Hi All, I’m new here. I’m illusatrating a children’s book about the 75th Squadron during WW2 and I need information about the type of parachute harness used by them in 1940. Would this have been a Quick release, single button on the chest seat chute or something else? I’m currently sketching out the action scene in the James Ward story and according to the report, he climbed out the astro hatch and thenput on his parachute (!) before crawling 3 feet onto the starboard wing to smother the fire. I’m trying to envision the feat of putting on his chute in the air and what that entailed. Any help gratefully recieved, thanks!
By: Moggy C - 16th January 2014 at 22:24
You can see in the lower picture the substantial metal hooks onto which the pack would be clipped. Whilst the pilot often sat on their packs, gunners particularly couldn’t fit into a cramped turret whilst wearing the parachute pack, so this was hung on hooks nearby in the fuselage.
Moggy
By: AdeleJ - 16th January 2014 at 20:19
Thanks Moggy. You’ve given me a good place to start.It makes sense too. If he was already wearing the harness, clipping on the parachute wouldn’t have been such a huge deal mid air.
By: Moggy C - 16th January 2014 at 09:43
I’d suggest it would have been an Irvin Harness already worn and a parachute pack that clipped to that
This is the best images I can find of the harness in use after a quick Google
[ATTACH=CONFIG]224586[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]224587[/ATTACH]
Moggy
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January 15, 2014 at 8:08 pm