WWII paratrooper training shock harness

The biggest "shock" WWII paratroopers had was jumping out of the airplane at 500 feet, instead of the normal 1,000 feet. That was only enough altitude for the main chute to fully open, but left no altitude for the emergency chute deployment. I saw an interview with a D-Day paratrooper who landed and was laying on his back to avoid enemy fire, but between the machine guns and rifles he heard what sounded like watermelons hitting the ground with great force. Such was the sound made by human bodies landing with a failed chute, and there were plenty of them occurring.

WWII paratrooper training shock harness - photo