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[Jeffrey Pearce]

First thought about this when I became interested in AE. If no liferaft and ditch in ocean-goodbye. Seems to me that, if I had one, I would want to get it out of the plane before ditching. It is my only hope? If liferaft was expelled and never used, where would it be today? Still circling the Pacific Ocean? Believe liferaft would have started moving east to South America.

[Ric Gillespie]

What lifefaft?  No liferaft in the Luke Field inventory.  No mention of a liferaft in Lae.  No evidence for the presence of a liferaft.

[Jeffrey Pearce]

I hear you. AE's mother said AE was not afraid. But I must say that it is very difficult for me to think that in the early day of aviation and going for a speck of land that one would not be prepared for the worst???

[Jeffrey Pearce]

Could there be any possibility that AE was apprehensive about mentioning a liferaft on the log? Didn't want to draw attention to it in any way?

[John Ousterhout]

I understand that AE did not compile the Luke field inventory - that was done by the people responsible for shipping the a/c back to California.  That indicates to me that they were probably pretty objective in what they reported.

[Ric Gillespie]

The inventory was done by an Army Lieutenant who, with mindless military precision, listed everything in the airplane right down to a partially used box of Kleenex.

[Dan Swift]

Nope...no life raft.  AE seems, to me, the personality type to never admit that failure was an option.  And she had the best navigator around.  However, I am 'sure' (again in my mind) that there was a discussion of what (where) to do (to go) in the "impossible" event they couldn't find Howland.  I am also 'sure' (in my mind) that in their minds there was only a 1% chance of not finding Howland.  In that most unlike event, turn south.....find land. 

[Tim Mellon]

If liferaft was expelled and never used, where would it be today? Still circling the Pacific Ocean? Believe liferaft would have started moving east to South America.

If a liferaft were to be successfully deployed near the Equator, it would drift Westward, in this case towards the Philipines or back towards New Gineau.

 

[C.W. Herndon]

What lifefaft?  No liferaft in the Luke Field inventory.  No mention of a liferaft in Lae.  No evidence for the presence of a liferaft.

This video from CriticalPast.com, see the 4th video down, reported to have been made on March 17, 1937, seems to show the life raft mentioned being weighed along with the other items as they are loaded on the aircraft. It does not, however, actually show the raft being loaded on board.

[Matt Revington]

According to this story from Oct 1937 she did at least purchase a life raft for the trip,  of course that does not mean she carried one

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ac4rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lIQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3198,1664569&dq=earhart+liferaft+hawaii&hl=en