11th Airborne Div. Depends on Packer's Skills
The following
are excerpts from an article entitled "11th
Airborne Division Depends on Packer's Skills" (this article
was probably written bySP3 Alberto Whitt of PS&M
Co.). The entire
article is in the References section at the end of this
section.
One of the major
pivot points in the 11th Airborne Division is
the 11th Airborne Quartermaster Parachute Supply
and Maintenance Company. It was referred as the
11th Abn PS&M Co (sometimes referred to as
PM Co.) Most of its members were certified Riggers. The
11th PS&M Co. was responsible for the
delivery of parachutes, personnel, equipment, and supplies.
We performed the necessary parachute packing, supply, and
maintenance tasks essential to the planned level of
parachute delivery re-supply. Riggers were also responsible
for rigging of heavy equipment for dropping, for the issue
and collection of parachutes for each jump, as well as,
making sure each paratrooper had his equipment and
parachutes on correctly.
The men of
PS&M Co – all paratroopers – were among the
best Soldiers in the Division and this is the way the other
men of the Division, wanted it. The skill of the Rigger is
based on training, high intelligence, and supervision, Men
assigned to the division were screened and the PS&M
Company’s requirements were given a high priority.
Riggers, the men who proudly wear the Red
Caps.
There is a lot
of “glory” in being a Rigger. There are also
long hours and a lot of hard work. While the troops are
thumbing out of bed in the wee hours of the morning for an
early morning parachute assault problem, the Riggers of
PS&M Co have already had their breakfast and spend an
hour or two at work getting the parachutes ready for issue.
And when the jump is over, and the troops return to their
areas, the Riggers are still out taking care of the
parachutes and getting ready for the next
jump.
Every time a
jump was made in the 11th Airborne Division, an
officer of PS&M Co, also a Rigger, was present on the
Drop Zone to watch each jumper and to check the deployment
of every canopy. A malfunction was immediately examined by
this officer. The word “malfunction” is a
misnomer. Tests have shown that it is impossible (until the
laws of gravity is changed) for the regular parachutes
(T-10) used at that time to not open. Most of the laymen,
and even some paratroopers, think that malfunction
describes a parachute that fails to open. This is not true.
Malfunction was used to classify parachutes which open but
which do not satisfy the parachute officer as a perfect
deployment. The word malfunction actually means”
“other than perfect.” This includes the
“Mae West” – in which one or more
suspension lines go over the top of the canopy, and
“blown panels” in which one or more sections of
the 120-section parachute rips under pressure of the
opening shock. With either of these the paratrooper can
land safely.
A permanent
record is kept so that at any time any chute can be traced
back to the date and the man who packed and signed the
record or “Parachute Log Book”.
A Rigger is
always aware of their responsibility that the parachute he
is working with will later hold the life of a fellow
paratrooper. Doing a satisfactory was not good enough
– perfection was a must. We were proud to be
Riggers.
Parachute’s Cycle
We can relate PS&M Co
structure to its work as we trace a parachute from the time
it is delivered to the company until the time it returns.
The parachute assembly which includes the harness, the
suspension lines, and the canopy itself is shipped from the
Virginia Depot. The individual crates are received and
opened by the Parachute Supply Section and stored until
needed. The Supply Section may appear out of sequence in
the preceding paragraph, but we did not often receive
parachutes from the Depot and the Supply performed many
other functions in the parachute cycle. Normally the cycle
begins ends and then starts again in the drying tower.
There every chute is hung up for at least 24 hours,
inspected panel by panel, and then sent to either the
packing section or sent the Supply Section for storage
until requested for use by the Pack Section. . When
requested by either of the two Pack Sections, the personnel
chutes are delivered to the packing sheds where, on long
tables, the assemblies are laid out, inspected again and
during the packing by the Rigger. After the parachute is
packed the parachute log is signed by the Rigger who packed
it. The parachute is given a final inspection by a Pack
Supervisor who also signs the Parachute Log Book. The
Parachute Log Book is a permanent record so that at any
time any chute can be traced back to the man who packed it
and to the date it was packed and how many times packed.
The Pack Sections usually packed about 500 chutes per
day.
If during the inspection of the
parachute or while packing it the Rigger finds a defect or
anything that might cause the parachute not to work
properly he would pull the parachute and send it to the
Parachute Maintenance Section. A Rigger in the Maintenance
Section performs a full inspections and determines what
type of repair is required. Repairs are made, inspected and
send back to the Pack Section.
From there the packed parachutes
are sent to the Parachute Supply Section and stored in the
Parachute Bin Room, which is a large building with capacity
for many parachutes. The parachutes are held here until
called for by airborne units.
When a jump is scheduled the
required number of main and reserve parachutes are
withdrawn form the storage bins, placed on trucks from the
PS&M Motor Pool Section, usually large semi-tractor
trailer rigs, for transportations to the airfield. From
Gablingen Kaserne where the parachutes were packed to the
airfield in Munich was a long trip. The parachutes were
taken to the Issue Point (IP). The IP is staffed by
Riggers, usually from the Supply Section, who issued the
parachutes. Parachutes are drawn, each having a serial
number, and a record kept of which chute is issued to each
man. Every jumper is issued two chutes. A main 28-foot
parachute (T-10) and a reserve 24-foot parachute (T-7A).
Parachute Riggers assisted the men in adjusting harnesses
and attaching gear prior to the jump. A Rigger also gave
them a final inspection prior to enplaning for the
jump.
If supplies or heavy equipment
were to be part of the jump exercise the Heavy Drop Section
had to pack the required number of each kind of parachute
needed for the drop. The Riggers had to rig the load and
attach required parachutes. The rigged equipment was loaded
onto trucks for transporting to the airfield. Riggers would
accompany the equipment and load it on the aircraft. They
would normally go in the aircraft and assist during the
delivery or drop.
The parachutes are jumped (or
dropped in the case of equipment) and the final test of the
Riggers’ ability, is whether or not the parachute
functions properly. After the jump is completed the
paratroopers fold their parachutes and return them to the
Turn-in-Point where they are place in Kit Bag and loaded
onto trucks for the trip to the Drying Tower. At the
Gablingen Drop Zone this was a very short trip of a few
hundred yards. At the Drying Tower each parachute is hung
and shaken to remove most of the debris that may have been
picked up on the drop zone. If the parachute is damp it
remains for 24 hours to dry out. The parachute is placed in
a Kit Bag and sent either to the storage bins or directly
to the Pack Section. And the cycle repeats
itself.
If not jumped within 60 days the
parachutes are returned to the drying towers, re-dried and
sent through the packing cycle again. If the chute is
jumped, immediately after the jump, the chute is sent to
the drying tower and on into the packing cycle. The packing
section, in order to keep ahead of the requests for
parachutes, must have the jump commitments for the Division
in sufficient time to anticipate the number of chutes
needed for jumping. The Operations Officer makes sure that
the Division’s requirements are know in sufficient
time to schedule the logistics required to have the
required number of parachutes and equipment at the
airfield. Very few of the parachutes go a full 60 days
without being jumped because the Packing Section is
oriented on the number of jumps and is able to anticipate
the number of chutes needed. The life of a parachute is 100
jumps or eight and one half years, which ever comes first.
In the jumping 11th Airborne Division, most
chutes get their 100 jumps and are retired long before the
time limit. In a typical monthly quota for PS&M was
between fifteen and twenty five thousand, depending on the
scheduled jumps.
Riggers Assigned Hazardous Duty
Along with all the hard work and
responsibility Riggers were often sent on very hazardous
operations - (but someone had to do it). For example a few
of the unlucky ones HAD to escort contestants in the Miss
World contest.
At the left is
“yours-truly” trying to out flank the
“enemy” - Miss France.
At right two Riggers (Sp3 Muicer & Pfc Stuart – I think) are planning
their attach on Miss Austria.
Miss World – Back Row
(left to right) – Austria – France –
Finland – Sweden
Front Row (left to right)
Holland – Greece – Germany –
Switzerland
So you want to see some more! Well have at it!
At left one of the
“enemy” - Miss Greece - has captured a Red Cap, and
with the help or Miss France they have me surrounded! But, I have
successfully defended my "Red Cap".
– Airborne All The
Way!
Don’t you feel sorry for
the Riggers? After all they do and then have to endure this
kind of treatment!
At right the Miss World
contestants and their captured Riggers stand in front of
PS&M Company’s Headquarters building
which they now have under their control.
We didn’t get any medals
for our “above and beyond the call of duty”
efforts, but we did get the next day off. After the strain
and stress we were under it was the least the brass could
do!
BACK TO REGULAR DUTY
The picture below was taken from
the 11th Airborne Division Headquarters
Annual’s Section on PS&M
Company
Below is a partial sheet of the Rigger’s stationary.
REFERENCE ARTICLES
Parachute Maintenance Company – Ever Dependable
SP3 Alberto Whitt
DIVISION DEPENDENTS ON PACKER’S SKILL
(Arthur unknown)
PM Co Arrives Ready For Work
Gablingen DZ Extended
PS&M Located at Gablingen Kaserne
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