Falschirmjäger chute with bag & container

Yesterday , I broke the piggy box. I suppose many of you would have done the same by seeing this beauty for sale at a local flea market. Considering this is possibly the only time in my life I'd come accross this beauty , I didn't hesitate long.

Actually I walked by it twice before I realized there was a large box with german locking systems and painted in Südfront cammo. I then read "fallschirm gerät" + all the good werk markings , all original. Then the seller suggested I opened the box and I saw it was full!

The german web bag was still in there and most incredible the complete parachute with extraction chute included , the four buckles and all the strings were in it.
It smelled like grease and the strings were terribly entangled , but upon having a closer look, I noticed it was 97% complete (with the exception of a few burnt holes in the silk). The reason why it smellt like grease is probably oil . The chute is dated 1939 .


I washed it twice with laundry liquid and lemon juice to get rid of the smell and some of the rust stains without damaging the silk and original colour. It dried really fast in the sun and it came out clean and smells good. Of course some stains remained and there are a few holes , but it's otherwise solid and beautiful.

It took me three hours to get rid of the knots , but it was worth the job and the buy.

 

WOW!!! Great find Skipper!

 

Thanks sky, I am still restoring the silk, it doesn't smell anymore and the colours are preserved, so are the ropes. However it is so huge I think I will put it on my ceiling or keep it folded because I will never have the room to display it otherwise. Whatever I do I am now among the lucky few to own a German falshirm, and an early war model too.

I will also investigate on the makers (EFJ for the box) and Bal (I think, initial spelling to be confirmed ) for the silk chute

 

Very tempting Jeff, you should see the shape when the wind engulfs it, it's really impressive. Even the extraction chute will show the way. Unfortunately this model is now too fragile for playing, it has holes and the Iwouldn't trust the ropes either.

It will be a great asset on my Luftwaffe mannequin though.

 

Skipper, that is one heck of a militaria 'find'. Well done !

 

Cheers Martin, It was really a good day for me. Initially I wanted to buy a belt and the guy ofered it to me when I eventually bought the falshirm.

 

Made famous for conversion into silk slips under wedding dresses during the war.
There is a terrific little anecdote about this in the Danger UXB TV Series. (One of the best War TV series ever produced, IMHO.)

 

The silk is very soft and I can imagine why people used these for dresses and sheets. This makes the surviving chutes even more rare .

 

Cool! I only have the camo ones. Rich A. in Pa.

 

Thanks Rich, I am still learning about this. I believe the cammo chute has a rectangular container vs a square one for the white version

I found this one on the net :






Note the caption is slightly different and mention "Personnenfallschirm" (the square box mentions "Fallschirmgerät" which is a more generic term for parachute which I suppose is a larger version and was possibly also used for dropping material)

 

Great find Skipper!

 

All I got for my camo 'chutes are carry bags and the pack the folded 'chute was in for use. Rich A. in Pa.

 

Cheers Mehar, the trouble is that I'm hooked on Fallschirmjägers now, that's going to be one hell of an expensive businness.
I will at least try to get the straps which goes with the chute and then the mannequin. Another possibility would be to fit a Luftwaffe pilot with this gear.

 

What a great find Skipper! Congrats on that one. LOL yes it is a little expensive in money as well as in time, to be hooked on Fallschirmjägers, but it is fascinating! Welcome to the club!

 

Cheers Ulrich, this thread was incomplete without you seeing it. I had a thought for your Opa when I bought this chute

 

Skip you may want to do further research on this item and the lettering given on the box as this may not at all be a personal Fallshirm gents chute ...............

 

The SR1 is Erich as to the FL code. I don't know whether it belonged to this very chute or was added later. I have not found the FL code content for the container. I do think it's a personnal chute though because objects were used (from what I read so far ) in rectangular containers as in pic 13. "My" FL code is 29901