Manned Droptanks

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The P-38 in those photos is actually a photo-recon version, called an F-5 and they used specially modified drop tanks for evacuating wounded. Some had windows, some didn't.

The Germans and British experimented with the concept of evacuating personnel by aircraft, too. The British had a modified capsule that could carry a person in a Mosquito's bomb-bay and they even had a specially designed fabric bag that could carry a person on the upper wing of a Spitfire - which they happened to call a "body bag".

In the case of the Germans, they modified a Ju87D-3 with personnel pods atop each wing that enabled them to enact quick rescue of personnel or wounded.
 
I found that it is called a Casualty Evacuation "CasEvac" Pod. Here's a picture from the other end. Plus another interesting image.


The new one is the soviet Polikarpov R-5 kite also known as the Polikarpov G-61 with the passenger pods tested in 1936. In the case , the G-61 is with the pods for the seven soldiers per a wing what gave the transportation of 14 guys totally. The initial version of the G-61 was tested with two pods for two soldiers each. The idea for making of the pods, was the quick delivering soldiers to a battle filed without using of a parachute. IMHO the Medevac option wasn't considered for the project of the air transport at all. Some info with the link below.



the pic source: Polikarpov G-61 Paratrooper Carrier - PlaneHistoria
 
That poor dog, caught up in man's stupidity.
Most likely, this is the personal dog of Pavel Grokhovsky, the inventor of all these parachute and non-parachute drop systems. This dog was dropped 17 times.
All these inventions were born out of poverty - the USSR tried to achieve military parity using the cheapest means possible, which were sometimes extremely cruel.
 

Yeah, I just hate the idea of war-dogs and navy dolphins and such ... making animals pay for the sins of humans.
 
Incendiaries strapped to the dog? Not joking either.
The charge attached to the dog's back was called an "explosive saddle." The dog had to drop it near the target, and the explosion was delayed so that the dog had time to run away.
But it remains a mystery to me how it would find its target. Would it be dropped together with a saboteur? Or would it be designed to blow up certain types of targets, such as tanks? The Soviets used dogs against tanks, training them by hanging meat under the tank's undercarriage.
 
Were the last sixteen live drops?
 

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