Pathfinder history 2001

Ed ...Richard Lowry had only recently completed his first three jumps at Texel but had not completed the course because of bad weather. He was allowed to attend the Polish course as he would be carrying out first time jumpers training again. To attend a foreign course of almost complete strangers so soon after making your first jump takes some doing. Well done mate.

On the 18th of October I flew to Tegel Airport in Berlin, I was due to meet up with Major Jorg Kuhnt, from the Traditional Paratrooper Association of East Germany and Simon Whitworth from Pathfinder. I arrived early so I met Jorg first, then Simon. Jorg took us to his house in Strasbourg where he cooked us food, showed us a video on the training of the 40th Fallschirmjaeger Battalion of which he was a company commander. He made us feel very welcome. Later he drove us to Poland, It was about three hours drive to the airfield which was called "Pryzlep" near to "Zielona gora".

At the airfield there were four or five Antonov AN2 and a Mi8 helicopter. One AN2 was used for fire fighting. The accommodation was excellent and beer very cheap at about 70 pence .Half a litre of local vodka was about half that, and very nice. On Friday night we completed all the paperwork, had dinner and waited for the others to arrive and in the meantime had a few beers. On Saturday after breakfast we went to the packing hall right outside the front of the hotel where we started training. There were approximately thirty people on the course consisting mainly of West Germans, some serving Bundeswhere and former east German paratroopers there was also two Swiss soldiers. The Instruction was given by a German army Master Sgt., EMPA jumpmaster and Major Jorg Kuhnt, translation was given by Stefan Eicker and Jorg who can both speak very good English.. The training was similar to the course at Texel, apart from the parachutes which were East German RS4 and RS9/2A. They have a long deployment bag which stays with the parachute after deployment.

On the RS9/2A the static line pulls a small drogue chute, this stabilises you till the main chute deploys. It also has four steering toggles two of which control foreword speed. After deployment these toggles are pulled down and clipped to the risers, giving you a foreword speed of 5 m/second . The canopy has five steering slits and is very responsive giving a very soft landing.

The DZ was very large and surrounded by pine forest, weather was very good, with a wind speed of 1-2 m/second.. Jumps were done in sticks of three per pass, and everyone jumped including the dispatcher. On the first jump one of the Germans ran with the wind and ended up landing in the trees. He made it to the ground unhurt and no damage to the canopy. Parachutes where then packed by the instructors on the tarpaulin on the DZ. After this we went back to the packing hall where we were told to form a line with everyone who had just completed their first jump in Poland.. Those that had qualified in Poland before fell out leaving the new jumpers. I then noticed someone with a bucket of water and we were told to bend over. Everyone else then wet their hand and proceeded to walk along the line of new jumpers spanking us one by one, some of them were big blokes and hit us as hard as they could. This was very painful and very strange. We then got showered and changed, had dinner and a few beers.

(ed This is a way of congratulating new jumpers and is carried out in several countries so be warned and wear padding.)

The next morning after breakfast we did one more jump, this time another German landed in the trees and was left hanging about 15ft above the ground. He was not hurt but had to wait some time before he could be rescued. All of his friends turned up to take photos. The third jump was done after lunch, followed by stamping of logbooks and finally the wings presentation. The first to receive his wings was one of the Germans who had recently jumped with an American Airborne unit and received US basic wings

We were picked up at Berlin's Tegel Airport, ,by Maj Joerg Kuhnt former East German Airborne who drove us at "Spanish taxi-driver" speed to his house on the outskirts of the city, where he cooked us lunch whilst entertaining us with a recruiting/propaganda film about DDR Airborne training. After showing us his impressive collection of "Earned" foreign wings (with documentation), and coffee and pastries with his wife on the patio, we resumed our journey across the border to the DZ just outside the city of Zielona Gora.

With twisted arms we were forced to drink beer whilst being introduced to various members of the EMPA. Dinner came in the form of continental cold meat, cheese, bread etc. and a sausage that contravened environmental health laws. With this minor stoppage out of the way, the beer drinking continued as did the steady arrival of members, all of whom were pleased to see us ensuring a steady flow of conversation in broken English.

At some point during the night Richard overheard a conversation saying that due to a technicality the Polish chutes were not available and all appeared dismal. It was then that the Germans rallied round and produced a mixture of RS4s, RS8s ,RS9s and RS5s, if it had not been for this we would have had to jump squares (or gliders as the Germans call them). Some of the experienced participants opted to jump squares anyway. making it easier for the greater use of the few rounds we had. So with all problems sorted all that was left to do was drink and be merry. For breakfast menu see previous nights dinner (minus the aforementioned sausage). The course now started in earnest. Andreas, the chief instructor,

took us through our paces in German, translated by anyone else close by who spoke English. Chute familiarisation proved interesting as the canopies are stowed in sheath-like deployment bags approx. 3 meters long, that stay attached to the chute and the chutes have stabilisation drogues to allow free-fall which is how the DDR used them. (They trust their squaddies to pull their own.) The RS9s also have foreword motion toggles that need to be pulled down and clipped into position before any other canopy control drills can be performed. This makes the canopy very controllable and almost as steerable as a square. Thankfully PLFs were kept to a minimum and by about 1500hrs talk of getting airborne ASAP was rife.

Down on the flight line people started getting kitted up for the first lift. People were stood down to make room for the "British Fallschirmjager" as we were referred to. Having never jumped an AN-2, I was mildly concerned about flying in a plane that looked like Noah had abandoned it in favour of the Ark. My fears were allayed when we reached altitude and I concerned myself with putting on a good show and not banging my head on the way out! For the size of the DZ, I was surprised to find they were only putting out sticks of three (having said that, there were a few first-timers). My first lob was with a RS4, so I had no foreword motion toggles to worry about. The opening was unnoticeably smooth and the landing refreshingly gentle. After everyone made one jump the light began to fail, with jumping suspended until Sunday. The only casualty of the first day was one tree landing with just scratches and bruising. The course assembled briefly for some First Polish jumper traditions the nature of which I will not mention so as not to spoil the surprise for future candidates!! More beer was then consumed (under protest, of course) and made for an interesting start on Sunday. The weather on Sunday was more favourable and it seemed everyone would be able to complete their jumps. My second jump was with the RS8 and faired much the same as the first, with the exception of being instructed to bring up my knees on the exit and make like a ball.. This I was assured would aid stability. During the bout of second jumps another canopy fell victim to the trees, luckily only bruising an ego and the guys wallet. The loss of a second chute made it look unlikely that everyone could get up a third time. Sure enough, as the last lift of the day kitted up, wed only had the two jumps and weren't on the lift. Then a German lad asked that people again give up their places for us as we had travelled from England and again they obliged much to our appreciation. My last jump was with the RS9. The opening was so unnoticeable, I was relieved to look up and see that it was actually there! The landing was much slower than any round I have used (one first timer landed standing). Kit was then packed, wings and paperwork awarded, goodbyes said and then we headed back to Berlin, where again we were hosted by Joerg before taking us back to the airport.

On the whole a good time was had by all and should the opportunity arise I recommend it wholeheartedly. The hospitality shown to us was outstanding. My extreme thanks go to Joerg and to those members of the EMPA that made it happen.

The course started well with everyone turning up on time. No mean achievement. The training started on Sunday this time to try to take advantage of the extra jump time. Ground training went well with the usual bruises collected from doing the wrong PLF. How anyone can can attempt a side right Parachute Landing fall, jump off the platform, do a 360 on landing and turn it into the opposite landing is totally beyond me. Must be something to do with being dropped by the doctor as you were being born.

The jump program burst into action Monday morning with two jumps being completed rapidly with no problems. This basically set the scene for the rest of the course. Steve George had brought his wife and son along to watch the proceedings. Most of the courses we attend don't allow for this but on Texel it is possible due to the "No rush" laid back attitude of the Parachute centre. Sharon watched some of the Sky divers taking Tandem passengers up to 12000 ft and coming down ,whooping and screaming. She mistakenly told one of the guys that was something she really wanted to do.. For some reason parachutist have a wicked sense of humour even the novices develop it at an early stage. It was her husbands idea (that's what we said to get the heat off the rest of us.)

Sharon was told that the guys had enjoyed her company so much that they had clubbed together and paid for her to have a Tandem jump. She tried to turn it down at first but when it was explained how much it had cost the lads and how hurt they would be if she did not do it, she started to go along with it.

One of the club jumpers (Definitely not a Tandem master) walked out to her and presented her with a jump suit about five sizes to big, he explained that was all that was available so with a little help from a very helpful course, sleeves and legs were rolled up turning Sharon into something resembling Coco the Clown. The "Instructor then went into a lengthy and extremely complicated explanation on the jump which lasted over 30 minuets. Not even a rocket scientist would have understood what the hell he was talking about.. On several occasions Sharon began to smell a rat but was convinced by well wishers that all the technical data was just a legal formality and she did not really need to know all this anyway. Our "Tandem master" went to get his kit and came back with the tandem rig. Half his own parachute was hanging out of the back of the rig. Our field packs looked tidier. Sharon was once again assured by the onlookers that everything was OK, Honest Sharon. She was not totally convinced but still listened intently to what the instructor said. She looked a bit worried when helpers started to tie knots in bits of harness that were too long for her and muttered the immortal words "Is this a wind up? It is isn't it. Once again Steve, her loving husband convinced her it was OK. She walked slowly out to the aircraft with the "Instructor". She did not notice that the pilot sat wearing "Dame End Everidge" type glasses with huge rims, or if she did she was past caring. Nothing could shock her now. The "Instructor " suddenly rushed away saying he had to go to the toilet as he always gets nervous before a jump. In fact he rushed away to the radio and called up the plane on the "Walkie Talkie" pretending to be the control tower giving clearance for the jump. At this stage Sharon smelt a rat as everyone was now on the floor holding their sides laughing in hysterics. The only person who was ever in any physical danger throughout this was Steve ,her husband. I still don't think he has been forgiven. Thanks Sharon for being such a good sport. As was pointed out to her afterwards when she said she did not think

she could have gone through with it even if it had been for real. She had gone out to the aircraft with all the kit on and got in the plane. At that stage the jumper has convinced themselves they are going to jump. The entire course was convinced that had Sharon signed up for the course there is no doubt in our minds she would have jumped. Maybe on a future course Sharon. ? The rest of the course was boring after that. All jumps were completed with no injuries. All to soon the wings parade came upon us. It was the end of the course. New friends had been made and addresses swapped. Cars disappeared into the distance and for many the start of their long journey home. The Airborne Brotherhood had gained more members.

Pathfinder personnel recently re-created scenes and events for Channel 5,s new historical series. The veterans had actually asked the programs makers to use us as they wanted the scenes to be as authentic as possible and did not want to see actors with no military experience making a mess of it.

The programmes are as follows. Douglas Bader, Fighter Ace. screened on the 23 Nov 2001. Rogue Warrior. (Story of Paddy Mayne. SAS) 30th Nov. 2001. The X-Men (story of the X-craft) 14 Dec. 2001.

The Merville Paras (story of the Airborne Assault on the battery). 21 Dec 2001. Rogue and a Patriot (Story of Eddie Chapman, MI5 double agent). 4 Jan. 2002.

Although one or two shots were used in the other programmes the main scenes were for the Merville programme.

If you receive channel Channel 5 you will no doubt recognise a few faces from Pathfinder. Rejoice in Roys drowning scene, laugh at Ian Martindales "The longest march" bayonet charge, watch Nigel get blown up, check out the combined battle crys of a dozen Pathfinders in full flow. Watch cow dung, blasted through the air, stick to the camera!.

On a serious note, We tried our best to make the scenes as authentic as possible and do justice to the veterans. There sacrifices should never be forgotten.

The briefing was simple: "I want this quick, no mucking about in the doorway fannying around, just go and keep on going till you've left the aircraft" The engines throbbed loudly; the aircraft lifted off the tarmac runway with a sideways leer and was away. The DC3 banked steeply and headed off eastwards towards the Caen Canal. The aircraft was filled with 24 paratroopers, half in modern British uniform, half in WW2 British Airborne uniform, about to recreate a jump from 6th June 1944. A further 24 troopers watched from the airfield as the aircraft disappeared, their turn would come a little later. The jump door removed, those nearest the door could clearly see the Normandy countryside passing below as the aircraft manoeuvred into line with the Caen Canal, a short while later passing over Pegasus Bridge at 2500 feet. The aircraft carried on, following the Canal all the way to the coast. The aircraft drops as it lowers to its drop height, it does a low pass, dropping four containers over the battery, this was in remembrance of the dispatchers of the war, not quite on target this time, a bottle of Port in one of the containers, to be searched for later The tide was out, a huge expanse of sludgy brown sand separated the coast from the glistening sea, the aircraft headed onwards until, finally, it banked to the left as it dropped slowly to the drop height and headed inland.

Then it began: "Port stick......Stand up.....Hook up" hearts racing now as they cumbersomely stood up, the weight of the canopies and reserves making it difficult to do anything quickly. The starboard stick watched them in silence, wishing them blue skies and safe landings. "Number off!" The stick numbered off, "12 OK, 11 OK, 10 OK, 9 OK, 8 OK, 7 OK, 6 OK, 5 OK, 4 OK, 3 OK, 2 OK, 1 OK" each man shouting his position in the stick. "Port stick ready.........two minutes" The aircraft droned on, the dispatcher smiled as he pulled a funny face at the first man "Action stations....first man in the door, pulses raised, everyone pushing forward, static lines held firmly as the first man stepped into the doorway, the hessian in his helmet waving madly from the slipstream as he gazed out over the Normandy horizon, the second man close behind, others still bunching up to one another, the adrenalin starting to kick in, strangely silent, no gun-ho shouts or noises, everyone concentrating, thinking, the mood of the moment setting in, down below were veterans watching us jump, this was their ground, they jumped here in 1944, we were not here to let them or their lost comrades down, this had to be good.

The casements of the Merville Battery could clearly be seen from the doorway, "Fifteen seconds" , everyone braced for what was about to happen, this was real, concentration levels high, everyone watching the dispatcher, then it began: "Red On !" "Green On...GOoooooo!" the first man went, no hesitation, each man in turn taking his place, passing the static line to the dispatcher, it was slow and steady, everyone trying to get the perfect exit position in the doorway, the dispatcher vainly trying to speed them up, the DZ was small, too much time in the doorway and the last guys out would not make it. The last man out, a small guy, snatched by the slipstream, exit position perfect as his body tips, his legs almost going through his lines as the canopy deploys, the danger over as he swings back down into the upright, twelve round canopies disappearing from the aircraft as the deployment bags are dragged bag into the aircraft by the dispatchers. "Starboard Stick....Stand up....Hook up", more raised heartbeats, the sight of the first twelve guys out the door raising confidence, no reports of any malfunctions, everyone is happy, again, strangely silent, concentration taking over. "Number off!" Deja vu, the drill repeated again, twelve down to one "Starboard stick ready" "Quicker, the last stick was too slow, just get in the doorway, both hands on reserves, kick off with the right foot, this has got to be quicker or you'll be catching a train to the RV!" Point taken, everyone closing up, no room to breathe, "Action stations.. First man in the door...Red on" As before, they shuffled forward, the lead man now in the doorway, some of the previous canopies could be seen on the ground, the wind blasting the first man as the dispatcher takes a last look down at the DZ, he slowly stands up, speaks into his microphone to the pilot then suddenly "Green on..Go!", first man out, second, third, this is slick, everyone out hot on each others tails, it looks good, the dispatcher is smiling, all out in 9 seconds, again, this was good. The aircraft, no time to lose, headed back to the airfield, the troopers watched as the aircraft landed, "Had everything gone well?" they all thought to themselves. The aircraft taxied in, the engines kicking up dust and grit into the faces of the waiting men, the aircraft stopped, was boarded by the new sticks, throttle opened again as the aircraft headed back to the runway

The DC3 followed the same course as before, passing over Pegasus Bridge, the Canal glistening like a silver rope laid out over the lush green Normandy countryside. Again, the aircraft passed over the sludgy coastline, this time the troopers were all in WW2 uniform, the dispatcher expressing his desire to get all the sticks out in under 10 seconds, the same thoughts running through our minds as the first two sticks, this was for the veterans and their families, some of us had jumped here the year before, we knew it was appreciated, in this lift we had a very special man , former Sgt Bruce Cox, a World War 2 paratrooper who made the jump into the famous battle of Arnhem. Sgt Cox jumped the same round military canopies as the rest of us, the pride showing in his face, the honour felt by everyone in the aircraft just to be with him, this was an extra special stick. Deep in thought, the action began for the port stick: "Port stick....Stand up...Hook up", "Number off"..."Action stations...first man in the door...Red On" This was it, the first man had only been in the door a matter of seconds when it came "Green On.. Go" Out he went, the second followed, fast, the dispatcher trying to slap him on the way out but not reaching, this was fast, this was running smooth, out they went, the third man hitting the door and spinning, on they went, the eleventh man hit the door and spun, the twelfth leapt out, nine seconds again, the last mans canopy was not opening, a streamer, down he went, faster and faster, he was far below the level of the first man, this was serious, suddenly, 200 feet below the first man his canopy finally inflated, breathed a sigh of relief. The first two men, out so close together, shouted at each other, a collision was inevitable, they tried steering different directions but to no avail, the top trooper opened his legs as wide as he could to stop going in the lower canopies lines, the drill worked, but not before the lower canopy was half deflated, the top canopy, now fully deflated, sank and died, the trooper plummeting rapidly, the other trooper watching in silence as the void widened between them, the higher canopy re-inflated, no need for the reserve, then, thankfully, the collapsed canopy of the falling trooper re-inflated also, neither trooper loosing his calm, no reserves deployed, the drills worked, everyone concentrating on a safe landing as they picked their spot. A field of horses to one side, a dry ploughed field on the other, a lush green field of crops to the North, electric fences keeping the horses in, finally they started landing, one landed in the horses, startling them into a frenzied stampede, the dust kicking high up into the air. The first man down was the last man out, he took a while getting up, but get up he did, a trooper running over until he saw him get up, he was hobbling, in pain, the pride and stubbornness forcing him to walk off the DZ, helmet off, red beret on, hope he is ok. The last stick, all prepared, now in final positions, first man in the door, the last man out of the last stick had been remarked upon by the dispatcher, a few worries but no lapse in concentration, everyone waiting to go, silent, as before, as professional as those before, our Arnhem veteran in the stick, just as before, it began for them "Green on..Go!" out they went, no hesitation, someone hit the doorway, spinning as he fell, they were slick, the last man out on the count of nine seconds, the slipstream catching him, his exit position is good but his feet are lifted up and over, he goes straight through both sets of risers and back down again, his canopy inflates, he is in control. They come down almost on top of the previous stick, another trooper lands in the field of horses, forcing another wild stampede. Out of the crops come a well hidden ground party of French re-enactors in British Airborne uniform, willies jeeps on the DZ to collect our canopies, we board the vehicles in some cases and others walk, we hear a trooper is injured, it was the last man out of the third stick, he has broken or fractured something but refuses to get in a vehicle till he is off the DZ.

In this photo, taken on the original Pegasus Bridge is Cpl MacDonald, a member of Pathfinder UK. Cpl MacDonald, himself a serving corporal, is recreating the story of Cpl Thomas Waters MM of the 5th Parachute Brigade on 6th June 1944.

Pegasus Bridge was the site of the first allied action on D-Day. In a daring raid, British and Canadian members of the Sixth Airborne Division swooped down in gliders and seized the strategically important structure, and by holding the bridge the Allies were able to protect the Normandy beaches from possible German counter attacks.

We made our jump onto the Merville Battery to demonstrate our appreciation and respect for the sacrifice and courage of the para veterans. This is why we had done it and this is why we will do it again. With our action for the day over, we listened to the veterans, packed our kit and sorted ourselves out. We had done this before, we were here again, one thing on our minds though and it concerned the men who were here in 1944 "We will remember them.

India and Nepal were interesting. We had a good jump with the Indian Army. The singular moment of the India portion of the trip was as we were flying to the dropzone in the AN-32, the Indian jumpmaster opened the tail ramp and announced that we would be flying low over the Taj Mahal. We'd visited the monument the previous evening, but nothing compared to seeing it

An International mixture of jumpers pose for the camera in India

at the Indian Airborne Jubilee event. Pathfinder was represented

by a total of four members

from the air just before the jump. We had 2 excellent jumps with the Gurkhas in Nepal. They use 3 jumpmasters, with 2 of them literally throwing people out of the side door. I usually get out fast, so they never really latched onto me for the toss. An unexpected bonus was a side trip we took to Mt. Everest in a small plane. That was something I hadn't counted on seeing. Incidentally, the name of the airline was Buddha Air. Cheers,
Russ Wilmot

Celebration Disco Indian style Dave is presented with his Indian Airborne wings

The course and their Indian hosts