German Paratroopers Vol.II: Helmets, Equipment and Weapons

In the 368 pages of this second of the projected three volumes of German Paratroopers – Uniforms and Equipment 1936-1945 the author, Karl Veltze, not only takes a very detailed look at the Fallschirmjäger helmets – more than a third of this volume is dedicated to them – , but also deals with the paratroopers’ special equipment (gasmask bags, hand grenade bags, ammunition bandoleers, medic equipment). The standard field equipment is covered next, followed by a chapter devoted to the individual and crew-served weapons utilised by the German airborne forces; among these are both versions of the special FG 42 paratrooper rifle. The parachutes used by the German paras are examined on 40 pages, while the last chapter looks at their drop containers.

This volume follows the development of the many pieces of equipment used by the German paratroopers from the early days to the last days of the Third Reich, describing in great detail the characteristics of the various models.

Six years of research and collaboration with some of the most important Fallschirmjäger collections have gone into these volumes so far. Collectors and military enthusiasts will be able to study some of the rarest original pieces and find a lot of interesting and new information in these pages. Hundreds of period photos accompany the full-colour photographs of the various items, more than 150 of them never published before, showing helmets, equipment and weapons in wear.

Book Data

Author: Karl Veltze
Language: English
Pages: 368
Photos: Approx. 1000s colour and b&w photos
Physical: Hardcover with dust jacket, 305x230mm, portrait

Chapters

Introduction
Acknowledgements

1. Paratrooper helmets

M36 Paratrooper Helmet (First—Trial—Model)
M37 Paratrooper Helmet (Second—Trial—Model)
M38 Paratrooper Helmet (Third Model)
Helmet Camouflage
Helmet Covers
Other Types of Camouflage
Liners and Chin Straps

2. Special equipment

Gasmask Bag
Hand-Grenade Bags
Ammunition Bandoliers
Flier’s Knife (Gravity Knife)
Airborne Medical Equipment

3. Standard personal equipment

Uniform Belt
Belt-Support Straps
Bayonet Frog
Bread Bag
Canteen
Mess Kit
Shelter Quarter
Dispatch/Map Case
Field Glasses
Packs
Combat Engineer Equipment
Winterized Equipment
Life Jacket

4. Weapons

Pistols
Hand Grenades
Rifles
Submachine Guns
Machine Guns
Fire-Support Weapons
Assorted

5. Parachutes

The Static Line-Actuated Backpack Parachute
Sprungfallschirm R.Z. 1
Sprungfallschirm R.Z. 16
Sprungfallschirm R.Z. 20
Sprungfallschirm R.Z. 36
Other Parachutes
Accessories
Jump Training

6. Drop containers

Jumps with Weapons
Appendixes
Abbreviations
Specific Luftwaffe Directives, 1938
Notes
Bibliography

About the author

Born in 1962, Karl Veltzé has been interested in military history and, in particular, the history of the German airborne forces since his youth – not least because his father was among the first who volunteered for the airborne troops of the young German Bundeswehr in 1956. Mr Veltzé himself did his national service from 1983 to 1984 with Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 252 in Nagold, Germany. Following the Bundeswehr, he studied modern history and English literature at the University of Tübingen. Although Mr Veltzé has translated some titles covering contemporary and military history, including several for the Zeughaus Verlag, this is his first book. He is an avid collector of paratrooper memorabilia, albeit that of the French airborne forces of the 1946-54 Indochina war.