But why all this shipping of parachutes around the world?
Good question. Logically, you don't ship parachutes halfway around the world to an obscure place like Port Darwin unless you think you might need them. (duh)
Did Earhart consider parachutes essential to crossing vast stretches of water? I don't recall any mention of a parachute being carried on her 1932 Newfoundland to Ireland flight, or her 1935 Honolulu to Oakland flight. Most significantly, there are no parachutes in the
Luke Field inventory. So unless I'm missing something, the available evidence suggests that Earhart did not consider parachutes essential to crossing vast stretches of water.
But why else would it be important to have parachutes waiting for them in Darwin? The route from Darwin to Lae took them over about 400 miles of New Guinea jungle, including the Owen Stanley mountain range. In 1986 I flew in a helicopter from Port Moresby across the Owen Stanleys to the Agaiambo Swamp in Oro Province. Believe me, there is NO place to make a forced landing and the route is dotted with airplane wrecks plastered on the walls of mountain passes. Having heard of the hazards of the New Guinea jungle Earhart might have (wisely) opted to have parachutes aboard for the Darwin/Lae leg. I have a recollection of Earhart writing somewhere that she was more concerned about flying over jungles than over oceans, but I don't see it in a quick scan through Last Flight. Anybody else remember that?