World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
28 May 2012 11:25:32 AM

ANYTIME YOU CAN GET A COUPLE OF WINKS:

Soldiers the world over can fall asleep just about anywhere, when your that tired within a few minutes, your in dreamland. I bet our Fallschirmjager would give anything to be back home with Frieda.
Looks like he's taken off his load bearing equipment, but keeps his MP40 close by.
He's wearing his special paratroop helmet this was a modified design of the standard heers M35 steel helmet but had a special
suspension system to protected the head and neck.
He' also wearing the one piece camouflaged jump smock that the paratroops called
"The Bone Sack" with the Luftwaffe eagle on his right chest.

Did you know German paras jumped with only one parachute, and didn't have a reserve like the American paratrooper.
The U.S. Para jumped with all his personal weapons, but the German jumped without his weapons they were dropped in a special container.
Not having your weapon could be dangerous for the first few minutes your on the ground how did they defend themselves until they were able to collect weapons.

By 1944 about 150,000 men were in the paras
but only about 30,000 were jump qualified,
they were well trained, equipped, fit and motivated they fought hard.
Did you know all the men that trained for the paratroops reguardless of rank went through the same training together, just like the U.S. Paratroops.

After the heavy losses suffered at Crete, Hitler never used them again in the airborne role, there were small special operations, but the days of the large air assaults were over...these highly trained soldiers, were used as regular infantry.