In 1945, the U.S. Army had ben using as much as 235,000 miles of wire per month for communications. Despite the role of radio, it was often advisable to use telephone communications. Among other things, radio might disclose positions to the enemy.

There was the matter of laying all that wire, and one method is shown here, on the cover of Popular Mechanics, April 1945. A “grasshopper” plane was fitted so that it could skim the ground and 200-250 feet. At one end, probably closest to the front, it would drop a parachute bearing a telephone unit, attached to the wire. The wire was wound binder twine fashion, to play out without tangling, and with minimal resistance. Rolls were 1-1/2 miles long, and three to five miles of wire could be layed in a flight at 65-70 miles per hour.

By this method, patrols cut off from communications could be swiftly reached.