Stephen Jurika And His Search For Amelia Earhart

Called the Queen of the Air,¹ by 1937 Amelia Earhart was the most famous female aviator in the world. She became the second person and the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic in May 1932.

Attempting to fly around the world, she disappeared on July 2, 1937. President Franklin Roosevelt ordered the US Navy to conduct a massive search for her. Stephen Jurika, who would later be navigator when Big Ben was attacked on 19 March 1945, was then assigned to the USS Saratoga. According to Jurika’s Reminiscences, vol 1, pp 282-283, TBD Devastator squadrons were borrowed from Saratoga and USS Ranger and embarked upon USS Lexington. They searched a sizeable section of the ocean southwest of Pearl Harbor. The TBD they used was a torpedo bomber that had just entered service with the Navy.² At the time it was the most advanced of any US naval aircraft and considered perfect for the search as it carried a three-man crew in cockpits with great visibility.

Just as miscommunication played a role in the events onboard USS Franklin after the 19 March attack, it also played a role in the disappearance of Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan. The US Coast Guard cutter, Itasca, waiting with fuel at Howland Island for their arrival never knew until later that neither of the aviators knew Morse code. Two-way voice communication was never established between the airplane and the ship, making it impossible for the aviators to home in on the ship’s signal.³

Jurika said that they “flew for days” at 500 feet altitude. Each plane flew five miles apart from the next searching for Amelia Earhart. They’d fly out 150 miles, then turn and fly 35 miles, then return to the carrier. When they landed, the planes would be refueled and fresh crews would repeat the search pattern.⁴ Sadly, as we all know, no trace has ever been found of Amelia Earhart or Fred Noonan.

Years before her doomed flight, Earhart wrote a note to her sister Muriel. It read in part,

I have tried to play for a large stake and if I succeed all will be well. If I don’t I shall be happy to pop off in the midst of such an adventure.³

1. Amelia Earhart – Wikipedia
2. https://www.boeing.com/history/products/tbd-devastator.page
3. Amelia Earhart: Missing for 80 Years But Not Forgotten | National Air and Space Museum
4. Jurika, pp 282-83