I'll ask. It's always better to be approached by a young woman. Yep I think you're right! I know I would prefer it!
cheek! I've PM'd Sapper and Jhor9 and just waiting on replies now. Hope they know. Kitty. The only chute that i saw opened in the USAF was white, fortunately I never had to use one.
A presumption(guess). Parachutes were made out of what was readily available silk....remember the saying, Let's hit the silk?(no dity jokes please)...Early on, but as I'm sure several airborne boys pointed out to their commanders...nice big white sheet makes a great target at dawn or dusk...I suppose even a night jump...ouch white sheet and a searchlight...yes, just thinking off the top of my head. Using reason, no sources to back up what I've said...nylon becomes available and in quantity so switch...less expensive, easy to color and more durable...When though? Sometime after Market Garden, I would think...Airborne disaster...What can we do to fix it?So experten, Right or wrong? This makes perfect sense but was it historically accurate? Sometimes I have to play the straight man in a routine. Am I a suitor Kitty? I thought I was just a Knight coming to a Damsels distress. I'm in the mood for some conquering...too bad I live in these times...I can here the banners in the wind and the horses breathing heavy and finally the ring as the sword is drawn from scabbard. I really need a vacation.
You and me both mate. But i always was a sucker for a man in a tin can. Thanks Jules for the info. As to the change from silk, i seem to recall hearing something about using a very fine cotton as well. Possibly from Congleton's mill association. Not sure, i might have to trawl through afew hundred thousand words to find the comment.
5th Field Regiment in WW2 Alan Jackson's Diary of Crete 27.4.41 And then on the 20th it started in earnest. At 8 a.m. over he came with scores of planes. And for an hour and a half we were machinegunned from every angle. Then from the sea came the big troop carrying planes and gliders - too many to count. They sort of floated over the island and then out came the parachute troops. Most of us forgot any fear in wonder and amazement at the sight. A marvellous spectacle! Hundreds and hundreds of men in the air, at about 400 - 500 feet and various coloured parachutes. Then the boys opened up. We were desperately short of small arms. Jerry dropped four coffin-like boxes within 100 yards of us. On opening we found them full of small arms and ammunition. Many thanks.
5th Field Regiment in WW2 Alan Jackson's Diary of Crete 27.4.41 And then on the 20th it started in earnest. At 8 a.m. over he came with scores of planes. And for an hour and a half we were machinegunned from every angle. Then from the sea came the big troop carrying planes and gliders - too many to count. They sort of floated over the island and then out came the parachute troops. Most of us forgot any fear in wonder and amazement at the sight. A marvellous spectacle! Hundreds and hundreds of men in the air, at about 400 - 500 feet and various coloured parachutes. Then the boys opened up. We were desperately short of small arms. Jerry dropped four coffin-like boxes within 100 yards of us. On opening we found them full of small arms and ammunition. Many thanks. Thanks Spidge, that's great. I remember reading a book on the Battle of Britain, I think by Dilip Sarkar, and it said that the Luftwaffe used a dark (maybe brown) chute. But I can't find the friggin book now, arghhh.
From 43rd Wessex Div history page 160 (yes quoting from it again!) They are to the east of Nijmegen Oct 44. The parachutes which peppered the forward area were treasure trove. They consisted of real silk of a mottled green colour-good, solid silk but for practical purpose suffering from too many seams. However, practically every man provided himself with sufficient for a scarf for his own use and the number of parcels sent home through the Field Post Office quadrupled.
I'm no tailor, but aren't most things you'd want to make out of silk small enough to be made out of pieces of silk between the seams? Unles the current 'combat chic' was started back then I would have thought the silk could have only been dyed black anyway.
It also goes on to say. Reports from those with knowledge on the subject indicated most of the Dutch girls had underwear of this expensive textile within a very short time. Every girl with any pretentions to good looks soon appeared wearing a virulent yellow scarf made from celanese triangles carried by the troops to indicate their position to their own aircraft.
Reports from those with knowledge on the subject indicated most of the Dutch girls had underwear of this expensive textile within a very short time. Every girl with any pretentions to good looks soon appeared wearing a virulent yellow scarf made from calanese triangles carried by the troops to indicate their position to their own aircraft. Well they might have used silk back then, but now ground/air marker panels are 'dayglo' orange or red and made of heavy woven cotton. Not exactly good for scarfs.:mellow:
I'm no tailor, but aren't most things you'd want to make out of silk small enough to be made out of pieces of silk between the seams? Tricky one this. Depends how wide the silk was when it was sewn together. If it was only a couple of feet then you're in trouble, as to make clothes you need about 2.5 to 3 feet for ease and seams. Other than that underwear is about the only way to go. And scarves. Unless the current 'combat chic' was started back then I would have thought the silk could have only been dyed black anyway. It was possible to remove dyes to a certain extent and then redye another colour. No chance in getting the silk back to a pale colour such as white or cream, but a darker colour was possible. A mottled green-brown could be used as a basis for reds, greens, browns, blues, deep oranges and black of course. It's amazing what a woman and her friends can do when they have a mind to. As to dyes, until about 42/3 the agricultural petrol in this area was taken away and passed through a fine nylon stocking over a funnel. This removed the red dye and the petrol was then redyed for civilian use. Highly illegal but it carried on until the governement came up with a red dye that couldn't be removed.
Parachute colours Women’s Auxiliary Air Force: WAAF personnel on an RAF glider station in Britain repair and pack coloured parachutes for use by airborne troops during the Normandy invasion. Royal Air Force parachute packers on an RAF glider station folding coloured parachutes for use by airborne troops during the Normandy invasion Two paratroops with practice parachutes watching their colleagues descend after their own training drop.
Old thread with photos missing. Thought I'd post them again. Royal Air Force parachute packers on an RAF glider station folding coloured parachutes for use by airborne troops during the Normandy invasion. ROYAL AIR FORCE PARACHUTE PACKERS AT AN RAF GLIDER STATION IN BRITAIN, MAY 1944. © IWM (TR 1782)IWM Non Commercial Licence image: numerous paratroopers in the process of landing on a flat area of ground in Algeria, with mountains in the background. The parachutes they use are in several colours: dark green, yellow and red. Parachute Drop. © IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 3072)IWM Non Commercial Licence Members of the Womens Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) repair and pack parachutes for use by airborne troops during the Normandy invasion, 31 May 1944. WOMEN AT WAR 1939 - 1945. © IWM (TR 1783)IWM Non Commercial Licence Two paratroops with practice parachutes watching their colleagues descend after their own training drop PARATROOP TRAINING IN BRITAIN, OCTOBER 1942. © IWM (TR 67)IWM Non Commercial Licence
I remember from reading 'Defeat into Victory', that as silk became scarce in India, Slim ordered experiments for the manufacture of supply drop parachutes to be made in paper and jute. I found a quote on line: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nBRWmT7UFT0C&pg=PA258&lpg=PA258&dq=jute+parachute&source=bl&ots=6ycY2pbeJM&sig=6qXq5d4a0t8_E0OSluwrpkBKImk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=RmB9VOSuJYnWapXzgpgF&ved=0CD8Q6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=jute%20parachute&f=false
I have only just recently transcribed this from a letter dated - 22nd September 1944: 7880500 Sgt.B.Symes Sherwood Rangers B.L.A. "Yesterday some of Jerries planes poked their noses out, one came over awkward like, and turned over and the pilot seemed to drop out and his parachute opened nicely, the plane crashed and the pilot was in the bag. A few mins later there was a scatter and out of the blue raced two planes, both diving low, just as they reached us there was a terrific burst of firing and the front plane’s tail flew off and down he came complete with his jockey, it was a Boche. They don’t like our Ack Ack guns either, they come so far, up goes the stuff and the Boche turns tail for home. The prettiest sight I’ve seen since the war started was when the planes dropped supplies to the Yanks, the parachutes are yellow, white, blue, green and red and there were hundreds floating down. It isn’t wise to stand around as some of the strings break and though one welcomes a box of rations at any time, when they hurtle down at a few hundred miles an hour its unhealthy to be too close, they hit the deck and bounce about twenty yards. Even so it’s good to watch. I haven’t seen the men dropped yet, just missed that. We picked up some of the chutes, they were no use so the Yanks told me, but there were some nice bits of Rayon, everyone now has a scarf." This is the matching bit from the war diary of the Sherwood Rangers: 21st September 1944 A Sqn with D Sqn ROYALS are to be responsible for the SE sector from WYLER in the North to MOOR in the SOUTH. B Sqn with our own Recce Tp are to be responsible for the North from WYLER up to NIJMEGEN. ??? 2 Tp of B Sqn and one tp of Recce were sent North to a place called OOIJ without contacting much opposition. Capt McKay and his Recce Tp crossed the German frontier and claim to be the first British troops to do so. A Sqn lost one tank South of MOOK. Recce tp captured a prisoner who had been a Naval Cadet. 22nd September 1944 A Sqn remained in same area, with Sqn of Royals. C Sqn took over from B Sqn in the Northern Sector. C Sqn led an attack with No3 U.S. Airborne Bn to clear an area NE of NIJMEGEN and south of the RIVER. Our line of communications between here and EINDHOVEN has been cut and the Coldstream Guards (Armoured) with Inf sp. Have been sent back to clear up the situation. C Sqns attack was successful and they spent the night in BEEK.
