How often to you get to play around with one of these?

[f1freak 0]

We had realy cool show and tell this last weekend at the PIA meeting in St.Louis.
A WW2 Japanese Navy Type1 Harness Container. (http://www.allentownshow.net/history/jappara/japanese_para_equip.htm)
Check out the single point line attacment.

HAVE FUN...
...JUST DONT DIE

[adamadam 0]

Every once in a while? Whenever I see that one Pat Wilson brought to the meeting. I had seen it a couple times before when he was researching it a bit a shopping around to find a home for it.

Apparently his Uncle recovered it during the Battle of Leyte after the Japanese jumped in. Interesting because the page you referenced said it was a Japanese Army assault but that looks like a Navy container.

There is some info on Wikipedia on the Battle of Leyte

Another interesting point is that the Date (17.8.1) is Year Month Day and is based off the start of Emperor Hirohito's reign as Year 1.

Anybody get any photos of the Log record book. If I remember correctly, we were able to figure out the chute was packed a couple months before the jump into Leyte.

-Adam

[riggerrob 643]

" ... said it was a Japanese Army assault but that looks like a Navy container. ...

-Adam

[riggerrob 643]

This looks like an Imperial Japanese Navy Type 1 Special main parachute (static line).

Photograph number 2 shows a large single connector link at the nape of the neck.

Oddly, this example (IJN Type 1 Special main harness) has suspension lines sewn directly to a single connector link, while most photos of Type 1 Special and Type 4 show suspension lines attached to a large snap (similar to USAF B-12 Snap). then the snap "snapped" onto the harness' connector link.

This suspended Japanese paratroopers leaning forward, similar to (WW2 vintage) Italian paratroopers (Salavtore (sp?) parachute) and German fallshirmjaegers. Supposedly this (single attachment point) made line twists less of a nuisance, but created other problems for users.
Consequently, Axis paratroopers landed "toes, knees (maybe hands) and nose."
German fallschirmjaegers were issued special boots, knee pads and gloves to reduce injuries.
This forward lean limited the amount of equipment they could carry on their chests and knees. Japanese paratroopers could only jump with pistols and grenades. After landing, they had to retrieve rifles, machine guns, mortars, etc. from cannisters that were (hopefully) dropped on the same DZ.

OTOH, the (early version 1941) Type 1 parachute (worn by Japanese Army paratroopers) had two main risers and suspended the jumper (spine vertical) similar to modern harnesses.

Reference: "Japanese Paratroop Forces of World War II," G. Rottman & A. Takizawa, illustrated by M. Chappell & A. Hook, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2005.

Osprey Aircraft of the Aces . 13, "Japanese Army Air Force Aces, 1937-45." shows aircrew parachutes.

[ripcord4 0]

There are some excellent photos and description of this type parachute in "World War II Troop Type Parachutes: The Axis" an illustrated study by Guy Richards.