Fred Noonan: Difference between revisions

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* Full name: Frederick Joseph Noonan.
* Full name: Frederick Joseph Noonan.
* Born April 4, 1893; lost July 2, 1937; declared dead June 20, 1938.
* Born April 4, 1893; lost July 2, 1937; declared dead June 20, 1938.
== How did Noonan get involved in the World Flight? ==
A confidential [http://tighar.org/aw/mediawiki/images/a/a0/Putnam_to_Miller_re_Pan_Am_Nav.pdf letter from George P. Putnam to William T. Miller] on March 1, 1937, hinted that Putnam was not totally comfortable with the experience level of Capt. Harry Manning "in matters like this" (aerial navigation), and suggested that one of Pan Am's best practicing navigators be summoned to discuss the matter with him "to advantage".  On March 12th it was announced that Noonan, who left Pan Am earlier in the year, would be joining the crew of the World Flight.


== First round-the-world attempt ==
== First round-the-world attempt ==
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* Claim first made in the 1960s?
* Claim first made in the 1960s?
* Heavy drinking a norm for pilots in the 1930s.
* Heavy drinking a norm for pilots in the 1930s.
* The claim that [[Delayed in Lae|"personnel unfitness"]], a phrase from a telegram sent from [[Earhart]] to [[Putnam]] on June 29th was a pre-arranged code between them has not been substantiated.<ref>Gore Vidal, for example, made this claim in the [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/earhart/transcript/1/ WGBH American Experience] show.</ref>
* The claim that [[Delayed in Lae|"personnel unfitness"]], a phrase from a telegram sent from [[Earhart]] to [[Putnam]] on June 29th, was a pre-arranged code between them has not been substantiated.<ref>Gore Vidal, for example, made this claim in the [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/earhart/transcript/1/ WGBH American Experience] show.</ref>
 
:Gore Vidal: "Well, just the night before the final flight, she reported in and they had a code phrase, 'personnel problems,' which meant Noonan was back drinking. And my father said, 'Just stop it right now and come home,' and G.P. agreed and said, 'Come back, abort the flight, forget it, come home.' And then she said, 'Oh, no,' and she said, 'I think it’ll be all right,' something like that. So you may put that down to invincible optimism or it may have been huge pessimism."
 
The phrase was used in a telegram, not a telephone call.  [[Ric Gillespie]] says that there was no phone call from Earhart to Putnam in Lae: "Amelia did not talk to her husband from Lae. She did telephone a travelogue story to the New York Herald Tribune, as she had from nearly every stop on the world flight. Putnam was in California and communicating with his wife by telegram."<ref>[http://tighar.org/news/news/earhart-project/93-part-2-of-rics-review "Part 2 of Ric's Review of Amelia, the movie."]</ref>
 
It may have been a typo for "personal," meaning that [[Earhart]] herself was feeling unwell; it may have been a reference to both [[Earhart]] and [[Noonan]] (exhaustion or some other malady); or, of course, it may refer to [[Noonan]] alone.  The possibility that it might refer to drinking or a hangover cannot, of course, be eliminated by recognizing that there are other possible interpretations.


== Links ==
== Links ==
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* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Brines_Letter/Brinesletter.html The Brines Letter]--mentions Noonan's drinking.
* [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/Brines_Letter/Brinesletter.html The Brines Letter]--mentions Noonan's drinking.
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Noonan Wikipedia article.]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Noonan Wikipedia article.]
* [https://sites.google.com/site/fredienoonan/resources/noonan-article/Noonan1936article.pdf?attredirects=0 "Finding Tiny Islands from Speeding Planes."]
* Letters to Helen Day during the final flight:
* Letters to Helen Day during the final flight:
** [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/HelenDay/dayletters.htm Fortaleza]
** [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/HelenDay/dayletters.htm Fortaleza]
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** [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/HelenDay/dayletters3.htm Bandoeng]
** [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/HelenDay/dayletters3.htm Bandoeng]
** [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/HelenDay/dayletters4.htm Koepang]
** [http://www.tighar.org/Projects/Earhart/Documents/HelenDay/dayletters4.htm Koepang]
== References ==
== References ==
<references/>
<references/>
==Related articles==
* [[Air Navigation: State of the Art in 1937]]


[[Category:Navigation]]
[[Category:Final Flight|Noonan]]
[[Category:Navigation|Noonan]]
[[Category:Biographical Data|Noonan]]

Latest revision as of 16:25, 11 July 2012

  • Full name: Frederick Joseph Noonan.
  • Born April 4, 1893; lost July 2, 1937; declared dead June 20, 1938.

How did Noonan get involved in the World Flight?

A confidential letter from George P. Putnam to William T. Miller on March 1, 1937, hinted that Putnam was not totally comfortable with the experience level of Capt. Harry Manning "in matters like this" (aerial navigation), and suggested that one of Pan Am's best practicing navigators be summoned to discuss the matter with him "to advantage". On March 12th it was announced that Noonan, who left Pan Am earlier in the year, would be joining the crew of the World Flight.

First round-the-world attempt

Was Noonan a drunkard?

  • Claim first made in the 1960s?
  • Heavy drinking a norm for pilots in the 1930s.
  • The claim that "personnel unfitness", a phrase from a telegram sent from Earhart to Putnam on June 29th, was a pre-arranged code between them has not been substantiated.[1]

Links

References

  1. ↑ Gore Vidal, for example, made this claim in the WGBH American Experience show.

Related articles

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