but I was still awarded an Aerial Delivery Certificate that I proudly show my Grandchildren. The preceding paragraph was not to impress anyone with what I have done (since many Paratroopers have done much more) but only to let you know what experiences I'm drawing from when I make the following comments.
(1) I know this sounds boring but I never had a problem of any kind that was directly caused by a C119. The combination of the C119 and the T-10 parachute were ideal for jumping.
This was not the case with the T-7 chute. I never jumped a T-7 from a C119 but here is a quote from Bill Waters Jr. a Master Paratrooper who has.
"Then along came the C-119 a very good plane it was just ahead of the T-10 and the pilots
could only slow them down to around 135 knots. Now, with a old T-7 that made a lot of
difference when you got your opening shock, I can remember a lot of times jumping a GP
bag I would see stars when I got the opening shock.
"
The prop blast on the C119 would send you parallel to the plane for about 50 feet and then you would start to feel the fall.
(2) Jumping a C119 from the rear with the clam shell removed was GREAT, no prop blast and you got a great sensation of the free fall from the aircraft.
I have been in a C119 when we dropped a fully loaded jeep out the back and felt no noticeable movements of the aircraft as the jeep exited .
(3)On mass drops we jumped C119 in V of 3's.
Once on a mass drop, I had a poor body position on exiting a C119 and was blown under the plane to be tangled with a Trooper exiting the other side. My chute never opened and we rode his down!
I should point out this was not the fault of the Aircraft, we were violating standard instructions not to races sticks ( see which side could exit the aircraft first the losers bought the beer) of course we always raced sticks.
(4) Never got Air sick on a C119 nor saw many Paratroopers that did. It was a great flying machine. We use to get PO at the Airman on the flights because we flew as much as they did on average and then jumped out but their flight pay was more than our jump pay ($55 per month).
(5) Loved Night Jumps, at night , you could see the flames from the exhaust and watch the glow of the boom lights (red and green used to tell us when to jump) through the open doors ; sort of erie but made the jumps more exciting.
(6) In summation , all I can say is the C119 was the Caddie of the fifties , not only for its pair of fins but also for it smooooth power glide ride!!
