40 years to explain six soldiers’ deaths

Survivors of a botched exercise in which six soldiers died have slammed the military for taking 40 years to explain what happened.

In 1974, Parachute Regiment reservists took part in a NATO exercise in Germany, which involved a night-time drop of troops. But Exercise Bold Guard went horribly wrong, causing 15 soldiers to land in a canal.

Six, including five based in Scotland, drowned in what was described at the time as the worst peacetime tragedy ever to befall a territorial unit.

For 40 years military bosses have failed to release their reports into the tragedy, despite repeated pleas from veterans. But now The Sunday Post has obtained copies of two explosive military reports which reveal the truth behind the tragedy.

Veteran Jim Carey, 67, from Coatbridge, who flew the mission and landed safely, blasted: “This should have been out in the open as soon as it was finished.”

The exercise saw thousands of troops dropped on designated zones between two canals at night. But a board of inquiry set up two days after the tragedy found the troops’ drop had undershot by up to 360 yards, causing 15 servicemen to plunge into the Kiel Canal.

Investigators found pilots made an error in releasing the parachutists at the wrong time but it only accounted for 85 yards of their early landing. The most significant cause of the fatal accident had been a stronger than predicted wind which, it said, could not have been foreseen. But the report paints a damning picture of the ageing life jackets the soldiers were given. They were described as being in a “poor state of serviceability”.

Among the dead was Captain Gerard Muir, of 15th Battalion Parachute Regiment, who attempted to inflate his life jacket but damage to the gas cylinder meant it failed. The report admitted this contributed to his death.

Mr Carey, who runs his own business as a telephone engineer, added: “Gerry Muir was just unlucky that his life jacket was unserviceable. But at least this has given us some closure after 40 years.”

The two inquiries concluded nobody involved carried any culpability for the deaths but three unnamed men had been negligent in causing hardware to be dropped in the wrong place, by misplacing ground markers.

An Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The MoD and the Army complied with the policies that were in place at the time.”

Are you related to one of the men who died? Email brobinson@sundaypost.com