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When paratroopers drift down and land in hostile territory, they expect to be surrounded by the enemy. Since they'll almost certainly be outnumbered and outgunned, they had to come up with unique ways to stay alive and fight back. From crazy delivery methods, transporting extra firepower, or just gaining a psychological edge with a fancy haircut, they came up with a wide variety of tools to get the job done. The most conventional way paratroopers are deployed is to jump out of an airplane. In the Soviet Union, they had a different idea. In the 1930s, the Red Army was experimenting with deep battle doctrine, which meant deep and rapid
strikes behind enemy lines. And paratroopers were a perfect fit for this strategy. It was vital that the paratroopers all land together and avoid dispersal. So, rather than jumping out individually, they tried a different tactic. They would fly in a Tupolev TB-3, a bomber converted for troop transport. When they reached the drop zone, rather than simply jump out of a door, they would climb out of the fuselage and shimmy along the wing using steel cables as hand grips. Once the men were in place, the jump master would give a hand signal and the group would jump, or more accurately, slide off the wings, deploying their parachutes as they fell. In theory, everyone would go at the same time, keeping the unit
together and avoiding dispersal. During the war, the Red Army was caught off by Operation Barbarossa, and most of the paratroopers were thrown into the front as standard infantry. There were some Soviet airborne operations, but these were many years into the war and had limited success. Paratroopers are, by definition, light infantry. The weight and space requirements of airborne operations means they have limited space available. Most did have machine guns, mortars, and other heavier weapons, but things like vehicles were not a normal part of their kit. There are some exceptions, though. Already in use was the M20 75-mm recoilless rifle, a compact direct-fire artillery piece.
Also readily available was the Vespa 150 scooter, used by civilians as a cheap alternative to a car, especially in France and Italy. Combine the two together and voila, the Vespa 150 TAP. Made for the French military in 1956, the platform was lightweight, cheap, and easy to use. It is a civilian scooter, so how hard can it really be to drive? They were meant to be deployed in pairs, one to prioritize shooting and the other to carry extra ammunition. The intention was for paratroopers to have a mobile anti-tank capability that can defend against Soviet armor, should the Cold
War turn hot. As strange as it may seem, the Vespa 150 TAP actually saw combat and was surprisingly effective. How much damage an M20 can do against a Soviet tank is debatable, but the weapon was more than a match for bunkers, machine gun nests, and barricaded rooms. It was used to great effect during the Algerian War for Independence and was able to navigate the narrow streets of urban battlefields with ease, providing lightly armed paratroopers with a fast, reliable, and effective boost in firepower. One of the most pressing concerns for a paratrooper is how to fit their gear in as small a space as possible. Many nations solved this problem by issuing paratroopers with more compact weaponry. Japan solved
theirs by giving their paratroopers a full-size rifle that broke in half. The Tera Type 2 paratrooper rifle is almost identical to the standard Type 99 rifle. It was bolt-action and chambered in 7.7 by 58-mm cartridges that were loaded with five-round stripper clips. The unique feature was the ability to be broken down into two halves. These could be easily stored in a separate bag for a combat jump, then quickly assembled once the paratrooper was on the ground. It was held in place with a large threaded wedge that held the two pieces together and was large and simple enough that a trained soldier could assemble it in the
dark by feel alone. Around 21,000 Type 2 paratrooper rifles were produced during the war and were a key part of the few Japanese airborne operations. One of these was in December 1944 in the Philippines. Japanese paratroopers landed behind American lines and managed to cause some damage, like destroying several spotter planes, but were soon overwhelmed by American firepower. Most surviving Type 2 rifles come from this operation, the weapons taken by the Americans as souvenirs after the fighting was over. Probably the most famous airborne operation was during D-Day, or the landing at Normandy.
American, British, and Polish paratroopers would land before the amphibious invasion and disrupt enemy communications and reinforcements and generally cause havoc behind German lines. Spearheading this was Jake McNiece and the Filthy 13, paratroopers that landed hours before the others. Being part Choctaw himself, he and the other members of his unit painted their faces in Native American war paint and shaved their heads into a Mohawk style. Now, this served no practical purpose, but it was a major psychological boost. The men were the first to drop into one of the most important military operations in history. Any way they could psych themselves up for battle
would be a massive morale boost. Other paratroopers did similar things, like shaving their hair into Mohawks in the days before D-Day. What they didn't know was that the Germans had spread propaganda to the civilian population of France stating that the inevitable Allied invasion would be led by paratroopers, all of whom were convicted criminals or recruited from insane asylums and could be identified by their nearly shaved heads. When the airborne troops found out about this, they thought it was hilarious. When paratroopers drop, they're cut off from resupply and have to take all of their gear with them. However, they can only carry so much equipment directly. To make sure they have all the supplies
they need, paratroopers would not be the only things dropping to the ground. One of these was the British CLE, or container light equipment. There were several different variants, but all had the same basic principle. They were cylinders that could break open in half and be filled with extra ammunition, weapons, rations, radio equipment, and anything else they could need. The CLE could be fixed to the outside of an aircraft on bomb mounts and after release drift to the ground on a parachute deployed from a static line. For the Germans, the drop canisters were not a luxury, but a necessity. Unlike their American and British counterparts whose parachute harnesses had four points of contact at the front connected
to a quick release box, the shoots for the Fallschirmjäger had a single point center of their back. Instead of landing on their feet, they would land on their hands and knees and would have to perform a somersault once they hit the ground. This odd style of landing meant they couldn't carry rifles or other weapons and would drop unarmed except for a pistol, knife, and maybe some grenades. Canisters were the only way German paratroops could actually fight with any effectiveness. There are many limitations of paratroopers, and military planners worked tirelessly to solve them. What they came up with was something as effective as it was obvious, just land the entire plane.
Gliders are unpowered aircraft that would be towed by a steel cable to their target by a larger powered plane, like a C-47 or a JU 52, and when they neared the landing zone, they would detach and glide the rest of the way. They could arrive silently, landing in an open field without the enemy being any wiser. There are many advantages to using gliders over jumping out of a plane. The troops would all land together, so dispersal is less of an issue, and the gliders could carry heavier weapons and even vehicles and small artillery pieces. They could also land on open ground that was too small for a conventional plane, and there was no risk of losing a more valuable conventional aircraft landing behind
enemy lines. The biggest downside though is the lack of control. They were at the mercy of the towing aircraft, and once they were detached, it was all momentum and prayer point. The pilot could steer, but an unarmed flimsy fabric and wood aircraft was not the safest of vehicles. Crashes were commonplace, and they could suffer casualties even before they met the enemy. But in spite of their limitations, they played a pivotal role in airborne operations throughout the war, delivering troops and vehicles behind enemy lines well before helicopters were developed. These are just a few clever ways paratroopers made the most of their limitations, dropping feet first into legend.
