In this 1946 U.S. Navy training film (MN-5801) from Jam Handy Productions, viewers see the appropriate way to wear parachutes, tighten harnesses, check for tested parachutes, bail out of a plane, and collapse a parachute on land and open water. The film opens with footage of paratroopers parachuting through the air. An officer examines a parachute kit. A pilot demonstrates securing a parachute harness on an airstrip. He then climbs into an F8F Bearcat with his parachute. The film shows another type of parachute, the QAC (quick attachable chest), which can be quickly attached to a harness when riding on larger planes (01:38). A man demonstrates the new quick-fit parachute in a room by sitting on a chair and putting on the harness and tightening the straps (02:23). A closeup shot shows the friction lock on the harness (03:05). Viewers see a woman sewing a parachute, two men packing a chute, and an airman looking at the inspection flap of a parachute to ensure it has been properly cared for and stored (03:52). A pilot climbs into what appears to be a Martin AM Mauler (04:21). Another pilot checks his men’s parachute harnesses before taking flight in a larger aircraft. A man demonstrates how to bail out of a plane, going head first. What appears to be a Grumman F7F Tigercat flies by (05:20), and presumably the pilot bails out. Animation is used to show how to bail out of a plane with a floor hatch and when to deploy your chute. A man demonstrates jerking the ripcord out to deploy the chute (06:48). A pilot or paratrooper lands on the ground and falls in the direction of the canopy, pulling the bottom lines to collapse the chute. A man lowers himself down to the ground after getting caught in trees during a jump (07:48). Another man demonstrates landing in water and holding onto the harness. A pilot jumps off the wing of his plane into the water, then inflates his mae west life preserver. A man is dragged along the water’s surface as his parachute canopy is pulled along by wind (09:37). He collapses the canopy by pulling on the bottom lines. A man removes a pararaft kit from his gear while floating in water (10:40), and he pops the CO2 bottle to inflate the raft. He demonstrates the wrong way to board the small pararaft (11:14); he then demonstrates the appropriate way to enter it. He ignites a smoke signal to alert the rescue team to his location, which concludes the film.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com