Interesting docs on estand

[Luftm40]

I noted these docs w/ interest

http://www.wehrmacht-awards.net/foru...d.php?t=120261

I must admit that I have never encountered a set like this. The man appears to have been an aircrewman. After basic training he went through the pipeline to be a pilot, but doesn't appear to have ultimately qualified as one. He was jump qualified, observer qualified and also awarded the transport clasp, which leads me to think he served in a JU 52 unit...or perhaps glider? What is the significance of the fallschirmkampfbeobachter units? Did they support airborne operations in some way? Interesting....

[Chris]

The Fallschirmkampfbeobachter were an another innovation of General Student. Because of the difficulty in getting timely tactical information from the battlefields on Crete, men were subsequently trained to be aerial observers of parachute operations in order to relay information on what was happening on the ground back to higher headquarters -- the 1940's version of the Goodyear blimp camera. It was felt if they were actually trained paratroopers themselves, they would have a better feel for the situation and would be more trusted by the paratroopers themselves as a source of information.

[Luftm40]

Chris...very interesting, thanks