NewsBite

The photo behind the theory Amelia Earhart was a Japanese prisoner has been debunked

THE idea that pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart was taken prisoner by the Japanese has been discredited after a closer look at the fuzzy photograph behind the explosive claim.

New documentary suggests Amelia Earhart didn't crash

THE idea that pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart was taken prisoner by the Japanese has been discredited after a closer look at the fuzzy photograph behind the explosive claim.

A History Channel documentary, Amelia Earhart: The Lost Evidence makes much of a seemingly suspicious US Naval intelligence photo of a pre World War II Pacific harbour.

The photo at the centre of the sensational Amelia Earhart claims. Picture: US National Archives
The photo at the centre of the sensational Amelia Earhart claims. Picture: US National Archives

RELATED: Photo said to reveal Amelia Earhart’s fate

Among the tiny figures is one which appears to be a short-haired woman — Earhart — sitting despondently on a pier looking towards a Japanese transport ship with what could have been a wrecked aircraft attached to its stern. A nearby man, apparently with a receding hairline, was postulated to be her co-pilot, Fred Noonan.

The story, while enticing, cannot be true.

Amateur historian Les Kinney argues this US intelligence photo shows co-pilot Fred Noonan, left, with Amelia Earhart sitting on the edge of a pier in the Marshall Islands in 1937.
Amateur historian Les Kinney argues this US intelligence photo shows co-pilot Fred Noonan, left, with Amelia Earhart sitting on the edge of a pier in the Marshall Islands in 1937.

A Japanese military history blogger was inspired by the idea. But he decided to run some checks of his own.

Kota Yamano noted: “The steam ship on the right of the photo is a Japanese navy survey ship “IJN Koshu’’. The ship participated in search missions for Amelia and arrived Jaluit Atoll in 1937, but the ship also arrived there sometimes since 1935.”

So he visited the Japanese national library to search the scant details contained on the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) caption attached to the undated image.

His search quickly produced a book with the picture published inside.

This Japanese travelogue found in the Japanese national library shows the picture at the centre of the Amelia Earhart claim — published two years before her final flight.
This Japanese travelogue found in the Japanese national library shows the picture at the centre of the Amelia Earhart claim — published two years before her final flight.

Turns out the photo was taken two years before the Earhart and Noonan failed to find a refuelling stop on their groundbreaking flight from Australia to the United States.

It was printed in a Japanese travelogue “The Beauty of the Sea”, published on October 10 — 1935.

Instead of showing Earhart, Noonan and the wreck of their aircraft, the photo actually shows participants in a local schooner race.

“The photo was the 10th item that came up,” Yamano told The Guardian. “I find it strange that the documentary makers didn’t confirm the date of the photograph or the publication in which it originally appeared. That’s the first thing they should have done.”

The fate of US aviator Amelia Earhart remains a mystery — and magnet for conspiracy theories. Picture: AFP
The fate of US aviator Amelia Earhart remains a mystery — and magnet for conspiracy theories. Picture: AFP

The image may have been copied by the ONI a it could potentially have revealed details about Japanese harbour facilities.

The debunking of the photo cuts deep into the conspiracy theory presented by The History Channel, that Earhart was possibly the first ‘victim’ of World War II.

It argues she and Noonan died in prison because they may have seen Japanese war preparations on the mid Pacific Islands.

EXPLORE MORE: The war crime behind the last dogfight of World War II

The Amelia Earhart mystery

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/true-stories/the-photo-behind-theory-amelia-earhart-was-a-japanese-prisoner-has-been-debunked/news-story/cd2d14122328b0742b106269ce561fe0