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 Paratroopers
Dropped On Maneuvers
By 1947 the new C-82 was being actively used in support of parachutists.
Published in an unidentified newspaper on October 31, 1947, the article
documents paratroopers of the 82nd
Airborne who jumped from C-82 aircraft at Lawson Field (now Fort Benning),
Georgia as part of "Operation Combine".
The three C-82 aircraft disgorged their sticks of jumpers on cue as
they flew over the DZ The photo at right shows about three dozen
chutes already deployed.
Also mentioned is the scheduled jump from similar aircraft at Camp
Pine, NY on November 10 (see following article).
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This article which
appeared in the November 13, 1947 issue of the Watertown (NY) Times
describes the drop of 88 parachutists from the 505th, 82nd AB, from
three C-82s at Camp Pine (later
renamed to Camp Drum [1951] and still later as Fort Drum [1974]).
This was the first instance of that training base to be used for parachutists
even though it had been a primary training base for infantry, artillery
and tank crews for many years. In fact, even today two weeks of
annual duty at Camp Drum still factors into the life of many reservists
each year.
It is interesting to note that the appellation of "Flying Boxcar" was
used here in conjunction with the C-82. It's successor, the C-119,
had that same nickname due to the cavernous maw of the cargo holds of
both aircraft.
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