Original Items: Only One Available. The Imperial Japanese Navy fielded naval paratroopers during World War II. The troops were officially part of the Special Naval Landing Forces (SNLF or Rikusentai). They came from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Yokosuka SNLFs. The 2nd Yokosuka took no part in any airborne operations and became an island defensive base unit. They were under the operational control of the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJNAS or Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Koku Hombu). Rikusentai paratroopers should not be confused with the Imperial Japanese Army paratroopers, known as Teishin.

This is an incredible example of a WWII Japanese Navy Aircrew parachute harness with its original static line. We have in the past had a full set including the parachute, but now we are offering this harness set with the very rare static line! There is a beautiful visible depot tag on the harness which names the manufacturer, the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Setagaya Factory. The character on the static cord clip reads “Open”. The harness is in overall great condition. We likely won’t have another one of these for a while, don’t miss it!

Parachute and harness of the Rikusentai Paratrooper
The first specifically designed Japanese military parachute was the Type 01 of 1941, similar to the German RZ version, which had more in common with the Italian D-30 series chute in having a canopy diameter of 28 feet (8.5 metres) and in a pronounced hemispherical shape with skirting and a vent hole for stable flight.

The harness was modified in the later Type 03, leaving out the lift webs, and with the rigging lines brought to a single point connected to a large steel ‘D’ ring behind the paratroopers neck for a more upright controlled landing.

The particular Japanese method of opening the folded and packed chute through the use of static line was quite dangerous and liable to failure. Each paratrooper also carried a 24 feet (7.3 metres) reserve chest-pack, and the basic Japanese naval parachutist training program required jumps between 300–500 feet (90–150 m), which would not give much time to deploy the emergency chute, or let alone delay deploying the main canopy.