In article <bv3dpdd5cm7nrjamnq9otl8ris3dpci9qc@4ax.com>, Stormin' Norman says...
>
>On 10 Sep 2018 07:23:58 -0700, Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
>wrote:
>
>An oddity in combat aircraft, it had no forward firing guns and the
>gunner could not wear a traditional parachute, instead they wore an
>abomination called a "Rhino suit", see attached description and
>picture.
>
>"The gunner's hatch was in the rear of the turret, which had to be
>rotated to the side for entry and exit. There was not enough room in
>the turret for the gunner to wear a seat-type or back pack parachute
>so gunners were provided with a special all-in-one garment nicknamed
>the "rhino suit". Frederick "Gus" Platts, an air gunner who served in
>230, 282 and 208 squadrons, stated: "The Rhino suit we had to wear on
>Defiants was a bear but I couldn't come up with an alternative, even
>though it killed dozens of us. I forget the details of it but we could
>not have sat on our chute or even keep it nearby as in other turrets,
>wetsuit of today. The chute fitted around this, and then the dinghy
>and the outer clothing. There was inner webbing and pockets that
>literally fell apart (I presume) when one bailed out"
>
...maybe the idea was that you inflate the 'suit' as you bailout then safely
bounce when you hit the ground instead of smashing...if so, then the rhino suit
was ahead of its time.
...just sayin'
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