AMERICAN "TEST" PARADUMMY
(The First "OSCAR!")

However, much was learned from these little paratroopers. Their contribution to the top secret paradummy development effort resulted in much better generations of paradummies to follow (which were eventually used to great effect in combat zones in WWII.)

These small but brave fellows are important and rare pioneering paradummies - true Airborne Heroes who actually made at least one documented live parachute jump during their Navy test and lived to tell!

An interesting historical note: It seems that actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. had a hand in the design and development of these paradummies. Fairbanks joined the Navy shortly after Pearl Harbor and was assigned to the Navy's Deception Unit (later the Navy's Beach Jumper Unit which saw action overseas during various vital deception operations.) Fairbanks was asked to help develop ways to fool the enemy with various deception tricks - which the military hoped he could help with due to his knowledge of Hollywood special effects.

AMERICAN "TEST" PARADUMMIES, MARCH 7-10, 1943:

The first American paradummies seem to have been a "test" version developed in 1943. At the time, the U.S. Navy was in charge of deception operations so they tested a small 18" paradummy made of solid cast metal (seemingly of lead or aluminum or perhaps a fairly heavy alloy "pot metal" - magnets do not stick to these dummies.) It is believed that actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who was assigned as a Lt. while in a Naval group in charge of deception operations, was directly involved in the design of the original metal paradummies. He has in fact been quoted as taking credit for the idea, but it is also believed the concept originated in Britain (where Fairbanks had been stationed for a time, so he may have brought the idea back with him for further development?)

According to the late researcher R.W. Koch, only a few of these little paradummies were made for the Navy test, which was carried out at Chesapeake Bay in 1943 at an Air Field by the shore. The exact number that originally existed is currently unknown. Additional information has been found in a declassified document written on March 10th 1943, by the commander of Composite Squadron Twenty-Two (the air squadron who dropped them during testing), and sent to Lt. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The document, a report on "Dummy Paratroop Experiments", states that the testing occurred on March 7th, 8th and 10, 1943.

During testing, a Navy TBF torpedo bomber, sometimes hidden behind a smoke screen, was used to drop the little metal paradummies, using small scale-sized parachutes, from various altitudes and at various distances from observers. The observers were stationed on the ground in three groups onshore, about a half mile apart, and told to write up reports about what they saw. Some were not told at all what the test was about. Others were told the details and asked to write up reports regarding how realistic these little paradummies appeared while airborne. Some drops were done offshore over water, others over the Air Field.

On March 7th, the drops were carried out about 2 miles offshore, at late dusk, from an altitude of 500 feet over Chesapeake Bay. The TBF bomber was also hidden by smoke screen. Observers had difficulty seeing the small paradummies at this distance, so the next day they brought the test in closer to shore and dropped them from lower altitude.

On March 8th, the test was repeated, at sunset, and two dummies were dropped directly on the field from only 400 feet, about 1/4 mile from observers, with no smoke screen. This time the observers felt the dummies could be seen well but the illusion was marred because the dummies looked too rigid to appear realistic, and were obviously too small to look real when compared to the TBF plane. It was felt that since the dummies had no "dangling parts" to simulate real arms and legs, that their effectiveness was poor. On the next pass, the TBF dropped the paradummies from about one mile offshore, behind a smoke screen. As on the 7th, the dummies were too small to be observed effectively at that distance.

On March 10th, the test was repeated again. However, this time it was done in bright daylight at 1:30pm. The drops occurred about 1/4 mile from observers, with the plane hidden completely by smoke screen. Approx half a dozen dummies were dropped. Two of them "burned in" when their chutes failed to open. The TBF then dropped four more little paradummies directly onto the airfield at about 1/4 mile, with smoke screen. Two more dummies "burned in", one with a chute that failed to open, another that became detached from the chute while airborne. One observer, who was not told the nature of the test in advance, remarked "I saw them drop, but they didn't explode." He evidently thought he was watching small bombs being dropped! Those poor little paradummies must have hit hard! Of the dummies dropped over water on this occasion, it was agreed that they looked most realistic when their little parachute packs "flapped" in the breeze during descent to at least give the illusion of some small amount of motion while airborne.

So unfortunately, the 18" Metal Paradummy was deemed an overall failure, but one that had great potential if redesigned. Observer reports stated that the little dummies appeared too small to be seen easily, they descended too fast in their small white parachutes, they did not "swing" or move realistically when airborne, they looked too rigid to appear real in the air, they were too small compared to the plane dropping them, and they had obvious issues with malfunctioning parachutes. Conclusions were that the paradummy idea was very feasible and still had a good chance of working, but perhaps a flexible dummy of a larger size, weighted at the feet to enhance swinging motion, maybe about 4 feet tall, might work better.

It is interesting to note that George Freedman says he was one of only two civilians present during the tests done on March 10th with the 18" Metal Paradummies. He stated that the little paradummy "looked lousy" and he "didn't think it could fool anybody." He says he believes the small rigid design was possibly copied from a British idea because after the war he'd later found a British document at the Imperial War Museum which stated that before the US entered the war, the British had already made a small paradummy about 18" to 2 feet tall. It was considered too small and had no natural movement.

Freedman said he never found out who exactly made/designed these 18" American Test Paradummies. It is still a mystery indeed.

Bob Rainie, a former member of the Beach Jumper Unit in WWII, has said that he believes the 18" paradummies were delivered to the Beach Jumper Unit for testing, but were probably not manufactured/designed by them.

When the 18" paradummies failed their testing, the Navy went back to the drawing board at the Naval Aircraft Factory in Lakehurst New Jersey and designed a larger four-foot tall inflatable rubber paradummy. This dummy, called the "PD Pack", tested much better (this time witnesses were completely fooled and thought they were witnessing actual paratroopers.) The PD Pack was eventually used in combat zones in France and the Philippines, and possibly other areas as yet unknown.

Twelve of the original 18" Test Paradummies have been located thus far (one was still in the Chesapeake Bay area) so very accurate physical details about them are known. These may well be the only ones that exist in the world. Please get in touch if you have ever seen one of these or if you have one that is not noted in the photos at this web site.

These 18" U.S. test dummies were molded with the appearance of tiny pilots (as opposed to looking like regular paratroopers.) Their nicely molded features included a pilot-style helmet, heavy jacket with thick collar and two large front pockets, short neck scarf, thick gloves, heavy pants tucked into tall boots, and arms folded up against the chest as if gripping a parachute harness.

The overall effect appears to resemble an old-fashioned pilot, in heavy flight garb, who has "bailed out." These dummies also have a slight resemblance to the famous Hollywood "Oscar" statuette which is given out at the Academy Awards. It is possible that this is why the paradummy first got it's nickname "Oscar."

The Test Paradummies had circular wire "rings" on each shoulder which is where their parachute shroud lines were attached by metal clips.

The Test Paradummies also had a small vertical wire at the front waist which was used to secure a small canvas belt which was attached to the perfectly scaled parachute pack on their backs.

Their parachute canopies were only 6-feet across, which is perhaps why the heavy lead dummies descended a bit too fast during their testing. With chutes fully open, as during an actual jump, the Test Dummies measured about 8 feet in length from the top of their parachute canopy, to the bottom of their boots.

It appears that the original paint job of these Test Paradummies may have been Olive Drab. Of the 12 known to exist, 6 seem to be painted in Olive Drab and one is painted in lighter army green - the others have been painted, or possibly repainted, in various ways which do not appear to be original military colors (but it is impossible to know for sure - it is certainly possible that some were painted in these other colors from the beginning.)

Of those that do not seem to have original military paint, one is painted gold with black boots and helmet, another was painted mostly green with neat Army "rank stripes" applied to its shoulder, another was found painted like a pilot with blue helmet and gloves, black jacket, brown pants, white boots and even a flesh tone face with black mustache! Another was found partially damaged, with it's paint partially stripped away. There seems to be bits of dark OD paint (or black or dark brown) and bits of lighter green paint left on it. The damage appears to suggest it had been out in the elements for many years or perhaps even under water a while, then perhaps cleaned off with a wire brush. It is also possible this damage was simply a mold flaw from the original casting of these dummies. The latest one was found with only bits of olive drab paint left, the rest of it recovered in bits of blue and mostly white paint.

Twelve original 18" test paradummies are known to have survived the war era to present day - all are in the hands of private collectors around the USA. If any others exist, we are not yet aware of them.

If you have ever see one of these paradummies anywhere, or if you actually own one, please get in touch and let us know by email at paratoys@yahoo.com

• Return To Main Paradummy History Page