World War II Database

1.  Alan Chanter says:
24 Feb 2020 12:43:28 AM

Some interesting features depicted in this picture. The Luftwaffe Eagle can be clearly seen on the Fallschirmjager’s jump helmet which were originally cut-down Wehrmacht helmets with the brim removed to prevent air flow during the descent from the aircraft from lifting the helmet and half strangling the man, or to partly eliminate the risk of the relatively sharp edge from severing a shroud line. The helmets were blue-grey on colour and the national tricolour would have been on the other side. He can be seen wearing the Handschule soft black leather gloves designed to keep his hands warm both inside the unheated cabin of the Ju 52/3m transport and during the drop itself. The gloves were sufficiently supple to be worn in combat. Finally, the camouflage smock is rarely seen in Fallschirmjager pictures but is known to have been sewn from Italian camouflage material after the armistice of 1943.