On 14 June 1962,the first ever live descent in Ghana was staged at the *kumbungu Dropping Zone in Tamale from an Otter aircraft piloted by Ghanaian crew, pilot officers Agyekum and Danso.* In line with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's Africanisation policy, pioneer Air Force pilots including pilot officers Nkansa, Tamakloe, Dumashie, Klutsey and JA Bruce had returned home from abroad as qualified pilots to fly the otter and Carribou aircraft. The excitement had hardly died down when the unit was tasked to put up a demonstration in live descent and supply drops at the Ghana military academy Teshie on 19 June 1962. Among the spectators were the president and commander in chief Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, a number of Generals from the Russian Armed forces who were on official visits to Ghana, the CDS, Major General SJA Otu, Service Commanders, the Chief of Staff, Brigadier JA Ankrah and many senior officers.
The demonstration was a great success and the C-in-C wrote a letter to congratulate the officers and men of the unit. From then on, the spotlight was placed on Airborne Training School (ATS) and its growth followed with keen interest by High command and staff officers at all levels. The number of volunteers had increased paving the way for the parachuting
courses to begin.
Course 1/62, comprising three officers, 2/Lts Annor, Asiamah and Oduro and 23 men, was run for nine weeks with the trainees passing out on 10 August 1962. From then on more courses were run and by the end of September, 523 live parachuting descents had been made.
The year 1963 saw a lot of activities in ATS. These included intensive trials and modifications on the Ghana Air Force otter and Carribou aircraft for parachuting. Another significant development was when Captain Anof of the Medical Corps volunteered to join the unit. At the time and perhaps even now, it was exceptional for a medical doctor to volunteer to undertake parachuting.
He qualified as a parachutist on 2 January, and remained in the unit as a replacement for Sqn Ldr EAC Buckell, the British
Medical officer who had returned to UK on compassionate grounds. During the early part of 1963, Captain FWK Akuffo also went round the Garrisons on recruitment exercise and this time around, a total of 380 volunteers were forthcoming, among them Captain (Rev) kumasi, who rose to be chaplain General of the Armed forces of Ghana.
Airborne All the way and some more