Historic Jumps - the Hotspur bottles with unusual airborne service

Four of our SLR Bayonet Blade bottles have made history by taking part in not one, but two historic parachute jumps, and even getting their own jump log book. 

Mick Cambell is a former paratrooper and police officer, turned model maker and fundraiser, who has raised over £7,000 for Airbourne charities, including Support Our Paras.  

In 2023, Mick built ten 200mm models of an Arnhem 1944 British Paratrooper, which he donated to Airborne charities to be used as prizes and auction lots in the run-up to the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden and the Battle of Arnhem in September 2024. 

To support Mick’s fundraising efforts, Hotspur donated 4 of our signature SLR Bayonet Blade bottles to commemorate the anniversary. 

Around the same time, an old friend named Ian Marshall moved into Mick’s village. Ian is one of the most experienced parachutists in the world and the Senior Jump Master for the Pegasus Display Team (PDT).

The PDT is an exclusive team made up of former and serving paratroopers. It performs heritage and commemorative displays throughout Europe, jumping from a WW2 C-47 Dakota aircraft, often in a replica WW2 kit. 

During a conversation, the pair discussed the idea that Ian’s veteran Paratroopers could jump Mick’s bottles into Arnhem as part of the 80th anniversary event. Some ideas are too good to pass up, so planning the bottles' despatching began.

As anyone with Airborne experience knows, attaching extra objects to parachutists must be done carefully. One of the team’s riggers made a special harness to hold and secure the bottle during the jump. 

With the harnesses made and tested, the only thing left to do was wait until September to carry out the descent. 

However, another opportunity soon came along. The PDT was due to participate in celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings in early June 2024. The team were willing to jump the bottles onto Sannerville ‘ K ‘ Drop Zone, East of Caen in Northern France.

On June 8, 2024, 80 years after Operation Overlord, the bottles were despatched via paratroopers onto the original Drop Zone K. This historical event was captured as an entry in the bottles’ own parachute log book, signed by the American pilot of the C-47 Dakota aircraft (Placid Lassie N74589).

As September rolled around, the bottles travelled to the Netherlands for the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. The operation to drop thousands of troops into the occupied Netherlands is familiar to many from the 1977 movie A Bridge Too Far. 

In the capable hands of the Pegasus Display team once again, the bottles were despatched on September 20th, 2024, to Reckum Drop Zone X, just West of Arnhem. This was part of an event that saw 700 paratroopers from eight NATO nations take part in jumps to commemorate the anniversary. 

After the bottles successfully completed their second historic jump at Arnhem, they had earned a special place in the hearts of the Airborne community.  Their journey, however, was not over yet. 

As collectors, charities, and military enthusiasts take an interest, the question arises: where will these bottles make their next landing?

One of the bottles has since been auctioned, raising an amazing £5,000 for Support our PARAS. Another has been returned to Hotspur for display in our showroom, complete with a custom display case. Mick made the case for us from an old shell case that was fired operationally and subsequently recovered. 

The other two bottles continue their journey… perhaps they will add to their jump log in future?