
|align="right"|1
|
|Pelorus drift sight, MK II B with extra base
|-
|123
|align="right"|1
|
|Straight flight compass
|-
|125
|align="right"|2
|
|Parachute flares
|}

[[Image:Pioneer_Mark_III_Octant_Patent.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Carbonara's 1934 patent of the Pioneer Mk III octant similar to the one used on the first attempt of the World Flight. The bubble chamber of this octant was difficult to adjust and the averager,which provided a mean of several observations over a few minutes, had not been developed yet.</div>]]

A bubble octant is not listed in the inventory. [[Harry Manning]] had signed for Navy Pioneer Bubble Octant, Serial No. 12-36 from the Naval Air Station in San Diego and retained possession of it rather than have it shipped back with the damaged aircraft. Noonan then signed a receipt for the octant on Matson Line stationery and gave it to Manning following the Luke Field accident. We do not know whether Noonan used that instrument on the second attempt or whether he returned it and used something else. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Forum_Archives/200202.txt] <ref>Long, Elgen M., Amelia Earhart, the Mystery Solved, Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y., 2001, p. 73</ref>
[[Image:Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot.jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot cockpit control unit. The gyroscopic stabilized autopilot improved the accuracy of sextant observations by reducing acceleration errors in the bubble chamber from aircraft axes movements. ((c)Tighar)</div>]]

Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with the Sperry “AutoGyro Automatic Pilot”, providing a more stable platform for the navigator’s celestial observations increasing their accuracy. Also on the Electra was a Mk IIB Pelorus drift sight with an extra base to facilitate its use on either side of the aircraft. Adequate for drift readings during stable flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate drift readings in any amount turbulence. The inventory also listed a second “Speed and Drift Indicator, type D-270” with a base. A ''New York Herald Tribune'' article included in ''Amelia, My Courageous Sister'', by Earhart’s sister Muriel Morrissey, described how the drift sight was used. “An arrangement has been devised to open the cabin door about four inches, where it is held rigidly in place. A Pioneer drift indicator is mounted for use looking down through this aperture to check wind drift on the earth or sea below. For this work flares are used at night over water, smoke bombs in daylight.” <ref>Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987, p. 192</ref> Drift bombs, used in lieu of the less visible smoke bombs, were ceramic or glass bomblets filled with either bronze or aluminum shavings. They broke on impact with the water, and created a spreading reflective surface on the water that could be tracked with the drift sight. Magnesium water lights were used similarly during darkness.

The Lockheed Electra 10E was fitted with low distortion windows in several positions to minimize refraction errors during celestial observations. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 156</ref> (Military navigators were later cautioned to avoid using windows for celestial observations, and not to observe celestial bodies below 11 degrees, due to the excessive refraction error.)<ref>Air Force Navigator Observer Association, "DR Ahead",Vol 27 No. 1, January 2011 </ref> [http://www.afnoa.org/]

While the Earhart Electra 10E Special was initially equipped with adequate navigational equipment, modifications to communications equipment made following the Luke Field accident were not well thought out, and were accomplished by technicians who may not have been fully aware of the nuances of radio wave [[propagation]]. The [[trailing antenna]] system had been a victim of the accident and was not replaced. A modification to lengthen the dorsal “V” antenna inadequately compensated for the trailing wire antenna’s loss, and resulted in degraded radio performance on all frequencies.

''' Noonan’s Navigational Procedures:''' In a letter to Weems, [[Fred Noonan]] described his navigational procedures during a 1935 Pan Am Pacific flight, stating that he used a “Pioneer octant with a mariner’s [[sextant]] as a “preventer”. Noonan also described carrying marine general, coastwise, and harbor charts, as well as aviation strip charts of the California coast. During the Pan Am flights overwater navigation was done on VP-3 and VP-4 plotting sheets (blank charts for a band of latitudes with user defined longitude lines). These were reused by relabeling the longitude lines and transferring his position to continue at the appropriate latitude on the same chart. This allowed him to use only two charts for the overwater passage. In the letter, Noonan also told of his preference for Dreisonstok’s reduction tables, and the Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, pp. 423-425</ref> Pan Am navigational policy, which Noonan helped develop, dictated that celestial positions were to be taken hourly, or more frequently, day or night. All forms of navigation would be used, and positional data would be cross checked between the different methods. It was also Pan Am policy that at least two direction finding stations would “track” the aircraft at all times, and aircraft [[DF]] equipment would be used take bearings. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

Original charts of the Oakland to Honolulu leg of the World Flight [[first attempt]] illustrated the use of the following navigational techniques:
* 7 radio bearings
* 14 star/planet LOP’s
* 9 navigational fixes
* 4 course corrections
The flight path proved to be consistent with subsequent meteorological patterns for the area, and that corrections were made when deviation from course became too great.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D., The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR,2006</ref> [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html]
The archived chart for the June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil to [[Dakar]], Senegal, leg of the second attempt of the World Flight, showed that Noonan used 5 sun line LOP’s including a noon position. A portion of this chart is shown
[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf here] to illustrate his chart work.

== Photo Gallery ==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Potting Sheet Example.bmp|An example of a plotting sheet devoid of geographic features. Used off-shore, the navigator must assign the longitude (and in this example the latitude also) for the area he is traversing. The VP-3 and VP-4 used by Noonan while with Pan Am were similar. (Courtesy: Ed Falk,www.efalk.org)
Image:Ceramic_Drift_Bomb.jpg‎|Ceramic or glass drift bombs were filled with aluminum or bronze flakes and dropped over water during daylight, breaking on impact. The metal particles would spread to form a bright reflection which the navigator could follow with the drift sight. (Used by permission)
Image:MK_IIB_Pelorus_Drift_Sight.jpg‎|A Mark IIB pelorus drift sight like that installed on the Earhart Lockheed Electra 10E for the World Flight. A U.S. Army inventory made following the Luke Field accident included this type drift sight and an extra base, plausibly for mounting the drift sight on either side of the aircraft. (Courtesy: Chris Rudge www.warbirdsite.com)

</gallery>
</div>
== Footnotes ==
<references />

==Bibliography==

Ageton, Arthur A., Manual of Celestial Navigation, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942

Dreisonstok, J. Y., Navigation Tables for Mariners and Aviators, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1930

Eberle, William C. and Weems, P.V.H., Learning to Navigate, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York and Chicago, 1939

Kells, Kern & Bland, Spherical Trigonometry with Naval and
Military Applications, USNA, 1942.

Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987

Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995

Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938

Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

==References==
[http://www.erikdeman.de/html/sail040u.htm Ageton's Tables for Sight Reduction]

[http://www.afnoa.org/ Air Force Navigator Observer Association]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543 BBC Home Page, Harold Gatty, Prince of Navigators]

[http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm Emmot, N.W., The Grand Old Man of Navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1| Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020]

[https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/ Fred Noonan and Amelia Earhart plus general flight navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/AEdescr1.html The Institute for Aviation History: The Earhart Project]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D.,The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR, 2006]

[http://kakopa.com/geo/cnhist.htm Milestones in Celestial Navigation]

[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937| Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac]

[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf Noonan’s South Atlantic Chart of the World Flight June 7, 1937]

[http://www.texlex.com/images/NavigationOptimum1.pdf Sight Reduction for Navigation]

[http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/EarlyNavigation.pdf Peck, Douglas T., The History of Early Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation: Empirical Reality Versus Theory]

[http://searchforamelia.org/category/research/overview-research Waitt Institute for Discovery, Search for Amelia, 2009]


[[Category:Navigation]]

Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937

2011-10-24T20:21:51Z

Rickerjones: /* Balloon navigation */

<div align=center>{{hint|“The factors which contribute to inaccuracies in surface navigation--currents other than anticipated or estimated, lack of sights, inaccurate radio bearings, etc.--are all encountered in aerial navigation and commonly in intensified form.”
Fred J. Noonan, [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am Memo], Subect: Navigation: Hawaiian Flight of NR 823-M, April 29, 1935}}</div>
Aviation’s early decades saw the continuing development of aircraft with more powerful, reliable engines enabling aviators to venture far out of sight of land. The need became apparent for improved air navigational capabilities--cockpit instrumentation, charts of appropriate scale with special symbols and features, more comprehensive wind and weather forecasting, faster celestial procedures, sextants with artificial horizons, two way radio communication and radio navigational aids among them. Aviation was the benefactor of maritime navigational technology and procedural “hand-me-downs”, often not easily adapted for aircraft use. Bulky, heavy marine equipment was ill-suited for the limited lift of air machines. Even the slowest aircraft cruised at speeds in the magnitude of 10 times that of ships. Navigational positions needed to be determined more rapidly; equipment needed to be easier to use in a small cockpit by pilots who often wore gloves. Aviators, like Charles A. Lindbergh, coped with navigational requirements while piloting the aircraft, but it soon became apparent that for extended flights, an additional crew member would be useful to allow the pilot to devote his full attention to controlling the aircraft. Aerial navigation began, however, with the maritime legacy as its progenitor.

==Early maritime navigation==
[[Image:Portolan_Chart_1024.png|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center"> Enhanced drawing of the Carta Pisana portolan navigational chart showing the method of portraying magnetic compass courses to the principal central and eastern Mediterranean ports. The mileage scale is depicted in the circles. Pilots did not reference latitude and longitude which are not portrayed on portolan charts. Courtesy, Douglas T. Peck, and http://www.NewWorldExplorersInc.org</div>]]
Ocean navigation began to develop during the European Renaissance with the advent of the magnetic compass. It was the compass that enabled ships to steer and hold a magnetic heading to their intended destination. The compass card defined 32 points known as winds. “Portolan” charts, depicted routes based on these winds and had no latitude and longitude reference. These charts were used by the vessel’s pilot, in conjunction with the “rutter” (from French “routier”), or sailing instructions, in order to follow a given magnetic heading to the destination. Navigation was done exclusively by [[dead reckoning]]--experienced pilots gauged the speed of their vessels by the wind in the sails, the wake, and the sounds and feel of their ships. Charted distances were often given in days of sailing time. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]
By the Columbian period, dead reckoning had become highly developed and quite reliable. Using pilotage, the master took his ship along the coast to a point at the same latitude as his destination, then followed the compass due east or west to destination. This technique was called “easting” or “westing”. A confidant of Columbus’ wrote, “A good pilot or master is not considered such if, in traveling over a great distance from land to land, out in the open sea with no indication of any land, he is off by ten leagues even when the trip is a thousand leagues long.” An empirical reconstruction of Columbus’ first voyage in 1492 was made using his logged magnetic headings and distances sailed for the 136 legs of the voyage, and demonstrated that Columbus’ dead reckoning provided 99.7% accuracy from departure to destination and return. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]

Little effort was made to integrate the “New Navigation” (celestial) with the proven dead reckoning, as celestial positioning was the province of the learned mathematicians and cosmographers, not the vessels’ pilots. Celestial navigation was not reliable on a rolling vessel with instruments of the period; sight reduction was immensely time consuming and very challenging mathematically. Celestial observations were primarily used on land by the cosmographers along on the voyage to determine the latitude at destination. Its purpose was to update the Master Chart for the Crown in order to validate claims of sovereignty over new territories, not for navigation. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/] Significant advances in reliable [[celestial navigation]] did not occur until the eighteenth century following the invention of the marine sextant (octant) and John Harrison’s development of a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time aboard a ship under sail.<ref>Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995</ref>

==Balloon navigation==
By the 19th century, balloon pilots were largely restricted to map reading as a method of navigation, pointing up the need for international cooperation for procedures to cross borders and to create dedicated aeronautical charts—ones which included symbols and information of obstructions, rail lines, roads, town and village shapes, forests and bodies of water. The need for more frequent and accurate wind forecasts became apparent. Although balloon pilots attempted to use celestial navigation, balloons rotated, making it difficult; cramped space made tedious computation and plotting impractical, even though balloonists experimented with bubble horizons on sextants and tabulated reduction methods. Not until lighter-than-air craft were powered by engines could they maintain a course for which the magnetic compass was useful. Development of the zeppelin and dirigible permitted longer voyages off-shore and they soon used adaptations of the mariner’s navigational equipment and techniques.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 3</ref>

==Aerial navigation of WW I==
[[Image:Gatty-Weems_Speed_&_Drift_Indicator_Patent.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Harold Gatty and P.V.H. Weems collaborated on this "Speed and Drift Indicator" patented in 1934. Both men had numerous inventions relating to air navigation.</div>]]
[[Image:Dalton_MK_VII_DR_computer_ca.jpg|200px|thumb|right| <div align="center">The Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer ca. 1935. Noonan's letter to P.V.H. Weems stated he used this model while flying the Pacific survey flights. (Used by permission.)</div>]]

The United States did not have a significant military aviation capability before its entry into the World War. The role of World War I aircraft was primarily that of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and aerial pursuit which required only pilotage, or map reading. Blimps and longer range aircraft were used to a lesser degree for patrolling off shore or for bombing behind enemy lines but had little additional navigational capability or crews trained in navigation. The Great War saw the development of the drift meter, more for use as a bomb sight than for navigation. The evolution of the compass accelerated during this period, as the inherent characteristics of the airborne compass detracted from its usefulness and had to be addressed. Rapid turns and attitude changes caused the compass card to swing excessively. Movement of the rudder pedals and control stick, if made from ferrous metal, caused the compass reading to change, as did the expenditure of bombs and ammunition, which had high iron content. Improvements developed by the end of the war included a remote indicating compass with the sensor near the tail, and another, having a lighter card with less inertia called an” aperiodic” compass. A later, development was the earth inductor compass which proved to be more stable, but difficulty in keeping the sensing component level during flight was never resolved. Night navigation was facilitated by providing instrument lighting. Two-way radios preceded the experimentation and development of rudimentary directional radio navigation using ground based stations, even though engine magneto interference, long antennas and oversized equipment were problematic.

The dead reckoning computer was another important development, with each country's air arm finding a different solution. The French favored a large plotting board used in conjunction with a chart. The U.S. and Britain used a circular slide rule, subsequently integrated with a graphic plotting surface which was placed on the reverse side. Later improved by Ensign Philip Dalton and called the Dalton computer, it eventually became commonly known as the E-6B. Instruments which contained optics, like the drift meter, and sextant were adversely affected by aircraft attitude changes, and their use required the pilot to maintain a level, stable platform. Sperry’s early gyroscope was imperfect, though it improved after the war and gyroscopic stabilization provided significant improvement for a number of navigational instruments. Other instruments that saw successful development were the altimeter with ranges expanding to 20,000 feet, the turn and bank indicator and the artificial horizon. [[Harold Gatty]] developed a method of wind determination called the “double drift maneuver” in the U. S. and the “wind star” in Britain,
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543] to calculate winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically by plotting vectors on a graph. (Wind could alternatively be determined by reading the drift on a single heading, using two different airspeeds, but the former was the preferred method.)

==World War to World Flight==
[[Image:M-130_Clipper_Nav_Station.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> The navigator's station on the M-130 Pan Am Clipper is shown with Flight Engineer Vic Wright. What may be Noonan's "preventer" in a Brandis sextant box is on the shelf above the chart table. (Used by permission)</div>]]

'''Commercial Aviation:''' The period following World War I saw the emergence of commercial aviation and expansion of air routes across both oceans. Planes which made the early transatlantic crossings were generally capable of carrying only the fuel required for the trip, but by the 1930’s several countries were using larger craft to experiment with passenger service between continents. France and Germany had experimental routes to South America. In 1931 the Graff Zeppelin offered service to Rio de Janeiro which lasted until 1937. By 1934 Deutsche Lufthansa began service across the South Atlantic followed by Air France in 1936. Pan Am had developed a network of routes in the Caribbean and South America, and in 1935 opened a Pacific Division carrying mail to Manila in November of that year. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 6</ref>

North Atlantic service developed more slowly, with political difficulties hindering international agreements. The Hindenburg made 10 round trips before exploding in 1937 during the first trip of that season. Pan Am and Imperial jointly developed the route from New York to Bermuda, but it was 1939 before Pan Am offered North Atlantic passenger service.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch 6</ref>

Airlines were very concerned with the safety of their passengers and the regularity of their service. They adopted near-universal policies regarding navigation—most stipulated that all forms of navigation available would be used at all times, with a comparison made of the results of each. If the navigational data was consistent, there was reasonable assurance of the aircraft’s position. If, not, the navigator attempted to verify the position with additional data. Navigation was sometimes called an “art”, as the navigator’s evaluation of the data used in interpolating a position was subjective based on his assessment of each element’s reliability. (Fred Noonan discussed some limitations of navigational methods, radio equipment, and the affects of personal errors in an internal [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am memo] written following the Alameda to Honolulu Clipper route surveys of April 1935.) Aside from dead reckoning, celestial navigation and radio bearings were the only overwater navigational methods available during this period. When flying in conditions of overcast skies or when in the clouds, radio alone could be relied upon and compared with a dead reckoning position. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

'''Instrument Technology:''' Instruments and equipment continued to improve during the decade of the 1930’s. The 1-5% instrument errors of the 1920’s gave way to substantial improvements in the 1930’s. Pitot and venturi systems were improved and relocated away from turbulent areas of the aircraft. Sperry, after a 10 year effort, developed a successful air bearing for the gyroscope (steel bearings affected the magnetic compass) enabling the gyro compass and autopilot to become reliable instruments. Combining the magnetic compass with the gyro was still some time away, but using the compass to reset the gyro was a workable alternative and was used aboard Earhart’s Electra. Aircraft stability with the use of the gyro compass and autopilot also increased the accuracy of celestial observations. Companies like Kollsman, Pioneer, Sperry Gyroscope, Link Aviation, and Aera of Paris continued to make many small incremental improvements in instruments, which together greatly increased their function and reliability.

There were two additional instruments under development, that didn’t appear until 1938, after the World Flight. One was the absolute or radio altimeter, necessary for accurate ground speed timing made with the drift meter; the other was the gyro-stabilization of the drift meter optics to permit more accurate drift determination in turbulent air. A method sometimes used to determine absolute altitude over oceans was to descend to sea level and reset the altimeter. The downside was the increased fuel consumption for the climb back to altitude. German zeppelin navigators were extremely interested in the atmospheric pressure system’s usefulness in wind determination and lowered an aneroid sensor on a tether to the ocean’s surface to determine the sea level atmospheric pressure.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, pp. 142-144</ref>

'''Celestial Navigation:''' Bubble chambers in sextants continued to be problematic. P. V. H. Weems, probably the period’s foremost proponent of celestial air navigation, exhorted sextant manufacturers to produce a more durable, reliable bubble chamber for the sextant. Weems also experimented by taking a series of celestial observations which were averaged to mitigate the acceleration errors induced in the bubble by aircraft axes motions. He made eleven groups of ten observations each, and even though one was 128 miles in error, he found that by averaging the observations, the overall error was 3 miles. The error using 10 observations, was 5 miles.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, p. 316</ref> Though none were available for the World Flight, several companies had mechanical sextant averagers under development with some being evaluated by the airlines in 1938.
[[Image:Dreisonstok_Reduction_Tables_&_Nautical_Almanac.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Dreisonstok's sight reduction tables and the 1937 Nautical Almanac like those used by Noonan on the second attempt of the World Flight. The Dreisonstok tables were very compact, but required more arithmetical operations than some other available methods. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

[[Image:Nautical Almanac 2 Jul 37.jpg|250px|thumb|right| <div align="center">This page of the 1937 American Nautical Almanac includes data for 2 July 1937. The Luke Field inventory listed two copies of this edition of the Nautical Almanac carried on board during the first attempt of the World Flight. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

'''Sight Reduction:''' Sight reduction is the mathematical solution of the spherical celestial triangle which provides the navigator with a geographical line of position from a celestial observation. As done by the mariner, it was a twenty minute procedure, adequate for slow
moving ships, but not suitable for aircraft. In 1874, a French naval officer, Captain (later Admiral) Marcq St. Hilaire, devised an iterative procedure, now called the intercept method. This concept was based upon an assumed position and calculated with haversines, resulting in a [[line of position]], or as some knew it, a “Sumner line”. Philip Van Horn Weems took the next giant step in speeding up the celestial sight
reduction process to five minutes or less. Weems challenged the hallowed methods of the Navy and set out to simplify calculations using the Moon for celestial navigation. He developed “The Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators” which worked so well, he applied it to stars, planets and the sun. It was published as the “Air Almanac” in 1933, though it was discontinued in 1934 by the [http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937 Nautical Almanac Office.] An enthusiastic endorsement of his Air Almanac by the British led them to publish it every year since 1937; the U.S Nautical Almanac Office resumed publication in 1941.<ref>Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac</ref> Weems encouraged fellow Naval officers Dreisonstok and Ageton who developed popular tabulated “short methods” in very concise formats, well suited for aviation. Not satisfied, Weems simplified the reduction process even further with his pre-computed “Star Altitude Curves” for pre-selected stars capable of producing good “cuts”. The navigator had only to enter a graph with the appropriate arguments and extract the data to plot his fix.<ref>Emmot, N.W., "The Grand Old Man of Navigation”</ref> [http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm] In his ''Air Navigation'' (1938) Weems wrote: “The weak link in celestial navigation at the present time is that altitudes cannot be observed with extreme accuracy with the present aircraft sextant. When, however, accurate altitudes can be observed, the recent methods (of sight reduction) give positions with great speed and accuracy.”
<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938</ref> In 1939 it was discovered celestial observations were in error due to acceleration of the bubble from the coriolis affect. This error of up to several miles varied with ground speed and latitude, and was uncompensated for at the time of the World Flight. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 153</ref>

'''Radio:''' Aircraft radio developed rapidly during the 1930’s, analogous to the fast-changing computer technology of today. A leader in the field of radio communications, the Western Electric division of AT&T, manufactured the Model 13C radio transmitter and the Model 20B receiver which were selected for the Earhart “Flying Laboratory”, but it was already three-year- old technology at the time of the World Flight.<ref>Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1]The Western Electric radios were adequate, but couldn’t be considered “top of the line”. Model 13C was 50 Watt, three-frequency transmitter operating in the 2500-6500 KHz range and was factory modified to operate on the maritime distress frequency of 500 KHz. As installed, it was capable of transmitting a Morse code signal as well as phone (voice).

Radio [[direction finding]] circuitry had been developed in the 1920’s. Ships and ground stations operated direction finding radio for years, but weight had been a limiting factor for aircraft. The first radio direction finder, or radio compass, designed for aircraft became available in the early 1930’s, and newer, upgraded technology developed by several companies was available by the mid thirties. The Earhart Lockheed was equipped with a new generation radio direction finder in 1936 (which became known as the automatic direction finder or ADF), designed by Frederick J. Hooven, Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Radio Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corp. However, Earhart removed this state of the art [[Hooven Radio Compass]] and installed one of lesser capability with older technology having a manually rotated [[loop antenna]], ostensibly to save 30 pounds of weight.<ref>Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html]

[[Image:Electra Navigator's Station.jpg|500px|thumb|center|<div align="center">The Electra's navigator's station was in the aft cabin behind the fuel tanks. Communication with the pilot was by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. ((c)William F. Harney,2006;(c)TIGHAR,2009)</div>]]

==The World Flight==
'''Navigational Equipment:''' The Electra’s navigator station was in the aft cabin, behind the internal fuselage fuel tanks. Communications between the navigator and pilot were by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. Following the [[Luke Field]], Hawaii takeoff accident, equipment for the first World Flight attempt was inventoried by U.S. Army personnel who shipped the Electra to Lockheed for repairs. This inventory gives us a glimpse of the equipment available for the second attempt of the World Flight.

'''Navigation Equipment Taken from the Luke Field Inventory'''[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field.html]
{|{{Prettytable}}
|-
|30
|align="right"|12
|Ea.
|Aircraft Water Lights
|-
|31
|align="right"|7
|Ea.
|Aluminum Direction Bombs
|-
|60
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Base Plate for speed and drift meter
|-
|89
|align="right"|1
|Book
|Radio Aids, Navigation
|-
|90
|align="right"|1
|Box
|Lead Pencils
|-
|91
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Broadcasting stations
|-
|92
|align="right"|2
|Books
|American Nautical Almanac 1937
|-
|93
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Coast Stations & Ship Stations
|-
|94
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Aeronautical Stations and aircraft stations
|-
|95
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Stations performing special services
|-
|96
|align="right"|2
|
|Navigation tables for Mariners and Aviators
|-
|97
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Envelope containing miscellaneous navigation papers
|-
|98
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Parallel
|-
|99
|align="right"|2
|Ea.
|Dividers
|-
|103
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Triangle
|-
|106
|align="right"|1
|Pkg.
|Navigation Charts and airplane log
|-
|107
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Speed & drift indicator, type D-270, with handbook
|-
|108
|align="right"|5
|Rolls
|Miscellaneous maps
|-
|112
|align="right"|3
|
|Folders with maps
|-
|115
|align="right"|1
|
|Pencil type flashlight
|-
|117
|align="right"|4
|
|Clocks, Start & Stop "Omega"
|-
|118
|align="right"|1
|
|Airspeed Indicator "Pioneer"
|-
|119
|align="right"|1
|
|Gage Air Temp. Model 602
|-
|121
|align="right"|1
|
|Altimeter, Kohlsman, 0 to 20,000
|-
|122
|align="right"|1
|
|Pelorus drift sight, MK II B with extra base
|-
|123
|align="right"|1
|
|Straight flight compass
|-
|125
|align="right"|2
|
|Parachute flares
|}

[[Image:Pioneer_Mark_III_Octant_Patent.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Carbonara's 1934 patent of the Pioneer Mk III octant similar to the one used on the first attempt of the World Flight. The bubble chamber of this octant was difficult to adjust and the averager,which provided a mean of several observations over a few minutes, had not been developed yet.</div>]]

A bubble octant is not listed in the inventory. [[Harry Manning]] had signed for Navy Pioneer Bubble Octant, Serial No. 12-36 from the Naval Air Station in San Diego and retained possession of it rather than have it shipped back with the damaged aircraft. Noonan then signed a receipt for the octant on Matson Line stationery and gave it to Manning following the Luke Field accident. We do not know whether Noonan used that instrument on the second attempt or whether he returned it and used something else. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Forum_Archives/200202.txt] <ref>Long, Elgen M., Amelia Earhart, the Mystery Solved, Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y., 2001, p. 73</ref>
[[Image:Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot.jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot cockpit control unit. The gyroscopic stabilized autopilot improved the accuracy of sextant observations by reducing acceleration errors in the bubble chamber from aircraft axes movements. ((c)Tighar)</div>]]

Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with the Sperry “AutoGyro Automatic Pilot”, providing a more stable platform for the navigator’s celestial observations increasing their accuracy. Also on the Electra was a Mk IIB Pelorus drift sight with an extra base to facilitate its use on either side of the aircraft. Adequate for drift readings during stable flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate drift readings in any amount turbulence. The inventory also listed a second “Speed and Drift Indicator, type D-270” with a base. A ''New York Herald Tribune'' article included in ''Amelia, My Courageous Sister'', by Earhart’s sister Muriel Morrissey, described how the drift sight was used. “An arrangement has been devised to open the cabin door about four inches, where it is held rigidly in place. A Pioneer drift indicator is mounted for use looking down through this aperture to check wind drift on the earth or sea below. For this work flares are used at night over water, smoke bombs in daylight.” <ref>Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987, p. 192</ref> Drift bombs, used in lieu of the less visible smoke bombs, were ceramic or glass bomblets filled with either bronze or aluminum shavings. They broke on impact with the water, and created a spreading reflective surface on the water that could be tracked with the drift sight. Magnesium water lights were used similarly during darkness.

The Lockheed Electra 10E was fitted with low distortion windows in several positions to minimize refraction errors during celestial observations. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 156</ref> (Military navigators were later cautioned to avoid using windows for celestial observations, and not to observe celestial bodies below 11 degrees, due to the excessive refraction error.)<ref>Air Force Navigator Observer Association, "DR Ahead",Vol 27 No. 1, January 2011 </ref> [http://www.afnoa.org/]

While the Earhart Electra 10E Special was initially equipped with adequate navigational equipment, modifications to communications equipment made following the Luke Field accident were not well thought out, and were accomplished by technicians who may not have been fully aware of the nuances of radio wave [[propagation]]. The [[trailing antenna]] system had been a victim of the accident and was not replaced. A modification to lengthen the dorsal “V” antenna inadequately compensated for the trailing wire antenna’s loss, and resulted in degraded radio performance on all frequencies.

''' Noonan’s Navigational Procedures:''' In a letter to Weems, [[Fred Noonan]] described his navigational procedures during a 1935 Pan Am Pacific flight, stating that he used a “Pioneer octant with a mariner’s [[sextant]] as a “preventer”. Noonan also described carrying marine general, coastwise, and harbor charts, as well as aviation strip charts of the California coast. During the Pan Am flights overwater navigation was done on VP-3 and VP-4 plotting sheets (blank charts for a band of latitudes with user defined longitude lines). These were reused by relabeling the longitude lines and transferring his position to continue at the appropriate latitude on the same chart. This allowed him to use only two charts for the overwater passage. In the letter, Noonan also told of his preference for Dreisonstok’s reduction tables, and the Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, pp. 423-425</ref> Pan Am navigational policy, which Noonan helped develop, dictated that celestial positions were to be taken hourly, or more frequently, day or night. All forms of navigation would be used, and positional data would be cross checked between the different methods. It was also Pan Am policy that at least two direction finding stations would “track” the aircraft at all times, and aircraft [[DF]] equipment would be used take bearings. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

Original charts of the Oakland to Honolulu leg of the World Flight [[first attempt]] illustrated the use of the following navigational techniques:
* 7 radio bearings
* 14 star/planet LOP’s
* 9 navigational fixes
* 4 course corrections
The flight path proved to be consistent with subsequent meteorological patterns for the area, and that corrections were made when deviation from course became too great.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D., The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR,2006</ref> [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html]
The archived chart for the June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil to [[Dakar]], Senegal, leg of the second attempt of the World Flight, showed that Noonan used 5 sun line LOP’s including a noon position. A portion of this chart is shown
[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf here] to illustrate his chart work.

== Photo Gallery ==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Potting Sheet Example.bmp|An example of a plotting sheet devoid of geographic features. Used off-shore, the navigator must assign the longitude (and in this example the latitude also) for the area he is traversing. The VP-3 and VP-4 used by Noonan while with Pan Am were similar. (Courtesy: Ed Falk,www.efalk.org)
Image:Ceramic_Drift_Bomb.jpg‎|Ceramic or glass drift bombs were filled with aluminum or bronze flakes and dropped over water during daylight, breaking on impact. The metal particles would spread to form a bright reflection which the navigator could follow with the drift sight. (Used by permission)
Image:MK_IIB_Pelorus_Drift_Sight.jpg‎|A Mark IIB pelorus drift sight like that installed on the Earhart Lockheed Electra 10E for the World Flight. A U.S. Army inventory made following the Luke Field accident included this type drift sight and an extra base, plausibly for mounting the drift sight on either side of the aircraft. (Courtesy: Chris Rudge www.warbirdsite.com)

</gallery>
</div>
== Footnotes ==
<references />

==Bibliography==

Ageton, Arthur A., Manual of Celestial Navigation, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942

Dreisonstok, J. Y., Navigation Tables for Mariners and Aviators, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1930

Eberle, William C. and Weems, P.V.H., Learning to Navigate, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York and Chicago, 1939

Kells, Kern & Bland, Spherical Trigonometry with Naval and
Military Applications, USNA, 1942.

Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987

Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995

Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938

Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

==References==
[http://www.erikdeman.de/html/sail040u.htm Ageton's Tables for Sight Reduction]

[http://www.afnoa.org/ Air Force Navigator Observer Association]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543 BBC Home Page, Harold Gatty, Prince of Navigators]

[http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm Emmot, N.W., The Grand Old Man of Navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1| Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020]

[https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/ Fred Noonan and Amelia Earhart plus general flight navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/AEdescr1.html The Institute for Aviation History: The Earhart Project]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D.,The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR, 2006]

[http://kakopa.com/geo/cnhist.htm Milestones in Celestial Navigation]

[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937| Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac]

[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf Noonan’s South Atlantic Chart of the World Flight June 7, 1937]

[http://www.texlex.com/images/NavigationOptimum1.pdf Sight Reduction for Navigation]

[http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/EarlyNavigation.pdf Peck, Douglas T., The History of Early Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation: Empirical Reality Versus Theory]

[http://searchforamelia.org/category/research/overview-research Waitt Institute for Discovery, Search for Amelia, 2009]


[[Category:Navigation]]

Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937

2011-10-24T20:08:18Z

Rickerjones:

<div align=center>{{hint|“The factors which contribute to inaccuracies in surface navigation--currents other than anticipated or estimated, lack of sights, inaccurate radio bearings, etc.--are all encountered in aerial navigation and commonly in intensified form.”
Fred J. Noonan, [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am Memo], Subect: Navigation: Hawaiian Flight of NR 823-M, April 29, 1935}}</div>
Aviation’s early decades saw the continuing development of aircraft with more powerful, reliable engines enabling aviators to venture far out of sight of land. The need became apparent for improved air navigational capabilities--cockpit instrumentation, charts of appropriate scale with special symbols and features, more comprehensive wind and weather forecasting, faster celestial procedures, sextants with artificial horizons, two way radio communication and radio navigational aids among them. Aviation was the benefactor of maritime navigational technology and procedural “hand-me-downs”, often not easily adapted for aircraft use. Bulky, heavy marine equipment was ill-suited for the limited lift of air machines. Even the slowest aircraft cruised at speeds in the magnitude of 10 times that of ships. Navigational positions needed to be determined more rapidly; equipment needed to be easier to use in a small cockpit by pilots who often wore gloves. Aviators, like Charles A. Lindbergh, coped with navigational requirements while piloting the aircraft, but it soon became apparent that for extended flights, an additional crew member would be useful to allow the pilot to devote his full attention to controlling the aircraft. Aerial navigation began, however, with the maritime legacy as its progenitor.

==Early maritime navigation==
[[Image:Portolan_Chart_1024.png|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center"> Enhanced drawing of the Carta Pisana portolan navigational chart showing the method of portraying magnetic compass courses to the principal central and eastern Mediterranean ports. The mileage scale is depicted in the circles. Pilots did not reference latitude and longitude which are not portrayed on portolan charts. Courtesy, Douglas T. Peck, and http://www.NewWorldExplorersInc.org</div>]]
Ocean navigation began to develop during the European Renaissance with the advent of the magnetic compass. It was the compass that enabled ships to steer and hold a magnetic heading to their intended destination. The compass card defined 32 points known as winds. “Portolan” charts, depicted routes based on these winds and had no latitude and longitude reference. These charts were used by the vessel’s pilot, in conjunction with the “rutter” (from French “routier”), or sailing instructions, in order to follow a given magnetic heading to the destination. Navigation was done exclusively by [[dead reckoning]]--experienced pilots gauged the speed of their vessels by the wind in the sails, the wake, and the sounds and feel of their ships. Charted distances were often given in days of sailing time. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]
By the Columbian period, dead reckoning had become highly developed and quite reliable. Using pilotage, the master took his ship along the coast to a point at the same latitude as his destination, then followed the compass due east or west to destination. This technique was called “easting” or “westing”. A confidant of Columbus’ wrote, “A good pilot or master is not considered such if, in traveling over a great distance from land to land, out in the open sea with no indication of any land, he is off by ten leagues even when the trip is a thousand leagues long.” An empirical reconstruction of Columbus’ first voyage in 1492 was made using his logged magnetic headings and distances sailed for the 136 legs of the voyage, and demonstrated that Columbus’ dead reckoning provided 99.7% accuracy from departure to destination and return. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/]

Little effort was made to integrate the “New Navigation” (celestial) with the proven dead reckoning, as celestial positioning was the province of the learned mathematicians and cosmographers, not the vessels’ pilots. Celestial navigation was not reliable on a rolling vessel with instruments of the period; sight reduction was immensely time consuming and very challenging mathematically. Celestial observations were primarily used on land by the cosmographers along on the voyage to determine the latitude at destination. Its purpose was to update the Master Chart for the Crown in order to validate claims of sovereignty over new territories, not for navigation. [http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/] Significant advances in reliable [[celestial navigation]] did not occur until the eighteenth century following the invention of the marine sextant (octant) and John Harrison’s development of a chronometer capable of keeping accurate time aboard a ship under sail.<ref>Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995</ref>

==Balloon navigation==
By the 19th century, balloon pilots were largely restricted to map reading as a method of navigation, pointing up the need for international cooperation for procedures to cross borders and create dedicated aeronautical charts—ones which included symbols and information of obstructions, rail lines, roads, town and village shapes, forests and bodies of water. The need for more frequent and accurate wind forecasts became apparent. Although balloon pilots attempted to use celestial navigation, balloons rotated, making it difficult; cramped space made tedious computation and plotting impractical, even though balloonists experimented with bubble horizons on sextants and tabulated reduction methods. Not until lighter-than-air craft were powered by engines could they maintain a course for which the magnetic compass was useful. Development of the zeppelin and dirigible permitted longer voyages off-shore and they soon used adaptations of the mariner’s navigational equipment and techniques.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 3</ref>

==Aerial navigation of WW I==
[[Image:Gatty-Weems_Speed_&_Drift_Indicator_Patent.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Harold Gatty and P.V.H. Weems collaborated on this "Speed and Drift Indicator" patented in 1934. Both men had numerous inventions relating to air navigation.</div>]]
[[Image:Dalton_MK_VII_DR_computer_ca.jpg|200px|thumb|right| <div align="center">The Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer ca. 1935. Noonan's letter to P.V.H. Weems stated he used this model while flying the Pacific survey flights. (Used by permission.)</div>]]

The United States did not have a significant military aviation capability before its entry into the World War. The role of World War I aircraft was primarily that of artillery spotting, reconnaissance, and aerial pursuit which required only pilotage, or map reading. Blimps and longer range aircraft were used to a lesser degree for patrolling off shore or for bombing behind enemy lines but had little additional navigational capability or crews trained in navigation. The Great War saw the development of the drift meter, more for use as a bomb sight than for navigation. The evolution of the compass accelerated during this period, as the inherent characteristics of the airborne compass detracted from its usefulness and had to be addressed. Rapid turns and attitude changes caused the compass card to swing excessively. Movement of the rudder pedals and control stick, if made from ferrous metal, caused the compass reading to change, as did the expenditure of bombs and ammunition, which had high iron content. Improvements developed by the end of the war included a remote indicating compass with the sensor near the tail, and another, having a lighter card with less inertia called an” aperiodic” compass. A later, development was the earth inductor compass which proved to be more stable, but difficulty in keeping the sensing component level during flight was never resolved. Night navigation was facilitated by providing instrument lighting. Two-way radios preceded the experimentation and development of rudimentary directional radio navigation using ground based stations, even though engine magneto interference, long antennas and oversized equipment were problematic.

The dead reckoning computer was another important development, with each country's air arm finding a different solution. The French favored a large plotting board used in conjunction with a chart. The U.S. and Britain used a circular slide rule, subsequently integrated with a graphic plotting surface which was placed on the reverse side. Later improved by Ensign Philip Dalton and called the Dalton computer, it eventually became commonly known as the E-6B. Instruments which contained optics, like the drift meter, and sextant were adversely affected by aircraft attitude changes, and their use required the pilot to maintain a level, stable platform. Sperry’s early gyroscope was imperfect, though it improved after the war and gyroscopic stabilization provided significant improvement for a number of navigational instruments. Other instruments that saw successful development were the altimeter with ranges expanding to 20,000 feet, the turn and bank indicator and the artificial horizon. [[Harold Gatty]] developed a method of wind determination called the “double drift maneuver” in the U. S. and the “wind star” in Britain,
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543] to calculate winds aloft by taking drift readings on two different headings, then calculating the wind trigonometrically by plotting vectors on a graph. (Wind could alternatively be determined by reading the drift on a single heading, using two different airspeeds, but the former was the preferred method.)

==World War to World Flight==
[[Image:M-130_Clipper_Nav_Station.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> The navigator's station on the M-130 Pan Am Clipper is shown with Flight Engineer Vic Wright. What may be Noonan's "preventer" in a Brandis sextant box is on the shelf above the chart table. (Used by permission)</div>]]

'''Commercial Aviation:''' The period following World War I saw the emergence of commercial aviation and expansion of air routes across both oceans. Planes which made the early transatlantic crossings were generally capable of carrying only the fuel required for the trip, but by the 1930’s several countries were using larger craft to experiment with passenger service between continents. France and Germany had experimental routes to South America. In 1931 the Graff Zeppelin offered service to Rio de Janeiro which lasted until 1937. By 1934 Deutsche Lufthansa began service across the South Atlantic followed by Air France in 1936. Pan Am had developed a network of routes in the Caribbean and South America, and in 1935 opened a Pacific Division carrying mail to Manila in November of that year. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch. 6</ref>

North Atlantic service developed more slowly, with political difficulties hindering international agreements. The Hindenburg made 10 round trips before exploding in 1937 during the first trip of that season. Pan Am and Imperial jointly developed the route from New York to Bermuda, but it was 1939 before Pan Am offered North Atlantic passenger service.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, Ch 6</ref>

Airlines were very concerned with the safety of their passengers and the regularity of their service. They adopted near-universal policies regarding navigation—most stipulated that all forms of navigation available would be used at all times, with a comparison made of the results of each. If the navigational data was consistent, there was reasonable assurance of the aircraft’s position. If, not, the navigator attempted to verify the position with additional data. Navigation was sometimes called an “art”, as the navigator’s evaluation of the data used in interpolating a position was subjective based on his assessment of each element’s reliability. (Fred Noonan discussed some limitations of navigational methods, radio equipment, and the affects of personal errors in an internal [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Reports/NoonanPanAm.pdf Pan Am memo] written following the Alameda to Honolulu Clipper route surveys of April 1935.) Aside from dead reckoning, celestial navigation and radio bearings were the only overwater navigational methods available during this period. When flying in conditions of overcast skies or when in the clouds, radio alone could be relied upon and compared with a dead reckoning position. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

'''Instrument Technology:''' Instruments and equipment continued to improve during the decade of the 1930’s. The 1-5% instrument errors of the 1920’s gave way to substantial improvements in the 1930’s. Pitot and venturi systems were improved and relocated away from turbulent areas of the aircraft. Sperry, after a 10 year effort, developed a successful air bearing for the gyroscope (steel bearings affected the magnetic compass) enabling the gyro compass and autopilot to become reliable instruments. Combining the magnetic compass with the gyro was still some time away, but using the compass to reset the gyro was a workable alternative and was used aboard Earhart’s Electra. Aircraft stability with the use of the gyro compass and autopilot also increased the accuracy of celestial observations. Companies like Kollsman, Pioneer, Sperry Gyroscope, Link Aviation, and Aera of Paris continued to make many small incremental improvements in instruments, which together greatly increased their function and reliability.

There were two additional instruments under development, that didn’t appear until 1938, after the World Flight. One was the absolute or radio altimeter, necessary for accurate ground speed timing made with the drift meter; the other was the gyro-stabilization of the drift meter optics to permit more accurate drift determination in turbulent air. A method sometimes used to determine absolute altitude over oceans was to descend to sea level and reset the altimeter. The downside was the increased fuel consumption for the climb back to altitude. German zeppelin navigators were extremely interested in the atmospheric pressure system’s usefulness in wind determination and lowered an aneroid sensor on a tether to the ocean’s surface to determine the sea level atmospheric pressure.<ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, pp. 142-144</ref>

'''Celestial Navigation:''' Bubble chambers in sextants continued to be problematic. P. V. H. Weems, probably the period’s foremost proponent of celestial air navigation, exhorted sextant manufacturers to produce a more durable, reliable bubble chamber for the sextant. Weems also experimented by taking a series of celestial observations which were averaged to mitigate the acceleration errors induced in the bubble by aircraft axes motions. He made eleven groups of ten observations each, and even though one was 128 miles in error, he found that by averaging the observations, the overall error was 3 miles. The error using 10 observations, was 5 miles.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, p. 316</ref> Though none were available for the World Flight, several companies had mechanical sextant averagers under development with some being evaluated by the airlines in 1938.
[[Image:Dreisonstok_Reduction_Tables_&_Nautical_Almanac.jpg|250px|thumb|left| <div align="center">Dreisonstok's sight reduction tables and the 1937 Nautical Almanac like those used by Noonan on the second attempt of the World Flight. The Dreisonstok tables were very compact, but required more arithmetical operations than some other available methods. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

[[Image:Nautical Almanac 2 Jul 37.jpg|250px|thumb|right| <div align="center">This page of the 1937 American Nautical Almanac includes data for 2 July 1937. The Luke Field inventory listed two copies of this edition of the Nautical Almanac carried on board during the first attempt of the World Flight. (TIGHAR photo)</div>]]

'''Sight Reduction:''' Sight reduction is the mathematical solution of the spherical celestial triangle which provides the navigator with a geographical line of position from a celestial observation. As done by the mariner, it was a twenty minute procedure, adequate for slow
moving ships, but not suitable for aircraft. In 1874, a French naval officer, Captain (later Admiral) Marcq St. Hilaire, devised an iterative procedure, now called the intercept method. This concept was based upon an assumed position and calculated with haversines, resulting in a [[line of position]], or as some knew it, a “Sumner line”. Philip Van Horn Weems took the next giant step in speeding up the celestial sight
reduction process to five minutes or less. Weems challenged the hallowed methods of the Navy and set out to simplify calculations using the Moon for celestial navigation. He developed “The Lunar Ephemeris for Aviators” which worked so well, he applied it to stars, planets and the sun. It was published as the “Air Almanac” in 1933, though it was discontinued in 1934 by the [http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937 Nautical Almanac Office.] An enthusiastic endorsement of his Air Almanac by the British led them to publish it every year since 1937; the U.S Nautical Almanac Office resumed publication in 1941.<ref>Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac</ref> Weems encouraged fellow Naval officers Dreisonstok and Ageton who developed popular tabulated “short methods” in very concise formats, well suited for aviation. Not satisfied, Weems simplified the reduction process even further with his pre-computed “Star Altitude Curves” for pre-selected stars capable of producing good “cuts”. The navigator had only to enter a graph with the appropriate arguments and extract the data to plot his fix.<ref>Emmot, N.W., "The Grand Old Man of Navigation”</ref> [http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm] In his ''Air Navigation'' (1938) Weems wrote: “The weak link in celestial navigation at the present time is that altitudes cannot be observed with extreme accuracy with the present aircraft sextant. When, however, accurate altitudes can be observed, the recent methods (of sight reduction) give positions with great speed and accuracy.”
<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938</ref> In 1939 it was discovered celestial observations were in error due to acceleration of the bubble from the coriolis affect. This error of up to several miles varied with ground speed and latitude, and was uncompensated for at the time of the World Flight. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 153</ref>

'''Radio:''' Aircraft radio developed rapidly during the 1930’s, analogous to the fast-changing computer technology of today. A leader in the field of radio communications, the Western Electric division of AT&T, manufactured the Model 13C radio transmitter and the Model 20B receiver which were selected for the Earhart “Flying Laboratory”, but it was already three-year- old technology at the time of the World Flight.<ref>Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1]The Western Electric radios were adequate, but couldn’t be considered “top of the line”. Model 13C was 50 Watt, three-frequency transmitter operating in the 2500-6500 KHz range and was factory modified to operate on the maritime distress frequency of 500 KHz. As installed, it was capable of transmitting a Morse code signal as well as phone (voice).

Radio [[direction finding]] circuitry had been developed in the 1920’s. Ships and ground stations operated direction finding radio for years, but weight had been a limiting factor for aircraft. The first radio direction finder, or radio compass, designed for aircraft became available in the early 1930’s, and newer, upgraded technology developed by several companies was available by the mid thirties. The Earhart Lockheed was equipped with a new generation radio direction finder in 1936 (which became known as the automatic direction finder or ADF), designed by Frederick J. Hooven, Chief Engineer and Vice President of the Radio Products Division of the Bendix Aviation Corp. However, Earhart removed this state of the art [[Hooven Radio Compass]] and installed one of lesser capability with older technology having a manually rotated [[loop antenna]], ostensibly to save 30 pounds of weight.<ref>Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982</ref>
[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html]

[[Image:Electra Navigator's Station.jpg|500px|thumb|center|<div align="center">The Electra's navigator's station was in the aft cabin behind the fuel tanks. Communication with the pilot was by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. ((c)William F. Harney,2006;(c)TIGHAR,2009)</div>]]

==The World Flight==
'''Navigational Equipment:''' The Electra’s navigator station was in the aft cabin, behind the internal fuselage fuel tanks. Communications between the navigator and pilot were by written notes passed with a bamboo stick. Following the [[Luke Field]], Hawaii takeoff accident, equipment for the first World Flight attempt was inventoried by U.S. Army personnel who shipped the Electra to Lockheed for repairs. This inventory gives us a glimpse of the equipment available for the second attempt of the World Flight.

'''Navigation Equipment Taken from the Luke Field Inventory'''[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field.html]
{|{{Prettytable}}
|-
|30
|align="right"|12
|Ea.
|Aircraft Water Lights
|-
|31
|align="right"|7
|Ea.
|Aluminum Direction Bombs
|-
|60
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Base Plate for speed and drift meter
|-
|89
|align="right"|1
|Book
|Radio Aids, Navigation
|-
|90
|align="right"|1
|Box
|Lead Pencils
|-
|91
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Broadcasting stations
|-
|92
|align="right"|2
|Books
|American Nautical Almanac 1937
|-
|93
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Coast Stations & Ship Stations
|-
|94
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Aeronautical Stations and aircraft stations
|-
|95
|align="right"|1
|Book
|List of Stations performing special services
|-
|96
|align="right"|2
|
|Navigation tables for Mariners and Aviators
|-
|97
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Envelope containing miscellaneous navigation papers
|-
|98
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Parallel
|-
|99
|align="right"|2
|Ea.
|Dividers
|-
|103
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Triangle
|-
|106
|align="right"|1
|Pkg.
|Navigation Charts and airplane log
|-
|107
|align="right"|1
|Ea.
|Speed & drift indicator, type D-270, with handbook
|-
|108
|align="right"|5
|Rolls
|Miscellaneous maps
|-
|112
|align="right"|3
|
|Folders with maps
|-
|115
|align="right"|1
|
|Pencil type flashlight
|-
|117
|align="right"|4
|
|Clocks, Start & Stop "Omega"
|-
|118
|align="right"|1
|
|Airspeed Indicator "Pioneer"
|-
|119
|align="right"|1
|
|Gage Air Temp. Model 602
|-
|121
|align="right"|1
|
|Altimeter, Kohlsman, 0 to 20,000
|-
|122
|align="right"|1
|
|Pelorus drift sight, MK II B with extra base
|-
|123
|align="right"|1
|
|Straight flight compass
|-
|125
|align="right"|2
|
|Parachute flares
|}

[[Image:Pioneer_Mark_III_Octant_Patent.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Carbonara's 1934 patent of the Pioneer Mk III octant similar to the one used on the first attempt of the World Flight. The bubble chamber of this octant was difficult to adjust and the averager,which provided a mean of several observations over a few minutes, had not been developed yet.</div>]]

A bubble octant is not listed in the inventory. [[Harry Manning]] had signed for Navy Pioneer Bubble Octant, Serial No. 12-36 from the Naval Air Station in San Diego and retained possession of it rather than have it shipped back with the damaged aircraft. Noonan then signed a receipt for the octant on Matson Line stationery and gave it to Manning following the Luke Field accident. We do not know whether Noonan used that instrument on the second attempt or whether he returned it and used something else. [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Forum/Forum_Archives/200202.txt] <ref>Long, Elgen M., Amelia Earhart, the Mystery Solved, Simon and Schuster, New York, N.Y., 2001, p. 73</ref>
[[Image:Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot.jpg|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center">Sperry GyroPilot Automatic Pilot cockpit control unit. The gyroscopic stabilized autopilot improved the accuracy of sextant observations by reducing acceleration errors in the bubble chamber from aircraft axes movements. ((c)Tighar)</div>]]

Earhart’s aircraft was equipped with the Sperry “AutoGyro Automatic Pilot”, providing a more stable platform for the navigator’s celestial observations increasing their accuracy. Also on the Electra was a Mk IIB Pelorus drift sight with an extra base to facilitate its use on either side of the aircraft. Adequate for drift readings during stable flight, it was difficult to obtain accurate drift readings in any amount turbulence. The inventory also listed a second “Speed and Drift Indicator, type D-270” with a base. A ''New York Herald Tribune'' article included in ''Amelia, My Courageous Sister'', by Earhart’s sister Muriel Morrissey, described how the drift sight was used. “An arrangement has been devised to open the cabin door about four inches, where it is held rigidly in place. A Pioneer drift indicator is mounted for use looking down through this aperture to check wind drift on the earth or sea below. For this work flares are used at night over water, smoke bombs in daylight.” <ref>Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987, p. 192</ref> Drift bombs, used in lieu of the less visible smoke bombs, were ceramic or glass bomblets filled with either bronze or aluminum shavings. They broke on impact with the water, and created a spreading reflective surface on the water that could be tracked with the drift sight. Magnesium water lights were used similarly during darkness.

The Lockheed Electra 10E was fitted with low distortion windows in several positions to minimize refraction errors during celestial observations. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 156</ref> (Military navigators were later cautioned to avoid using windows for celestial observations, and not to observe celestial bodies below 11 degrees, due to the excessive refraction error.)<ref>Air Force Navigator Observer Association, "DR Ahead",Vol 27 No. 1, January 2011 </ref> [http://www.afnoa.org/]

While the Earhart Electra 10E Special was initially equipped with adequate navigational equipment, modifications to communications equipment made following the Luke Field accident were not well thought out, and were accomplished by technicians who may not have been fully aware of the nuances of radio wave [[propagation]]. The [[trailing antenna]] system had been a victim of the accident and was not replaced. A modification to lengthen the dorsal “V” antenna inadequately compensated for the trailing wire antenna’s loss, and resulted in degraded radio performance on all frequencies.

''' Noonan’s Navigational Procedures:''' In a letter to Weems, [[Fred Noonan]] described his navigational procedures during a 1935 Pan Am Pacific flight, stating that he used a “Pioneer octant with a mariner’s [[sextant]] as a “preventer”. Noonan also described carrying marine general, coastwise, and harbor charts, as well as aviation strip charts of the California coast. During the Pan Am flights overwater navigation was done on VP-3 and VP-4 plotting sheets (blank charts for a band of latitudes with user defined longitude lines). These were reused by relabeling the longitude lines and transferring his position to continue at the appropriate latitude on the same chart. This allowed him to use only two charts for the overwater passage. In the letter, Noonan also told of his preference for Dreisonstok’s reduction tables, and the Dalton Mk VII dead reckoning computer.<ref>Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938, pp. 423-425</ref> Pan Am navigational policy, which Noonan helped develop, dictated that celestial positions were to be taken hourly, or more frequently, day or night. All forms of navigation would be used, and positional data would be cross checked between the different methods. It was also Pan Am policy that at least two direction finding stations would “track” the aircraft at all times, and aircraft [[DF]] equipment would be used take bearings. <ref>Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972, p. 167</ref>

Original charts of the Oakland to Honolulu leg of the World Flight [[first attempt]] illustrated the use of the following navigational techniques:
* 7 radio bearings
* 14 star/planet LOP’s
* 9 navigational fixes
* 4 course corrections
The flight path proved to be consistent with subsequent meteorological patterns for the area, and that corrections were made when deviation from course became too great.<ref>Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D., The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR,2006</ref> [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html]
The archived chart for the June 7, 1937 Natal, Brazil to [[Dakar]], Senegal, leg of the second attempt of the World Flight, showed that Noonan used 5 sun line LOP’s including a noon position. A portion of this chart is shown
[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf here] to illustrate his chart work.

== Photo Gallery ==
<div align="center">
<gallery>
Image:Potting Sheet Example.bmp|An example of a plotting sheet devoid of geographic features. Used off-shore, the navigator must assign the longitude (and in this example the latitude also) for the area he is traversing. The VP-3 and VP-4 used by Noonan while with Pan Am were similar. (Courtesy: Ed Falk,www.efalk.org)
Image:Ceramic_Drift_Bomb.jpg‎|Ceramic or glass drift bombs were filled with aluminum or bronze flakes and dropped over water during daylight, breaking on impact. The metal particles would spread to form a bright reflection which the navigator could follow with the drift sight. (Used by permission)
Image:MK_IIB_Pelorus_Drift_Sight.jpg‎|A Mark IIB pelorus drift sight like that installed on the Earhart Lockheed Electra 10E for the World Flight. A U.S. Army inventory made following the Luke Field accident included this type drift sight and an extra base, plausibly for mounting the drift sight on either side of the aircraft. (Courtesy: Chris Rudge www.warbirdsite.com)

</gallery>
</div>
== Footnotes ==
<references />

==Bibliography==

Ageton, Arthur A., Manual of Celestial Navigation, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942

Dreisonstok, J. Y., Navigation Tables for Mariners and Aviators, United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1930

Eberle, William C. and Weems, P.V.H., Learning to Navigate, Pitman Publishing Corporation, New York and Chicago, 1939

Kells, Kern & Bland, Spherical Trigonometry with Naval and
Military Applications, USNA, 1942.

Morrissey, Muriel Earhart, Osborne, Carol L., Amelia, My Courageous Sister, Osborne Publisher, Inc., Santa Clara, 1987

Sobel, Dava, Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, Walker and Company, New York, NY, 1995

Weems, P.V.H., Air Navigation, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York and London, 1938

Wright, Monte Duane, Most Probable Position, The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

==References==
[http://www.erikdeman.de/html/sail040u.htm Ageton's Tables for Sight Reduction]

[http://www.afnoa.org/ Air Force Navigator Observer Association]

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A10501543 BBC Home Page, Harold Gatty, Prince of Navigators]

[http://www.navworld.com/navhistory/emmott2.htm Emmot, N.W., The Grand Old Man of Navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/ElectraRadios/ElectraRadios.htm#1| Everette, Michael, A Technical Analysis of the Western Electric Radio Communications Equipment Installed on Board Lockheed Electra NR16020]

[https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/ Fred Noonan and Amelia Earhart plus general flight navigation]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Hooven_Report/HoovenReport.html Hooven, Frederick J., The Hooven Report, 1982]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/AEdescr1.html The Institute for Aviation History: The Earhart Project]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Jacobson, Randall S., Ph.D.,The World Flight, First Attempt: Oakland to Honolulu, TIGHAR, 2006]

[http://kakopa.com/geo/cnhist.htm Milestones in Celestial Navigation]

[http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/publications/hist-air-almanac/?searchterm=1937| Naval Oceanography Portal, History of the Air Almanac]

[http://tighar.org/Publications/Books/FindingAmeliaNotes/Maps/SouthAtlantic.pdf Noonan’s South Atlantic Chart of the World Flight June 7, 1937]

[http://www.texlex.com/images/NavigationOptimum1.pdf Sight Reduction for Navigation]

[http://www.newworldexplorersinc.org/EarlyNavigation.pdf Peck, Douglas T., The History of Early Dead Reckoning and Celestial Navigation: Empirical Reality Versus Theory]

[http://searchforamelia.org/category/research/overview-research Waitt Institute for Discovery, Search for Amelia, 2009]


[[Category:Navigation]]

Captain Harry Manning

2011-09-18T23:23:27Z

Rickerjones: /* Earhart’s World Flight navigator */

[[Image:Captain Harry Manning at the radar of the SS America's chart room in 1946© 1998-2010 Smithsonian Institution.jpg|300px|thumb|left| <div align="center"> Captain Harry Manning, Master of the SS ''America'' in 1946 is viewing the radar in the ship's chart room.© 1998-2010 Smithsonian Institution (used by permission)</div>]]
Harry Manning had just received a temporary assignment as Captain of United States Lines’ SS ''President Roosevelt'' when he met Amelia Earhart. It was his first command of a ship, and at age 31, he was the youngest Captain of a luxury liner on the seas. At a youthful appearing 5 ft 7 ½ inches and 130 pounds, he was chided as being “the boy Skipper”. It was June of 1928. The crew of the ''Friendship'', Captain Wilmer L. Stultz, pilot, Louis “Slim” Gordon, mechanic, and Earhart, boarded the ''Roosevelt'' in Southampton, England. They were returning to New York following a tumultuous welcome and a week of congratulatory activities as celebrities following their historic transatlantic flight. Captain Manning had sheltered Earhart from throngs of admiring onlookers by giving her refuge on the ''Roosevelt''’s bridge deck and the two established an enduring friendship through their shared interest in flying. Just six months her senior, Manning, like Earhart, neither drank nor smoked and they established a mutual bond through their common interests and shared values. In a letter describing his first trip as a Captain, Manning wrote: “a glorious experience, ending as it did by bringing the ''Friendship'' flyers back. I have become quite intimate with the “girl” flyer. I am trying to convince her to fly the ''Friendship'' back again with me—but she won’t be convinced.”<ref>St. Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p.112</ref>

But in 1937 Earhart was convinced that Manning was the right man to join her World Flight as the navigator. He was to guide the Lockheed [[Electra]] across the expanses of the Pacific from the flight’s origin in Oakland, then, disembark in Australia, leaving Earhart to continue on her own. Manning was a well qualified nautical navigator, possessed an amateur radio license and was proficient in sending and receiving [[Morse code]]. He had become a licensed private pilot in 1930. Seemingly, Harry Manning possessed all the attributes that Earhart felt would be required for the forthcoming World Flight.
==Young Harry Manning==
Harry V. Manning<ref>Manning’s seldom used middle initial “V.” appeared in only one reference used by the author: ''Life'', July 21, 1952, p. 62</ref> was born in Hamburg, Germany on February 3, 1897, to a British father and a German mother. His father, William Edwards Manning, was a junior diplomatic officer in the British Foreign Service. His mother, Ann M. Manning, was described as a woman of great beauty who had worked as an actress in Germany. In 1907 the Mannings moved from London to New York City where William Manning pursued a career in the import business. His untimely death, however, followed shortly after their relocation to New York. Young Manning and his mother continued to reside at 362 Riverside Drive in Manhattan where she found work as a model for several years. Harry remained very devoted to his mother and insured her welfare.

Harry Manning was a bright student, but being the smallest in his class, he was often picked on by classmates. Both smart and tough, it was not unusual for him to come home after school with the telltale signs of a fist fight.<ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952"</ref> He completed his grade school education with honors, and was eager to develop himself both intellectually and culturally.
[[Image:362 Riverside Drive, Manhattan where Manning grew up.jpg|300px|thumb|right|<div align="center"> Manning's childhood home at 362 Riverside Drive, now called the Carlton Arms, serves as student housing for Columbia University (Google Earth)</div>]]
At 16, young Manning qualified for the New York Nautical School, and trained on the New York Nautical training ship ''Newport''. In October of 1914, after two difficult years which included many more fights, Manning, at just 99 pounds and 5 feet, ½ inch tall,<ref>''Mast Magazine'', “United States Maritime Service Radio Training Station Huntington, Long Island, New York”, January 1944</ref> graduated from the school. Navigation fascinated him and he quickly absorbed the Marcq St. Hilaire method of celestial navigation which had recently been adopted by the U.S. Navy. With the Great War underway, job opportunities and advancement for mariners were ample. He signed on to the ''St. Paul'' as a seaman at a monthly wage of $15, and proved himself to be a competent navigator.

By his second voyage he was promoted to quartermaster. Unfortunately, Manning was fired when he suffered a bout of seasickness while at the helm, unable to carry out the Captain’s orders while approaching Nantucket in a choppy sea.<ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952"</ref> An 11 month apprenticeship on the four masted American barque ''Dirigio'' followed, making Manning one of few luxury liner Captains to have trained under sail--a fact respected by crewmen and superiors alike. An intimate understanding of winds and seas was to benefit him throughout his seafaring career.

==Manning's early career==
Harry Manning advanced rapidly through the junior officer ranks, shipping on cargo vessels, troop transports and tankers. He was acquiring a reputation as a perfectionist who wanted things done his way, but his tight discipline did not make him popular with crewmen detailed to his watch. ''Time'' magazine wrote: “on one ship, the stewards tried to poison him by dumping roach powder in his coffee. Says Manning: ‘I was an awful son of a bitch in those days.’ His hands still bear the scars of knives wielded by a stowaway and what Manning calls ‘various obstreperous members of the crew.’” <ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952”</ref> Once, as a junior officer, he was ambushed and beaten up by drunken sailors in Bremerhaven, Germany, an event that prompted him to become an accomplished boxer. His pugilistic skills were honed by sparring with ex-lightweight champion Benny Leonard (183-19-11). [http://united-states-lines.org/Harry%20Manning.htm] After receiving the rating of Chief Officer, Manning was employed by United States Lines in July of 1921 and shipped on several vessels, usually as Second Officer. Typical of Manning’s youthful daring and risk-taking was an escapade when the SS ''George Washington'' arrived in port behind schedule and, without the knowledge of the Captain, he set the bridge clock back to reflect an “on time” arrival.
==Career disappointments==
Manning’s career took a downward turn after being assigned as Second Officer under Captain Hartley on the SS ''Leviathan'' in 1923. The ''Leviathan'' was then the largest and fastest vessel afloat, one of three German ships interned after the outbreak of WW I, and seized as a prize of war when the United States entered hostilities in 1917. Manning had worked to help another officer obtain command of the ship, placing him in an awkward position when Hartley ultimately was selected for the captaincy. After a year’s difficult relationship, he was “detached”(fired) from the ''Leviathan'', causing a blemish on his career. Though he knew it would be difficult, Manning was determined to make a comeback. Satisfaction with his three year climb back is reflected in a March, 1927 letter: “I fell from the heights like a plummet…nothing left for me to do but begin all over…I have worked hard, handicapped with poor health as I have been, and now I am higher than ever”.<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 23.</ref>

Manning was plagued with self-doubt about many of his life and career decisions. He worried that he “always chose mediocrity” when faced with important choices. It was easier not to ask for the hand in marriage of a young lady he loved, than to propose and be turned down. Through his association with Amelia Earhart in 1928, he became acquainted with Richard Byrd, then planning an expedition to Antarctica. Asked by Byrd to command one of his three ships, Harry Manning agreed, but later recanted when his decision met with the disapproval of his Mother and closest friends. He continued to question whether he had done the right thing.

Manning developed an interest in aviation motivated by Lindbergh’s 1927 solo transatlantic flight, and he wrote of Lindbergh’s accomplishment, “…I could [do] it too…I think there is a future there—more exciting—seagoing is becoming rather tame after all these years. Navigators will be needed even more than aviators if one considers transatlantic flying.” <ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 111.</ref>

==Temperament issues==
Manning regained his career momentum just as another difficult relationship cropped up, this time with the Captain of the ''President Harding''. “I have arrived at my goal without the aid of a mustache”, he wrote in 1927. He explained that his dislike for the ''Harding'' Captain caused him to be afraid of a repeat of the ''Leviathan''. “…I have succeeded in losing most of my friends—same old sore—incompatibility of temperament—I have just had a severe discordance of views and I lost my temper as usual…”. His letter continued, “I do not indulge in much social life—people bore me—same old chatter—same old silly questions…”<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 83-84</ref> ''Time'' magazine wrote of Manning: “…Manning is, by his own admission, a stubborn, bullheaded, tactless introvert…who is called by his friends and enemies the best seaman in the world….an unsmiling perfectionist…his passion is to run a perfect ship.” <ref>''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952”</ref>

In spite of his temperament, Manning worked diligently to become broadly educated. He was well read in classic literature, spoke three languages, loved both classical and modern music, was known to exchange lines from Shakespeare with passengers, became an accomplished boxer, and was an excellent dancer—he particularly loved to Tango. The stewards were directed to send the best dancers among the passengers his way so that he could Tango with them. He also learned to play the piano. Harry Manning had a grand piano in his stateroom quarters on the SS ''America'' and on a rough winter Atlantic crossing, the moorings that held the piano broke loose. The careening piano smashed the stateroom furnishings.
==The “Habitual Hero”==
[[Image:Harry Manning's Award for SS Florida Rescue.jpg|300px|right|thumb|<div align="center"> Medals and awards presented to Captain Harry Manning for his part in the heroic rescue of the 32 man crew of the Italian vessel ''Florida'' on January 23, 1929.(Courtesy: Hermann Historica Auctioneers, Munich)</div>]]

On January 22, 1929, the SS ''America'', commanded by Captain Fried, received an SOS from the Italian cargo vessel SS ''Florida'', adrift in a winter storm 700 miles off the Virginia Capes. The ship’s rudder chain had broken and she wallowed on her beam ends in the he rough running, ice strewn seas with her 32 crew members aboard. The ''Florida'' was taking on water and the bridge had been carried away. Chief Officer Manning and seven crewmen volunteered to row through the stormy seas in a life boat to rescue the crewmembers as the ''America'' stood off a quarter mile. A line was thrown to the ''Florid''a and one by one the crewmen were hauled to the lifeboat. At one point, a strong surge carried the line away, but Manning was able to reconnect to the ship and the remainder of the crew and its Captain were taken off. Near total exhaustion and unconsciousness, the crew members had to be hauled aboard the ''America'', as was Manning himself. The empty lifeboat could not be brought back aboard safely in the rough seas, and was cut adrift. By the time the ''America'' reached port, news of the rescue had already spread and a welcome party greeted the ship. Captain Fried announced to the press, “If recognition is given to men of ''America'' it should go to the lifeboat crew in [the] charge of one of the most gallant young officers I have ever met—Captain Harry Manning.” On January 28th, ceremonies with a presentation of awards took place, followed by the largest ticker tape parade down the “canyon of heroes” since Lindbergh’s in 1927. Manning’s courageous acts continued. On two occasions he dived over the side to save men who had gone overboard, one which of was not at all grateful, as he had attempted suicide.

Manning was assigned as Chief Officer on the SS ''Roosevelt'' under Captain Fried. The ''Roosevelt'' was approaching Ireland on May 13, 1932 when out of a dark, stormy sky appeared a Lockheed Altair, signaling an SOS with its lights. When the fuel starved plane ditched near the ship, it was Harry Manning who commanded the lifeboat that reached unconscious flyer, Lou Reichers. Reichers was pulled from the plane and taken back to the ship where his injuries were treated by the ship’s doctor. Reichers’ failed transatlantic flight occurred just one week prior to Amelia Earhart’s successful solo crossing.

Manning lost command of the ''American Trader'' when it was involved in collision in London and he was re-assigned to the SS ''California'', of the Panama Pacific Line (a line associated with United States Lines).<ref> St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 118</ref> In the latter part of 1933 he was again back with Captain Fried, this time on the United States Lines’ newbuild, the S S ''President Washington''. Then, ''The New York Times'' reported in its July 4, 1934 edition that Manning unexpectedly resigned from the sea to assume an executive position with National Ordnance and Forge Company of Irvine, Pa., <ref>''The New York Times'', July 4, 1934, “Manning, at 37, Quiting the Sea”, p. 33</ref> and again, without explanation, reported that he returned to the sea in September.<ref>''The New York Times'', September 12, 1934, “Manning, Who Quit the Sea, Returns”, p. 47</ref>

Licensed as a private pilot since 1930, Manning borrowed a 90 horsepower monocoupe from a friend for an afternoon flight in December of 1934. At 3000 feet, a portion of the propeller broke off, and severed the magneto grounding wire as it departed the aircraft. Unable to shut off the engine, the violently unbalanced propeller shook the engine loose on its mount. The oil and fuel lines were severed. Not wanting to bail out because of the possibility the aircraft would crash into houses below, Manning stayed with the aircraft and landed safely at Roosevelt Field. The last two bolts which held the engine were only seconds away from breaking. Newspapers again reported Manning’s heroic action.

==Earhart’s World Flight navigator==
[[Image:Paul Mantz, Amelia Earhart, Harry Manning and Fred Noonan, Oakland, California, 17 March 1937 (Wikimedia Commons).jpg|300px|thumb|right| <div align="center">Paul Mantz, Amelia Earhart, Harry Manning and Fred Noonan (L to R) on March 17, 1937 in Oakland, California prior to their departure to Honolulu on the World Flight's first attempt. (Wikimedia Commons)</div>]]
[[Amelia Earhart]] commented to Manning’s friend when they met during a lecture tour that Harry Manning was “quite a charmer”.<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 118</ref> Manning’s continuing exposure in the press, interest in aviation, navigational and radio expertise, and longstanding friendship with Earhart, made it natural for her to regard him a fitting choice as the World Flight navigator. On Manning’s part, he did not want to make another “decision for mediocrity”--and agreed to participate in the World Flight.
Preparations moved quickly after the United States Lines granted Manning a three month leave of absence to join the Earhart adventure. Manning’s only navigational experience, however, was maritime navigation; he needed practice using a bubble octant in the air, and to adapt to faster navigational pacing aboard an aircraft.
On February 17, 1937, Manning departed with the Putnams in the Electra, flying from New Jersey to Burbank, California. On the flight, Manning practiced celestial navigation and, as described by Elgen Long: “He gave Amelia a position showing they were in southern Kansas, but were actually a few miles across the border in northern Oklahoma. Though not a large discrepancy for celestial air navigation, Putnam’s confidence in Manning faded…as he didn’t even have them in the right state”.<ref>Long, Elgen M. and Marie K., ''Amelia Earhart, The Mystery Solved'', Simon & Schuster, 1999, NY¸ p. 60</ref>[[Image:GPP_to_WT_Miller_3-1-37_re_Pan_Am_Nav.jpg|200px|thumb|left| <div align="center">George Putnam appears to be less than comfortable with Harry Manning's expertise as an aerial navigator in this 3-1-37 letter written just days before the first attempt. In it, he suggests that "Manning may be able to talk to practicing Pan Am navigators to advantage".(Courtesy: John W. Davison, Jr. family)</div>]][[Paul Mantz]], too, was unsure that Manning was the right man to be the World Flight navigator. Mary Lovell wrote that Mantz “was somewhat skeptical of Manning’s confidence in finding a small island such as [[Howland]], knowing that air navigation took different skills than surface navigation”.<ref>Lovell, Mary S., ''The Sound of Wings, The Life of Amelia Earhart'', St. Martin’s Griffin, 1989, NY, p. 241</ref> Paul Mantz had selected the design for the Electra's navigator position based on those aboard the Pan Am Clippers. Pan Am was flying the new Pacific routes surveyed by their lead navigator [[Fred Noonan]] and Mantz was familiar with Pan Am’s successful navigational procedures. On March 1, 1937, George Putnam wrote a letter to [[William Miller]], the Bureau of Air Commerce employee who served as the Roosevelt Administration’s liaison for the World Flight project, and requested contact with one of Pan Am’s best practicing navigators. “…there doubtless is much that Manning can go over with them to advantage. Naturally his experience is limited in a job like this…”.
As it turned out, Fred Noonan’s schedule permitted him to join the World Flight crew.[[Image:Noonan Octant Receipt.jpg|200px|thumb|right|<div align="center">Harry Manning's receipt from Fred Noonan for U.S. Navy Pioneer Octant number 12-36 dated March 20, 1937, the date of the Luke Field take-off accident, and written on Matson Line note paper. Noonan was to return the octant Manning signed for from the Navy upon completion of the Earhart flight. (TIGHAR Archives)</div>]] Lacking time to obtain the necessary visas, he would only stay aboard the flight as far as Howland Island where the most difficult overwater leg of the trip would end. Paul Mantz, would be aboard only as far as Honolulu to join his fiancée there. Harry Manning would complete the remainder of the Pacific overwater portion and deplane in Darwin, Australia.

The crew arrived in Oakland on March 10th, 1937 with the start of the World Flight planned for the 15th, but bad weather and last minute details delayed their take-off. Harry Manning, a U.S. Naval Reserve officer, signed for a Pioneer Bubble Octant from the North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego which was expedited to Oakland. By March 17th, the weather cleared enough for the Lockheed Electra to take off on the first leg of the World Flight to Honolulu. The Lockheed arrived at Wheeler Field in Hawaii early on the morning of March 18th where maintenance was begun on the right hand Hamilton constant speed propeller which had frozen in a position of fixed pitch. Following a test flight, the Electra was flown to Luke field for servicing and the take-off would now be made from Luke’s 3000 ft runway at dawn on March 20th.

With the three person crew aboard, the aircraft began its take-off roll just after 5:40 a.m. During take-off the Electra veered slightly to the right, and Amelia corrected to the left with a change of engine power; as described in [http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field_Crash_Report/LukeFieldProceedings.htm the Luke Field Crash Report:], the aircraft “began to swing to the left with increasing speed, characteristic of a ground-loop…sliding on its belly amid a shower of sparks…”. Luckily there were no serious injuries. Manning had only a bruised elbow, but it was obvious that the World Flight venture was over for the time being.
Public comments reported that Manning’s three month leave of absence could not be extended to permit him to participate in another attempt, but the Longs wrote, “Amelia…had talked to Manning, who was very gentlemanly about being replaced by Noonan when the flight resumed.”<ref>Long, Elgen M. and Marie K., ''Amelia Earhart, The Mystery Solved'', Simon & Schuster, 1999, NY, p. 108</ref>
Frederick Goerner spoke at the Amelia Earhart Symposium presented at the National Air and Space Museum library in 1983. He quoted Harry
Manning’s comments years after the Luke Field accident: “Amelia Earhart was something of a prima donna. She gave the impression of being humble and shy; but she really had an ego, and could be tough as nails when the occasion required it. I got very fed up with her bull-headedness several times. That's why she brought Noonan into the picture --in the event I were to give up on the flight. AE herself was not a good navigator; and Noonan was a happy-go-lucky Irishman. He wasn't a 'constant' navigator. I always felt he let things go far too long...” <ref>''Aviation Journal'' (California), “Amelia Earhart Symposium”, February 1984, p 5</ref> <ref>Lovell, Mary S., ''The Sound of Wings, The Life of Amelia Earhart'', St. Martin’s Griffin, 1989, NY, p. 252</ref>

{{hint|
==Other Researcher’s Comments==
"Manning was to have been the radio operator, and one of his jobs would be to manually reel out and in the trailing wire (as well as to throw the antenna selector switch, located in the aft section)" ([[Mike Everette]], 7 September 2000 [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/forum/Highlights101_120/highlights104.html Forum]).

"Amelia met Captain Manning on board his ship of which he was Captain, on her return from Europe. Amelia persuaded Capt. Manning to obtain a three months leave of absence from his shipping board, and join her for the around the world flight. Harry had the many qualifications so very necessary for making Amelia's flight a success. He had a private pilot's license, a ham (Amateur Radio) license, thus he knew code, and of course he was a completely competent navigator. You can understand that as Captain of America's largest ocean passenger liner, he was well versed in safety operations in every respect, including matters of survival in case of an emergency of any kind. Amelia was indeed lucky to have a man so completely qualified on her team." [[Gurr]] to [[Goerner]], 3 May 1982.

[[Mantz]] was scheduled to leave the plane in Honolulu; [[Noonan]] at [[Howland Island]], and '''Manning''' in Darwin, Australia.

According to [[Gurr]], "Captain Harry Manning's leave of absence would now run out before Amelia could make her flight, so he bowed out and returned to [the] ''Washington''" (letter to [[Goerner]], 3 May 1982). In his letter to [[Goerner]] on 12 September 1985, [[Gurr]] adds that the leave was from the Maritime Commission.}}

==Manning’s last flight==
On July 24, 1938, Manning was flying his Fairchild monoplane on a flight returning from Long Island. In his approach to Roosevelt Field at 700 feet, his aircraft entered a spin and fell to the ground, critically injuring him. Manning suffered compound fractures of both legs, a compound jaw fracture, fractured skull, broken arm, severe chest and internal injuries. At first it was first feared that he would not survive, and then that he would not be able to walk. During his nine month convalescence, Manning learned to play the piano and returned to sea duty as Captain of the ''Roosevelt'' in the spring of 1939 with a noticeable limp. Manning’s flying avocation had ended.

==World War II era==
On January 30, 1940, Harry Manning married. He had met Florence Isabella Trowbridge Heaton, a passenger, in 1934. Both were pilots with their own planes and enjoyed their mutual interest in aviation. It was not to last. Two years later, after their baby daughter, Florence, was born, they divorced, unable to combine Manning’s life at sea with marriage. <ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 129</ref>

The U.S. had not yet entered the war in 1940, but Europe was already deeply embroiled in hostilities. American nationals were being repatriated aboard ships sent to bring them home from Europe. Manning, in command of the SS ''Washington'', picked up 1020 passengers in Bordeaux and was steaming off the coast of Portugal. Near dawn on June 11, 1940, a German U-boat surfaced and blinked a signal to the ''Washington'': “heave to”, followed by a frightening “torpedo ship”. Manning ordered the passengers to board lifeboats and his signalman to blink the message “American ship, ''Washington''” to the submarine. “Captain has ten minutes to leave ship” came the U-boat response. With the passengers secured aboard lifeboats, Manning ordered the same message continuously flashed to the submarine. “''Washington'', American, ''Washington'', American”, hoping to delay the U-boat’s actions until the ship could be clearly identified in the morning light. After an unnervingly long silence, the U-boat blinked the signal, “Thought you were another ship, please go on, go on.” [http://www.usmm.org/washington.html] As the country neared war, regular passenger service came to an end. Ships were activated for wartime service and refitted; painted battleship gray, passenger capacity was increased to carry troops. Harry Manning’s assignment as Captain of the newly built ''America'' was cut short, when he was called to active service at his Naval Reserve rank of Lieutenant Commander. He became the chief navigation officer on the refitted ''Washington'', now renamed USS ''Mount Vernon''. His final sea duty aboard the ''Mount Vernon'' involved the 1942 evacuation of the remaining refugees from Singapore “under a hail of Japanese bombs”. Manning was next assigned to train seamen for the new ships under construction for the war. Promoted to Commander, he became Captain of the U.S. Maritime Service training ship ''American Navigator'', followed by the appointment as Superintendant of the Radio Training Station at Huntington, Long Island. In 1944, Manning became Superintendant of the U.S. Maritime Service Radio Training Station at Hoffman Island, New York. At war’s end Manning was released from active duty and resumed command of the ''Washington'', refitted for civilian service, and detailed to bring home young GI’s and their war brides from Europe.

==Commodore of the Fleet==
[[Image:S.S._United_States_and_S._S._America_(U.S._Navy_Photo).jpg|300px|thumb|300| <div align="center">The SS ''United States'' (background) and SS ''America'' (foreground) pass in New York Harbor. Harry Manning was Captain of the "Big U" in 1952 when it captured the Blue Riband for setting both the Eastbound and Westbound Atlantic speed records. (U.S. Navy Photo)</div>]]
[[Image:Commodore_Harry_Manning.gif|300px|thumb|left|<div align="center"> Harry Manning was named Commodore of the United States Lines fleet and assumed duties as the Captain of the flagship SS ''United States'' in July 1952. (Courtesy of The Mariners' Museum, Newport News, VA)</div>]] On September 26, 1946, Manning was designated “Commodore of the Fleet” for United States Lines, and was given command of its flagship, ''America'', following its refitting for civilian service. Now at the top of his profession, Manning found he was in demand as maritime expert. He was invited to participate in discussions with the Truman Administration on the postwar needs of the maritime industry. He also convinced British Parliament to allocate £600,000 to modernize the Southampton port channel. Manning relinquished command of the ''America'' in 1948 to become the advisor to United States Lines for construction of a newly designed super liner to be named SS ''United States''. The War Department had liked Britain’s use of Cunard’s ''Queen Mary'' and ''Queen Elizabeth'' converted for wartime troop transport, and thought such a flexible concept would work well for the United States. Large, fast vessels could outrun enemy submarines, and could carry 7 times the personnel after being refitted as troopships. The Government agreed to subsidize most of the $78 million cost of the new ship designed for dual use. Specifications were to be controlled by the Navy. Designed to be fast, it would have two separate engine rooms, 4 propellers, and reinforced decks which could accommodate gun turrets in the event of war. Not disclosed until the 1970’s, the top speed of the SS ''United States'' was 38.3 knots (44.1 mph). To reduce the risk of fire, the only wood permitted for use in its construction was a butcher block for the galley, and a wooden Steinway piano.

Fittingly, Commodore Harry Manning became the first Captain of the ''United States'', or “Big U” as it was affectionately called. When she departed on her maiden voyage from New York on July 3, 1952 there was anticipation that the “Big U” would set a new transatlantic speed record between Ambrose light ship in New York and Bishop Rock lighthouse, England. At 0516 GMT on July 7, 1952 the ''United States'' took the Blue Riband from Britain’s ''Queen Mary'' which had held the Atlantic crossing record since 1938. Over ten hours had been cut from the crossing time with an average speed of 35.59 knots. On the return trip the ''United States'' set the westbound record as well, with an average speed for the 5844 nautical mile round trip of 35 knots, or 40.8 miles per hour.
“Proudly flying a 40 ft Blue Ribbon from its mast and with the band playing ‘God Bless America’ and ‘I’m Wild About Harry’, the ''United States'' made a triumphant entry into New York…a flotilla of small boats tooted their approval…”.
[http://united-states-lines.org/Harry%20Manning.htm] On July 18, 1952 Harry Manning rode through the streets of New York--his second ticker tape parade--and received the red ribboned Municipal Medal of Honor presented to him by Mayor Impellitteri of New York.

==Retirement years==
On May 1, 1953, Commodore Harry Manning retired from United States Lines. His retirement from the U.S. Naval Reserve would be as a Vice Admiral. A letter he wrote at that time explained, “Forty years of this is sufficient—as you know I have worked very hard—too hard for my own good perhaps—and the time to quit is when one is on top. I have not been feeling too well these past few years—the injuries from my crash seem to be aggravated and cause me much pain. Now I can take care of myself—eat slowly—sleep late if I want to and in general enjoy life.”<ref>St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001, p. 144</ref>
Harry Manning remarried in the mid fifties to Mildred Bachmann Eisenhardt and moved to an estate in North Jersey. He endured slowly declining health brought about by his 1938 aircraft accident and continuing stomach ailments. On August 1, 1974, Harry manning died at home in Saddle River, NJ, at the age of 77.

==Footnotes==
<references />

==Bibliography==
Braynard, Frank O., ''World’s Greatest Ship: The Story of the Leviathan'', Vol. I, South Street Seaport Museum, 1972

Butler, Susan: ''East to the Dawn: the Life of Amelia Earhart'', De Capo, NY, 1997

Long, Elgen M. and Marie K., ''Amelia Earhart, The Mystery Solved'', Simon & Schuster, NY, 1999

Lovell, Mary S., ''The Sound of Wings, The Life of Amelia Earhart'', St. Martin’s Griffin, 1989,

St.Clair, Mary Archer, ''A Knock on the Door'', Brandylane Publishers, Inc., White Stone, VA, 2001

Wright, Monte Duane, ''Most Probable Position'', The University Press of Kansas, Lawrence/ Manhattan/ Wichita, 1972

''Mast Magazine'', “United States Maritime Service Radio Training Station Huntington, Long Island, New York”, January 1944

''The New York Times'', July 7, 1952, “CAREER OF COMMODORE MANNING HAS BEEN A SAGA OF THE SEA LANES”

==References==

[http://www.fsmaa.org/NFFS/2000/nf000820.cfm Fort Schuyler ''Maritime Alumni Association News'' From Fort Schuyler August 20, 2000 - Volume 4, No. 26]

[http://united-states-lines.org/Harry%20Manning.htm “Harry Manning, Captain of the SS ''United States''”]

[http://tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Archives/Documents/Luke_Field_Crash_Report/LukeFieldProceedings.htm Luke Field Crash Report]

[http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,859829,00.html ''Time'', June 23, 1952, “Travel: Invasion, 1952”]

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Leonard Wikipedia, Benny Leonard]

== Related articles ==

* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Research/ResearchPapers/Worldflight/prepdepart.html Manning and Noonan's navigation to Hawaii.]


[[Category:Navigation|Manning]]
* [[Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937]]

[[Category:Radio considerations|Manning]]

[[Category:Biographical Data|Manning]]

File:WE 631B Mic Ref (Courtesy Bob Paquette Microphone Museum)-.bmp

2011-09-11T16:01:28Z

Rickerjones: A 3x5 card with reference data on the Western Electric 631A and 631B microphones. A set of reference cards were maintained by repair facilities for Western Electric microphones and related equipment. (Courtesy Bob Paquette Microphone Museum)

A 3x5 card with reference data on the Western Electric 631A and 631B microphones. A set of reference cards were maintained by repair facilities for Western Electric microphones and related equipment. (Courtesy Bob Paquette Microphone Museum)