Parachute harness quick release box

Used by both British and American paratroopers in World War Two. Turning and pressing the disc ensured that the soldiers could quickly free themselves of the parachute harness after landing. This is a British model found on landing zone A in the 1980s. It is shown here with different pieces of parachute "silk" which survived in the ground as synthetic material was used for parachutes. British and American models of quick release boxes looked much alike but featured slightly differing technical details.

The historical photo shows US paratroopers in their harnesses before take off on 24th March, 1945. On that day, over 8000 paratroopers were dropped in "Operation Varsity" - hence the boxes were a common find even long after the war whenever fields had been freshly ploughed.

(Berkel collection)