NavList:

Frank Reed you asked: "Was this radical asymmetry obvious to navigators in 1937?"

I think the answer is probably “It wouldn’t have mattered if it was”.  As with many such expeditions/events, once the publicity machine got underway, the organisers were obliged to attempt to complete it.  Take the most recent example.  What chance was there of the Taraia Object Expedition being cancelled just because a few enthusiasts on a website called Navlist said they were wasting their time.  Another line of enquiry is ‘Did Harry Manning have an inkling of what lay ahead?’ DaveP