I've been reading an article about the Il-28 and came across a little known(?) Polish free-falling parachute altitude record, held by one Tadeusz Dulla from 1957. On September 4, he "made a jump from an Il-28 flying at 41,000ft, setting a national record."
I assumed he jumped from the rear gunners escape hatch (protected by the airstream shield).
But a little googling revealed that he was dropped from the bomb bay, as described in this web site...
Master Of Parachuting - Tadeusz Dulla
Anyway, I've tried googling other parachuting altitude records from aircraft but they all seem to involve helium balloons. (Kittinger's "supersonic" drop makes fascinating reading...Balloonmeister - Joe Kittinger)
Was Dulla's drop the highest ever recorded from an aircraft?
I assumed he jumped from the rear gunners escape hatch (protected by the airstream shield).
But a little googling revealed that he was dropped from the bomb bay, as described in this web site...
Master Of Parachuting - Tadeusz Dulla
Anyway, I've tried googling other parachuting altitude records from aircraft but they all seem to involve helium balloons. (Kittinger's "supersonic" drop makes fascinating reading...Balloonmeister - Joe Kittinger)
Was Dulla's drop the highest ever recorded from an aircraft?