THE RHODESIAN AIR FORCE PARACHUTE TRAINING SCHOOL THE VERY BEST

Approximately a year ago with a hell of a lot of urging from my family I was finally bullied into putting fingers to keyboard and brain into overdrive and started to write the story of the Rhodesian Air Force Parachute Training School. My darling wife Chalice, and my wonderful daughter, Robyn Sherer promised to correct and edit my ramblings as I put together this weekly blog. I have tried to make these ramblings readable to the reader interested in the history of a small central African country which became a world leader in the use of paratroops.

These airborne soldiers were all students of the Rhodesian Air Force Parachute Training School and, after rigorous training, were deployed on Fire Force – a tactic we developed. Before jumping, they were checked and dispatched by a Parachute Jumping Instructor who was responsible for their safe delivery into battle onto a suitable Drop Zone. On occasion the same troops, many mere teenagers, were dispatched up to three times a day into battle. At RAF Abingdon we were told that more than two training parachute descents in day was considered dangerous.

In 1961 six Royal Rhodesian Air Force airmen were sent to The Royal Air Force Parachute Training School at RAF Abingdon – five of us were successful in qualifying for the RAF Parachute Jumping Instructor brevet. We were trained in exactly the same way the RAF trained their PJIs and became skilled in the use of the three ‘F’ principles of instruction: Firm Fair and Friendly. Initially students were astounded by this form of instruction – they couldn’t comprehend how pleasant we instructors were. We were not the usual yelling, snarling type of military teachers. The only time we raised our voices (in theory) was to shout the word “Go!” which was used for every order.

Unlike other military instructors, we also did not differentiate between rank, age, gender or race. Everyone was treated exactly the same, the only acknowledgement of higher rank was to say “Sir” to officers. Being an officer was no excuse for not doing push ups when an error was made either, and it can safely be said that more push ups were carried out in the PTS hangar than any other place in Rhodesia. This calm, respectful, even-handed teaching style was invaluable – it resulted in calm, confident paratroopers who had the utmost faith in the PJIs and would respond to their commands in even the most stressful circumstances.

 Whilst we continued to use this RAF teaching style, there were many other things we did improve upon. The biggest problem with the RAF parachute training methods was that nothing had changed, either in the training or the equipment used, since WW2, with the exception of the introduction of the 24ft Reserve parachute. The main parachute was still the 28ft X type which had been used on the ‘D’ Day Landings in Normandy, on Operation ‘Market Garden’ of a ‘Bridge Too Far’ fame, and in 1956 when the Parachute Regiment was dropped at Suez to secure the Canal.

Nearly 20 years after WW2, parachute training in the RAF had also changed very little. The main reason for this was nobody had bothered to ask the soldiers if what they were being taught was relevant. Nobody, for example, had asked the soldiers if the parachutes should be improved, or what could be done to make their weapons more accessible after landing, or if they would be prepared to jump at 500ft, or if it was safe, possibly safer, to jump into trees?

At the time, rifles, machine guns, Bren guns or rocket launchers were always carried in a suspended load and were 15ft away upon landing. In addition the suspended load was made from heavy duty canvas which took a very long time to pack and an equally long time to unpack. Just to get at the rifle was a major undertaking of undoing straps and unlacing yards of cord. Not ideal if the enemy was shooting at you.

 Not that we knew any different at the time of our course at RAF Abingdon. We were just airmen and nobody was even trying to change things. Because of this attitude we were also stuck with the “good old ways” because we’d been trained by the RAF and, it was expected, if the RAF did it that way we had to follow suit. This was the case until the end of the Federation on 31 Dec 1963. Suddenly there were only 31 SAS Other Ranks in the Army and six PJIs and we were very nearly folded up.

Fortunately somebody in the higher ranks of the Army and Air Force remembered the 1959 debacle in Fort Hill. So, almost as an after- thought, it was decided to keep the SAS.  And, if you had an SAS, you also needed Parachute Jumping Instructors and a Parachute Training School. They anticipated we PJIs would keep quiet, not rock the boat, and just train the SAS when they required training using the familiar old methods. It was also a great way to show visiting dignitaries how advanced we were, just drop a Dakota load of PJI's, or if handy, paratroops down the runway. Always impressive. 

However, once UDI was declared on 11th November 1965 we no longer felt compelled to stick to the old methods we’d inherited. In fact, due to sanctions (which resulted in no information and no supplies,) the nature of our Bush War, and our hot and high conditions, we were frequently forced to improvise and experiment. We were also fortunate to have a number of experienced soldiers join our ranks. They were always willing to give us practical advice from the soldiers’ perspective. Combined, these factors led to a great spirit of innovation which saw us develop new parachuting methods and equipment to become world leaders in military parachuting on a very tight budget.

We encouraged our staff to bring us their ideas and every idea was explored. It was either adopted or rejected only after thorough scrutiny. Sometimes these ideas were silly but even so they were still looked at. (Just remember the safety fuse we used to open the parachute on the free fall boxes silly in the modern context but it worked!)

Innovative we may have been, but safety was always our first concern. Troops needed to land in one piece in order to do their job – our training drills reinforced safety at all stages of the jump and were repeated until the soldiers could perform, under any circumstances, without even thinking. For this reason, our death and injury rate was extremely low – a fact of which we can be justifiably proud.

 In the Rhodesian Air Force Parachute Training School we made it our job to always find better ways to drop paratroops into action. We never stopped questioning the old methods. Was there a better and safer way to carry equipment into action? Could the soldier get hold of his weapon if he was stuck up a tree? Was it a good idea to give the paratrooper a pistol to use if he did get caught up in a tree?  Was it even sensible to jump into the bloody trees in the first place?

 We did not stop asking questions and sometimes sanctions worked in our favour.  For example in the beginning, we had trouble accessing parachutes and were forced to search out alternatives. The Royal Air Force, with their choice of X type parachute, were still restricted to a flax webbing harness that had to be adjusted to fit the individual with no body band to hold a weapon and they were happy to stay that way. But,we were not and when we received the 35 ft PT10 American parachute with a body band and Capwells, we were able to devise new ways of carrying the weapon so it was at hand on landing.  The body band allowed the soldier to strap the rifle or machine gun to his body so it was immediately accessible - a fantastic improvement as was the 35ft shaped canopy. No late swings on landing!!! Later we got the South African copy called the SAVIAC which was stronger and easier to repair therefore better.

 Once we discovered, through PJI experimentation, that landing in scrubby trees was not only possible, but soft and also had the added benefit of providing instant cover, we asked for parachutes fitted with Capewell canopy release systems so the soldiers could get out of trees easily.

 We always tried to maintain good and open relationships with the men we trained, and were especially great friends with the SAS. We listened to them, when they made suggestions about the equipment and the way the personal weapons were carried – after all they were the end- user and there was no point in dropping troops if they were too injured, or too disadvantaged by poor equipment to fight after landing.

 We personally trialled our innovations to ensure they were safe and practical. We practised with every parachute type, and every parachute modification before allowing the troops to use them. We parachuted into different DZs; into trees, into mud, onto ploughed fields, into maize fields before we allowed the troops to do these things. Likewise we experimented with weapon carrying and found the best method was to carry the rifle attached to the body, loaded with a round in the breach with the safety on. The MAG machine gun could be carried in the same way, with a 50 round belt of ammo wrapped around the breach.  Much better than scrambling around in the dark, up a tree, trying to find a weapon which, in the old days, could be dangling 15ft below you!

  The RAF gave us a fine grounding in the safe way to parachute and the safe way to get troops into a set battle plan – the type of battle which took a long time and many meetings to prepare.I remembered carrying out DZ Recce's before the SAS Operational drops in September 1962. What a farce!  We were able to successfully carry out this type of operation too, as described earlier in the blog under Operation Dingo and Operation Gatling where DZ's were chosen from aerial photographs.

However we broke new ground with our Fire Force techniques. We were never taught how to drop troops at very short notice into a fast moving battle. Due to the guerrilla-style tactics of our enemy we needed to develop methods to hit back hard and hit back fast. We could not allow bands of terrorists to simply cross the border to safety so we had to create a way to quickly drop troops, into variable terrain, to ambush the escaping enemy.  This was Fire Force – a unique style of attack developed and perfected by the Rhodesian Armed Forces.

Once the enemy was spotted from an observation point, within a very short time we attacked with helicopter borne troops and paratroops dropped in very close proximity – surrounded the bastards and killed them.  The first time we saw the DZ was when we were running in for the drop, which was at only 500ft AGL. The wind-speed on the ground was judged by the smoke from a smoke grenade dropped by the helicopter gunship marking the DZ position.  I can’t imagine the RAF, or for that matter, any  other Airborne Forces, carrying out the types of Fire Force operations we did in Rhodesia without first conducting reconnaissance, feasibility studies, health and safety assessments and finally talking themselves out of it altogether. But we found this method was deadly and efficient.

Our Bush War was probably the last time paratroops were used in such large numbers and with such devastating effect. I am very proud to have been a part of The Rhodesian Parachute Training School – we maintained an impressive safety record even in the most trying circumstances, and we developed training and tactics which revolutionised military parachuting. None of this would have been possible without the support of the dedicated PJIs, parachute packers, dispatchers, pilots and of course the troops.   

I feel that the time has come for me to bring this blog to a break but before I shut down, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people for contributing to this blog and for their unfailing enthusiasm, support and help.

Tony Hughes for his contribution “The Best Times”.

Trevor Smith “Early Days and Other Things”

Iain Bowen “His Story”

Dick Gledhill “His Story (P.T.S)”.

Kevin Milligan “Operation Cheese”.

Connie Wise “The Story Of The PTS Blue Bird”.

Denis Buchan ‘Charlie’ “His Story”

Mark Zambra “The story of the T.F. Dispatchers”.

Mike Cappuccitti, Ivan Holtshausen and Alan Bradnick “3 Squadron Pilots Stories”

Rex Taylor “His Story about The Parachute Evaluation Course”

John Pierson and Rod Murphy for their corrections to the types of parachutes and their construction.

My darling wife Chalice Beverly for her fantastic support and continued encouragement.

My Daughter Robyn for all the fantastic editing skills which has turned much of my ramblings into readable English and for encouraging me to continue when I thought of just chucking it into the bin. 

Last but not least to all the readers who have followed my ramblings in this Blog THANK YOU

THE RHODESIAN AIR FORCE PARACHUTE JUMPING INSTRUCTOR BREVET  THE RAREST COMBAT PARACHUTE BADGE IN THE WORLD.

THE RHODESIAN AIR FORCE PARACHUTE TRAINING SCHOOL PLAQUE WHICH REMAINED UNACKNOWLEDGED TO THE END OF OUR TERRORIST WAR.