Training the Gurkhas - Part 1 of 3
Heroes Remember
Training the Gurkhas - Part 1 of 3
Transcript
A lot of the fighting was done with Gurkha regiments, and Gurkhas
I have nothing but the greatest admiration, they were the little
fellas, they were just, they were nice, they were fierce,
and sometimes I think they were crazy, you know. Let me digress
for a moment. When we're, when I was with the RAF Squadron,
we were sent for one week to a Gurkha camp, the 7th Gurkha Rifles
and there was an airstrip nearby. We flew in there, and this was
to give the Gurkhas some familiarity with the aircraft.
And I recall they were doing jump practice, roll, they jumped off
of a sixteen-foot tower and that was the impact with which you
hit the ground in a parachute. And they, what they were taught
was that, when they hit to be in a roll position and they rolled.
And I recall that one chap didn't land so well and he banged his
noggin, and the rest of them, they just killed themselves
laughing at his expense. They, anyway, and I don't know whether
this is true, but we were told, that the Gurkhas were told,
that taking off an aircraft was no problem, the aircraft lifted
itself off. But getting, fighting the beast back down to the
ground was a real chore and this was the dangerous part of
flying. And they weren't gonna have to suffer that, because they
would have jumped out of the aircraft before it had to land.
Description
Mr. Romanow talks about his experiences with the Gurkhas.
Joseph Romanow
Mr. Romanow was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in 1921, to parents who immigrated to Canada in 1911. Mr. Romanow grew up in a Ukranian community and he learned to speak English from his playmates. He joined the Air Force from a youth group, was a mechanic for two years and then trained in Canada and England. He was able to fly in India and Europe, flying many different types of planes. After his university education he returned to the Air Force and worked with the Avro Arrow team.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 02:15
- Person Interviewed:
- Joseph Romanow
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Burma
- Battle/Campaign:
- Burma
- Branch:
- Air Force
- Units/Ship:
- 62, 435, 437 Squadron
- Occupation:
- Bomber Pilot
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