PARACHUTE TECHNIQUE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24327, 18 June 1940, Page 8

PARACHUTE TECHNIQUE

SCHOOLS IN GERMANY EXHIBITION “ DROPS ” « (From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON. May 17. J There are, so far as is known, four; main parachute schools in Germany,, and it would appear that the troops use a standardised method for their operational descents. , One of .the first points of importance is to judge when to jump! in order to land at a predetermined point, Exhibition parachutists, who spend their lives doing “drops,” often make mistakes as to wind strength, and land some way from where they intended. It seems, according to The Times aeronautical correspondent, that tjre Germans jump from about 3000 feet', though jumps are sometimes made from as low as 600 feet, which would be' about the practical limit. A parachute can to some extent be “steered"’during its fall. The shroud lines are pulled and air is spilled from one side or the other, causing, the parachute to side-slip in the required direir; tioh. • 'T! Other Features to be Studied - - Another method used to arrive at the v selected landing point is that of choosing the right moment to open the parachute. To ensure that a body of men shall land fairly close to one another the parachutists must be well drilled so that they pour rapidly from the aircraft. Moreover, they must so arrange their delays, or the length of their free fall, that the .intervals.be: , tween .the men are to some extent smoothed out during the; descent. The landing with ah emergency pardchute is harsh, and on rough ground may lead to minor injuries, but it may be that, the German parachutists, with their heavy loads of ammunition an<j equipment, use bigger canopies than are common in the emergency types and therefore fall more, slowly. Parachute Troops’ Ruse ;;) ‘ . It is- reported frbifj Holland- that there are still'numerous nests Of /! parachuteers ” in th'e sand, dunes uldng the coastal- region round. The Hague. where every little valley between the dunes serves S as a natural hiding place. All the German parachute troops carry an iron ration of ersatz food: some even have little pans to cook it. Frequent parties, small in numbers: have entered private. homes in the woods nearby and forced the occupants to give them shelter. They are very difficult to ousl, ;as bombardment of the houses would endanger the lives of women and children who are held as hostages inside., Qther Germans have found shelter iii the houses of compatriots Hying in Holland, or Nazi sympathisers. One of the most unwholesome aspects of the activities of the parachuteers -is the fact that they have;’ bean frequently helped by members of the Dutch .Nazi pally. : '"T A