No Jimmy is right. I posted it....................... I watched the show last night too. Interesting............... They went to Saipan too, but didn't mention the US Marines that found the satchel, ( or brown leather briefcase that was handed over).
Here's a link I found that talks about the briefcase found in Saipan:
http://www.ameliaearhartmovie.com/briefcasefoundinsaipan.html
Then I remembered a few other things that I thought were odd about the chain of events...............
If I'm not mistaken, the original flight plan was to fly from East to West. From Oakland, California to Hawaii and so on. (Just the opposite direction of what happened on the final version of the around the world flight, where she flew from Oakland CA, to Miami FL and on around the World from there). This was apparently done to use the prevailing winds to their advantage as they crossed the Pacific. It would also place the hardest part of the journey near the beginning of the trip when they were less prone to exhaustion, and help them with fuel consumption, theoretically extending the range of the Electra.
She ground looped her Electra on takeoff in Hawaii which was the very first stop. Her Electra was moderately damaged. It was then repaired back to airworthy status, but after it was shipped back to Lockheed by sea. Some say the plane was at Ford Island at Pearl Harbor just prior to the take off accident. Ford Island was part of the US Navy's base at Pearl Harbor.
Here's where it gets tricky....................
Some say the FDR wanted her to spy on the Japanese, and "secretly" asked her to change the course of the flight, by flying from the West to the East, just as she finally did. This would put her in the Pacific at the end of the trip, and since the event was World News, it would supposedly draw less attention from the Japanese.
Since the Electra was moderately damaged in the takeoff in Hawaii during the first "Around the World" attempt, the plane was repaired by Lockheed in Burbank, CA. Others have stated that Paul Mantz, (who was a Hollywood stunt pilot and friend of Amelia's) made some additional changes after Lockheed made the plane airworthy again. He is supposed to have upgraded the generators after this rebuild. (This becomes important later................)
There were numerous people who reported a twin engine silver colored plane at Saipan at the end of WW2. Not uncommon since there was a lot of military aircraft activity there during the War, by the Japanese and eventually the Americans. What is strange though, is that there have been numerous persons who stated that this particular plane was under armed guard by US servicemen shortly after its discovery. No one was allowed near it, and it was then partially burned a few days later.
The remains of the plane were supposedly picked over and that's when someone noticed the generators. They were apparently a match to the ones that Paul Mantz installed back in 1937.
Again I state.................... who knows.......................
