Lesson Plan on Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart, Pioneering Woman Aviator, Lost on Flight over the Pacific

I just finished publishing my lesson plan for this week on my class website when I received an email from David of Autralia:

Maria,

Good Morning from Australia....I am glad that you are keeping the memory of Amelia Earhart alive within the minds of the students.

For the past fourteen years Amelia has been fresh in my mind and I remember her every day.... You see, I run a Project from Australia which has evidence of where Amelia, Fred Noonan and the Lockheed Electra rest.

The Project is simple and its' aim is to re-locate some aircraft wreckage which was seen by an Australian Army patrol in the jungle of East New Britain Island in 1945 during World War II.

The patrol did not know what the wreckage was but their unit reported the find to the United States Army Air Force, The USAAF had a very large contingent of aircraft and men in New Guinea as part of the effort to defeat the Japanese in New Guinea. This contingent was named the "5th Air Force".

The USAAF replied to the news of the find and stated that the engine described by the Australians was a "Pratt & Whitney Wasp" engine. Some evidence which came to light in 1993 and which is written evidence, was found on the edge of a wartime map used by the patrol.

This evidence says: "Ref: 600 H/P S3H1 C/N1055"These three parameters actually describe two things.... One is an engine, a Pratt & Whitney 600 Horsepower R1340-S3H1 and the second is an airframe, Construction Number 1055 which just happens to be the airframe serial number of Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Electra, as her aircraft was a Model 10 and it was the 55th Model 10 built. The engine description also fits Amelia's Lockheed for her engines were P & W "Wasps" and they were rated at 600 Horsepower and they were R1340-S3H1 engines..I have been into the jungle on East New Britain Island eleven times looking for this aircraft wreckage in the very thick jungle. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

All this can be seen on my website: http://www.electranewbritain.com

I hope that you and your students will enjoy exploring the website and keep the spirit of Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan and the Electra alive today and tomorrow and for evermore.

Best Regards,
David Billings.

I emailed back CC'd to the rest of the Reading teachers in my grade level team:

Dear David,

It was a pleasant surprise to receive a letter from you. This week, we will be reading the story of Amelia's courage from the book Houghton Mifflin http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr06/gr6/gr6_th2_sel1.html authored by Jan Parr. My lesson will be more interesting now that I have a first hand story from you to share to my students about relocating the remains of Amelia's aircraft wreckage. I will share to them this email of yours. My students will surely appreciate more her heroic story when they see the actual photos of Amelia, Fred, and the Lockheed Electra from your website. I will show these to them and will read to them her biography. I hope it is okay if I ask my students to write you their thoughts...

You are doing a wonderful job. Thank you for sharing her inspiring story.

Sincerely,

MARIA ANGALA

I hope someone picks up on this amazing discovery and supports his quest.