Another airdrop tale. When I was on JATE (Joint Air Transport Establishment) the remit was the trialing of airdrop and air portability equipment in the 'K'.
We would be tasked by an external agency to do whatever trial they requested.
One day we were tasked to do a trip in support of the defence sales arm of MOD.
The (very) optimistic overall plan was to try to sell the 105 mm Anglo-Italian light field gun to the USA. We were to fly to Pope AFB in North Carolina (hands up how many have been there !) and airdrop the gun on an MSP. This was not a real problem as we had been dropping it for a while, usually with the prime mover which was a 1 tonne Land Rover. The gun was put on the platform first then the one tonne 'sat' on top. Then they were surrounded by all the ammo etc needed. Dragartist would not be impressed by where the vertical C of G would end up !
However MOD wanted to make a real impression and drop the MSP with the gunners going out on the same run using the 22 ft steerable, for which they would need training ! We pointed out that we did not have a clearance for this combo as it had never been trialed.
On an ABEX the heavy drop either used an adjacent Dz to the troops or went in first . Thus the gunners would be in the main para stream. You could get two MSPs in an a/c and to leave space for the gunners would reduce this to one.
No problem says MOD, do a feasibility study . And so we did fitting it in around our other work.
The other ALM and myself very quickly identified the main problems. Apart from a few specialised a/c fittings with which I will not bore you, which we designed and JATE workshops made, there were two major showstoppers as far as we were concerned. The first was the safety of the gunners (RHA paras) as they followed the departing MSP down the a/c. One any such airdrop role the cargo floor is a trap for even the very experienced. There are side guidance beams, transverse beams, floor protection kit and restraint beams etc. We thought this could be overcome by careful briefing and rehearsals on the ground before attempting a practice drop.
The real problem was the Transfer Release Cable (TROC) which you can see clearly whipping about in my previous pic. We were very concerned that it would cause problems for the exiting paras. The problem was how to prevent this. We had several 'helpful' suggestions none of which we liked.
You monkeyed about with the TROC at your peril. If it operates too early in the sequence then you run a real risk of the platform rotating inside the a/c. Not good. If it did not operate at all then the platform would descend vertically and not horizontally. This would not do it and the load any favours.
We had several other MSP trials on the go at the same time so had a chance to study the problem in situ. My colleague suggested that if one of us followed the MSP down the port side as it departed perhaps we could JUST grab the TROC and pull it right over to the port side as the paras shuffled down the centre of the a/c, which was the safest way to get them aft to jump. We tried it out on a 'routine' MSP drop and it seemed to work.
After the gunners had received 22 foot training we had two full dress rehearsals. My colleague was i/c TROC retrieval (well it was his idea) and I was responsible for the paras who were briefed NOT to jump without a positive signal from me whatever the colour of the jump lights. It all worked better than we had hoped (low tech rules OK) so we were good to go to 'no hope Pope' as the USAF called it. We just had to remember to take all the bits and bobs needed for the final part of the installation. Oh and the HUPRA !
On 29 Aug 1976 we set off for Pope via Gander (a pound for every time I have been there) in XV 191 arriving in Pope the following day. The next day was spent doing the final rigging and VERY careful checks of the complete installation. We spent some of the time answering questions as the US airdrop system is very different.
On September 1 we flew from Pope to 'Sicily' DZ .My logbook records 55 mins so perhaps we did a mini LL but I do not remember.
The actual drop worked perfectly, with both MSP and troops playing their parts to perfection. It was a great to see the MSP floating 'gently' down under all sail and to count six perfect 22 feet canopies. We just looked at each other and our grins were mainly for relief !
We were told that the gunners unloaded the gun etc in record time and fired off a dummy round to prove it worked. We had several beers that night.
Did the US buy the gun ? NO ! Probably on the NIH (not invented here) principle.
We had huge problems getting back not the gun but the 1 tonne L/R which the troops loved ! Eventually on 5 Sept we set off for Barksdale AFB to pick up a few bits of kit left over from a V Bomber det. After a n/s we set off next day only to return with what my log book records as 'engine problem'.
I do not recall what the problem was but I do remember helping the G/E on a very hot and humid night change something (ignitors ?) on the engine as my small hands made access easier. We came home via Gander and back to Brize. I can still smell the parched earth as we descended after the famous 1976 heatwave.
All in all a successful and interesting trip.