• rustyfish@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        44
        ·
        1 month ago

        During the Cold War soviets experimented with dropping soldiers from helicopters into snow. Without a rope or parachute. Just jump and pray. Went as smooth as you imagine. There is also that legend which almost certainly happened, but there aren’t any records of it. In one occasion during WW2 Russian paratroopers have been deployed from a plane from low altitude without parachutes. Again on snow. And only a third of them died.

        Now, this has been denied by the soviets. But if we look at what else the Kremlin has said over the last century, we can safely assume that it absolutely happened.

        • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          1 month ago

          Reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) story about the Ghurkas. They were told they’d be jumping behind Japanese lines, and they were a little apprehensive because they didn’t think the ground would be soft enough. But when they were told they’d have parachutes they felt better.

  • SamuraiBeandog@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    19
    ·
    edit-2
    1 month ago

    You mean my clan in Battlefield 1942 wing riding on the Bomber to drop onto the far flag on Bocage was historically accurate?!

  • jumperalex@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    7
    ·
    1 month ago

    Other than the war part of it, where do I sign up?!?!?!

    Reminds me of a bi-plane jump I did at the World Freefall Convention in the mid-late '90s in Quincy, IL. Reach up, grab a bar attached to the wing, plane goes inverted, you hang from the wing and then let go. It was as cool AF as you might imagine. Second only to the Hot Air Balloon jump. The Jet was fun because it was a 727 but it felt like any other high and fast jump. But those two? Gold man.

      • jumperalex@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 month ago

        Sadly not really. 1995 man, no digital cameras. I think I have one somewhere of me and my buddy in the jet, but it just looks like two dudes sitting ass to nuts on the floor of a plane with a bunch of other people hahah and one of me half dropping trow to show off my hip tattoo in tent city.

        • RubberElectrons@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          1 month ago

          Ah well. Not that I doubt you, just wondering if they still do that and what it looked like.

          Keep on keeping on

    • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 month ago

      Guess that depends on how you define “works”. Russians do a lot of stuff that’s stupid and “works” – see eg. the entire Ukrainian invasion.