PARATROOPERS
FALL TOWARDS LANDING ZONE "B" - This
stick of six is pictured landing between the lighthouse and
the water-tanks on Landing Zone B. After the early aircraft
came in at 550 ft, and the early sticks were seen being
blown back too far towards the cliffs, Colonel Jones ordered
the height to be reduced to 400 ft. What must be remembered
though is that the landing zones weren't at sea level, and
the distance between the C-47 and the landing zone became a
"relative" measurement. In this instance, the parachutes can
be seen to open fully a bare second or two before landing.
"There was only enough time for my chute to rotate once,"
commented one trooper. Note the flagpole in the left
background.
This is actually a close-in scan of a
10x8 print from a small portion of the 8x8 negative taken by
the Air Corps Fairchild K-17 large negative cameras.
Sometimes it is not possible to print an 8x10 shape without
sacrificing detail, except by zooming into the action, as
here. The full size square print view extends all the way
to the South China Sea through Cheney Ravine.
