Fallschirmschule III

[Ian Jewison]

According to my info Fallschirmschule III was formed during 1940 in Braunschweig and late 1943 transferred to Kraljewo, Serbia.

Has anyone any idea why elements were in Albania September 1943 or could this be en-route to Serbia?

Thanks in advance

Ian

[Willi Z.]

Hi Ian,

That is very interesting. I have checked most of my German sources and have not been able to find any information on the Albanian connection. Will keep trying.

Willi

[Prosper Keating]

SS-Fallschirmjäger-Btl 500 operated in Albania against partisans. But this was early in 1944. The member of Fallschirmschule III in question seems to have been killed there in September 1943 before the SS Airborne Battalion was officially formed in October. It is known that members of the parachute school detachment accompanied SS paras on anti-partisan operations as an alternative to sitting around twiddling their thumbs in Kraljevo between jump courses. After all, they were all Fallschirmjäger. But again, this entry predates all that.

Brandenburg paras were also trained at Kraljevo and elements of the Brandenburg airborne units were based close by in the spa town of Mataruska Banja, home garrison of SS-FJ-Btl 500, at one point. With the formation of the Brandenburg Division in Germany in April 1943, the airborne company was reformed as 15 (Parachute) Coy, 3rd Bn, 4th Light Infantry Regiment, Brandenburg Division zbV 800.

The 4th Regt was posted to Yugoslavia on April 17 1943, on attachment to the 1st Mountain Division based at Sjenica. As in Russia, they found themselves embroiled in brutal anti-partisan warfare. When the 4th Regiment moved in October 1943 to Sarajevo to disarm Italian forces there, 15 (Parachute) Coy moved to a new base in Mataruska Banja, just beside Kraljevo, about 200 km to the east, where the Luftwaffe had relocated Fallschirmschule III to train members of the newly-formed SS-Fallschirmjäger Bataillon 500 which started arriving in Mataruska Banja around the same time.

I think that advance elements of Fallschirmschule III started arriving in Kraljevo in the spring of 1943 to set things up. The CO of the school fwhen it was based at Kraljevo was an Oberleutnant Hoffmann, who assumed command in March 1943. The school closed late in the summer of 1944 after a brief relocation to the old Hungarian airborne school in Papà. One could presume that Hoffmann was installed to oversee the relocation to Serbia. This would coincide with the 15 (Parachute) Company's arrival in the Balkans as part of the 4th Brandenburg Regiment. But I will have to consult files which are not to hand. Perhaps someone else can tell us off the top of his head when Fallschirmschule III was posted to the Balkans.

If it was indeed before October 1943, then the KIA in question may have been 'amusing himself' with Brandenburg paratroopers on operations in Albania. The Brandenburg harboured ambitions to capture or kill Tito long before the SS Airborne embarked on their epic but ill-fated Drvar mission.

PK

[Willi Z.]

Prosper, all I could find is that Fallschirmschule III sent a detachment under Oberstleutnant Hoffmann in November of '43 to Nisch near Kraljewo. Sounds perfectly logical that some members of the school went a few months earlier. Hard to explain how this FJ got killed in Albania, perhaps he got hit by partisans while in transit to Serbia.

Willi

[Ian Jewison]

Thanks very much for the replies,

I did get this in a response from the Fj-Archive before it came under the WASt.

"Herr Dencker was killed in action 22.9.1943 as Kp.Fhr. 2 Kompanie, Fallschirmschule III in combat with
Partisans in Cruja, Albania. Many soldiers from 2 and 4 Kompanie were killed on this day."

Regards, Ian