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A New Kind of Ship for Amelia
It has a propeller, but no wings. . .
By Giacinta Bradley Koontz
Few women have had a Navy ship christened with their name once, much less twice. Notwithstanding the odds against it, this distinction was recently bestowed upon America's most famous aviatrix, Amelia Earhart. Already under construction, the hull will gracefully slide out to sea as the USNS Amelia Earhart during April 2008.
Earhart's newest ship will not be an aircraft carrier as you might have imagined. Nor did the lobbying procedure begin with an American aviation enthusiast with clout enough to influence the naming of a ship.
The Liberty Ship and the Liberal-Minded Woman
In patriotic fashion, America's WWII Liberty ships included the USAT Amelia Earhart built by Houston Shipbuilding Corporation in Texas. She served during and after that war until she was wrecked during a monsoon off the coast of Borneo in 1948. Rebuilt and sold, the ship is known to have been used as a trading vessel in the early 1950s, and by 1965 she was sailing under the Chinese flag known as Jiading. After a well photographed appearance in Liverpool's docks during 1967, her fate gets “blurry.” Like the Jaiding, aviatrix Earhart's fate also gets a bit “blurry.”After a remarkable rise to fame as a record-making flier between 1921 and 1937, Amelia Earhart was last seen with her navigator, Fred Noonan, on Lae, New Guinea. Her attempted circumnavigation of the globe by air ended when her Lockheed Electra 10E ran out of gas before reaching the destination of Howland Island. Notwithstanding endless speculation to the contrary, it is a fact that she did not know her precise location, lost radio contact with her homing ship, and could not have survived the ultimate crash into the merciless ocean depths.
A far cheerier fate is expected for T-AKE #6, USNS Amelia Earhart, rising amid the ways at General Dynamic's, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO,) in San Diego, California. The Navy ordered eight ships to be built with their primary mission to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea. All eight of the ships are named for U.S. explorers. In addition to Earhart they are Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1); Sacagawea (T-AKE 2); Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3); Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4); Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5) and two yet-to-be named.Explorers of space, polar continents, and western frontier are obvious choices, but some would say Earhart is a stretch. She never discovered nor explored new territory, oceans or outer space. Her achievements were more of an expansion than an exploration in her chosen profession as an aviator. Yet in every aspect of her actions, as well as her own words, she encouraged exploration of personal potential. She no doubt sparked curiosity, interest, confidence and energy within the un-charted heart and soul of most Americans, but in particular the women of the 1920s and 1930s.
Although indisputably a pioneer, U.S. history teachers would probably offer other American explorers ahead of Earhart including John Wesley Powell (1869 Colorado River/Grand Canyon expeditions) and the husband and wife team of aviators Martin and Osa Johnson (African explorations via aircraft during the 1930s). So how did Earhart wing her way to the head of this T-AKE class? Who was at the helm of this idea anyway?
The answer reaffirms the Yankee notion that one person of true heart CAN make a difference. Even if the heart is not that of an American.
The Heart of a Ukrainian (and the Paper Trail)
One of the primary forces behind the Navy's decision was the quest of Dr. Oleksandr V. Mandel, an Assistant Professor of Physics at the Odessa Medical State University, Ukraine who believes there is no one on earth more deserving of the honor than Amelia Earhart. Mandel is a member of the U.S. Naval Institute and the Association of Naval Aviation and the author of two books about early U.S. Navy battleships. His father was a commissioned officer in the Soviet Navy during the early 1970s, serving in the Mediterranean along with the U.S. Sixth Fleet.
At some point Mandel's research of American naval history crossed over to his insatiable interest in the life of Amelia Earhart. To this end he has quickly become a source of obscure detailed information carefully arranged in chronological order for nearly every day of Earhart's public life as a flier.Mandel's private world dramatically changed after the collapse of communism during the 1990s, when as he puts it, “our country became more 'open' and I could exchange information between sources in the USA. The dream to name a ship for Amelia Earhart began then. The internet connected me to many like-minded friends in America and they helped me begin the process. My first petition, sent in 2003, was mostly signed by friends and colleagues.” Encouraged and helped by American friends he proceeded through the maze of political and military protocol. Petitions in various forms were sent to Purdue University (which archives the George Palmer Putnam Collection of Amelia Earhart Papers,) and many schools named for Amelia Earhart, including one in Okinawa. “Similar petitioning letters were sent to the office of the United States President, Vice-President, and Secretary of State and several congressmen,” says Mandel, “but of course I have no way of knowing the results of those efforts – except for Congressman Jerry Moran.” Moran, from Earhart's home state of Kansas, sent letters of support to the Navy on Mandel's behalf.
In 2004, Mandel traveled to the U.S. with an itinerary of Earhart sites to see. The focal point of his tour was the “Amelia Earhart Festival” in Atchison, Kansas, where he networked, adding more names to his growing list of signatures. He confesses he was totally charmed by the USA, receiving a warm mid-west welcome. He arrived as “Dr. Mandel” but was soon answering to the American nickname of “Alex.”In 2006, his petitioning letter addressed to Secretary of the Navy, Donald Winter was posted on the internet, where it gained more interest and signatures. And that is where it could have remained for years to come, with Mandel occasionally stoking the fire. Happily, at that time the Navy sought proper names for their new T-AKE fleet, and on May 29th, 2007, chose to include Earhart.
The Aviatrix and Those Who Honor Her
Keeping the Earhart legacy alive is not unique to either Mandel or the U.S. Navy. Hundreds of schools, streets and parks bear her name. The Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park in Northern California includes an Amelia Earhart Grove. The International Zonta Society, of which Earhart was a member, has chosen her as their symbol of the independent business woman. More than a symbol, Earhart is also remembered daily by the International Association of Women Pilots. Earhart was their first President, in 1929. Also known as the “99s” for the number of charter members who originally signed on with Earhart, the organization, headed by President Pat Prentiss, now has hundreds of chapters worldwide with over 5,000 members. Both the Zontas and the 99s offer scholarships for women pursuing a career in aviation.
Every “99” knows the story of the Cleveland National Air Races which did not allow women entries – prompting Earhart and her female counterparts to organize the first “Women's Air Derby,” in 1929, later dubbed the “Powder Puff Derby” by comedian Will Rogers.The 99s own three properties which honor Earhart: The Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum in Atchison, Kansas where she was born in July 1897; The Forest of Friendship also located in Atchison, Kansas and The Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City, OK (the “99s Museum”) which is also the 99s headquarters. As you would have expected, Mandel visited each site during his 2004 trip, meeting Earhart relatives along the way.
Atchison's Home Town Girl
For the uninitiated, the Birthplace Museum is a modest two-story home open to the public for tours year-round. It looks like a home because it is. The Director of the Museum is Lou Foudray, who lives on the premises. The Forest of Friendship is a park of gently sloping hills, planted with at least one tree from every state in the United States. A graceful cement walkway is set with tablets bearing names of people living or dead who have contributed to aviation in any way. A life size statue of Earhart gazes out over the forest. Alone or accompanied by the Forest's Director, Kay Baker, a walking tour is as close to a zen experience as can be imagined in Kansas.
The Addicted
The “99s Museum” is staffed by women pilots and other volunteers in a two-story building on the grounds of the Will Rogers World Airport, at Oklahoma City. Permanent displays, rotating exhibits and an ever-bulging archive of documentation, photographs and memorabilia are open to the public. Jewelry and clothing once worn by Earhart are a featured display. The main exhibit hall reflects women pioneers in aviation from early hot air balloons to the Space Shuttle missions. The museum's Director, Margie Richison, is also a pilot and certified flight instructor who has twice entered the Air Race Classic, patterned after the original Women’s Air Derby of 1929. The 2007 race between Oklahoma and Canada was exactly what Earhart and her peers had in mind. Richison summed it up in an effusive email to her husband during the flight. “The challenges of navigation, new territory, unpredictable weather and the unexpected cooperation of total strangers along the way is worth all the planning, expense and time,” she wrote. “I don't expect to win but it's so much fun – it's addicting. I'll enter again.” Richison finished “somewhere in the middle of the pack.” Her enthusiasm is typical of those bitten by the flying bug.Earhart's passion for flying led her to purchase her own planes and keep abreast of records waiting to be broken by male or female aviators. She learned to fly in California in 1921, instructed by aviatrix Neta Snook, then associated with engine and aircraft designer, Bert Kinner. Kinner and Earhart developed a long-term business relationship wherein she alternately worked for him and helped him test his inventions. The first plane she owned was a Kinner Airster, which she named “the Canary” due to its yellow fabric cover. From that day forward everything else in Amelia Earhart's life centered around flying.
When Mandel is pressed to make a short list of Earhart's achievements among her dozens of aviation “firsts” and entries into the aviation record books, he highlights these statistics:Mandel is quick to add Earhart's humanitarian and scholarly contributions including her volunteer hospital service in Canada during World War I (1918); as a social worker in Boston with underprivileged youth (1926-1928); aviation editor of Cosmopolitan magazine (1930's); author of 20Hrs and 40 Minutes, The Fun of It, and Last Flight, and on staff at Purdue University in Indiana mentoring future career women (1935-1937).
Legacy and Lunacy
Earhart's remarkable career as an aviator is sometimes overshadowed by her fatal flight on July 2, 1937. Although her husband, George Putnam, Sr. and family accepted her death, there are those who persist in creating theories of her survival as a spy for President Roosevelt or that she miraculously survived and returned assuming the identity of a New Jersey housewife; or that she and her Electra were cloned as a decoy in a complex military plot to confuse the enemy. Misidentified artifacts continue to be “discovered,” luring adventurers to pay for trips to remote islands. All of this frustrates scientists and historians like Mandel, who has pro-actively debunked them as fictional at best, and at the very worst, opportunistic and slanderous to Earhart. Although identity theft is a crime in the United States, this does not deter conspiracy theorists who publish books and make the rounds as public speakers for profit with impunity. Not since an American socialite falsely claimed to be Russia's “Grand Duchess Anastasia” has there been such intrigue.On the side of science is the research resulting in a book by Elgen and Marie Long entitled “Mystery Solved.” [Simon and Schuster; 2001] In addition to his otherwise remarkable career in military and commercial aviation, Elgen Long is an aviation legend himself, holding the record as the only person to solo over both poles. His expertise is navigation, which led him to go over Earhart's flight plan with a fine tooth comb – uncovering errors within the data upon which her final location was based. Long has recently been involved with attempts to locate the sunken Electra and emphasizes that he isn't looking for Amelia Earhart. “I'm hoping we find Earhart's Electra,” says Long, “which may or may not lead to other conclusions.” Long's theory is often quoted by both his critics and his fans: “She crashed, she sank.”
Earhart's step-son, George Putnam, Jr. is understandably interested in any news of the Electra, but long ago accepted her death at sea. “What happened seems obvious to me,” says Putnam, now in his 80s. “Tragically, she and Noonan were both killed in that crash.” Putnam's father and mother were divorced and he was ten years old when Earhart became the second Mrs. George Putnam. Earhart, in the unlikely role of step-mother took young George on an exhibition flight of her autogiro, painted green and white by the sponsor, Beech Nut. “I don't remember being scared,” says Putnam. “When we landed I handed out gum to the crowd.” As to the prospect of a ship named for his famous step-mother, Putnam and his wife Marie, are both surprised and delighted.
Among the diminishing number who recall meeting Earhart and/or who remember the impact she had on their lives, is retired USN Rear Admiral Ernest Eugene “Gene” Tissot, Jr. His father, “Ernie” was Earhart's mechanic on her record making flight from Hawaii to Oakland in 1935. She once flew her Lockheed Vega into the remote Arizona airfield where Tissot Sr. was working so that he could tune up her Pratt & Whitney WASP engine, while she enjoyed the solitude away from her adoring public. “I had a cold the day she came and my mom wouldn't let me meet her,” says Tissot Jr. Earhart appreciated mechanics and enjoyed “tinkering” in the shop. She would no doubt be fascinated with the construction of the ship named in her honor. The process from drawing board to launch is daunting to say the least.The Shipwrights
Most Americans would not have guessed Mandel's voice would be heard amid the protocol of the busy U.S. Navy. Yet in May 2007 an un-named keel lay waiting at NASSCO, to be temporarily named “T-AKE-6.” Just days before the ceremony, the Navy announced its choice of a name for #6 allowing NASSCO's Public Relations Department to issue a press release and paint signs for the ceremony signifying the beginning of full-scale production for the USNS Amelia Earhart.
There is no better way to appreciate a huge ship than to visit where it is made. The first impression of a shipyard is staggering; the magnitude of construction overwhelming, the entire process - a modern marvel. Through NASSCO's 5-acre shipyard, pedestrians follow the green painted walkway posted with safety warnings to be alert for moving forklifts and trucks as well as pressure hoses, chains, cables, and other umbilical cords underfoot which are attached to machines and men at work. Hard hats, safety goggles and work boots are required here. A NASSCO fire truck and paramedic van cruise the perimeter of the shipyard on all three work shifts in case of an emergency. The crews communicate among themselves using whistles and hand-signals amid warning horns, sirens, and flashing beacons of huge equipment. Men are covered in helmets, face shields and coveralls. “Only 8% of the workforce is female,” explains Mary Montgomery, NASSCO's PR Officer. “The nature of the jobs we offer don't attract many women – but I'm guessing that will change with time.”NASSCO's entire workforce of 5,000 is now devoted to the construction of the T-AKE fleet. In adjacent ways are the Earhart and the Peary. Sharing a pier are the Byrd undergoing last-phase finish work, and the Shepard, now in custody of the Navy awaiting its first assignment. Out to sea and already serving the Navy are the Lewis and Clark and the Sacagawea.
“Building a ship is like a giant puzzle,” offers Montgomery. “All the steel parts are made here but we out-source major components like engines and propellers.” Wayne Stevenson is the Launch Supervisor in charge of every phase of construction to the moment the Navy takes possession of its vessel. Stevenson has worked at the shipyard for over 30 years, beginning as a waysman, and then a shipwright. “Each portion of the ship is individually welded together, painted and then attached to a larger piece,” explains Stevenson. “ These sections together form 'grand blocks.' Blocks are lifted into place on the ship – outfitted and finished on the interior, then welded to the next block. The hull number of the USNS Amelia Earhart is 476.”
Just two weeks after the keel-laying, pieces of #476 are evident throughout the shipyard – on the ground, neatly stacked on pallets, resting atop truck beds, rolling off conveyor belts in the machine shop or swaying mid-air from a crane. “We begin some of the major assemblies before daylight,” says Stevenson. “You can walk by a ship one day and the next it looks totally different. It sounds complicated to do but the process is basic – the ship is recognizable within a few months after laying the keel.”
Ten days later, Stevenson's words ring true. The Earhart has gained a propeller, an entire engine room and added another block. Leading a walking tour amid steel pieces the size of a big-rig truck Stevenson patiently pauses allowing this visitor time to absorb the Lilliputian experience. “It takes six months for new employees to get over the “ooh-ahh factor,” smiles Stevenson. He pauses next to four identical 15 sq. foot steel frames bearing chalk marks with encoded part numbers and welding instructions, which match the orthographic drawings in his pocket-sized assembly reference. A fine, straight line generated by computer is scribed across each steel section. Above it are the letters “MRL” and a blob of dark green paint. “That's the water level line,” Stevenson says. “That's gospel. The green paint denotes the material – in this case steel.” Further on, the unmistakable profile of a ship bottom rests upon supports of rough-cut timber. Walking beneath the hull, Stevenson's hand reaches up to touch the steel of #476 which will never again be seen after launch. “We use blocks of Douglas Fir to brace just about everything. Wood is essential in shipbuilding. We recycle the large pieces for chocks and lesser uses, until they are finally sold for firewood.”The Yellow House of the Blue Crane
With the Earhart progressing so quickly, a photographer would need to be on-site daily to capture subtle structural changes. However, the occasional visitor has the opportunity to see dramatic changes, even when viewpoints are limited to ground-level beside the ship's ways. The optimal view of the entire ship is 260 feet above from a powder blue crane named the Logan Lion (for a local elementary school mascot).NASSCO's cranes are some of the largest in the world and they seem to be in perpetual motion. Riding on its own rail system between ways, the Japanese-made Sumitomo crane is the workhorse of the yard. The crane's pale yellow “house” on the main platform is accessed by steep ladders, an elevator ride, and steps which are only found in lighthouses. Crane Operator Dale Dodd, is a former helicopter pilot, who sits in the “operator's cab” controlling the Lion's every move. The power plant and cables hum in the house and an American flag flaps in the breeze. Dodd has a 360° view of San Diego at work. In the harbor, a tug assists a ship to dock. Traffic streams across the Coronado Bridge which gracefully curves from downtown to the Silver Strand. The Earhart below looks like a filleted fish, with skeletal steel ribs and brightly painted innards. On the Lion's platform, NASSCO's Maintenance Working Foreman, Jason Voigt gestures towards piles of raw steel at the northernmost corner of the docks. “Thats where the steel is off-loaded. Its trucked to the machine shop, cut into parts and delivered to work stations all over the yard.” Mid-air, Voigt hand chops each location into recognizable points of progressive assembly, which finally brings home the big picture. Montgomery and Stevenson were right. Shipbuilding is basically a larger-than-life puzzle where all the parts eventually fit together. When completed the USNS Amelia Earhart will be over 690 feet long, with a beam of 105 feet, capable of cruising at 20 knots. She will be driven by a fixed-pitch propeller powered by four diesel engines. Ooh-aah!
Buntings and Streamers
Christenings follow the mariner's tradition of designating one or more women as “Matron of Honor” representing the family for whom the ship is named. The choice falls to the Navy's special office (located in Texas) in charge of christening. (Who knew!?). The Shepard launching ceremony was represented by his daughters; the Byrd represented by a daughter and granddaughters. But what of Amelia Earhart Putnam? She had no children of her own, although she was step-mother to George Putnam, Jr. and his brother, David. Happily, the US Navy has designated Amy Klempner, descendant of Earhart’s sister, Muriel Earhart Morrissey, as the official “Sponsor” who will do the honors equivalent to breaking the bottle of champagne over the bow.
The entire launching ceremony for the USNS Amelia Earhart will be identical to those which have already taken place for the T-AKE fleet at NASSCO. Attractive programs are published for the occasion premiering the design of the ship's crest and motto. A ¼-page ad in San Diego newspapers invite the public. At the launch of the Byrd a crowd of 7,000 attended. All employees of NASSCO are encouraged to attend the event with invited Navy officers, politicians, family members, and other VIPs. It is a grand occasion on a Gulliver scale.
Ninety-Nines from several states will no doubt flock to the launch event, some flying their own aircraft as a further tribute to Earhart’s legacy. Famed local San Diego aviation artist, Daniel Witkoff has created a commemorative scarf with a portrait of Earhart and her Lockheed Electra, which will be sold at Richison’s museum in Oklahoma City. “It’s beautiful!” beams Richison. “We’ve never had anything like this to offer as a souvenir. Amelia wore lots of scarves – I think she’d like this one.”
Behind the scenes for the Earhart launch, Jason Mitchell, #476’s Ship Manager and Andrew Huffman, Area Manager, will have supervised hundreds of man-hours, mindful of the historic task they have been assigned. Due to the required high tide levels, launch will take place on April 6, 2008 at 10pm. Hours before the ceremony, Stevenson's crew will hang buntings, banners, flags and streamers from the ship. Stevenson will also make sure the ways are covered in beeswax so the decorated Earhart will gracefully slide off her launch cradle and through the ways gate into the ocean. Thousands of pounds of wooden supports ride with the hull, and are then released into a hole below the ship. Once she is moved, a special crew collects the lumber for reuse.
Through the winter of 2007 and spring of 2008, the USNS Amelia Earhart will emerge under the watchful eye of Wayne Stevenson. And from Ukraine, a heart proudly beats with every minute of construction.
“It is a dream come true,” admits Mandel, who will be here for the launch courtesy of his supporters in the USA. “I believe Amelia Earhart would have been proud to know her name was given to this ship.”
Mandel's inherited love of all things maritime led him to become an expert craftsman building scale model ships which grace the shelves of his home in Ukraine. He has of course, already begun building in miniature his own T-AKE 6 ship - the USNS Amelia Earhart.
For internet information with more photographs and updates:
NASSCO
DANIEL WITKOFF, AVIATION ARTIST
Copyright 2007 © Giacinta Bradley Koontz™, Inc. All Rights Reserved.