jump w/o a chute

[kirby1923]

*

[oldbike54]

 I was aware of the story , something we were taught in Air Farce Basic training . Did not know about the gentleman's life after the war , he is either the luckiest man ever , or the unluckiest , kinda hard to tell .

 One thing , and we have discussed this before face to face Kirb , the entire flight crew of Werewolf was made up of enlisted troops , guessing FS stands for First Sgt , or maybe Flight Sgt , those Brits had some strange ranks during the war 

 Dusty

[Lannis]

https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/the-indestructible-alkemade/

Fascinating stuff, and apparently to the Germans too!

Having been responsible for factory safety once in my career, it's also a commentary on industrial safety standards in the 40s and 50s!

Lannis

[Chuck in Indiana]

Some days... it's just not your day.  Quite a tale.

[JeffOlson]

Wow! What a story! After the war, his brushes with death continued. Unlucky indeed!

[Chuck in Indiana]

Wow! What a story! After the war, his brushes with death continued. Unlucky indeed!

Nope, lucky. The Grim Reaper took several swings with his scythe...and whiffed.

[Sheepdog]

I’ll wager those first few moments after regaining consciousness were confusing. We don’t go until we do. We’ve probably all had a few “miraculous near miss” moments.

[Luap McKeever]

Meh. Parachutes are overrated 

[Sasquatch Jim]

 When your number is called, not many can refuse.  That guy made a habit of it.
 Until 1987 when they weren't taking no for an answer.

[tris]

I seem to recall reading something many years ago where there were a bunch of men from WW2 who gained the Golden Maggot award for surviving a fall from an aircraft without a 'chute.

Anybody else heard of that as Google (other search engines are available) has failed me ..... or I might be delusional 

[tris]

I seem to recall reading something many years ago where there were a bunch of men from WW2 who gained the Golden Maggot award for surviving a fall from an aircraft without a 'chute.

Anybody else heard of that as Google (other search engines are available) has failed me ..... or I might be delusional 

Its official - I am deluded - I was thinking of the caterpillar club and its for people who have successfully bailed out of a broken plane with a parachute

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_Club

[Socalrob]

Its official - I am deluded - I was thinking of the caterpillar club and its for people who have successfully bailed out of a broken plane with a parachute

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterpillar_Club

I recall reading about a weekend parachutist who's chute did not open but they fell on a near verticle slope of sand and survived. 

[tris]

Interestingly, given the subject of this thread, the Wikipedia link to the Caterpillar club reveals this:-


Membership requirements
There are no annual fees, though the Switlik club charges a nominal enrollment fee. Both the Irvin and Switlik clubs issue gold and silver pins depicting caterpillars. The Irvin Golden Caterpillar has amethyst eyes. Prospective members must send documentation of the incident to the manufacturer, which then conducts its own research.

The requirements for membership are rigid - members must have saved their lives by jumping with a parachute. Consequently, RAF Sgt. Nicholas Alkemade, who during World War II bailed out of a RAF Avro Lancaster without a parachute and landed uninjured in a snow-drift, was refused membership because a parachute had not been used

You'd think he'd have got honorary membership 

[kirby1923]

Interestingly, given the subject of this thread, the Wikipedia link to the Caterpillar club reveals this:-


Membership requirements
There are no annual fees, though the Switlik club charges a nominal enrollment fee. Both the Irvin and Switlik clubs issue gold and silver pins depicting caterpillars. The Irvin Golden Caterpillar has amethyst eyes. Prospective members must send documentation of the incident to the manufacturer, which then conducts its own research.

The requirements for membership are rigid - members must have saved their lives by jumping with a parachute. Consequently, RAF Sgt. Nicholas Alkemade, who during World War II bailed out of a RAF Avro Lancaster without a parachute and landed uninjured in a snow-drift, was refused membership because a parachute had not been used

You'd think he'd have got honorary membership 

I totally agree and /or they should have a special award for those that survive the big dive W/O a chute!!!

[Sheepdog]

The DFC (Distinguished Falling Cross)...

[kirby1923]

The DFC (Distinguished Falling Cross)...

  I like it! Probably not going to be many of those awarded!!

 The opposite, (chute and reserve failure), of survival is called the "bounce" by sky divers!

Ugh.

:-)