Skydivers

Freefall parachuting – the beginnings, 1954

“Although ad-hoc delayed opening descents had been made at PTS with manually operated parachutes in the early 1950’s, (a flavour of which can be found in this fascinating narrative from John Saxby, OC 2 PTS in 1947:

“- it seems a long time ago when Stannard and I tried out a free fall from 10,000 feet at Aqir in Palestine in 1947 using wrist watches.  I was about to hand over command of No 2 PTS and proceed on demobilisation and it seemed a jolly end to my RAF career.  Group Captain Geoffrey Wood was the Station Commander and took a bit of persuading. Before I left Stannard and I took a Dakota up to 10,000 feet over the station, Aqir – bloody cold – to let them all see what a drop looked like.  Our usual DZ was Yibna some miles away.  At 1000 feet as I remember the school instructors did a demonstration jump with Statichutes as usual, and at 10,000 feet Stannard and I baled out wearing standard Pilot Type parachutes. I spent a lot of the previous night trying to be sure that my maths was right – 120mph = feet per second ??? = how long dare I wait ???   We used our wrist watches to time the drop before pulling the release.  Knowing no better I adopted the standard exit position and reached TV in that position – surprised to feel myself ‘standing’ in the air with the wind whistling past but no feeling of falling – how naive we were.  But then I began to tumble and was sick, remembering to keep my boots out of the way!  Finally I saw Stannard’s parachute deploy and decided to rely on his maths and deployed my own”)

… the first formal recognition occurred when Sir Raymond Quilter, co-founder of GQ Parachute Company, approached No 1 PTS in 1954 asking for jumpers to train for the forthcoming World Parachute Championships. After four weeks training (from scratch!) in basic freefall techniques six instructors were selected for the British team at this second WPC which was to be held at the former French National Parachute Centre, St. Yan, (Saône-et-Loire). They were Flt Lt Doddy Hay, Sgts Alf Card, Danny Sutton, Timber Wood, Norman Hoffman and Tommy Moloney (Below)

Alf Card logbook – freefall training 1954

 

At this competition the British team were the only jumpers using a ‘steerable’ canopy, as above. The positioning of the blank gore was designed to reduce forward right drift on landing, and was quickly seen as totally unsuitable as an accuracy canopy. Subsequent versions – used up to 1961 at PTS – had the single blank positioned in the rear.

 

The team returned from France without any medals, but having gained valuable experience in terms of freefall techniques, canopy handling and free fall equipment. Disappointment ensued as the then PTS establishment showed little interest in developing these new ideas, it being felt that there was no requirement for freefall jumping in the Service. The parachutes were returned to GQ, and the cadre dissolved. Only two men had other ideas, which they were determined to put into practice.The prime movers in taking freefall jumping forward at PTS were Alf Card and Norman Hoffman. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ obituaries/1443195/Norman-Hoffman.html.”

On their own initiative, Alf and Norman formed a weekend group operating at Weston using the 47 Squadron Flying Club Tiger Moth as the sole jump aircraft.

The pilot was Master Signaller Gerry Schellong, a Czech national, who had survived Russian internment, then escaped from occupied Czechoslovakia to serve in the RAF as a fighter pilot during WW2. The fledgling club attracted a lot of interest, mainly from the younger staff members, although the number of parachutes available was limited, as was jump altitude. Most unfortunately this venture survived only for a few months before they had a fatality and the club was forced to close. The jumper was ex Flight Lieutenant Neil Perry, recently retired as a PJI. He over-delayed from 2500 feet, pulling at about three hundred, with the inevitable consequences. Progress stagnated until 1959 when Alf started an operation at Kidlington airfield with Keith Teesdale and Pete Denley. Alf stored the parachutes in the coal shed of his Married Quarter.

(Brevet pp.10-12)

At about the same time, Norman formed the British Skydivers with jumpers from Boscombe Down operating out of Thruxton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The competition area was in a clearing some five hundred metres to the west of the main runway, backing on to a wooded area. The target area is still there to be seen today, forty-five years later. The team tents of the twenty-six competing nations were ranged in a semi circle one hundred metres from the target centre. The aircraft in use were Antonov AN2s from the USSR, the DDR, and Czechoslovakia. We made one practice jump on the Saturday; then we had a three-day hold until the organisers and judges finally got their act together, and finalised the rules and conditions. International competition was still in its relative infancy, rules were still being updated and developed year on year. The points-based scoring system remained unnecessarily complicated; in accuracy for example, 250 points were awarded for a dead centre and points deducted for each centimetre off the disc. The dead centre disc was 15cm in diameter and everything was measured manually, a fichet being placed at the first point of contact. The electronic pad was still six years in the future. The Style event was similarly points based. A further anachronism was in competition management, in that the individual accuracy event was just that – each competitor jumped on his or her own individual pass for four rounds. Team Accuracy was a separate event, comprising three rounds, four jumpers per team. It was not until several years later that the International Parachuting Commission (CIP) adopted the International Military Sports Council(CISM) rules in that Team Accuracy and Individual were combined, individual results being extrapolated from the team scores. With 26 nations competing, comprising 129 male and 53 female competitors that made for a lot of go-arounds for the Antonovs to finish the four-round Individual Event. Under these conditions it was not surprising that the competition took two weeks to complete. At the end, the Meet was dominated by the USA and the Soviets, who took first and second places overall respectively, with the DDR in third place. Canada was fourth and Czechoslovakia was fifth, whilst the Brits achieved their best result so far with sixth position out of 26 teams in the World Overall standings. Whilst the Soviets dominated the Style event, the USA had marginally superior accuracy jumpers. This notwithstanding, the latter were comprehensively outjumped by the Czechs, using the KRAS PTCH-7. Czech jumper Jaroslav Kalous won the male Individual Accuracy with four DCs, after a dramatic three round jump-off with Australian Colin King; Helena Tomsikova won the female Accuracy, and the Czech female team took the Team Accuracy event. Only a disastrous first- round jump pushed the Czech male team into 15th place in Team Accuracy. This certainly worked to our advantage as we achieved the first-ever British medal at a World Meet, coming in bronze position behind the DDR and the USA. Geordie scored two dead centres and a 17cm in this event. The camaraderie between competitors was exceptional, although there was a poignant interlude at dinner one evening, when the Czech team appeared as a group in silent protest as Soviet armour rolled into Prague on the night of 20th–21st August. We Brits made friendships, in particular with the Czech competitors, which endure to the present day; and Ivo Skotak loaned me a PTCH 7 to jump on the closing ceremony. Following the medal presentation Mike collected in our jumpsuits to return to the BPA office, and we headed for home the following morning with abiding memories of a great competition experience in the most beautiful Styrian landscape, of many new friends, and of the outstanding hospitality of our hosts.

(Brevet pp. 90-92)

 

 

 

 

 

We returned to the crew room after a few days off, with a sense of déjà vu. Life continued at PTS and, medals or no medals, the main task remained. The team split up, Geordie was scheduled for Hereford, and Ken went to Cyprus; whilst I, having been promoted at the beginning of July, was back on the floor as a Syndicate Flight Sergeant. I would rate 1967–68 as the most intensive period of jumping of my career; in all I made over six hundred descents, a respectable number for that era. I would also rate Geordie and Ken as the best two individual competitors the School has ever produced. Geordie represented Great Britain at four World Championships, Ken at three. Both possessed a fiercely competitive instinct and it would be invidious to separate them in terms of ability. Suffice it to say we enjoyed an unforgettable two years together, and that Ken and I would continue to work together in the international arena for many more.

(Brevet p.92)