{{short description|Tower used for parachute training}} [[File:Katowice - Wieża spadochronowa 01.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Parachute Tower Katowice in Poland]] A '''parachute tower''' is a tower used for parachute training, often by members of a military paratroop unit. A mixture of tower heights are used at different stages of training. Trainees typically begin on towers around {{convert|35|feet|m}} in height in fall-arrest harnesses before progressing onto parachute descents from towers that can be in excess of {{convert|250|feet|m}}. The use of towers allows trainees to practice their landing technique before jumping from an aircraft.
==Use== Parachute towers are used to train people, particularly military paratroopers, in parachute jump technique. Towers are typically divided into low towers of approximately {{convert|35|feet|m}} and high towers of around {{convert|100|-|200|feet|m}} or higher. The shorter towers are used by trainees jumping in harnesses with a fall-restraint cable to simulate the exit from an aircraft and safe landing technique.<ref name=horn>{{cite book |last1=Horn |first1=Bernd |last2=Wyczynski |first2=Michel |title=Tip of the Spear: An Intimate Account of 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion, 1942–1945: a pictorial history |location=Toronto Ontario |publisher=Dundurn Press |type=Print. |date=2002 |isbn=9781459712829 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OBi2L6WktCQC |language=en}}</ref>
Trainees then pass on to the high tower jumps with parachutes.<ref name=horn/> The high tower typically has one or more arms at the top from which the trainee is winched up into the air and released to descend by parachute.<ref name=service>{{cite book |last1=Giallourakis |first1=Bill |title=Service in Combat, Court, and Home |date=2019 |publisher=Page Publishing Inc |isbn=9781644245262 |page=91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_wSiDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> The parachutes used are specific variants developed for training and were originally modified commercial systems, though the US military later developed the Type J-I parachute specifically for high tower jumps.<ref name=sweeting/>
The high tower allows trainees to practice the "body landing" (or parachute landing fall) technique, which is essential to avoid injuries such as broken legs or ankles.<ref name=service/> The high tower can also be used to carry out "shock harness drills", intended to simulate the initial shock of a parachute canopy opening. The trainee is hauled up into the air and dropped to free fall approximately {{convert|15|feet|m}} before being brought to a complete stop.<ref name=horn/> After high tower training is passed troops proceed onto aircraft jumps from an altitude of approximately {{convert|1250|feet|m}}.<ref name=service/><ref name=horn/> In the United States Army during the Second World War, five jumps from aircraft were sufficient to complete the course; the British Army required trainees to undertake an additional two jumps from tethered balloons prior to jumping from aircraft.<ref name=horn/>
== Military history == [[File:Airborne school (9516647992).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A parachute tower at Fort Benning in the United States]] The first parachute tower in the United States was a {{convert|115|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} tower in Ocean County, New Jersey, built by Stanley Switlik and first used by Amelia Earhart on 2 June 1935.<ref name="NYT 1935">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/06/03/archives/amelia-earhart-uses-her-first-parachute-flier-makes-her-initial.html|title=Amelia Earhart Uses Her First Parachute; Flier Makes Her Initial Jump, With a New Device From a 115-Foot Tower |newspaper= The New York Times |date= 3 June 1935 |access-date= 26 October 2019 }}</ref> The {{convert|262|feet|m|adj=on}} Parachute Jump ride at the 1939 New York World's Fair (later moved to Coney Island)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://bklyn.newspapers.com/clip/33987755/|title=Coney Island Dolls Up, Winks at Service Men|date=30 May 1941|newspaper=Brooklyn Daily Eagle|access-date=18 July 2019|page=7|via=Brooklyn Public Library; newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> was a parachute tower, though the United States Army parachute training centre at Fort Benning had only {{convert|34|feet|m|adj=on}} towers until 1941.<ref name=hagerman>{{cite book |last1=Hagerman |first1=Bart |title=Seventeenth Airborne Division |date=1999 |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |isbn=9781563114366 |page=13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60yFzOoevz0C |access-date=25 October 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=sweeting>{{cite book |last1=Sweeting |first1=C. G. |title=United States Army Aviators' Equipment, 1917-1945 |date=2015 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9781476619460 |page=159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Np-vBwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> Major William Lee of the United States Army, in charge of the training of the first 48-man platoon of US paratroopers, saw the Parachute Jump ride and constructed a similar tower at Fort Benning.<ref name=hagerman/> Three further towers were later erected. Each stood {{convert|254|feet|m}} high and had four arms—each of which could hoist a single paratrooper—that spanned {{convert|134|feet|m}}.<ref name=service/><ref name=sweeting/>
The Polish Army used the Parachute Tower Katowice for training. The tower was used as a vantage point on 4 September 1939 during the defence of the town from the German invasion. The story of its defence by Polish boy and girl scouts has been described as a "heroic myth".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moorhouse |first1=Roger |title=First to Fight: The Polish War 1939 |date=2019 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781473548220 |page=99 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8cx9DwAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> Some of the Polish Army escaped to the United Kingdom after the fall of Poland<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kinloch |first=Nicholas |title=From the Soviet Gulag to Arnhem: A Polish Paratrooper's Epic Wartime Journey |publisher=Pen and Sword |year=2023 |isbn=978-1399045919}}</ref> and was based at Largo House, Scotland.<ref name=warsaw/> Here they constructed a parachute tower, the first to be built in the British Empire, which was used to train the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade.<ref name=warsaw>{{cite book |title=Dialogue and Universalism |date=2004 |publisher=Warsaw University, Centre of Universalism |page=93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OjcKAQAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Peszke |first1=Michael Alfred |title=Battle for Warsaw, 1939–1944 |date=1995 |publisher=East European Monographs |isbn=9780880333245 |page=80 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eu1mAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref> The British military later constructed their own parachute tower (with capacity for two paratroopers) at RAF Ringway, which was moved to RAF Abingdon in 1950.<ref>{{cite web |title=RAF Ringway (near Manchester). Parachute training tower: double dropping machine |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C2020145 |website=National Archives |access-date=25 October 2019 |date=1945}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Action Stations: Military airfields of the Cotswolds and the Central Midlands |date=1990 |publisher=Stephens |isbn=9781852603724 |page=265 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=au5mAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}</ref>
The USSR had a large number of parachute training towers, with 559 in operation by 1939.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Zim |first1=Herbert Spencer |title=Parachutes |date=1942 |publisher=Harcourt, Brace and Company |page=[https://archive.org/details/parachutes0000zimh/page/134 134] |url=https://archive.org/details/parachutes0000zimh |url-access=registration |language=en}}</ref> Japan had at least four in operation during the Second World War.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Attack |first1=United States Congress Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor |title=Pearl Harbor Attack: Hearings Before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Congress of the United States, Seventy-ninth Congress, First [-second] Session, Pursuant to S. Con. Res. 27 ... |date=1946 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=616 |url=https://archive.org/details/pearlharborattac04unit |language=en}}</ref> The Turkish Aeronautical Association constructed two parachute towers in İzmir and Ankara between 1935 and 1937 based on a Russian tower in use at Gorky Park.<ref>{{cite web |title=Badge, Parachute Tower, Turkish Air Force |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/badge-parachute-tower-turkish-air-force |website=National Air and Space Museum |access-date=25 October 2019 |language=en |date=14 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Türkiye'deki İkiz Paraşüt Kuleleri |url=http://www.sanalalfabe.com/turkiye-deki-ikiz-parasut-kuleleri/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926170351/http://www.sanalalfabe.com/turkiye-deki-ikiz-parasut-kuleleri/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 September 2018 |website=Sanal Alfabe |access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref> Rhodesia also had a parachute tower at New Sarum Air Force Base.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Defence |first1=Rhodesia and Nyasaland Ministry of |title=Report of the Secretary for Defence and the Chief of General Staff and the Chief of Air Staff |date=1962 |page=14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ5DAQAAIAAJ |language=en}}</ref>
== Fairground rides == [[File:1939parachutejump.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The Parachute Jump tower, in use at the 1939 New York World's Fair]] As well as the original Parachute Jump at the 1939 World's Fair, there have been several other fairground rides based on a similar premise. The Pair-O-Chutes ride operated at Chicago's Riverview Park but was demolished in 1968.<ref name="vita">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/archives/arch_story/013004.htm|title=Thrill of a Lifetime|last=Vita|first=Tricia|date=January 30, 2004|publisher=National Trust for Historic Preservation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070211070721/http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/archives/arch_story/013004.htm|archive-date=February 11, 2007|url-status=dead|access-date=July 18, 2019}}</ref> Parachute towers, known as "Parachute Drops" were developed by Intamin for the Six Flags theme parks.<ref name=":9">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34018929/|first=Randy|last=Diamond|title=This jump heads for oblivion|date=June 14, 1983|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=July 18, 2019|page=97|via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref><ref name="Last Chance PR">{{cite web|url=http://www.sixflags.com/overTexas/info/news_2012FlashbackChuteOutClosing.aspx|title=A Pair of Popular Six Flags Over Texas Rides Are Going Away|date=August 2, 2012|publisher=Six Flags Over Texas|access-date=August 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024213218/http://www.sixflags.com/overTexas/info/news_2012FlashbackChuteOutClosing.aspx|archive-date=October 24, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Texas Chute Out operated at Six Flags Over Texas from 1976 to 2012; Great Gasp operated at Six Flags Over Georgia from 1976 to 2005 and Sky Chuter was at Six Flags Over Mid-America from 1978 to 1982.<ref name="Last Chance PR" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://stltoday.newspapers.com/clip/6007699/|title=Sky Ride's Fatal Fall Under Inquiry|first1=Ann|last1=Telthorst|first2=Robert|last2=Kelly|date=July 27, 1978|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=July 19, 2019|via=Missouri Historical Society; newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> Sky Chuter was relocated to Six Flags Great Adventure, where it reopened in 1983 as Parachuter's Perch. It was renamed Parachute Training Center: Edwards AFB Jump Tower in 1996 and closed in 2023.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0rw4CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT107 | last=Applegate | first=Harry | title=Six Flags Great Adventure | publisher=Arcadia Publishing Inc | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-4396-5613-6 | oclc=968096863 |series=Images of Modern America|page=107|access-date=July 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/ParaPerch.htm|title=Parachuter's Perch At Six Flags Great Adventure|date=May 15, 1989|website=Great Adventure History|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321024916/http://www.greatadventurehistory.com/ParaPerch.htm|archive-date=March 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/newsroom/harrys-corner-parachute-ride|title=Harry's Corner: Parachute Training Center|website=Six Flags Great Adventure & Safari|language=en|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719143435/https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/newsroom/harrys-corner-parachute-ride|archive-date=July 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Popular Parachute Ride At Six Flags Great Adventure Is Closing And Park Goers Are Not Happy |url=https://dailyvoice.com/nj/lakewood/news/popular-parachute-ride-at-six-flags-great-adventure-is-closing-and-park-goers-are-not-happy/856833/ |access-date=21 November 2024 |work=Lakewood Daily Voice |date=15 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref> Intamin also produced a "Parachute Drop" for Knott's Berry Farm in California in the late 1970s, which was named "Sky Jump".<ref name=":20">{{cite web|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2008/08/05/knotts-sky-cabin-still-closed-after-riders-got-stuck/|first=Serena Maria|last=Daniels|title=Knott's Sky Cabin still closed after riders got stuck|date=August 5, 2008|newspaper=Orange County Register|access-date=July 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719143429/https://www.ocregister.com/2008/08/05/knotts-sky-cabin-still-closed-after-riders-got-stuck/|archive-date=July 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huF-TGLDIAsC&pg=PA122|title=Knott's Berry Farm: The Early Years|last=Jennings|first=Jay|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|year=2009|isbn=978-0-7385-6921-5|oclc=320804621|series=Images of America|page=122|access-date=July 19, 2019}}</ref> The parachute jump portion of the tower was removed but its observation tower remains in operation.<ref name=":20" /> Yomiuri’s amusement park in Tamagawa had a jump tower.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Heavenly Soldiers and Industrial Warriors: Paratroopers and Japan’s Wartime Silk Industry - Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus | url=https://apjjf.org/2020/17/melzer | access-date=2025-03-19 | website=apjjf.org}}</ref> Tokyo Dome City Attractions, Japan, has an Intamin parachute drop ride named Sky Flower.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bnz62FjmTtUC&pg=PT130|title=Top 10 Tokyo|last=Mansfield|first=Stephen|publisher=DK Publishing|year=2013|isbn=978-1-4654-0614-9|series=Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides|page=130|access-date=July 20, 2019}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}}
Category:Parachute towers Category:Airborne military equipment Category:Military parachuting