german paras

HIDEOUS ONE · Post by **HIDEOUS ONE** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 4:22 pm

i am looking for a reference link of any kind that can show German paratroopers uniforms during the battle for Crete. Any help would be appreciated.

smittyrob64 · Post by **smittyrob64** » Tue Nov 18, 2008 11:07 am

If you're not already aware of it RZM has some titles which may be of interest.
http://www.rzm.com/main/main.cfm

Do an item search and type crete in the box.

1941, Fallschirmjager In Crete
The 1st Fallschirmjager Division in WWII
Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 3, Volume 2
Fallschirmjager in Portrait

kduck · Post by **kduck** » Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:43 am

I don't know how much Crete info these sites have and they're primarily for 1/6 figures but you might find something useful:
http://www.fallschirmartz.com/home.html
http://greendevils.yuku.com/

Here are links to some OSW threads with pictures of really nice 1/6 Crete FJ figures. Do a search for "Crete" in the OSW forum and you'll find more.:
http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/s ... p?p=619294
http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/s ... hp?t=54788
http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/s ... hp?t=76563

You might also find this site of interest:
http://www.fallschirmjager-militaria.com/index2.htm

Post by **aferguson** » Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:39 am

a couple of interesting tidbits about fallschirmjagers. They jumped without weapons of any kind except pistol and knife. This was because of the way they had to land, which in turn was because of the way their parachute pack was designed.

Instead of hanging from the shoulder harness like british and american paratroopers, they dangled from a strap attached to the middle of their back. They landed on their knees and elbows (hence the pads they wore). So they had to keep weight to a minimum and that's why they jumped without any larger weapons.

Once they landed they had to quickly look for a weapons container to get rifles, mg's etc. Injuries were also much higher then with brits/us because of this odd landing strategy.