| Original Message |
Alex
Posted Jun 2, 2009 8:21 AM
Dan, it's extremely interesting that the CAR was issued PASGTs. Thanks for the info.
Do you by any chance have any photographs showing CAR guys with PASGTs?
All previous written accounts seems to limit the PASGT to overseas use with UN detachments,
so this is a new revelation to me.
Several of my oldtime fellow officers had served in the CAR at one time or another and
two of them had actually taken command of the CAR so the next time I'm at a beer call or
regimental ceremony, I'll be sure to ask what they recall about being issued with the PASGT.
Usually though, since it was not of importance at the time, memories remain vague. As
with the first M1 I was issued with, I couldn't tell you whether it was of WW2 manufacture,
(most likely) or of post war manufacture, whether it was front seam, D-bale or whatever. Who the
heck cared at the time? Who bothers to note dates of manufacture or names of manufacturers on issue
equipment? Or as in the case of the Denison smocks on issue at jump school - nobody in the serial really wanted one, preferring the OD nylon version, so I cannot imagine anybody taking the time to check the dates of manufacture to verify whether they were original WW2 smocks! Nowadays, the Denisons are worth a fortune to collectors.
Do you recall the type of harness/chin strap the CAR PASGTs were equipped with?
Was it the regular one piece chinstrap with a cup? Early airborne PASGTs were no
different from regular ones.
Because of problems with the helmet either being regularly knocked off or shifting
forward, one of the initial fixes was the airborne retaining strap. (as illustrated
in one of the photos that I posted) This strap was attached centrally to the rivet
at the back of the helmet underneath the sweatband and nape pad. Both ends of the strap
had Velcro sewn on to allow the ends of the straps to be looped around and fastened to
the chin strap.
The later version (second photo in my PASGT post) airborne PASGT has a nape strap attached
centrally to the back of the helmet under the nape pad but also attached to each side of
the helmet where the top of the chin strap is normally riveted. A chinstrap with plastic
quick release buckles is attached to each side with a slider fitting at the end of the
quick release fitting, thus forming a Y harness.
Although there may be other versions of the airborne PASGT, these two are the only
types I'm familiar with.
How did you end up with a PC? They came out around 1964 or 1965. I dumped my two 7TUs for one
of the early PCs, but the last time I jumped a PC, or any round canopy for that matter, other than the dozen-odd times under a reserve, was in early 1968, after which it was first the Parawing then Parafoils, Para-Planes, Cloud, Stratostar - all squares with the exception of the Parawing. By the time the Papillon came out, I was already on squares. I've never jumped a Pap or any of the special small lo-po rounds dedicated to RW work in the 1970s. I've been on many a ten-man RW load where I was the only square in the sky, and I recall that the RW guys were initially extremely reluctant to allow me to do RW with them flying a square. Come to think of it, on more than a few occasions involving a lousy spot or high winds, the square was the only canopy to make it back to the DZ!
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