Oakland to the central Pacific
1 June 1937–2 July 1937 · aircraft · high route
Representative route: Oakland → Miami → Natal → Lae → Near Howland Island
aviation
Earhart’s 1937 World Flight
Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan flew an equatorial route around most of the world before disappearing between Lae and Howland Island.
Dates1 June 1937–2 July 1937
Purposecircumnavigation, documentation
Outcomedisappeared
Transportaircraft
Historical significance
The attempt demonstrated the reach and difficulty of long-distance aviation while Earhart’s disappearance became one of aviation’s enduring mysteries.
Eastbound world-flight attempt
People
- Amelia Earhart: American aviator who attempted an equatorial circumnavigation in 1937.
- Fred Noonan: Navigator on Earhart’s 1937 world-flight attempt.
Vehicles
- Lockheed Electra 10E: Twin-engine aircraft modified for Earhart’s long-distance world-flight attempt.
Major places
- Oakland: The California starting point of Earhart’s eastbound world-flight attempt.
- Miami: The point from which Earhart publicly began the international route.
- Natal: Earhart’s South American departure point for the South Atlantic crossing.
- Lae: The final confirmed departure point of Earhart and Noonan.
- Howland Island: The intended central Pacific refuelling stop that Earhart and Noonan did not reach.
Sources
- Amelia Earhart, National Air and Space Museum. World-flight route, chronology, aircraft, and disappearance.