European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 05, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse Weekend saturday june 5, 1948 paratroopers hit the silk in recent Aik Bonk Maneu vers. Gliders and transport planes will follow later with supplies the army s Doug feet take to the air &. Max b. Cook postwar developments in airborne to Miqu e an a armament make it the Standard infantry division to be transported save for some of its head equipment entirely by air United states army ground forces Are taking to the air. With Airpower s terrific Speed even phase of tomorrow s War must be Long Range fast and powerful. The army must Roach an objective in a matter of hours alight from the sky with its tons of equipment and be prepared to plunge into Battle immediately. It s a Case of setting there first with the most an that s just what the army intends to do. There Are several phases of. The army s Aerial Job development of the paratrooper development of the air transports and gliders that will carry airborne troops and their fighting gear into Battle and specialized equipment constructed to flt snugly into the air transports and be ready for speedy As Sembly and use after arrival. In fact the army will Tell you almost anything needed in an operation from entire divisions to Complete Field Hospital with All supplies can be flown in if and when sufficient planes Are available. Recently on the Kentucky Tennessee Border a joint army air Force train ing Man Euver exercise Assembly was under Way with about 25,000 army troops and some 150 aircraft of the ninth air Force participating. Exer Cise Assembly followed two other training Maneu vers recently completed Yukon in Alaska and Snowdrop in Pine Camp new York. These prove the Efficacy of transporting men equip ment material and supplies by air Toa combat area tinder Winter conditions and air Landing of such forces full prepared to engage., the enemy. Major general John m. Devine said the Winter exercises were significant training measures in that they actually demonstrated the difference in concept Between a strictly air Landing proce Dure and an airborne operation in which troops either Parachute to the grounder come to Earth with their equipment in towed gliders. an Rair Boi be he explained a landed Force is dependent for its continuance in Battle on a link up with other forces proceeding int Battle Overland. Air transported troops Are sustained by reinforcements and Theair delivery of resupply " to get the picture one might imagine a vital area several Hundred Miles within an enemy country. Photo reconnaissance planes would Fly at great Speed Over the area with the latest photographic equipment. On their return. Complete pictures of the Are would be quickly printed. Through new methods every Hill tree pole and build ing would be shown at their proportionate Heights. Enemy installations also would appear information from photos and Relief maps made from them the com Manders then would Mark off a drop this would include spots a which the first Pathfinder teams would. Be dropped also level areas where engineers could most easily prepare runways for Landing gliders and aircraft carrying troops tanks guns and other equipment. Zero hour would be set probably in the from an Altitude of about 1000 feet the Pathfinder Crews would enter the area. They would Send Back instructions for dropping two assault divisions assigned to Clear the area of the enemy. A Reserve division might follow to reinforce the assault troops and provide replacements for , engineers dropped with the assault troops would hurriedly size up runway problems and order the necessary equipment and begin Fillingin ditches and other Low spots while awaiting the heavier equipment. Wit the runways completed an airborne corps of three or More Parachute Divi Sions and one or More Standard corps stripped of heavy Armor and heavy engineering equipment would be flown in. Armor support would include reconnaissance units equipped with everything from an armoured jeep to alight tank. Naturally training men for these operations is a pretty specialized work but the army s finest youngsters have volunteered for the airborne As the ground army takes to the air. Being a paratrooper is not easy. It is & rough Tough nerve wracking Job requiring perfect physical condition perfect co ordination of mind and muscle and that something else which few men seem to have. The paratroopers Are proud and rightfully. They form perfectly trained teams of. Clear eyed hard listed fight ing men. Though i have talked to no paratrooper who does t admit he is scared a bit every time he jumps that say the officers makes him a Fine Para trooper. H of is a paratrooper made it is no just growing. After volunteering the would be paratrooper is sent to the airborne Section of the infantry school at fort Benning Georgia known As the Parachute school. A thorough physical examination is followed by a week of Basic stressing physical condition and alertness. The student learns How to Load and lash jeeps and trailer sin cargo planes. Then he gets his first ride in a glider. His reaction and ability Are carefully noted by instructors. Calisthenic become harder in the second week. Runs Are longer. There Are More push ups squat jumps Anderm circles lectures and demonstrations feature Parachute harness adjust ment Parachute Landing Falls mock door training using a mock up of a aircraft door and featuring paratrooper procedure through that door win machines and a 34-foot Tower jump this latter a Washer outer of note., encased in a harness the would be Chutis climbs the Steps of the Tower with a smile of Confidence. Then he looks Down that 34 feet into the faces of his fellow students seated Cross legged on the ground. They seem to be3400 feet away and they Are the student s greatest critics As they observe his mistakes during four jumps if he makes them. On this Tower the majority of paratroop prospects Wash out. To the uninitiated it is really Tough. Even then the four jumps arc Only the beginning. Further instruction follows in packet. Commands of stand equip ment Check stand in and ready go Are repeated time after time until the response is automatic and perfect. Then comes the training on the 250-foot controlled Tower. Hoisted to the top with a Parachute Boyc him the student fall the 250 feet guided by four cables to which the Chute is rigged. He must control the Chute himself. Be fore going up he is told in which direction he should guide the Chute. This Isth first time the student is on his own in a Parachute. Mental and physical reaction arc noted during these jumps. If the student i. Continued on Page 22 5
