Source: http://www.merkki.com/caterpillarclub.htm;
Before April 28, 1919, there was no way for a pilot to jump out of a plane and then to deploy a parachute. Parachutes were stored in a canister attached to the aircraft, and if the plane was spinning, the parachute could not deploy. Leslie Irvin developed a parachute that the pilot could deploy at will from a back-pack using a rip-cord. He joined the Army Air Service parachute research team, and in April 1919, he successfully tested his design, though he broke his ankle during the test. Irvin was the first person to make a premeditated free fall jump from an airplane.
On 20 October 1922, Lieutenant Harold R. Harris, chief of the McCook Field Flying Station, jumped from a disabled W-2A monoplane fighter. Shortly after, two reporters from the Dayton Herald, realising that there would be more jumps in future, suggested that a club should be formed. 'Caterpillar Club' was suggested because the parachute canopy was made of silk, and because caterpillars have to climb out of their cocoons and fly away. Harris became the first member, and from that time forward any person who jumped from a disabled aircraft with a parachute became a member of the Caterpillar Club.
In 1922, Leslie Irvin agreed to give a gold pin to every person whose life was saved by one of his parachutes. By 1945, the number of members with the Irvin pins had grown to over 34,000. Other parachute manufacturers have also issued caterpillar pins for successful jumps. Airborne Systems Canada (formerly Irvin Aerospace Canada) still provides pins to people who made their jump long ago and are just now applying for membership. About 100,000 people saved by Irvin parachutes have become members of the club, more than a third of them during World War II. Virtually all parachutes used by the Royal Airforce in WWII were manufactured at Irvin's factories in Letchworth, UK.
Source :wikipedia
Source: http://www.merkki.com/caterpillarclub.htm; |
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