Luftwaffe emergency parachutes

[Troy White]

G'day y'all,

Over the years I have read that Luftwaffe emergency parachutes were not white like allied parachutes. Instead they were a yellowish colour.

Does anyone out there have one in their possesion or know the exact colour and why they were that colour?

I am also wondering what size they were in diamater and if they had two front risers and two back risers like allied parachutes.

I have seen photos of German paratrooper parachutes and they appear to have a single point of suspension rather than four risers. From the gun camera stills of Luftwaffe pilots under canopy and photos of pilots wearing emergency rigs they appear to have four risers.

Can anyone please help me out or steer me to someone who is in the know about this.

Thanks

Troy

[Jon]

Hi Troy

I am no expert but I have several fragments of luftwaffe parachutes in my collection. All early war 1939 and 1940 and all are pure white.
I also think that escape Luftwaffe parachutes had four risers, the Para troops used a single conection point. to the harness.
As i said i am no expert...many to be found here.

[Troy White]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your reply. I think I read somewhere that the single point attachment for paratroop canopies made it less likeley to malfunction when exiting the JU 52 in the body position taught to the troopers and also made it easier for the jumper to fire a weapon while suspended.

It is quite interesting that the pieces that you have from the early war period are white. I wonder why they later changed colour? Maybe it has something to do with Search and Rescue?

I found a passage in a short story that describes the 17 Aug 44 mission to Regensburg by Lt. Col. Bernie Lay Jr. who was flying with the 100th BG. ""...several fighters heading for the deck in flamesor with their pilots lingering behind under dirty yellow parachutes."

I have a several WWII pilot's rigs both American and British. I reckon there has to be a collector in Europe with some Luftwaffe rigs. Having been in the skydiving industry for 34 years I have asked some of my rigger friends if they know of any vintage parachute collectors in Europe but have so far drawn a blank.

I reckon I'll keep looking...

Troy

[Brian Bines]

Hi Troy,

The three pieces of Luftwaffe parachute relics I have are all yellow and from 1944, I was told that when the canopy material changed during the war the yellow was added as a preservative dye.
I believe the Luftwaffe paratroopers operated on a canopy first principle where the canopy started to deploy as soon as the static line extended. Allied paratroopers canopies deployed following the static line pulling off the containment bag once the shroud lines were extended i.e. canopy last,

Regards

Brian Bines


P.S. have just checked the two Luftwaffe aircrew Backchutes I have (no canopies) both have four shroud rings, two per side each pair coming off of a short length of single strap ( are these single straps the risers ?). Hope this helps like Jon I am no expert.

[ju55dk]

I have pieces of two from 1938, and they are white silk! They have stamps of control 1940, 1942 and 1944!

Junker

[Troy White]

Originally Posted by Brian Bines

Hi Troy,

The three pieces of Luftwaffe parachute relics I have are all yellow and from 1944, I was told that when the canopy material changed during the war the yellow was added as a preservative dye.
I believe the Luftwaffe paratroopers operated on a canopy first principle where the canopy started to deploy as soon as the static line extended. Allied paratroopers canopies deployed following the static line pulling off the containment bag once the shroud lines were extended i.e. canopy last,

Regards

Brian Bines


P.S. have just checked the two Luftwaffe aircrew Backchutes I have (no canopies) both have four shroud rings, two per side each pair coming off of a short length of single strap ( are these single straps the risers ?). Hope this helps like Jon I am no expert.

Hi Brian

This is awesome! Can you tell me what shade of yellow??

I know most people on this board could care less but I have spent most of my adult life in the parachute industry. So for everyone out there that wants to know, here are the correct terms for refering to the various parts of a parachute starting from the top:

Pilot chute: A small parachute which in emergency parachutes is spring loaded and acts as an "sky anchor" when deployed allowing the rest of the parachute to deploy in an orderly manner.

Canopy: This is the big umbrella that saves your life. American pilot emergency canopies are either 28' 26' or 24' in diameter. There is always an apex vent at the top to allow air to escape otherwise the canopy wolud oscillate severely.

Suspension lines: These are the lines that attach the canopy to the risers. There are as many lines as the diameter, 24, 26 or 28. and are aproximately as long as the diameter.

Connector links: These are metal fittings that are attached to the risers to which the suspension lines are attached.

Risers: There are 4 in American parachutes, two front and two rear to which four equal amounts of suspension lines attach to. In emergency parachutes the risers are actually part of the harness either made of the same length of webbing or sitichted into the harness so as not to separate during a hard opening shock.

Harness: This is the webbing that makes up the secure saddle in which a parachutist is supported. The harness consists of the main lift web which is the vertical harness strap on the left and right of the torso these generally go over the shoulders and cross the back going down to form the leg straps. There is a chest strap connecting the right and left main lift webs as well as lateral straps in the kidney area connecting the main lift web to the harness after it crosses the back.

Container: The container is usually made up of a tray to which the canopy, suspension lines and risers are stowed into and four flaps of fabric like cotton duck that fold up to secure the parachute inside. There are grommets and cones that hold the container closed

Ripcord: this consists of two parts, the handle and the cable. At the end of the cable are pins that secure the container shut. The ripcord cable passes through a metal housing that is tacked down to the harness and container.

This entire assembly is referred to as a parachute rig or just a rig.

When the parachutist pulls the rip cord to arms length the pins are also pulled clear of the grommets and cones allowing the spring loaded pilot chute to launch and start the deployment sequence.

Note: there are no "D Rings" on pilot emergency rigs. "D Rings" are attached to the main lift webs of paratrooper rigs or to the harnesses worn by bomber crewmen. it is to these rings that the "Quick Attachable Chest Parachutes" clip on. So when you hear someone say he pulled on his "D-Ring" what he really means is that he was pulling on his ripcord.

Well I hope y'all enjoyed what I have written.

Cheers

Troy

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Troy White

Over the years I have read that Luftwaffe emergency parachutes were not white like allied parachutes. Instead they were a yellowish colour.

Does anyone out there have one in their possesion or know the exact colour and why they were that colour?
Troy

Anyone who watched the BBC comedy Dad's Army should remember Captain Mainwaring's advice on this: "British parachutes are white, while Nazi parachutes are a dirty, creamy, off-white ... as you'd expect."

[010890falcon]

Hello Troy,

I don't know who told You that the Lw pilots chutes changed colour. I can tell You that troughout the whole war the Lw fighter pilots and bomber pilots or whatever they belonged to were having chutes with white silk and these chutes stayed white silk.
Yellow chutes are for dropping container chutes.

[edwest]

Does anyone have this book?

http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschi...sbn=0764311107



It should help clear things up.



Usual disclaimer,
Ed

[Brian Bines]

I thought both the canopy and harness material used on Luftwaffe aircrew parachutes changed during the war. As well as silk a synthetic weave was used to make canopies which was not always white, any correction or confirmation appreciated.