Paradummy

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A Rupert- type parade dummy (used in Operation Titanic)

Paradummys (German paratrooper dolls ) are dolls used for the first time in World War II , which, when thrown from an airplane , are supposed to be mistaken for paratroopers by the enemy in order to make the invasion from the air appear larger than it really is. Furthermore, using Paradummys, enemy units can be lured into ambushes .

German dolls

The first known use of Paradummys took place during the German invasion of the Netherlands and Belgium in May 1940. a. when storming the Eben-Emael fort . The Germans used 200 straw-filled dolls that were dropped from planes 40 km west of Eben-Emael, thus misleading the Belgian reserves around Liège. The actual German parachute units were much smaller in number. In August 1940, parachute puppets were also dropped over Scotland as a deception. However, there are no more dolls from this time, so information about their appearance and other details are no longer known.

The German parachute units also use artificial jumpers at a later point in time, for example during the Ardennes offensive from mid-December 1944. They looked so deceptively real that the Americans sometimes fled their positions. However, later investigations only revealed the landing of dolls and the finding of isolated German soldiers who were captured.

The Wehrmacht to the more realistic representation of the landing with small smoke bombs have experimented that were attached to the feet of the doll to simulate the on deaf end earth. Such modified dolls were not used.

British dolls

The first known use of paratrooper dolls was in North Africa in September 1942 when they were dropped over Italian units near Siwa . In doing so, operational experience was gathered, which resulted in suggestions for improvement (e.g. recommended size and weight, and removal through the floor hatch instead of the side door). In June 1944, dolls were also deployed over Italy during Operation Hasty .

The parachute dolls were used in 1942 to deflect the British invasion of Madagascar , which was claimed by Vichy France at the time . The dolls used during Operation Ironclad were roughly the same as those later dropped during the Normandy invasion on D-Day night . Little is known about the forerunners from 1942 as there are no more dolls.

Operation Titanic

The dropping of paratrooper dolls over Normandy is probably the best-known use of this type. The British dolls used were made in the USA and then shipped to Great Britain . In the early morning of June 6, 1944, to the confusion of the German defenders, hundreds of puppets were dropped along the coastal hinterland in preparation for the invasion. This distracted many German units from the actual Allied drop-off zones. Six soldiers from the Special Air Service jumped off with the puppets . They also produced loud fighting noises and carried out distraction attacks on German positions.

Rupert variants: simulation of rifle and grenade fire

The dolls used for Operation Titanic were nicknamed Rupert ; the official name was “Device Camouflage No. 15 ”. They were made of sackcloth and were filled with straw or with green waste. In the 1980s, some were found in a warehouse at an old British airfield. Some of the original dolls that came from this find or were discarded are now on display in war museums.

The dolls are immobile and, at approx. 85 cm, smaller than a person, but in the air and on the ground during twilight they can hardly be distinguished from parachutists. In addition, real parachutists also let themselves hang motionless on the ropes during the jump, so that defending ground troops could not distinguish them from jumping dolls or comrades who had already been shot in the air.

American dolls

Paradummy which as a prop on the set of the film The Longest Day was used

In the United States in 1943 , the US Navy tested the use of parachute puppets, which were made of a non-magnetic metal , probably aluminum . Actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , who served as a lieutenant in the Navy, was directly involved in the development and design of the dolls. Since the appearance of the dolls resembled the Oscar awarded by the American Film Academy , they were nicknamed the latter. He brought the idea for the dolls from Great Britain, where he was stationed for some time.

The test flights with the ten made dolls took place at an airfield near the coast near Chesapeake Bay in early March 1943. The parachute puppets were dropped from a TBF torpedo bomber over the coast or over the airfield. Three groups of observers who stood at different distances shared their impressions with the Navy in writing. Some of the observers had been left in the dark and did not know that dolls were being dropped. However, the dolls turned out to be a bad design because they were too small (approx. 45 cm) and had no moving parts that could move during the flight. Most of the observers rated them as unrealistic.

As a result of these tests, the Navy in Lakehurst developed the so-called “PD Packs” with approx. 1.2 m larger rubber dolls that were inflated with a CO 2 cartridge. In this way, observers could actually be optically deceived. The "PD Packs" were used in southern France in August 1944 during Operation Dragoon and in the Philippines .

Replica of an inflatable PD pack (rubber doll)

The largest American use of artificial paratroopers in World War II took place during the jump of the 503rd US Parachute Infantry Regiment on September 5, 1943 over New Guinea . However, it has not been conclusively clarified whether it was the aluminum or the rubber variant.

After the war ended, the United States Army continued to develop the Oscar variant in the 1950s. The result was a doll that could be folded for easier transport, the head and boots of which were made of plaster of paris. The dolls now also wore realistic cloth uniforms. They were used in operations in the Korean War .

During the Vietnam War , the Americans dropped leftover dolls over or near Viet Cong positions. They lured the North Vietnamese into prepared ambushes in order to attack them with waiting units.

The modern American paradummies are made of PVC and look like small GI dolls, but are larger than the dummies of the 1950s. During the Gulf War , special forces used these dolls to distract Iraqi troops. They were also used in Afghanistan .

With the help of the Paradummys, the Americans also simulate a larger invasion with paratroopers during exercises.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Suntrop Chronicle : History of Cologne Aviation, The German attack on the Belgian Fort Eben Emael, [1] , download on 2019-10-08
  2. Werner Pissin: The capture of the fortress Eben-Emael on 10./11. May 1940 . In: General Swiss Military Magazine (ASMZ) . tape 125 , no. 8 , 1959, pp. 592 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-37841 .
  3. Report: Attack by Special Parachutists, To simulate an attack by parachutists on the oasis of SIWA on the night of 13/14 Sep 42. CR / Adv. "A" F / 10/13 / "0", 1942-09- 14 [2] [3]
  4. Peter Harclerode: Wings Of War - Airborne Warfare 1918-1945 . Cassell, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-304-36730-6 , pp. 407 .
  5. WW2 British Airborne D-Day Dummy Paratrooper
  6. Para-Dummy / paratrooper dummy "Rupert". In: www.armeemuseum.de. Bavarian Army Museum, accessed on October 3, 2019 .
  7. Rupert Doll. In: The Second World War in 100 Objects. Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 May, 5 May 2014, accessed on 3 October 2019 .
  8. ^ Visual and Verbal Report: Beach Jumpers , Office of Strategic Services, Field Photographic Branch, 1943
  9. Flint Whitlock: If Chaos Reigns - The Near-Disaster and Ultimate Triumph of the Allied Airborne Forces on D-Day, June 6, 1944 . Casemate, Philadelphia 2011, ISBN 978-1-61200-000-8 , pp. 170 ( text in Google Book search).