Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.
Reader ‘William’ found these two ‘parachute training towers‘ at Ft. Benning in Georgia. I did a few Google searches but couldn’t get a conclusive answer on what exactly these parachute training towers are or who uses them. I’m guessing they’re the army’s idea of base jumping?
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Looks like a third one just to the north, though it doesn’t have the same round area surrounding it. (Easier to see in “satellite” view.)
those are the jump towers. airborne soldiers in training use the towers in their second week of training to prepare them for landing. there are three towers infact. i was stationed at Ft Benning for 2 years.
Those are the Jump Towers for the US Army Airborne School (http://members.tripod.com/~thede/airborne.html), where you learn to jump from perfectly good airplanes. (At least they were I went through that school in ‘85…).
You get hooked to the harness and then hauled to the top of the tower. And then let go… The lesson is to re-enforce the PLF training from the previous week (PLF, Parachute Landing Fall.) Doing a good PLF is pretty important from landing… Since you don’t just float when doing a military jump. (Who wants to be THAT easy of a target for the bad guys?). It’s more like a controlled fall…
The thing I remember from that is one the chants, “In the hole, pole man, IN THE HOLE!”
This is one of the last steps of the school before you make your 5 real jumps.
Hey, cool, I did some jumps there… in “America’s Army”.
I’m sorry but those are definitely boobies with lil’ tassels. Thank you.
i’ve found some informations about such towers :
http://www.junobeach.org/f/4/can-tac-par-f.htm (i know it’s in french)
there is a very good picture of such towers : http://www.junobeach.org/f/4/img/pa-141396-pic-f.htm
it’s said that there are 10m and 75m towers and they are (or maybe “were” ? don’t really know) used for training before using planes
Yes indeed you make a jump, if you are selected, from these towers, from the 1930X world’s fair, along with the 34′ tower; during tower week, week two of the US Army airborne school. Interesting fact: it gets so hot in GA that the towers warp and can’t be used safely, so most summer airborne classes skip them. There is a SEAL tradition to climb these things, which are VERY tall, over two hundred feet as the legend says, and hang a Navy flag.
The towers beacon thier red lights towards the airborne barracks every night to taunt trainees. You have to be lifted, in harness, all the way up before you are dropped. That hurts. I used two maxi pads, but wasn’t selected to go to the tower. They usually pick non-airborne ranger qualified soldiers, or the youngest in the class.
I’ve only six jumps and I’m sure there are saltier guys out there who could correct or add.
“I used two maxi pads, but wasn’t selected to go to the tower.”
???????
Maxi pads????
for your thighs. ever been suspended in a harness? how about one manufactured by the lowest bidder? not that weird, but i guess i could have explained it better.
They are parachute training towers. It is a myth that they came from the 1939 NY World’s Fair. Just GoogleEarth to the old Coney Island site and see that that tower is still there. It was different. Had 12 arms, not 4 like the Benning towers. They were designed after the Coney Island Tower and built in 2 stages: 2 were built in 1941 and 2 in 1942. One destroyed in a 1954 tornado, so three remain. Two are in use, hence the two with plowed up areas. Its also a myth that they taunt students with blinking lights. Likewise a myth that they warp in the summer. Oh- and the chant goes, “Hit the hole, Pole Man, Hit the Hole”
Former instructor at Abn School.
MY FATHER TOOK SOME VERY GOOD PHOTOS OF THE TOWERS IN THE EARLY FORTIES,WHICH I STILL HAVE. ONE SHOWS A SOLDIER TANGLED IN THE TOWER,MAYBE 2/3RDS OF THE WAY UP.THIS
IS THE TALL TOWER.I WILL BE VISITING BENNING NEXT WEEK AND WILL BE INTERESTED IN SEEING THE DIFFERENCES 65 YEARS HAVE MADE!
The jump towers are so cool! My brother just got back from the towers and he said that it was the greatest expiernce of his life. That he didn’t think htere was anything else that could beat the rush it gave him. The stories that he told me were amazing. I saw him graduate at it was so awsome. It would be awsome one day to be able to see the towers up close and personal the way he did!!!
I distinctly remember my Black Hat saying they came from the 1940 Worlds Fair. But then again, that doesn’t mean he was right. When I was there in 1989, one tower was rigged up with a seat, I guess for VIP guests or something.
When a jumper is tangled in the side of the tower, that’s usually because he was released from the dirty arm, meaning the side of the tower that’s into the wind. And jumpers at this stage still don’t have enough experience to be able to negotiate wind while under the canopy.
To Ed former abn trainer,
I am looking for anyone that may have come from Ft Campbell to Shaw AFB in the summer of ‘62 to train some airforce personell. They set up a 90 ft tower at the end of the old runway.
Thanks for any follow-up
Any idea who built these parachute training towers?
Yes indeed………….I remember it well……”Hit the hole poleman…hit the hole…………..and make it hurt was the chant we used.
A I R B O R N E all the way and then some
got a ton of pics of the towers on my site…graduated November 3rd from Airborne School…
Hit the hole, Pole Man, Hit the Hole!
58°59′8.15″N
24°43′39.59″E
Here’s lower one, (shadow visible) used by soviet army for parachute trainings. Once soviet main sports organization ALMAVÜ (former OSOAVIAHIM) had such towers in every bigger city, as parachute jumps and other military activities were popular.
I went through jump school in 82….the towers were used everyday back then. I recall the 1st time for me…it was a sunny summer day and the black hats were yelling at me through his horn….i spread my legs and off I went…a awesome ride to say the least…Airborne all the Way…..