Semicircular Ambro Protractor, Lockheed Sirius "Tingmissartoq", Lindbergh

This Dietzgen plastic protractor was among the navigation equipment Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, took on their 1931 flight to the Orient and 1933 survey flights across the North and South Atlantic. As the Lindberghs flew over vast stretches of unchartered territory in Canada, Alaska, and Siberia during their 1931 flight and Greenland, Africa, and Brazil during their 1933 flight, they relied on radio and navigation equipment to find their remote destinations. Even this simple protractor was essential for keeping track of their bearings on the map.Anne did most of the navigating and operated all of the radio equipment during the Lindberghs' two trans-global flights. Prior to the 1931 flight she worked hard to learn aviation skills and Morse code in order to earn her pilot license and radio operator's license. She thus felt slightly insulted when women reporters seemed most interested in her clothes or where she packed the lunch boxes on the airplane. Charles, however, always recognized Anne's importance to their success and called her "the crew," a term that made her proud.