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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1943-07-01, Page 6and'tea, Stiff, sore, and still nauseated, I finally made my way back to Roe- hamptoA where Maitland greeted me. I think we were the first twc jumpers at that time. I had to° jump many times after that, under enemy fire. I found, there was no hesitation on the basket's rim on such occasions: the balloon was usually on fire! -But no other leap into space ever held quite' the same. quality of uncertainty and awe as did that first. Record Production by British Farmers The further development of war- time agriculture in the 'United King- dom along the lines of still g1•eater self-sufficiency has been one of the major achievements in 1942, says George R. Paterson, Canadian .Ani- mal Products Trade Commissioner in Great Britain. Notwithstanding the increased drain on manpower by the armed forces and industry, British agriculture once more reached` new heights in production of foodstuffs, In 1939 domestic production pro- vided little, over 30 per cent of the food requirements of 47,000,000 peo ple in the United Kingdom. For 1942 it has been estimated that over 60 per cent of the total food necessities were home grown, and it is fully ex- pected that at least another 10 per cent can be added in 1948. The im- portant acreage increases have been in wheat and other coarse grains, potatoes, vegtables and sugar beets. It is estimated that by 1942 an ad- ditional 6,000,000 acres had been added to the pre-war cultivated areas. This is roughly an addition of 50 per cent to the pre-war acreage devoted to cultivated crops, including hay in rotation. It was generally re- garded that this was approximately the limit of cultivation, but recently the Minister of Agriculture called for an additional 750,000 acres in 1943. Farm tractors have been increased in numbers until about 120,000 are now working, as compared with about 55,000 in 1939. The utilization of park land, commons, golf courses, grazing lands, marsh lands and other areas normally non-agricultural has been thoroughly investigated; Such areas have been farmed by the County War Agricultural Executive Committees. Too much credit cannot be given to the County War Committees for this increased productivity and gen- eral efficiency, says 'Mr. Paterson. Unemcumbered by red tape • and clothed with authority, they have ap- proached their problems;: with direct- ness irectness and understanding. They have not hesitated to advise, prescribe, and, where necessary, to evict, in order to reach their goals. Their achievements speak for themselves, and it would not be surprising if some Biller organizations, with modi- fied powers, were not demanded by British farmers in the post-war per- iod. It is unlikely that a return to the pre-war state of apathy towards Brit- ish agriculture will be permitted. FRENCH BATTLESHIP RICHELIEU REACHES NEW YORK SAFELY AFTER ROUGH PASSAGE The French battleship Richelieu has .arrived in .New York Harbour. De- spite her crippled condition the warship made the crossing in company with the French cruiser Montealm, which berthed at Philadelphia; and several French destroyers. After dodging 11 -boats in Mid -Atlantic, the Richelieu battled through one of the toughest. gales many of her crew had ever experi- enced without material harm. She sailed from Dakar under General Giraud's orders. Picture shows:—A bow view of the Richelieu with tugs in attendance on arrival in New York Harbour. PREPARING FOR A LIGHTNING THRUST ON GERMANY'S COASTAL • SHIPPING Picture shows: Loading torpedoes on board a motor torpedo boat, one of the British Navy's little ships with a high speed and great powers of de- struction. The official name for these small craft is M.T.B . 84. They vary from eighteen to thirty-two tons, are about 72 feet in -length, and touch speeds up to 50 knots. Some of them carry two 21 -inch torpedoes, two machine guns and depth charges. It can be a tough life on board, and they have special padding in various parts of the ship to. prevent injuries. These small craft Erre constantly jarring the nerve of the enemy. They are con- stantly delivering the unexpected blow. 1 THS: SPAIi'owi i i WS THURSPAY, ,JULY 1, 1114$ Parachute Jump, From a Balloon The big troop carriers roared over - bead, and small objectsbegan to our from, then-, The paxachutes ,mush- rooed with exeelffnt`precision; and the airborne troops came handily to earth,. as busy as ants. I was getting bird's-eye view of modern war, Later I talked, to a handful of the tough desperadoes who were in train- ing, "My first jump," admitted one, "How did you feel?" I asked. "Curious, mostly. It was worst just before getting into the plane. After that, there was excitementand the din of engines dud the general feeling of not caring. Then there was a min- ute or so before the 'chute opened—" 1 know that feeliug well. "Sausage balloons" nowadays do not carry pas- sengers; but in 1915 they did. At that peered to be diving through the aloud time after enduring a full winter of stratum, a faint and trifling spread Flanders mud, I came to envy the of white appeared, The 'chute was dragonfly airmen who piloted the opening, and the cloud swallowed crazy crates of that epoch and sent in him up. All I could do was to valve an application for a transfer, having down through that stratum and cast flown a stick -and -string contraption about for a suitable landing place. before 1914 when the odds were strongly against safe landings. One evening I returned to my dug- out to discover orders from HQ. re•1'chute had opened and had spun like aniring me to return to Blighty and a top all the time. He had been al - report to O 0. Kite Balloons at Roe- most a minute in reaching the cloud, hampton. I had hoped for planes, but and had alighted on a haystack, found that my age was against the deathly sick, but was now in excel - more active form of flying, lent shape. Roehampton was then in the mak- "'You must make a jump as soon as ing-so far as the Royal Flying Corps possible," he decided. Since instruct - was concerned. Kite balloons were be- ors were supposed to do everything ing used at Gallipoli; and the French a little better than the instructed, and Belgians were already employing this had to be done, and Maitland them on the Western Front. The Navy volunteered to act as pilot. was tutoring the army. We ascended the following day For reasons best known to them- when ther ewes more wind than on selves the R.N.A.S. made me an in- his ascent. We climbed swiftly. Far structor on arrival. Owing to this I too swiftly! I was all the time deter - came into regular contact with Col- mined that I would never, 'never ask onel Maitland, one of the brightest to be shoved off into spaoe; after all, lights at Roehampton and the sterling what was a jump? aeronaut who afterwards perished But as I got into the totally inade- when the airship R 33 came to disas- quate harness, a jump seemed an in- ter in the Humber. credible, au impossible thing. My One of our decisions was that LB.'S mouth ran with loose saliva. My as we called the big unwieldy bal- spine seemed turned to water. loons, were vulnerable to attack, both We were above the clouds again — from the air and the ground. Cense- in brilliant sunshine, with the floor- quently safeguards for the pilots and ing of white loneliness beneath. observers were advisable. "About time to be gong, eh?" said my The only way to escape from a pilot with what appeared malevolent captive balloon if it were shot down, grin. "It's the first twenty minutes But he ddi not jlmxp into apace. I waited; nothilrg happened. "Anything wrong?" I. asked. His faoe was get. "I can't jump -- shove mo over!" he said. He was the bravest man I knew, and yet — the thought of the unknown, beneath piled cloud masses, practically 'paralyzed bio nervo gen- tors, "Go on, push me off!" he insisted. I know how murderers feel! X shoved hint off the edge of the basket and was so interested in his descent that I clean forgot to valve out gas. The balloonshot up, he went down -- travelling at affrighting speed. Parachutes of that day, seldom began to nrusbroem before three hundred feet had been dropped, But my switr ascent, combined with his fail, gave the impression that he was descending thousands of feet, out of. control. Nothing happened — he grew less and less. Then, just as he ap- Later I returned to Roehampton to find Maitland already there. Ile had dropped a thousand feet before his or—with a severed cable—were drift- ing over enemy lines, was to jump with a parachute. Parachutes in those days were in an embryo stage. Few pilots carried them, as their aircraft usually broke into small pieces when attacked, allowing no time for self salvation. A couple of straps around the shoulders was the best that could be managed, without thigh straps, quick releases, or any of today's intricacies, and naturally it was a last resource. In the event of a B. -B. blowing or being shot adrift you would treat it as a free balloon and valve down to earth—ripping out the rip -panel when some fifty feet or so above ground. To secure a balloon pilot's license a certain number of free balloon flights were necessary, first in com- pany, later solo, and then solo at night. The main feature of free bal- looning was its utter lack of excite- ment; having got into an air current, one travelled along at the pace of the wind in a fiat calm, Movement was only discernible by watching the bal- loon's shadow crossing the landscape below. With the leak of gas from the en- cation of weight in my shoulders now, velope there was a tendency to Brows- and a growing elation in my heart. iness and often the soloist fell asleep. But it seemed better to looking up Equilibrium was preserved by sand— than down, if you wakened to find yourself diving No choosing a landing now, of into a river, you hove a whole sandbag course; I was the victim of every over and shot up towards the stars. wind current through which I passed, Maitland and I discussed parachut- blowing north, south, east and west ing a lot, he felt that a parachute as I descended through the changing Jump should form patr - of every airstreams, balloon -pilot's curriculum. But, he T saw a meadow that seemed like argued, how can a man insist on 'what& a suitable landing; it was whisked is potentially a risky task, without ' away from my view to be replaced first showing the way. by a wood. I crossed the Thames — He determined to make a jump twice, Then I touched down — in fro ma considerable height. I accom- rough Stubble. panied him as pilot, and the balloon I rebounded a little and was in - went up with sweet precision. Seven stantly aware of a strong wind blow - thousand feet was soon attained. ing. The parachute did not deflate; We passed through cloud and lost I was draged as helplessly as a sight of England below. We might flounder on a rock. We carried no have been travelling over an un- knife in the clews in that day, and I charted sea — there was sothing in could not cut loose. There was no view but the billowing cumulus, blue quick release gear on the harness. sky, and golden sun. I was torn through a hedge, and Maitland donned the harness. "I'11 came to a meadow full of cows which jump from ten thousand feet," he scudded away like a. water -mad herd declared. I shed a little sand and of buffalo, I was dragged through watched the unreliable altimeter that meadow, while dogs barked Iran- which had already let me down rather tically. Torn and scratched I began badly, It registered eight thousand to apply my thinking cap, live hundred — until I hit it, then it I began to haul on the chews of jumped to eleven thousand 1 the parachute, to spill it of wind, I "Time to be going!" said. Maitland, managed a bit, but it inflated again and seated himself on the edge of end continued to drag. I went through the ear. I stood by the valve cord so a farm pond. Then 9 contrived to rid that I could let out gas to counteract myself. of the pestilential harness just the loss of hie weight: a sudden de- as I went over a ditch. I thuded into crease might well send the sausage a further flitch and the 'chute gam - careering zenithwards, with the risk bolted gaily away. of the expansion of gas causing the Presently I met a farmer who took envelope to split, me for a Hun! But I was able to re - "Good -bye and good luck!" I said. assure him, and he fed me whiskey that count," I shut my eyes, gulped hard and — jumped. I was dropping like a meteor from the sky, and was convinced the parachute would not — could not — open. Five or seven seconds they said, was the time for the silken umbrella to open. I tried to count slowly. . Still nothing happened; the descent went on unchecked. Then — a jerk that seemed to rip my shoulder blades adrift, shook me. A man, I thought, was a fool to undergo such exquisite agony voluntarily. It was time someone devised a parachute that opened gradually. And then — the parachute took my weight and cradled me smoothly. There was a rush of confidence. It had opened satisfactorily. I suppose the fall had occupied eight seconds; it seemed like weeks. I was held so long in the cloud -layer I was drench- ed. However, that was a minor dis- comfort. The continual gyrations were the worst part. I was violently sick. That can be a foul business when descend- ing. 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