Paratrooper.be

517th PIR pathfinder story

Wouter Has — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:45:58 +0000

Bill Morris sent me a link of a site he’s working on in memory of his father, who was a pathfinder with the 517th PIR. He’s still working on it, but it already has some interesting parts:

The 517th was a ‘Special Ops Team’. During their 150 days of Combined Combat, they were attached to the 82nd, 17th, 13th Airborne Divisions and several other Units as needed. They were nicknamed “The Firemen”.

And there’s a Belgian angle to it too: In Jan, 2012, Jean-Louis Seel from Aubel, Belguim found his Website and emailed him stating that he had recovered his fathers dog tags near the town of Manhay, Belgium in 1988. During The Battle of the Bulge, the 517th Captured Manhay on Dec 27, 1945. Robert was wounded in the Battle 7 days later.

Visit the site about Robert L. Morris

Airborne 44 comic strip – part 4 out now

Wouter Has — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:35:44 +0000

I picked this one up today. It came out in Dutch this week, only 5 months after part 3. It’s really well done, as all the previous parts. Highly recommended.

I took a picture of a frame from the beginning of the book, which is based on a famous photo seen in many reference books. I added the photo for comparison. It’s more than just a well executed copy. The water colors really do the drawings justice.

Book review: Wartime Jeeps

Wouter Has — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:46:06 +0000

This book has been on my Amazon want-list for some time, awaiting publication. Now it’s here, and it was worth the wait. Great color photos of different versions of wartime Jeeps (and Bantams and Fords…).

I will be drooling over this and my other Jeep books for a few more years before I will finally be able to buy one. But getting there is half the fun, right?

The other books in the picture are Military Jeeps, which also has nice photos and information on restoration, and a reprint of 3 US Army Jeep technical manuals in one volume. A Jeep may be auto mechanics 101, but I still need to learn everything.

S.A.A.R.F. jump wing

Wouter Has — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:31:23 +0000

This new addition to the jump wings page is very special in that it was issued to maybe only 100 Americans for a unit that existed for only a few months. The Special Allied Airborne Reconnaissance Force was formed in March 1945 and disbanded in July. I had never heard of it before until I did some research when I saw this lot offered on eBay (see picture). It included an original SAARF wing, a reproduction SAARF title and an original SHAEF patch. The wing looks good to me, but I don’t have any good reference pictures.

More information about the history of the SAARF and its insignia can be found here on insignia.org

Paratrooper training photos Camp Mackall, NC

Wouter Has — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:18:24 +0000

This set of WW2 postcards depicts paratroopers and glider troops training at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. These look like pictures from 1942-43 because the paratroopers no longer wear the early boots with a reinforcing buckle around the instep, and they use the T-5 parachutes instead of the T-4′s used in the early days. Or do they? Picture No. 1672 shows a second rip cord at the paratrooper’s right shoulder, so it’s a free-fall parachute and neither a T-4 nor a T-5, which were both static line parachutes. Can anyone enlighten me on that one? Only the photo marked No. 1679 seems to be from an earlier date. These even look like the so-called air infantry. The men wear the old M-1917 type helmets and no jump boots (looks like they wear gaiters) and I don’t think I see any parachutes. Maybe someone can tell by the markings on the plane?

Click here to view the gallery

Book review: Parachute Rifle Company

Wouter Has — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:28:33 +0000

Parachute Rifle Company is a very useful book for re-enactors of WW2 paratroopers, and also interesting for collectors, but not a must-have. It contains many color photos and plenty of detailed info on how to gear up, how to manoeuvre, camp, etc.
The layout, printing and binding quality are of the usual high standard at Schiffer Publishing, although the author might want to check his spelling if the book is ever reprinted. In all, this is a book well worth its money.

Click on the cover image for a look inside

See all reference book reviews

Book review: First Airborne Task Force

Wouter Has — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:58:56 +0000

First Airborne Task Force is a rare reference book. It was published in 1998 and has not been reprinted. With 500 pages, this is a huge and heavy book. That’s more than Detrez 2 volumes on Normandy combined. This book covers the invasion of Southern France and subsequent battles fought in the Provence and the Maritime Alps. The last chapter is about the First Special Service Force. As with the other books, it contains many photos of original and unique uniforms and equipment, as well as period photographs. I would recommend this book if you can get one cheap (150 EUR would be cheap if you reckon it can fetch up to 350 USD via Amazon, but that’s really outrageous). Just last week, one sold on eBay for 190 EUR, and one just sold on paratrooper.fr for about 225 EUR.
Click on the image for sample pages

Objectif Carentan – Paratrooper reference book Normandy

Wouter Has — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:13:50 +0000

This book from Heimdal publishing is dedicated specifically to the fighting in and around Carentan, Normandy 6-15 June 1944. It is in French, but to be honest I have only looked at the pictures and their captions, and still it’s worthwhile. There are many period photos and great photos from the displays at the Dead Man’s Corner museum, which so far I have only found in this book. See pictures below.

Great stencils for making replica bangalore torpedoes

Wouter Has — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:59:01 +0000

If you ever thought of making your own replica bangalore torpedoes and you want them to be perfect, get the right OD #1 matte paint (I got mine at Gustaaf Desmet in Gent/St Amandsberg) and a set of stencils.

I ordered mine from Noosta Direct. Paul there has been very helpful! So coming soon, I hope, are photos of my restoration project, using original connecting sleeves. If anyone has tips on how to make replica det cord to wrap around them, I’d be much obliged. Some kind of rope or cord of the right diameter and wax coated?

Repro paratrooper bazooka rocket bag

Wouter Has — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:11:17 +0000

I just noticed today that paratrooper.fr is selling repro paratrooper bazooka rocket bags now. Quite good and reasonably priced at only 25 EUR. I have never seen originals in khaki though, only OD green, but the snap hook at the back is as per original (in case you were wondering why this isn’t a more solid hook as seen on other paratrooper gear). Nice gap filler, considering an original will easily set you back 10x that amount.