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Rescue parachutes WWII

Rescue parachutes WWII

The rescue parachute is a weapon system

Let's start with the basics. Theory and design of parachutes, as well as experience with their use., accumulated to 1965 city, are detailed in Lobanov's Fundamentals of the Design and Calculation of Parachutes (1). Those interested can refer to this very interesting book.. For the lazy I will say, that the ability to successfully open a parachute in an emergency depends on so many parameters: altitude and airspeed, geometric and design features of the parachute and harness, the physical condition of the pilot.

The rescue parachute is a weapon system, and its perfection and reliability of work in different conditions determines the probability of a successful rescue in the event of a forced abandonment of the aircraft. obviously, that in order to perform a parachute jump and successfully complete it, the pilot must take into account the design features of the rescue parachute, abandoned aircraft and external conditions of the jump.

For example, when jumping from an airplane at a height 8000 m the pilot must open the parachute with a delay of at least 11, but not more 15 seconds, or fall to a height of about 6800 m and only then pull the ring. Otherwise, he risks experiencing exorbitant overloads., get lines overlap or damage the harness and canopy of the parachute (1).

Three parachuting schools

Let's turn to history (1, 2, 5, 9). By the 30s of the last century, three schools of parachute construction were formed:

  • Anglo-American (Irving Air Chutes, GQ Parachutes);
  • French (Aerosure, Aviarex);
  • italian (Salvator).

The main differences were in the approach to the design of domes and suspension systems..

Rescue parachutes of the Red Army Air Force began with the purchase of a license from the American company "Irwin", as a result, parachutes appeared PL-1, PN-1, PT-1 (pilot's parachute, observer parachute and training parachute), having identical domes, slings, suspension systems, and differed by the location of the knapsack and its shape (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). had a parachute the main performance characteristics of this parachute system (there was precisely a system based on single parachute and suspension designs) (5):

— a type: PL-1 (PN-1).
— ceiling quantity, PC.: 24.
-lanyard length, mm: 4580.
— dome diameter, mm: 7400.
— dome area, m: 42,2.
— weight with suspension system, kg: 10,5.
— time to full disclosure (average), sec.: 2,5.
— descent speed (with load weight 80 kg), m / s: 5,5.

PL-1 ensured the safe escape of the aircraft at speeds up to 300 kmh.

By the end of the 30s, when aircraft speeds increased 1,5-2 fold, there was a need for another parachute, which would ensure the rescue of flight personnel at high flight speeds. It became such a parachute PL (Mon)-3M, designed, tested and adopted by the Red Army Air Force in the late 30s. In flight, this parachute looked like this (7):

Rescue parachutes WWII

Its dome was square with cut corners. (3):

Rescue parachutes WWII

It was connected with the, that, other things being equal, the drag coefficient of a square dome on 10% higher, than round, under the same conditions, its area is less by the same, it is easier to manufacture (4).

Parachutes PL (Mon)-3M had the following geometric dimensions (3):

Rescue parachutes WWII

And have the following features (3):

Rescue parachutes WWII

Data on the filling time of the canopy and the rate of descent of the deployed system for different altitudes and flight speeds, overloads, acting on a parachutist when making a jump, compared to other parachutes, can be found in (1, 2, 3). And these data show that, that the PL-3M looked very worthy against the background of the rescue systems of Germany or the allies.

The parachute provided the opening of the parachute at high speeds, officially before 400 kmh (1):

Rescue parachutes WWII

But there is evidence of successful jumps from a speed of about 700 kmh:

«— What are you, jumped into the war?
- Yes. At a flight speed of something like seven hundred kilometers per hour ...
- So how, rips well at that speed?
- Doesn't vomit, and breaks into pieces. Woolen gloves were torn from my hands, high boots were torn off my feet, footcloths and socks, from the head - a helmet fastened with a buckle ... But, As you see, He remained alive. Behind the front line, at a high altitude, a car was on fire then - we had to accelerate at a tremendous speed, to take over enemy territory. And I overtook. He pulled happiness onto his own and the arrow-radio operator. At the navigator, Unfortunately, burned parachute, and he died ... Then I calculated by speed and a mile and a half distance to the German trenches and it turned out: we jump out nine seconds earlier, the fascists would have. So I know PL-3M well ... "
(8).

Parachute PL(Mon)-3M was the main means of rescuing the pilots of the Red Army Air Force throughout the war and proved to be a fairly reliable and versatile system..

Germans in the early 30s, like the USSR, copying the Anglo-American Irvine system (10), faced by the end of the 30s with the same problems of increased loads on the pilot when opening a parachute at high speeds. As a result, the Irwin system was transformed into a system with Sade combs., retaining the round dome and Irvine suspension system (1):

Rescue parachutes WWII

Combs, equipped with their own fabric dome (cm. picture), descending down the lines when opening the main canopy of the parachute, ensured delayed filling of the canopy and reduced stress on the parachutist when leaving the aircraft and opening the parachute at high speed.

This system had disadvantages.: in case of twisting of the lines, the main canopy was not filled (1). So these parachutes, who have rescued Luftwaffe aircrew since the start of World War II, at 1944 were replaced by WaCo parachutes with a ribbon canopy (1):

Rescue parachutes WWII

WaCo parachute featured in an American film, describing the Me-262 rescue system (11). His dome looked like this (11, 1):

Rescue parachutes WWII

Rescue parachutes WWII

This parachute provided a smooth filling of the dome and less stress on the paratrooper., than, for example, PL-3 (1):

Rescue parachutes WWII

But, as follows from the same illustration, required more time to reach an acceptable sink rate and, respectively, greater than the minimum allowable altitude of leaving the aircraft.

On Allied parachutes, the information available to the author is limited.. Managed to find a few. Name of manufacturers: Irving Air Chutes и GQ Parachutes, whose parachutes were used by the Allied Air Force. These firms with 1940 g. to solve the problems of leaving the aircraft at high speeds, the dome system "the X-Type Paratroop Parachute Assembly" was used . The round dome had X-shaped slots, providing smooth filling and control of the position of the parachutist relative to the direction of flight.

The author of sane materials could not be found on Italian parachutes and rescue systems of the Japanese Air Force.

findings

Can be summarized: with the problem of high overloads, acting on a parachutist in the event of a forced abandonment of the aircraft, all faced. But all participants in the world conflict solved these problems in their own way., with varying degrees of success and paying a price for it.

Besides, it is useful to add, that the shape of the dome could always be determined, whose pilot parachutes.

———————————————-

Bibliography:
1. Lobanov N. A. Basics of designing and calculating parachutes, mechanical engineering, 1965.
2. Lobanov N. A. Parachute training, no. 1, Redizdat CS OSAVIAHIMA USSR, Moscow, 1940.
3. Kaitanov K. and others. Parachute training. Military publishing house of the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the USSR, Moscow, 1947.
4. Strokes to the history of the parachute and catapult. Part one. Parachute / Aviation World. №1. 1994 g.
5. Parachutes PL-1, PN-1, PT-1, aviaru.rf.
6. Rescue parachute С-3-3, aviatus.ru.
7. Forced skydiving. Educational film of the Red Army, 1945.
8. Bondarenko N. A. In the air - testers.
9. Irving Air Chutes, GQ Parachutes. Official site.
10. The modelling news.
11. Captured German ME-262 parachute test by USAAF. Film 1945 g.

/Alexander, topwar.ru/

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