“BING” THE PARATROOPER DOG

As part of the 13th Parachute Battalion (“Win or Die”) he was one of the first dogs to jump into combat by parachute with his unit. The collie-shepherd mix was handed over to the military by his owner in 1944, after the man could no longer feed his dogs.

First Bing had to get used to flying in the loud, rattling military aircraft and simply staying put in the cargo hold. Once that no longer bothered him, they started on parachute jumps. Bing and a few other dogs had small automatic chutes strapped to their backs, originally designed for bicycles. To make sure the dogs actually left the aircraft, they were not fed for a while before the flight. The handlers then went last in the stick, out the door with a piece of meat in hand, followed by the dog. On the ground the working dogs were to detect booby traps as well as enemy soldiers, which proved highly effective.

Bing’s first live operation was D-Day in 1944, where German flak fire made him refuse to jump. Anyone who will not jump gets jumped, and so the ParaDog landed in a tree a short while later, where his human comrades found him only 2 hours later. Bing turned out to be a very good and very brave scout dog and served several months at the front. In 1945 he jumped again in several large airborne operations and supported the British soldiers in the push into Germany. He survived the war and was awarded the Dickin Medal, Britain’s highest decoration for animals in war.

Bing was later returned to his civilian family, where he died in 1955 and was buried in an animal cemetery. His hide was mounted, though, and has been on display in various museums ever since, together with his parachute and his medal.

Author’s note: if you like our articles, you can support us with a purchase in our shop (click here). We’re grateful for every bit of support!