SOVIET RUSSIA

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 1, 2 January 1937, Page 13

SOVIET RUSSIA

PARACHUTE-JUMPING

ARM OF DEFENCE Parachute-jumping has virtually the same effects in the human organism as football, according to a group of four military physicians in Leningrad whe recently made an elaborate study of the problem. Their report has been received with interest, since parachuting is a major sport among Soviet youth and is rapidly becoming also an important arm of national defence, writes the Moscow correspondent of the "Manchester Guardian." From an aviation detachment in regular service thirty-seven men were selected for detailed observation—the first on this subject ever undertaken, it is claimed. The thirty-seven were examined before, after, and even during jumps. Careful examination of the heart, the lungs, and the circulatory and nervous systems was made before the taking-off and after landing. The influence of the long fall on both meI tabolism and the chemical composition ' of the blood was carefully checked. Automatic apparatus for measuring respiration and blood pressure was carried by the subjects while jumping. The examiners concluded that only slight changes take place within the body during a parachute jump, and that none of these is permanent. They have announced that the "complete harmlessness of parachute-jumping is now scientifically established." The Bolsheviks claim that the use of the parachute is more highly developed and more general in Russia than in any other country. It was originally introduced on a wide scale as a cheap and quick method of spreading "air-mindedness" among the millions of peasantry, from among whom would be drawn the pilots and mechanics for the aeroplanes needed in modern industry and war. Parachutes, however, are now put to such diverse uses as dropping physicians called out on emergencies, delivering cinemas to collective farms, and supplying food to mountain climbers. The most spectacular employment of parachutists has been in military service. The descent of 2500 heavilyarmed troops was first carried out in the 1935 manoeuvres at Kieff. So successfully did these disrupt the "enemy" rear that parachute battalions have since been again used at the recent Minsk manoeuvres and at Moscow. Commissar of Defence Voroshiloff has emphasised that this new weapon is still experimental and valuable chiefly as training. Another recent development to which importance is attached is the successful operation of a device called the "Para-plane," which enables the jumper to glide through the air for a lengthy period before opening his parachute. The apparatus was demonstrated in October by its inventor, R. Pavlov. The "Para-plane" consists of a pair of oval wings, spanning twelve feet. They are strapped to the back of the wearer and opened after a short fall from the aeroplane. The wings are an aluminium framework covered with heavy linen. A stabilising device prevents the jumper from slipping into a head-foremost position as he falls.

Pavlov, while testing his machine recently, glided for more than two minutes, then opened his parachute and landed on a previously indicated spot. The wings were unstrapped and dropped by a special parachute. The "Para-plane" has greatly interested both military and civil aviation experts because of the far greater control it allows the parachutist. Within a wide radius the jumper majf be relatively certain of hitting any landing-point he chooses. This would obviously add to the effectiveness of the mflitarjLpara-