Of all the work performed by women in uniform, packing the parachutes -- those complicated contraptions of silk and leather -- meant the difference between life and death for a man plunging from the sky. Read more about them by clicking on the Wartime Wednesdays link.
many, many little known, unsung jobs done by many for the servicemen....seems like that job took a lot of discipline and attention to detail
and we come to the question i've been wanting to ask: why did parachute design require a certain opening speed? you know, "count to ten?" and if so, how come paratroopers hook up for instant chute deployment the moment they jump out of the c-47?
Elinor, you've done it again. A truly fascinating story about something I've never thought about. There was so much involved in parachute packing that I can't imagine a person, or group of people, would do it correctly. We are so involved thinking about campaigns and battles that we ignore the thousand little details that make them possible. Thanks for a small piece of that.
