17 June 1937

Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra 10E Special,NR16020, being serviced at Karachi, Sindh, 16 June 1937. (Purdue University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections)
Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan with their Lockheed Electra 10E, NR16020, at Calcutta, India, 17 June 1937.

17 June 1937:  Leg 19. “From Karachi on June 17 we flew 1,390 miles to Calcutta, landing at Dum Dum airdrome shortly after four in the afternoon. Low clouds hung about during the beginning of the flight, but these disappeared as we drew near the Sind Desert. Through this great barren stretch rough ridges extended almost at right angles to our course. A southerly wind whipped the sand into the air until the ground disappeared from view in regular ‘dust bowl’ fashion. We flew along until the ridges grew into mountains and poked their dark backs like sharks through a yellow sea. these acted as a barrier to the sand, and the air cleared somewhat, so we could again see what we were flying over – dry river beds, a few roads connecting villages, and then a railroad.” —Amelia Earhart

Great Circle route from Karachi, Sindh, (now, Pakistan) to Calcutta, Dum Dum, India, 1,178 nautical miles (1,356 statute miles/2,182 kilometers). (Great Circle Mapper)

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

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