The parachute soldiers who jumped without parachutes — and survived

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]In 1944, the British Special Air Service needed [music] to insert agents behind enemy lines.

[00:00:06]But the drop zone was too hot for a slow parachute descent.

[00:00:11]So, they jumped anyway.

[00:00:13]No parachutes.

[00:00:15]Instead, they dove into deep snowdrifts from [music] low-altitude aircraft moving at near stall speed.

[00:00:22]The snow acted as a natural [music] decelerator, absorbing impact across a wide surface area.

[00:00:28]Every soldier [music] landed alive.

[00:00:31]The Soviets later documented the same technique, training entire units to execute snow jumps from 30 ft. The physics worked. The courage required was another matter entirely.