Only one available: This high end reproduction of the famous T-5 is in great condition. The T-5 parachute was standardized in June 1941 and many of these first pattern chutes were heavily employed in all theaters of action. They saw extensive use in training, the early airborne operations in North Africa & Sicily, as well as the daylight drop of Operation Dragoon in Southern France. White T-5's remained standard throughout the war in the Pacific theater of operations such as Nadzab, Noemfoor, and Corregidor.

This reproduction set comes with a main canopy and reserve canopy. The main parachute bears the serial number: 44J9634-3 Camouflage. This set is accurately made with high quality materials, clothing and metal accessories are all high grade. From what we can tell there is no extensive damage or wear. This is a display reproduction and we do not recommend using it as a lifesaving or recreational device.

THE EVOLUTION OF U.S. ARMY PARATROOPERS PARACHUTES
Even though the U.S. Army had plans to implement sky soldiers as early as World War I, American paratroopers may have arrived late to the airborne scene — Soviet engineers had innovated parachute designs and German Fallschirmjägers had completed airborne operations over Norway at the beginning of World War II.

The U.S. Army’s 29th Infantry Regiment formed a test platoon and conducted their first ever training jump in August 1940. Two years later, the 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment completed their first major implementation of airborne combat troops during Operation Torch in support of the amphibious invasion in North Africa.

World War II was the battlefield that tested the capabilities of static-line parachutes. They continue to be a presence on modern day battlefields, but they have seen several renditions and undergone modifications to advance the functionalities that many paratroopers are familiar with today.

T-5 & T-7 PARACHUTES
Three prototypes for the T-5 parachute were tested to solve the problems of the T-4, but not all of them were successful. In February 1942, Snap hook closures from Hook 42B3232 improved the risk of accidentally unhooking from the static-line cord. It had a vertical sliding gate and spring-loaded button that allowed for jumpers to slide along at their own controlled pace before exiting the aircraft. The initial training T-5 rigs had all white canopies, but since they are easy to spot in the air, they were replaced with camouflage chutes for later airborne operations.
The pre-deployment of the parachute before the rig couldn’t be resolved. More than 13,000 paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Division — along with British, Canadian, and other Allied paratroopers — parachuted into Normandy on D-Day and lost equipment, including hand grenades that flew from their pockets.

The T-5 parachute rigs also had an Irving quick-release mechanism box, sometimes called the “bang box,” which allowed paratroopers to release themselves from their harness without delay once they were on the ground. Their reserve chutes had hesitator loops and pilot chute flaps that deployed when the original red ripcords were pulled. T-5’s were the most widely used parachutes during World War II and were used during Operation Market Garden, which saw more than 20,000 Allied troops dropped by parachute via airplanes. Toward the end of the war, more than 16,000 paratroopers participated in Operation Varsity, the last and largest one-day airdrop of the war.

The T-5 was phased out before the Korean War, and the Army emphasized the inclusion of the T-7 parachute. The T-7 had a serious issue in malfunctions caused by the increased speeds with which airplanes traveled. The wind speeds caused wear and tear on the chutes, and from June 30, 1951, to June 30, 1952, investigations reported that 12 fatalities were caused by these malfunctions.
A 1944 report found the average speed a plane was traveling during an airborne training operation was just 100 mph, and even then the opening of the parachutes caused canteens, holsters, and helmets to be ripped from paratroopers’ gear. The C-119s that were used post-World War II averaged speeds of 145 mph and called for an innovation of the T-7 design to prevent catastrophic injuries from occurring even before landing on the ground.