Rare declassified film clip from WWII, produced in May, 1943, by the OSS (Office of Strategic Services - the intelligence organization that preceded the CIA.)
 This film clip shows an early version of a U.S. Decoy Paratrooper, sometimes nicknamed "Oscar", being tested by the Navy Beach Jumper Unit - a specialized unit in charge of several deception projects during WWII.
 This Decoy Paratrooper Dummy (paradummy) was only 18" tall and was made of cast metal. It was meant to be used as a deception device to mislead the enemy into believing an Airborne Attack was occurring in one location, when in fact the real attack would be occurring elsewhere. The military hoped that it's small size would appear life sized when seen from a distance while airborne.
 However, these 18" paradummies were never used during the war because during testing it was decided that they appeared too small and rigid while airborne to look life-like in a combat environment.
 As a result, the paradummy was soon redesigned and a much larger version was developed (a four foot tall model that was made of a rubberized inflatable material.) This larger version, called the PD Pack, was eventually used in Southern France during Operation Anvil-Dragoon, in 1944 and again later in the Philippines.
 A third type of paradummy was also developed for use in WWII. It became the most famous of them all when it was used on D-Day, June 6th, 1944. It is believed these paradummies were manufactured in the UK by the Littlewoods factory at Carrickfergus. They were made of burlap sack cloth and were filled with straw. They were about 3 feet tall and were dropped in Normandy on June 5/6th, 1944, during a successful British SAS Operation code named "Titanic."

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For more information on ParaDummies go to:
DECOY PARATROOPER DUMMY HISTORY SITE