Secret Army - Robert Muchamore Page 0,43

tethered balloon rolled from side to side as a truck filled with compressed helium transformed it from a sheet of silver cloth stretched across the runway into a thirty-metre finned rugby ball.

Everyone on the base from the WAAFs to the Wellington pilots took part as the seven-man cage was wheeled up and hooked beneath the partially inflated blimp. This chaotic inflation process involved a dozen slipped ropes, broken clasps, one sprained wrist and many curses as the trainees squatted nervously on their parachutes. By the time the balloon was ready their nerves had been jangling for more than an hour.

The final stage of the operation was to hook the bottom of the cage to a hydraulic winch buried alongside the runway. It was nearly two by the time the balloon was ready, and Sergeant Parris and the base commander held a conference. The wind was growing stronger and thunder rumbled in the distance.

The thought of an overnight delay made the trainees miserable and there was a round of applause when the senior instructors gave the go-ahead. The five Norwegian women – or the Birds, as the instructors had nicknamed them – were invited into the metal cage.

The cage’s gate was bolted from the inside by Sergeant Parris and a ground-based officer holding a megaphone gave the order for the winch operator to release the cables. There was a clang as the rising balloon picked the cage off the ground and then nothing but the sound of pelting rain as the huge balloon rose into the air.

At two hundred metres, the balloon still cast a huge shadow as the winch operator clamped on the brakes. The six guide ropes holding the balloon looked perilously fragile and the wind made the metal cage swing from side to side.

All non-essential personnel had cleared the drop zone and the officer gave the all-clear signal through his megaphone. Takada and the kids in Group A looked to the sky as the first of the Norwegian women plunged out of the cage.

Her parachute was attached to a static line and there was more applause as her chute opened. The wind knocked the chute forwards at a surprisingly sharp angle, but gravity did its bit and from the ground the descent looked serene.

As the first woman landed and gathered her chute to clear the drop zone, the second made her jump. Corporal Tweed stood alongside Takada and the kids, giving advice on dealing with the strong wind and commenting on each drop. The last landing went badly when a strong gust caught the parachute an instant before touchdown and sent the Norwegian crashing hard on to her back.

‘Next up the Poles,’ an officer shouted, as the winch pulled the balloon back down to earth. ‘Well, the Pole anyway.’

There was some tense laughter. The trainees had been given a short written test covering everything they’d learned so far. The Norwegians and the kids had passed, but three of the four Poles and three of the seven French soldiers had failed. They’d been backtracked, which meant they had to do more ground training, resit the exam and would jump in darkness that evening if they passed. If they failed a second time, they were off the course.

‘Let’s have four of the kids as well,’ the officer continued.

Corporal Tweed tapped Paul, Marc, Rosie and Luc on the back. With the weather looking suspect, the five trainees jumped into the cage as soon as the gate opened and they were on their way up before Sergeant Parris had even secured the bolt.

It was a bumpy ride and it felt more precarious than the previous day’s trip in the Wellington. The wind howled through the wire cage around them. The deck was made from wooden planks, with gaps between them big enough to see the ground. Paul leaned over the side as a blast of thunder lit up the sky in the distance.

‘Bloody hell,’ he said quietly, as he turned to Rosie. They were tense, but they both smiled.

The cage shuddered as the ascent stopped and there was quiet and a sudden realisation for all the trainees that this was for real. Two hundred metres up, with a strong wind and no safety wire.

‘Remember your training and you’ll have nothing to worry about,’ Sergeant Parris said, as he opened the door of the cage. ‘Lieutenant Tomaszewski, you’re number one. Hook up. Then I want Rosie, Luc, Marc and Paul lined up behind.’

In parachute drops you line up the best jumpers first. That