To fight this problem, the 555th shipped to Pendleton, Oregon and from there covered multiple states, even British Columbia, making 1,200 jumps into thirty-six fires to help pioneer "smoke jumping." Whereas military strategists planning a combat jump could target the drops at open fields, the 555th often jumped into the middle of forests since that's where the fires were. While only 300 or so are known to have completed the crossing, they started fires in the Northwest, and one balloon bomb, found by a group of picnicking children, exploded, killing six. Instead, a primary threat came from the nine-thousand high-altitude balloons launched by Japan that carried explosive and incendiary bombs across the Pacific Ocean, some traveling as far as Michigan.
However, unlike today, climate change did not cause forest fires in the Western U.S. Army Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations))įighting forest fires was a worthy wartime activity because virtually all supplies shipped in wooden crates, so interruptions in lumber supplies would have been problematic. (National Archives and Records Administration (RG 342-FH, Records of U.S. Members of the 555th PIB equipped with transparent plastic helmets prepare for a jump. Interestingly, the helmet's plastic shell was transparent and paint did not adhere well to the exterior, so Riddell or each team's equipment managers painted the inside of the shell in the appropriate team colors. Several other colleges tested the helmets that year as well. Northwestern University, located down the road from Riddell, was the first team to wear plastic helmets in a game when they did so in their 1940 season opener against Syracuse. military licensed it for the twenty-two million M1 helmets produced during WWII. The suspension system and chin strap proved so valuable the U.S. Also, the system included a chin strap anchored on the chin rather than looping under the jaw like its leather helmet predecessors. Riddell designed the helmet to prevent skull fractures the helmet had a plastic outer shell and an innovative web suspension system that kept the wearer's head from banging against the plastic shell.
So, the Army looked into using football helmets to protect their jumpers' heads.įortunately for American paratroopers, the Riddell Company of Evanston, Illinois, had just released the most significant innovation in player equipment in football's history: the plastic helmet. The M1 helmet used in WWII was still in the future and, even after it became available, it needed modifications for use by paratroopers. The Army's then standard-issue helmet was the soup bowl-shaped Brodie helmet designed for the trenches of WWI it ripped off when worn by men jumping from airplanes. The helmet worn by paratroopers was among the gear needing development. Army created its first paratrooper unit in 1940, which required developing the gear and tactics to ensure their safety and success. The war in Europe showed that advances in armor and aviation had changed many battle tactics since WWI, with the Soviet Union and Germany experimenting with paratroopers. Beyond mobilizing men and munitions manufacturing, the American armed forces also took steps to build new capabilities. Since most understood those wars threatened our neutrality, the nation took steps to prepare for war, including Congress approving the Selective Training and Selection Act, which allowed America's first peacetime draft. America remained neutral in 1940 despite wars raging in Europe and Asia.
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