Fallschirmjäger with better parachutes

  • Thread starter Deleted member 1487
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Deleted member 1487

How would the Luftwaffe's paratrooper operations have played out if they adopted parachutes like the US that allowed them some control over their descent and would mean they could drop with their weapons instead of having to totally rely on canisters? Would casualties be lowered and more individual operations succeed?
What does this mean for the Netherlands invasion or Crete?
 
Heck, even without the control, landing on their feet (and thus being able to land with rifles and other weapons) would be a big improvement.
 

Deleted member 1487

Heck, even without the control, landing on their feet (and thus being able to land with rifles and other weapons) would be a big improvement.

Enough to affect outcomes or casualties appreciably?
 
Also get a transport with a better set of doors. The fact that the Germans had to ,the swallowtail dive was not good. Something like the DC-3 would be a good thing.
 

Deleted member 1487

Also get a transport with a better set of doors. The fact that the Germans had to ,the swallowtail dive was not good. Something like the DC-3 would be a good thing.

From what I gather the dive was because of the way the chute opened, not because of the aircraft doors.
 
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Deleted member 1487

It's the difference between landing with, at best, a pistol and a knife, compared to landing with an SMG and a normal load-out of equipment.

And fewer injuries, but with more scattering. The reason the Germans used the parachutes they did was because of the quick open and drop height of ~800 meters, lower than other parachute types.
 
And? A squad with rifles and a MG or two is worth more than a whole platoon armed only with pistols. Also stops the enemy getting their hands on your weapons so easily.
 

Deleted member 1487

And? A squad with rifles and a MG or two is worth more than a whole platoon armed only with pistols. Also stops the enemy getting their hands on your weapons so easily.

I'm adding more information about the parachutes and their strengths and weaknesses. I agree with you about that, but does that translate into more operational success? Perhaps the Netherlands and Crete aren't so bad, so Hitler doesn't stop combat drops? Maybe Operation Herkules goes ahead.
 
I imagine better success at the Hague maybe, if not in actually capturing the city, at least in preventing the Dutch from counter-attacking so effectively. As for Crete, yes probably much lower casualties in some areas, which might see Operation Herkules eventually going ahead, which would have some interesting consequences.
 

Cook

Banned
From what I gather the dive was because of the way the chute opened, not because of the aircraft doors.
Can someone post a photo of them going out of the aircraft? I tried doing a search and turned up nothing.
 
Can someone post a photo of them going out of the aircraft? I tried doing a search and turned up nothing.

ee4a_10.JPG
 
I think this is a minor improvement for an operational type that: was in both it's infancy and inherently risk prone. It still doesn't deal with the major problem of aerial opts such as scattering, disorganization, and such. I suppose it might be slightly better, but nothing that prevents them from being gutted.
 

Cook

Banned
It’s my understanding that Allied paratroopers at the time jumped with their equipment attached to them on a cord so that it would hang below them as they descended. (Richard Winters’s cord famously broke when he jumped on D-day, consequently he invaded Europe armed only with a knife.) Would this have been a viable option for the German parachutists?

BTW, I am about to start reading Anzac Fury by Peter Thompson, covering the Battle of Crete.

http://jeremyirvine.com.au/2011/01/reviewed-anzac-fury/
 
I know this adds nothing to the discussion but can anyone direct me to a source that explains why the Germans adopted that parachute?
 
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