An Cosantóir

| 17 www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE It was always in my mind that parachuting, an inherently militar y activit y, could and should be introduced into the DF. Having gained experience, exper tise and the 'B' Licence I felt that I could approach my superiors on the matter. Events in 1969 impacted negatively on my f irst approach, but on the other hand, my par ticipation in the 1st Fianóglach Course, and discussions during later Fianóglach courses, allowed me to pursue the issue unof f icially with senior course DS. Understandably, given DF priorities at the time, more impor tant matters prevailed and it was not until Friday the 9th of June 1972 that my approaches bore fruit, and then in a most unusual and unexpected manner. At the time I was 2IC of Suppor t Company of the 12th Infantr y Battalion in Clonmel, and engaged in the normal Friday regimental administrative duties of pay and company ordnance checks. That morning, I received a phone call instructing me to be ready with my parachute equipment to travel to Baldonnel by helicopter, which would arrive in Kickham Barracks shor tly af ter noon. I was to demonstrate my abilities or other wise to senior of f icers of the Air Corps and AHQ that af ternoon. I had and still have no knowledge of what discussions had taken place at AHQ and Air Corps HQ, but it was not an oppor tunit y to be missed. The 1st DF Freefall Jump I can recall no great formalities on arrival at Casement that af ternoon apar t from mutual brief ings between myself and the pilot Capt Frank Russell, with whom I had the good for tune to have made friends with during earlier ATCP operations. It would be a f irst for both of us, for Frank to drop a parachutist and for me to jump from a helicopter. My principal concern was accurac y, given that this was obviously going to be a test jump, and that freefall would be secondar y to accurac y. We agreed on a target drop zone (DZ) near to the football f ield and on my requirements for judging the correct time and spot to leave the aircraf t. In those early years before high per formance parachute canopies and GPS, the 'spotting ' technique was rudimentar y, a 'streamer ' made from coloured crepe paper, weighted down by two six-inch nails was dropped from the aircraf t at parachute opening height over the designated target, and the spotter directed the pilot so that he, the spotter, could watch where the streamer landed. Af ter that the theor y was simple, on the run-in at the exit height, the spotter would direct the pilot to f ly the aircraf t over the location of the dropped streamer and along the wind line towards the target by tapping on the pilot 's shoulders, and then at an equal distance from the target, as the streamer, he would request him to cut the engine and the jumper(s) would then exit. If the spotter had got it correct, when the jumpers opened their canopies, they would be on the correct direction and distance from the target. It was simple in theor y, but demanded considerable skill, and variables like a change in the streng th and direction of the wind between dropping the streamer and exiting the aircraf t would of ten produce unwelcome inaccurate landings. This was to be avoided if at all possible, on this jump. There was to be a bonus however this time which I quickly learned; while spotting from a helicopter with its slower for ward speed than that of a f ixed wing aircraf t, it proved easier to be accurate both on the streamer and exit runs-in. So af ter the streamer run, Frank climbed the aircraf t to 2,500 feet, I exited and following a shor t freefall opened the canopy and much to my relief guided it to a landing just twent y yards from the target. This accurac y was undoubtedly assisted by favourable weather conditions, and the fact that on this jump I was using the then, only dedicated Col Hodson (Retd) with Maj Gen Adrian Ó Murchú D COS (Sp) Member of the Black Knights landing at the Bray Air Show The highly skilled Black Knights team ARW operator performing a freefall jump Member of the Black Knights leaving the AW139

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