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2" mortar chutes
- Thread starter tigbrand
- Start date
Sorry Tig, I don't have a definite answer for you. I disassembled some in Belize in 1988 that dated from the 1960s. What I can tell you is that the parachute lines were actually thin string, not paracord and there was one length of string to each corner of the octagonal cotton parachute (the parachute was marked 30 inch Mk 1). I used wire cutters to cut off the suspension lines. Those were attached to the parachute by passing through a hole in the cloth, then knotted on the far side. I might be wrong but I have a vague recollection that the wire attached to the illum was secured in a loop and it was less time consuming to cut that than to cut each suspension line, to separate the parachute from the illum flare.
Cheers for the replies chaps,ammotech,why were you disaasembling the rounds? were they life expired? would have been easier to fire them!The chute type you mention is the same as mine,but also have one where the cord is attatched to the chute with wire crimps.Harry,your pic shows a different design again,but the attatchment looks the same. Thanks for the input. Btw looking for the millboard washer that sits under the chute.Cheers Tig.
Harry's must be newer than those I took apart, as his suspension lines are nylon/paracord. I don't remember exactly why I had to disassemble them. A possible reason is that others of the same lot number had experienced a high failure rate or were otherwise functioning outside design parameters. XT
I have since photographed some of the parachutes I have, with ruler included for size. Sorry about the light levels in the photos. The rectangular folds are mine but the folds spreading out from the centre are from when the parachute was flaked in the mortar bomb. The second from last photo shows how a corner was scrunched by the string suspension line and you can still see the holes in the material where the string passed through it. The black printing does not wash off the parachute.
Looks like yours was actually used Allan. Thanks for showing the suspension lines. I removed and binned all mine in 1988.
