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Why Does Part Of The Capewell Release Have a Golden Color?

The Mystery of the Color-Changing Capewell! This is another question we get all the time and lucky for you it has a very simple answer. Here you see a photo of a Capewell Parachute Release in the open position. The part highlighted in gold is a component aptly named the slider because it slides up […]

The First Airborne Infantry “Test Platoon”

In late June of 1940, the US War Department finally followed suit of many other countries and created an Airborne Infantry “Test Platoon” at Fort Benning, GA. This test platoon was composed of 2 officers and 48 enlisted soldiers from Fort Benning’s 29th Infantry Regiment. The first Lieutenant William T. Ryder was the test platoon’s […]

Origin of the Capewell Release: Part II

Officers at Ft. Benning, where 200,000 paratroopers have been trained since the first U.S. airborne test unit was formed there in 1941, call the Capewell release a significant military improvement, one that theoretically can save hundreds of lives, greatly reduce the number of injuries in troop jumps, and vastly increase the potential effectiveness of combat […]

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