The following are links about parachutes in WWII that may be of interest:
- Parachutes 1943-1945, WWII Uniforms and Flight Gear, 303 Bomb Group: http://www.303rdbg.com/uniforms-gear7.html
- Paratroop Training, Office of War Information, 1943: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzOdPPAkhW0
- Paradogs of World War II: http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/the-parachuting-dogs-of-the-british-army-in-world-war-ii-a-939002.html
- How Products are Made, Parachutes: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-5/Parachute.html
- Parachuted Dogs Aided Downed Allied Airmen: http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/raining-dogs-u-s-army-parachute-animals-in-world-war-ii/
- Manti Parchute Plant Helped Save Lives in WWII: https://www.ksl.com/?sid=30660608&nid=148
- Caterpillar Club: http://www.merkki.com/caterpillarclub.htm
- Parachute references in the AFEES newsletter:
- Bless You, Brother Irvin by John A. Neal. The book is about people around the world who have saved their lives by parachute, including his own. The book includes the story of the Caterpillar Club and the names of some of its illustrious members. Sept. 2009, pg. 26.
- Alan Magee, gunner on “Snap! Crackle! Pop!, fell 22,000 ft. w/o a parachute and lived. Helped and treated by a German military doctor, he became a POW. Dec. 1998, pg. 4.
- Switlik Parachute Co., Richard Switlik, Sr., former president, is first to test the parachute – Fall (Sept.) 2004, pg. 31;
I have several WW2 photos of my father who I believe was a guard at a facility where parachutes were made. Can someone help me identify the uniform he is wearing and the possible location? One of my brother’s thought he recalled the location was either in Canada or a far northern US location. A Canadian genealogist told me that a guard would not necessarily be in the military, but rather a hired civilian. My father once said it was determined he was not qualified from the US military due to a foot deformity, but he wanted to service somewhere in some capacity.
World War II magazine provides a service whereby they try to identify objects from WWII. You might try writing them at Ask World War II, 1919 Gallows Rd., Suite 400, Vienna, VA 22182 or email them at [email protected]. If they can identify an object, it may be featured in one of their monthly issues.
Best wishes,
Bruce Bolinger, Webmaster
We recently donated ww2 parachutes to our local flight museum, We are looking for some old photos, so to give us ideas for a display with our airplanes on display..Any ideas would be appreciated