It's Raining Sheep
It has long been said the Italians are masters of cuisine, the architects of antipasto and the perfectionists of pizza. Farm Fresh is their motto adding another layer to "fine dining", and WW2 was no exception.
While in the US, wartime rations were taking over and some families could be limited, Italians were not in an hurry to compromise the quality of their food for the efforts. Soldiers had apparently re-fused to eat pre-packaged food during the war. They also would not eat the meat provided, because of its quick spoil time in the harsh weather. "During Mussolini's invasion of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), when Italian troops desperately needed supplies during their march across the Danakil desert, a unique situation saved them from death in a region considered to be "the cruelest place on earth"- a flying supply column that provided men with everything they needed, including fresh meat." (Jackson)
As the weather was far to intense for troops to carry because of potential results of heat stroke, this "fresh meat" as well as the water, ammunition and pounds of other food were to be delivered by a total of 25 planes to Mussolini's troops during their trek through Ethiopia.
Designed by some "military genius", the Italians decided to strap live sheep to specially modified parachutes and drop them out the planes for the waiting troops below who would butcher and cook their own meat. According to an article in the Atlantic, by the end of the journey through the Danakil desert, a total of "seventy two sheep and two bulls had been pushed out of planes, parachutes strapped to backs."
And YES! there is video of it happening
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0gDRKLTu00
Bibliography
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/09/old-weird-tech-parachuting-sheep-edition/63126/
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/the-search-for-german-fighters-by-marcel-hermes.html
https://listverse.com/2013/02/13/10-unusual-events-in-world-war-ii/
Airdropping live sheep with parachutes is such a hilarious concept that I would never have believed to be real if someone just told me it happened. However, after the initial hilarity of the thought, it is sad to think of the sheep going on this scary journey to the ground only to be slaughtered. In fact, new technologies and the war environment affected animals just as much as humans. For example, when the Allies dropped the first bomb on Berlin, it killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo. During food shortages in Britain, people were encouraged to leave any pets they were going to leave behind in fleeing to the country or whom they felt they weren't particularly attached to on their doorstep, and a they would be picked up by the National Air Raid Precautions Animals Committee (NARPAC) would come pick them up and slaughter them for food. Whether this was an acceptable treatment of animals was wildly controversial throughout the war. http://www.businessinsider.com/21-rare-and-weird-facts-about-world-war-2-2015-8/#18-the-first-bomb-dropped-on-berlin-by-the-allies-killed-the-only-elephant-in-the-berlin-zoo-1111118 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24478532
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