Afternoon Rogues, Was watching Heavy Water War and was interested to see the pathfinder squad parachuting through a hole in the floor of the fuselage. Never dawned on me before that this was how it was done when dropping from a Halifax. Curious to know, what other specific aircraft was this the prescribed exit strategy? In addition, what safety precautions were put in place to ensure the jump was successful? Thanks
I think this technique was also used in the Whitley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPK-sR5pnjQ and the Albemarle.
Thanks for the info. From what I have seen of the Halifax hole, it was similar in depth. The soldier held his body up on the edge of the hole, trying to take his time, which I am sure was difficult to do when in the midst of flak and you just wanted to get the hell out.
The USAAF used B-24 for similar missions called "Carpetbaggers" . They called the hole the "Joe Hatch" because every secret agent was called "Joe" http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/carpetbaggers-the-air-arm-of-the-oss-in-europe/
Bailing out throught the door trap of the Whitley was very problematic - a jumper could try to keep his chin up and back....but THEN he'd crack the back of his head on the OTHER side of the hatchway! It was the source of many training injuries at Ringway for British Airborne, and is recorded a few times in the memoirs of SOE agents and other clandestine types parachuted into Europe by Whitley.
