G’day, Alan?
Many thanks for your query regarding RAR soldiers killed while carrying out
parachute drops in the Rhodesian Bush War. I am sorry to say but I cannot
remember their names. The only details I can remember are those I have written about
in my Blog about the Rh.A.F. Parachute Training School. Two of these soldiers
died as a result of an operational parachute drop from 168ft above ground level,
near the town of Shamva, during Operation Hurricane. This error was caused by
the second pilot, setting the wrong QFE, to the altimeter, when flying in for the
drop. Remember Operational static line drops were from 500ft above ground
level. This was a stick of 16 and the two men both broke legs and died some
time later from blood embolus. The other
fatal parachute drop was during basic training and happened when the soldier
failed to jump out of the Dakota parachute door correctly. The parachute static
line wrapped around the butt of his MAG. This caused the static line to break which failed to deploy the parachute. This
soldier then failed to deploy his reserve in time to prevent his death. I am
afraid to say but the memory is becoming a little hazy after more than 40 years
and this is about the best I can do. Cheers
and Soft Landings. Derek de Kock