68 FLYPAST Aprill 2018
Once under the parachute’s
canopy, the leg bag was released
so that it hung below the man on
10ft of strong cord. The parachutist
also had a scabbard strapped to his
right leg to hold a rifle or carbine,
a webbing belt, a trenching tool,
pouches and a holstered pistol.
Rae: “We could carry a maximum
of ten men with an average weight
per man with equipment of around
200lb.
“Timing at the DZ for supply
drops had to be plus or minus 10
minutes. Any longer and the party
below couldn’t risk waiting. ‘Dog
legs’ were built into the route to
adjust timing.
“Bonfires or torches would be used
as markers – three in a straight
line and a strong light
flashing in Morse code to giveus the correct recognition signal.
If we didn’t reply, the reception
party would douse their bonfires
and vanish into the night. If the
approach was misjudged, we would
have to go around and try again.”CARGO
Stores were usually parachuted in
cylindrical containers. The ‘C’ type
was 69in (180cm) long and could
weigh up to 224lb (102kg). The
‘H’ type was the same size overall
but could be broken down into five
smaller sections. This made it easier
to carry and conceal but it was
impossible to carry long loads, such
as rifles.
To make things easier, containers
were delivered pre-packed with
code letters on the outside denoting
their contents: clothing, rations,
ammunition, weapons and
‘comforts’ such as cigarettes, rum,
medical kit, tents and sleeping
bags. A Stirling could carry 24 such
containers with a gross weight of
3.57 tons.
Inert stores, such as boots and
blankets, could be dropped in
panniers or were ‘free-dropped’ –
simply pushed out of the aircraft
bundled together without a
parachute. This method often
caused much consternation to those
below anywhere near the drop zone
(DZ).the faces of the people we dropped
nor did we know anything about
them for obvious security reasons.
“One man I spoke to through the
intercom said something like: ‘I am
done after this one.’ This was the
agent’s third time being dropped
in occupied France. Women agents
were sometimes dropped, we only
had men.”
If the delivery was a group or ‘stick’
of paratroopers, each man boarded
carrying a kit bag strapped to his leg.
The Albemarle had a comparatively
small jump hatch in the fuselage
floor and the parachutist had to sit
with his legs dangling over the edge.
On being given the signal to go,
they had to slip outwards and down.
It was unfortunately too easy to fall
forward and hit their head on the
rim of the hatch.1918 2018Above
Stirling crew, left to
right: Don Stephens,
Don Sinclair, Jerry
Dennis, Paddy Whelan,
Rae Churchill, Paddy
Dalton.Above right
Rae photographed a
fellow 295 Squadron
Albemarle fl ying
alongside him.Right
Red letter entry in the
logbook – D-Day.