C-47 could carry 18 paratroops. Plus bundles beneath the wings / fuselage. One door (on the left). Yep, too many G's and no one was getting out. They'd all be sprawled on the floor or piled up in the tail (at which time the aircraft would go out of control because of a totally screwed CG).
Paras were, of course, vulnerable to AA and other fire, but casualties didn't stop the drop (unless they were _all_ wounded or killed, of course). But if the C-47 is taking hits, the system could certainly inflict casualties on the paras.
When necessary, casualties were thrown out the door so they wouldn't impede the egress of the rest of the survivors. So you might always see 18 chutes outside the aircraft, even though not all 18 paras are "viable."
Oh .. and they'd exit no slower than one per second. Maybe faster, but the Jumpmaster was supposed to time them to one per second. But they'd be faster if they were being shot at :-)
Oh .. almost forgot: the planning weight for a US paratrooper was (and is) 250 pounds. Wildly unrealistic since they were always loaded much heavier than that. But that was the planning weight. Figure 350 pounds in real world: 175 pound trooper, 75 pounds chute and harness, 75-100 pounds weapons and equipment.
Toad
[This message has been edited by TOAD-WB (edited 09-21-1999).]
