WW1 and Parachutes.

[Mitzi.]

I have been asked "were parachutes standard issue" during the Great War. (on all sides). After an extensive internet trawl I gleaned the following.

UK. No, extensive trials proved them unsuitable/or invited the pilot to evacuate his aircraft 'in site of the enemy'.

Uk. associated names..Sir David Henderson. Calthrop. (guardian angel).

Germany. Yes 1918, reports of sucessful jumps. (Ernst Udet !)

USA, France. Yes.

Could any ppruners add any flesh to the above, I would be grateful. Thank you.
Mitzi.

[Flying Boat]

"Give them a parachute & they will jump at the first sign of danger", a poor mentality but it was the mentality of our glorious generals of the time.

Look at all the other unnecessary bloodbaths, on the land.

Lives & skills were cheap then, as they are today in certain parts of the world and certain areas of society.

At least the flyers eventually won.

:sad:

[Maj T.J. 'King' Kong]

I believe chutes did become standard towards the end of the war - earlier they weren't issued, as the Powers That Be wanted to 'encourage' pilots to make a forced landing and therefore (possibly) save the a/c rather than baling. Certainly a practical, usable setup had been developed - not too different in bulk/reliability from the good ol' B4/B12 pack that I and many others am familiar with, or so I gather.

However they were standard issue to observation balloon crews from the off, presumably because even the Powers That Be conceded that landing a blazing hydrogen balloon was going to be a trifle dicey... :uhoh:

[newswatcher]

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWparachutes.htm

[Tiger_ Moth]

Balloon crews on both sides had them from very early on.

The British never allowed parachutes for pilots, their reason being along the lines of "might curb their fighting enthusiasm".

Germans had parachutes as pretty standard for pilots by the end of the war, ie 1918.

Hermann Goering was saved by a parachute.

[Kotare]

The RNZAF Museum in Christchurch NZ has a book with an amazing series of photos of a Captain Clive Collett RFC (a Kiwi though) who during WW I trialled a parachute stowed in a tin container below the aircraft fuselage. The pilot wore the harness to which was attached what looked like a stout woven wire, which in turn was draped over the side of the aircraft and into the centre of the tin.
From what I could make out, the parachute was conical, but had no hole in the top to let the air escape. It was therefore very unstable and some photos show Collett at the end of some horrendous swings. I understand he broke his shoulder (?) landing off one of these swings and that was the end of these trials.
The photos looked like stills from a movie and the place was Farnborough, but I can't remember the date. Collett was killed about 1917, so before then. You could try http://www.afw.co.nz and ask for Ms Therese Provan if you wanted to find out more.
Cheers
PS Did some more checking. Collett was the first - go here to read more: http://www.nzfpm.co.nz/aces/collett.htm

[Mitzi.]

Thank-you very much for the replies, much appreciated.
Continuing with my trawl. (did not know about H. Goering).

Slightly off topic, Visiting the battlefields of the Somme, ypres etc came across RFC graves. Food for thought.

Also the story of 'Glen' the 'para dog' buried with his handler (WW2) unique for the CWGC ?

Thanks again.

MItzi.

[Cornish Jack]

Kotare
I read a book re. the history of the parachute which included details of the sort of device you describe. It appears that it was abandoned after first use. It seems that the connecting cable became drawn into the propellor arc, was wound round the prop hub and the unfortunate pilot was dragged to his death. Can't remember the title as this was some 40+ years ago. It also confirmed that the 'donkeys' leading the 'lions' refused to approve the use of 'chutes as they thought it would encourage cowardice. :(

[Genghis the Engineer]

I don't recall the specific books, but there's some description of the use and attitude towards parachutes at the time in WE Johns' early "Biggles" books. Whilst it's clearly schoolboy fiction (this schoolboy loved them from about the age of 10 and I still have my collection), Johns was an RFC fighter pilot during the first war and wrote the stories not all that many years later (10-15 years I think), so I'd expect the facts to be pretty accurate.

G

[Mitzi.]

Thanx again for the posts.
The person who asked me for some info was my Father, who is giving a talk to some schoolkids about WW1. Included in his brief chat is/was the 'firsts' i.e. decents from aircraft. issue of infantry protective headgear etc.
Passing on your knowledge has gone to a bunch of youngsters.
Learn from history !!!!
Mitzi.

[Kotare]

Thanks CJ, certainly an interesting way to go about things!
Cheers