Ruth Elder was born September 8, 1902 at Anniston, AL. Below, she is seen on the right at age 28 with Register pilot Opal Kunz. The image is tilted because it was printed crooked on the photo paper.

Ruth Elder (R) With Opal Kunz, December 20, 1930

This image is a news photo, and below is the official caption on the back of the photograph. I enhanced the contrast of this image so you can read it better. The purpose of the photograph is clear.

December 20, 1930 Photo Caption

Ruth Elder visited Tucson Wednesday, August 7, 1929 at 3:30 PM. She carried Jim Granger as her sole passenger. They were northwest bound from El Paso, TX to Phoenix, AZ flying a Swallow F28W, NC8730. She was probably on her way to Santa Monica for the 1929 National Women's Air Derby ("Powder Puff Derby") to Cleveland (see below). She held pilot license number 675. She was a charter member of The Ninety-Nines.

She was a movie actress and aviation adventurer. Her first fifteen minutes of fame came at a propitious time in 1927 just five months after Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic. She and Register pilot George Haldeman made an attempt to cross the Atlantic together in a yellow Stinson Detroiter named "The American Girl" (NC1384, not a Register airplane). The last link in the left sidebar leads to details.

Depending upon the account you read (it never ceases to amaze me that various contemporary accounts cite different values for miles, hours, etc.), they flew somewhere between 2,574 and 2,625 miles across the Atlantic in stormy weather, in 28-36 hours, with Ruth at the controls for about nine hours. They were forced to ditch in the water due to an oil leak about 300-360 miles short of the Azores. They were rescued by the Dutch tanker "Barendrecht".

Regardless of the numbers, and regardless of whether they completed the flight or not, their flight is epochal in two respects. First, it was, up to that time, the longest flight ever made over water. Their distance was probably longer than that measured on the great circle route, since they had to maneuver to avoid storms. Second, it was the longest flight ever made by a woman. An interesting artifact from her NASM biographical file is this one-page download representing her Lloyds of London insurance policy which she carried for her trans-Atlantic attempt. Below, a chart from the New York Times comparing their flight with Lindbergh's.

Trans-Atlantic Flight Attempt, Elder & Haldeman, October, 1927

Her second fifteen minutes of fame was in 1929 as a competitor in what has become known as the "Powder Puff Derby". In the shadow of the unsuccessful trans-Atlantic effort, Ruth kept her chin up and entered the first Women's Air Derby. She flew against the best of competition and finished in the money. Flying her Swallow, NC8730, he placed a reasonable 5th behind the likes of Louise Thaden, Gladys O'Donnell, Amelia Earhart and Blanche Noyes.

Below, a photograph of Elder taken somewhere during the 1929 Derby.

Ruth Elder, August 25, 1929

Below, the caption written on the back of the image above.

Photo Caption, August 25, 1929

Obituary, 1977

For a number of years after her flights, she was known as the "Miss America of Aviation." She earned what was then a fortune (about $250,000) from personal appearances and two movies.

After captivating two continents during her 20s and 30s, a number of business setbacks reduced her finances ("The money slipped through my fingers and soon there was nothing". Six marriages failed.

Her first marriage was to C.E. Moody, a school teacher. In 1925, three years after her first marriage, she wed Lyle Womack, a member of the Byrd South Pole Expedition. They divorced in 1928. The next year she married Walter Camp, Jr. a director of Madison Square Garden. They divorced in 1932. Then followed G.K. Thackery, Albert Gillespie and Ralph King. In later years she led her life in seclusion with Mr. King, whom she had married twice.

In her obituary in the New York Times of October 11, 1977, Mr. King said, "We were married about three years when she divorced me. One day she rang me. She says, 'Daddy, are you married again?' I says no and she says 'Can I come home?' I says yeah and there it was. We got married again. A real love story."

Ruth Elder died October 9, 1977 at home in San Francisco, CA. Mr. King was with her. If you do the math, according to her birth and death dates she died at the age of 74 years and 11 months. News and web "estimates" range from 73 to 75, another example of the accuracy of contemporary accounts. She had suffered from emphysema for several years. At her request, her ashes were mixed with Mr. King's ashes after his death and scattered over the Golden Gate Bridge by a crew from an Air Force plane.

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Dossier 2.4.23

UPLOADED: 03/11/08 REVISED: