Fort Benning was the primary training center for the new US parachute troops, and it is the place where it all started in 1940 with the parachute test platoon. So, its newspaper is a potential trove of information about the … Continue reading →
It’s been a long while since I got any new WWII magazines with parachutists or glider troops on the cover. These 3 were sent to me by Darren from the UK and are very nice. The New York Times magazine … Continue reading →
This magazine from November-December 1940 is the earliest one I have about the beginning of the parachute troops. The feature article is called ‘The Tentative Parachute Battalion’. Here we can see the earliest parachutist uniforms and equipment. Most parachutists in … Continue reading →
I found this commercial booklet from the Reliance Manufacturing Company, a parachute manufacturer. It is not dated, but from the text inside it is clear that it must be from 1941 or 1942 at the latest. It discusses the exploits … Continue reading →
This wartime published booklet briefly describes the origins and development of parachutes. It refers to the use of parachutes for parachute troops and explains the idea did not originally come from the Germans, but from the Russians. The short chapter … Continue reading →
Here are some shots of 1940s vintage postcards with paratroopers, or ‘parachute troops’, as they were then called. They are depicted in stateside training and you can see old types of parachutes, uniforms and planes being used. These are from … Continue reading →
This pamphlet is one of a series issued by the Northern Command, which was the Home Command of the British Army. I only bought this pamphlet showing what a German Paratrooper looks like. It’s the early Fallschirmjäger with green smock, … Continue reading →
I recently picked up the Recognition magazine which was circulated by the War Department to train armed forces personnel in the recognition of allied and axis airplanes, but also military vehicles. This issue deals with all types of glider aircraft … Continue reading →
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 … Continue reading →
This one is not a magazine ad, but a leaflet that was included with a pack of Camel cigarettes around the time Camel (and other brands) removed tin foil from its packaging in order to save all metal for the … Continue reading →