Reddit reviews Wind in the Wires and An Escaper’s Log: A British Pilot’s Classic Memoir of Aerial Combat, Captivity and Escape during the Great War

Only the Germans gave their pilots parachutes.

While the balloon corps on both sides issued parachutes to their observers from the outset of the war, neither side was willing to give their pilots and observers in their air services parachutes. The general idea was that a parachute enabled cowardice, and aeroplane crews would abandon their planes at the first sign of danger. British pilot Arthur Gould Lee would later write in his book 'No Parachute' that this was preposterous. He argued that had they had parachutes, he believes that he and his men would have been emboldened and more likely to take risks.

All that said though, at the time, the parachutes that were issued to the balloon corps would have never been useful anyway, they were too big and bulky and would have never fit inside of the already cramped cockpit of the aircraft of the time. It wouldn't be until late 1917 that Otto Heinecke would design a parachute that was compact enough to be stored in the cockpit of German aircraft. The Heinecke Type A Fallschirm as it was known began to be slowly issued around late 1917/early 1918. It was flawed however, the leather straps and fasteners weren't strong enough to withstand the shock of deployment and many Germans plummeted to their deaths when their parachutes failed. The improved Type B was quickly introduced and these occurrences happened less frequently.

I believe the British finally approved their own parachute in the final months of the war, but the Armistice came along before any of them made it to the front. I haven't got much information on their design, though.


In answer to your other question, I'm sure there were more than a few that managed to escape, but the one that sticks out in my mind is Duncan Grinnell-Milne. He was forced to land behind German lines and taken prisoner. He spent two years in captivity before he managed to escape and made it back to his squadron. Funny enough, when he made it back he was put into the cockpit of an SE5 that he named [Schweinhund,] (http://i.imgur.com/wcZKExE.jpg) in honor of what the Germans called he and his fellow prisoner's. [He wrote a book about his experience.] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1473822688/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_BGpHzbJSQCYVE)