Dickenson County herald. [volume] (Clintwood, Va.) 1939-195?, 1942-12-31
PARATROOPS in TRAINING
By Quentin Reynolds


Britain nor America paid much at
tention to the training of para
chutists until successive German
victories were scored by her men
who jumped from the sky.
German parachutists have contrib
uted largely to every important Brit
ish defeat. After taking Holland
and Belgium with parachutists in
major roles, the Germans used them
at Dunkirk and in Crete and Greece,
and they helped at Tobruk.
Now, belatedly, both America and
Britain are doing what the resource
full Russians did so many years ago.
They are finally thinking of para
chutists as an attacking force.
The training Of a parachutist is
an interesting affair-to the specta-
tor. At the British airdrome I visit
ed, hangar had been converted
into what looked like a huge gym
nasium. About 300 men were swing
ing back and forth on trapezes, do
ing turnbling acts on heavy mats,
dropping through an opening to the
floor, ten feet below, sliding down
chutes. Instructors kept barking at
them.
First Lesson for ParatroOpers.
"Relax when you fall" an instruc-
tor shouted, just as football coaches
have shouted for years. That is
the first lesson a paratrooper learns
how to fall without getting his
brains knocked out. Then on the
swings he learns to turn his body
while in the air.
One slight man in the uniform of
the Raj, with the stripes of flight
lieutenant on his sleeve, was all
over the place, swapping out orders.
''He seems to know his business"
/ said to the commanding officer
who stood with me.
HE should" the c. O. said dryly.
Hes made more jumps than any
other man alive. That's Harry
Ward, whom they call the Birdman.
Made more than $500 jumps"
We talked about the qualities that
go to make a good paratrooper. A
few days of land training and two
jumps from a balloon and they're
ready for real business - that is
dropping from an airplane. The
American and British methods differ
widely at present. Our American
troops usually jump from well over
a thousand feet. In training, the
British troops jump from 300 feet.
The chute itself opens after a man
has fallen 70 feet. He then comes
down at the rate of 10 feet per
second. In actual operations, the
drops are made from 500 feet or
lower.
It takes a man about % seconds
to make that downhill trip.
The use Of the ripcord has been
abolished in Britain's parachute
circles. A belt is fastened to the
fuselage of the plane, and it's other
end is hooked onto the parachute
cover. AS he drops, the belt jerks
the cover off and the parachute
opens.
watched men drop from the skies
one whole afternoon and part of
one night, and of the 500 or so jumps
made. there was only one casualty,
and that only bump on the head.
An instructor stands in the middle
of the plain where the men are to
land. In his hand is microphone,
and large loudspeaker is beside
him. He talks to the men as they
float down. The men drop in
sticks of two, five or ten. They
drop Gf they obey orders) straight
and stiff1y. although the slip stream
from the aircraft sometimes grabs
them and Whirls them about. Then
the parachute jerks open and they
hear the voice of the instructor.
'Nurnber one you're coming
down nicely" he'll say, and his voice
10 oIoor in tho aory,bonac ~ %Lo