Fred Noonan

Lore & Background

Fred Noonan was born in Cook County, Illinois, to Joseph T. Noonan and Catherine Egan, both of Irish descent. His mother died when he was four, and by age seven his father lived alone in a Chicago boarding house. Noonan left school in the summer of 1905 and went to Seattle, Washington, becoming a seaman at an early age. He shipped out at 17 as an ordinary seaman on the British bark Crompton, and between 1910 and 1915 worked on over a dozen ships, rising to quartermaster and bosun's mate. During World War I, he served on American and British merchant ships, never in the U.S. Navy, and survived three vessels sunk by U-boats. In 1926, he earned a master's license for steamers of any gross tonnage. He married Josephine Sullivan in 1927 and settled in New Orleans, working as chief mate on the SS Carplaka.

After a 22-year maritime career, Noonan learned to fly in the late 1920s and received a limited commercial pilot's license in 1930. He worked for Pan American World Airways as a navigation instructor, airport manager in Port-au-Prince, and inspector for all company airports. In 1935, he moved to Oakland, California, and served as navigating officer on survey flights that pioneered commercial air service across the Pacific. He navigated the first round-trip China Clipper flight between San Francisco and Honolulu, and mapped clipper routes to Midway, Wake, Guam, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. He made at least 21 Pan Am flights in 1936, including five round-trip Pacific crossings to Manila. His last flight with the airline ended December 7, 1936; he resigned soon after, reportedly saying, 'We've lived on promises for a year. I'm through.'

In 1937, Noonan was a tall, thin, dark auburn-haired, blue-eyed 43-year-old with maritime ratings and a pilot's license. He had an interest in starting a navigation school. References in his correspondence indicate he enjoyed an occasional drink, but there is no contemporary evidence he was an alcoholic or fired for drinking, though hearsay claims later emerged. On March 3, his attorney filed divorce papers for his wife Josephine in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Around that time, he was involved in a serious automobile accident. Amelia Earhart met Noonan through mutual connections and chose him as navigator for her world flight. He joined just days before the first attempt, after it was discovered that designated navigator Captain Harry Manning needed help. Noonan lacked a visa for New Guinea but was needed for the Hawaii-to-Howland leg. On March 17, the flight began with a record-breaking hop from Burbank to Honolulu. On March 19, Noonan sent a telegram saying Earhart asked him to continue at least to Darwin, Australia. The next day, the Electra ground-looped on takeoff, collapsing its landing gear; the plane was shipped back to Los Angeles for repairs. On March 27, Fred married Mary in Yuma, Arizona.

Reader's Guide

Fred Noonan's significance lies in his dual mastery of maritime and aerial navigation, which allowed him to chart the first commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean for Pan American World Airways. His work on survey flights to Midway, Wake, Guam, the Philippines, and Hong Kong established the foundation for transoceanic air travel. His legacy, however, is inextricably linked to his role as Amelia Earhart's navigator on her 1937 world flight. The disappearance of both over the central Pacific on July 2, 1937, remains one of aviation's greatest mysteries. Noonan's expertise was critical: he identified a major deficiency in the flight's navigational equipment before the first attempt, borrowing a modern bubble octant to replace an ordinary ship sextant. Despite his contributions, the flight is now regarded by some as an adventurous publicity stunt. Noonan's reputation as an expert navigator and his role in developing commercial airline navigation had already earned him a place in aviation history before the final flight. His disappearance, along with Earhart's, has fueled decades of speculation, but the source article provides no resolution to the mystery.

Did You Know?

• Noonan survived three ships sunk by U-boats during World War I while serving as an officer on ammunition ships.
• He was awarded a master's license for 'steamers of any gross tonnage' by the U.S. Shipping Board in 1926.
• Noonan made at least 21 flights for Pan American in 1936, including five round-trip Pacific crossings to Manila.
• He borrowed a modern bubble octant for Earhart's flight after being dismayed to find only an ordinary ship sextant aboard.