Museum of Mountain Flying: Smokejumpers (museum exhibits)

by Ojibwa for Kossack Air Force

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Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 at 7:15:07am PST

The Museum of Mountain Flying in Missoula, Montana, has exhibits on smokejumpers—firefighters who jump out of airplanes to fight forest fires in remote locations. In 1939, the Forest Service experimented to determine if firefighters could safely parachute into heavily forested area. The first jump was made with a rookie crew of one from a Gull Winged Stinson aircraft.

P1590245 — Shown above is the handmade red jump suit worn by Francis Lufkin for the 1939 experimental jump.

According to the Museum:

“The smokejumper suits are made of two parts: the coat and the pants. Jumpers wear the coat under the pants, placing the suspenders over the coat.”

According to the Museum:

“Lufkin and other early jumpers wore football style helmets with a facemask for protection.”

According to the Museum:

“In addition to the smokejumpers, aircraft crews also make cargo drops containing food and firefighting equipment at a pre-arranged drop zone for later retrieval.”