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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 2305.PDF
244 FLIGHT, 20 August 1954 WORLD PARACHUTING... (Continned from page 235) followed by a precision landing! In this test, 100 points were awarded for correct free fall time,'with each fifth of a second plus or minus losing ten points. Two hundred points were awarded for landing in the centre of the ground marker, with one point deducted for each metre away from this point. After this came a pair of descents from 650m with immediate parachute opening and precision landing. These were marked as for the landing part of the first tests. Lastly was a stability test in which the parachutist had to assume a stable position within three seconds of leaving the aircraft, and maintain this position (for a further fifteen seconds before opening his parachute precisely at twenty seconds. The competition proper opened with a bang on the morning of August 3rd, after one day of official practice. After a brilliant display of Stampe aerobatics by Michel Berlin, two French para chutists made long free falls, opening their parachutes tight in against the front rank of spectators and the rippling line of national flags. Pierre Mas, test parachutist, maintained a won derfully stable position as he fell to within 500ft of the ground before pulling his ripcord. This was real parachuting by a master! In bright sunshine a procession of aircraft droned their way to St. Yan, carrying parachutists from France, Russia, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. Italy's Fairchild Argus and the British Rapide—which also carried Fred Mason, sole American repre sentative—were punctuation marks in a constantly wheeling circus of "Stampes." From the outset, there was no doubt that Russia would come out on top. With first-rate equipment and even better training they seemed immediately to lock on to the centre of the target and to sail in—often against the wind—"playing their parachutes like harps," as one of the British team said in horrified amaze ment. The Czechs, using/the same equipment and training were right behind them, and for the rest—with the exception of Sam Chasak of France—the competition was a procession. Fred Mason, who on the practice day had jumped from a Stampe with a French parachute and landed outside the airfield on the far side of the river, made two goods jumps from the Rapide. On the previous practice jump he reported that he had "clobbered in so hard I darned near busted my butt!" This expression is expected to become popular at No. 1 Parachute Training School! The wind was tricky for the first two delayed drops, and al though John Beadle, "figure man," did his best with the Met. information available, the team experienced considerable diffi culty in getting on to the target. They did, however, manage to group round it in a way that was very commendable in view of their lack of practice (no more than two 20 second jumps apiece!). After a very difficult final team selection, Card and Sutton had now been placed in reserve. Regardless of this great disappoint ment they took on a lion's share of the ground work. Para chutists, regardless of nationality, were relieved of their para chutes by these enthusiasts almost before their feet had touched the ground. During the two jumps which were marked for landing pre cision and time of free fall, the British team also practised the stabilized position in preparation for the last part of the competi tion. Having tapped each man smartly on the shoulder as a signal to leave, I had plenty of time to watch their cool determina tion as, eyes on their stop watches, they fought for twenty seconds to remain in the classic swallow-diving attitude. In some cases their efforts were met with complete success. During this first day, the Italian Riccitelli broke a leg on landing and Yugoslavs Martinovic and Milicevic were slightly injured. Koubec of Czechoslovakia had a main parachute failure at the end of his 20 second delay, and opened his reserve chute at 23 seconds. His main parachute then decided to open, and Koubec completed his descent beneath two canopies. At the end of the first pair of jumps, which were added and divided by two for a single result, Fetchichine and Marutkine of Russia led with 282 and 246, while Sam Chasak of France dropped into third place with 207. Monique Laroche, Champion of France, did well with the time test,- but had trouble in steering her para chute on to the target. It is surprising that one so charming and petite is able to find even part of the great strength required for continual manipulation of a large canopy. Hoffman scored 185 out of 200 for the timing section of these jumps, but dropped points on the landings. On die second day, the wind died and the competitors really started to close on the target. The British team dropped at a round figure of 2,000ft, and to comply with the rules, all para chutes had to start deploying within three seconds from the time of jumping. Russia again scored heavily when Fetchichirie re turned 4.47 m and 5.85 m for his two jumps. His team mate Kosinov followed with 8.37 m and 17.62 m. The results of the Russian team's year of intensive training were apparent! On the third and last day of the competition, the British team took wing, determined to fight the losing battle to the end. Cries of "This one for Good Queen Bess," were heard over die aircraft INDIVIDUAL PLACINGS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Name Fetchichine Marutkine Chasak Kosinov Milicevic Jehlicka Krivan Damjanovic Mile. Seiiverstova Kaplan Neimarck Hotek Lard Mas Koubec Cledassou Team U.S.S.R. U.S.S.R. France U.S.S.R. Yugoslavia Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Yugoslavia U.S.S.R. Czechoslovakia U.S.S.R. Czechoslovakia France France Czechoslovakia France Points 672 610.5 582.5 579 551 550 534.5 527 522 514 512 504 453 451.5 434.5 413.5 Place 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Name Moloney Harrison Mile. Laroche Prentic Mason Boschi Hay Hoffman Martinovic Wood Milani Rinaldi Persevalli Polican* Riccitelli* Team Britain Britain France Yugoslavia U.S.A. Italy Britain Britain Yugoslavia Britain Italy Italy Italy Yugoslavia Italy * intercom as the boys stepped over the side at 5,000ft. "Tommee" Moloney, having sat at the door cracking jokes during the climb aloft, eased liis compact body out into the airstream, and left the port wing In one of the most beautiful dives ever seen at St. Yan —or elsewhere. I sent a silent good luck wish after him as his spreadeagled form dwindled towards the sun-dried grass—steady as a diving hawk until his parachute blossomed far below, 19.4 seconds away from the empty door of the faidiful Rapide. "Tommee" scored 100/100 for his position in flight, and this, widi his timing, gave him a total of 170/200 for the test- It gave the rest of us a quick glance into die future of sportingjparachut-ing in Britain. \ "Timber" Wood, dropping only a few minutes before the first rain of the week, ended the competition. There only remained the closing ceremony before die boys were dispatched by bus for a wonderful dinner given by the Aero Club of Vichy. The organizers of die Second World Parachuting Champion ship did a fine job in every possible way, and I diink many of us were sorry to see them defeated on uieir own ground. One question remains to puzzle me. Who was the intrepid parachutist who, in a private closing ceremony of his own when all the birdmen had returned to their nests, jumped downwind of the field and executed a perfect two-parachute landing in the local graveyard? _-«^*y FOR THE BOOKSHELF "Return from Hell," by Jules Roy, D.F.C., Legion d'Hormeur. William Kimber and Co., Ltd., 46 Wilton Place, London, S.W.I. Illustrated. Price 15s. T HE reader familiar widi Jules Roy's earlier book The Happy Valley (V. Gollancz, 12s 6d), will know what to expect in Return from Hell. It is equally introspective; and gives every bit as dramatic and realistic a picture of what it meant to fly over Germany and France 37 times in a Halifax of Bomber Command in die last year of the war against Hitler. Yet, interwoven wiffi die fear and tragedy are passages of sheer beauty and delight uiat could have come only from the pen of a Frenchman who loved England and life even more deeply because both were in peril. The reason that only French airmen of World War II produce this kind of book is probably that they were older than their Allies or their enemies. Their average age of 30 compared with an aver age of 22 for British aircrew, and many were married. _ Their more mature outlook helped them to understand the boisterous actions of dieir younger allies, even when they did not join in them, as Jules Roy shows in one reference to a U.S.A.A.F. bomb ing raid. "Twenty-four Liberators from this base went today to bomb Saarbrucken," he recorded on September 7th, 1944. "They took off in formation and formed into squadrons to make a close- set stream of a hundred planes. Of die nineteen that returned, twelve were hit by flak. Four were shot down by rockets. That perhaps explains why the Americans laugh so loudly and bang die doors in the middle of die night when they leave the canteen, with no respect for their neighbours." But there is beauty in Return from Hell, as well as die grimness of war. Jules Roy suddenly awakens to the secret of the Engr* summer which "begins in August and only lasts a few days, but gives generously everydiing which in France is spread out ova- three or four months. The country dispenses so many miracles :tt once that one suffocates widi happiness, and die beautiful hou?! s seem to harbour only peaceful loves." fl Above all, this is the diary of a man who returned from the r u of a wartime tour of duty with Bomber Command. A man* o was brushed by death in his first mission, when his Halifax colue-a with another, and who, at the end of his service, had to run t c gaundet of the German intruder fighters that wrought such hax ~ over our airfields in March 1945. "But no victory is easy, a~a were it so it would have no savour." * Injured first day. ^T A
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