WWII Wesel Germany Allied airborne assault - GIF

WWII Wesel Germany Allied airborne assault.

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Previously:

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Six hundred foot altitude, according to the newsreel announcer, but from those who actually conducted those jumps in WWII, it was more like 500 feet. For reference, that's like jumping off the Washington Monument. Five-hundred feet is the bare minimum to be for "Static-Line" Jumping, meaning there's a "pull cord" attached to the aircraft, assisting to pull the canopy out of a sleeve in the parachute. There's barely enough time to get the parachute extracted and deployed before the jumper's feet touch down. Wind can also alter the time in a not-so-good way. The aircraft altitude instruments (Altimeters) back in that day were "Bourdon Tubes" with a needle for display. Multiple factors could affect readings, resulting in pilot displayed altitude being off another 50-100 feet, if the instrument wasn't properly "zeroed" prior to takeoff. From those who made the nighttime jump on D-Day those who landed heard what sounded like a Watermelon smashing on the ground every so many seconds. It turned that was the sound of jumpers whose parachutes failed to open. But even after surviving the jump, the airborne troops then had to deal with enemy machine guns, rifles, and mortars pinning them down in the drop-zone, a large, wide-open, killing field. There's a reason why men who executed "Combat Jumps" had Gold "Pips," or "Stars" added to the Shroud Lines of their Jump Wings. Our Post Commander was a WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veteran who made 3 Combat Jumps during WWII. His name was Col. Frank Dietrich, and he was a true U.S. Army legend.

Again, why they're called "The Greatest Generation"!