I have had this photo for years. Still, I have not been able to positivelly identify this unit. Any help will be great!! It shows 153 FJ, most of whom wear the para badges and at least 98 of them have visible EK II and 35 EK I, some of them also have the wound badges, SA badges and one wears what looks like the NSFK glider badge.
Also, do any of the officers look familiar?
Would anyone know when and where the photo was taken?
Thanks!!!!!!
PS: I received this reply from one of the FJ experts some years ago...
Interesting photograph. The fact that quite a few of these paratroopers are wearing the early fliegerbluse, identifiable by the absence of breast eagles, might lead one to presume that this photo was taken in the autumn of 1940 or the spring of 1941, as the trees are still well-covered. The ages of some of the soldiers, around thirty, suggests early days too, before Russia and Italy, when Fallschirmj******228;ger units still contained numbers of prewar regular soldiers.
However, none of the officers in four-pocket tunics are wearing regimental or divisional cuff titles so that probably rules out the first three parachute regiments and the supporting arms within 7. Flieger-Division, who wore the Fallschirm-Division title. Another thing that rules out Fallschirmj******228;ger-Regimenter 1 & 3 is the lack of Army Parachutist Badges worn by former members of the FIK/FIB. One man, far left, second row from the top, could be wearing an Army Para Badge next to his DLV/NSFK glider badge but it could be a trick of pixels from the scanning process.
The absence of Afrika and Kreta cuff bands places it before 1943, as does the absence of Winter War ribbons. The abundance of EK1 and EK2 suggests post-Holland. It could also be post-Crete. Quite a few of the men are not jump-trained and some wear the cloth version of the para badge, initially a private purchase item until the parachute schools started issuing it as an interim measure in 1942 so that newly-trained paras had something to wear until their metal badges were sent to them.
So, there are a couple of possibilities. This could be a training unit in Germany, the architecture making France unlikely. However, Fallschirmj******228;ger-Regiment 4 was formed in September 1942 with three battalions. III./FJR4 was formerly III./FJR2. FJR4 was posted to the Eastern Front late in 1942. Could this photo show a Fallschirmj******228;ger-Rgt 4 company from the 3rd Battalion during the regiment's formation and training period late in 1942?
Or could these men be part of Fallschirmj******228;ger-Rgt 5, formed in May 1942 with two battalions, II and III, from the Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment? II./FJR5, formerly II./LLSR1, was sent to North Africa in July 1942, joining the Ramcke Brigade but the rest of the regiment went to France to train from the planned invasion of Malta.
Also, do any of the officers look familiar?
Would anyone know when and where the photo was taken?
Thanks!!!!!!
PS: I received this reply from one of the FJ experts some years ago...
Interesting photograph. The fact that quite a few of these paratroopers are wearing the early fliegerbluse, identifiable by the absence of breast eagles, might lead one to presume that this photo was taken in the autumn of 1940 or the spring of 1941, as the trees are still well-covered. The ages of some of the soldiers, around thirty, suggests early days too, before Russia and Italy, when Fallschirmj******228;ger units still contained numbers of prewar regular soldiers.
However, none of the officers in four-pocket tunics are wearing regimental or divisional cuff titles so that probably rules out the first three parachute regiments and the supporting arms within 7. Flieger-Division, who wore the Fallschirm-Division title. Another thing that rules out Fallschirmj******228;ger-Regimenter 1 & 3 is the lack of Army Parachutist Badges worn by former members of the FIK/FIB. One man, far left, second row from the top, could be wearing an Army Para Badge next to his DLV/NSFK glider badge but it could be a trick of pixels from the scanning process.
The absence of Afrika and Kreta cuff bands places it before 1943, as does the absence of Winter War ribbons. The abundance of EK1 and EK2 suggests post-Holland. It could also be post-Crete. Quite a few of the men are not jump-trained and some wear the cloth version of the para badge, initially a private purchase item until the parachute schools started issuing it as an interim measure in 1942 so that newly-trained paras had something to wear until their metal badges were sent to them.
So, there are a couple of possibilities. This could be a training unit in Germany, the architecture making France unlikely. However, Fallschirmj******228;ger-Regiment 4 was formed in September 1942 with three battalions. III./FJR4 was formerly III./FJR2. FJR4 was posted to the Eastern Front late in 1942. Could this photo show a Fallschirmj******228;ger-Rgt 4 company from the 3rd Battalion during the regiment's formation and training period late in 1942?
Or could these men be part of Fallschirmj******228;ger-Rgt 5, formed in May 1942 with two battalions, II and III, from the Luftlande-Sturm-Regiment? II./FJR5, formerly II./LLSR1, was sent to North Africa in July 1942, joining the Ramcke Brigade but the rest of the regiment went to France to train from the planned invasion of Malta.
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