Life as a Paratrooper

Download Life as a Paratrooper PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Children's Press(CT)
ISBN 13 : 9780516233444
Total Pages : 56 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (334 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Life as a Paratrooper by : Robert C. Kennedy

Download or read book Life as a Paratrooper written by Robert C. Kennedy and published by Children's Press(CT). This book was released on 2000 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explains what it takes to become a paratrooper, discusses the combat history of the 82nd Airborne Division, and describes the training necessary for these special soldiers.

US Army Paratrooper in the Pacific Theater 1943–45

Download US Army Paratrooper in the Pacific Theater 1943–45 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1780961316
Total Pages : 152 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (89 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis US Army Paratrooper in the Pacific Theater 1943–45 by : Gordon L. Rottman

Download or read book US Army Paratrooper in the Pacific Theater 1943–45 written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The two major Army units that operated in the Pacific – the 11th Airborne Division and the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT) launched small-scale operations on extremely difficult, if not, outright dangerous, terrain, while also conducting amphibious assaults, fighting on jungled hills, swamps and mud. The two units were very different, with the 503rd PRCT being reserved for special purpose missions and the 11th Airborne Division occupying a more traditional role. This title will deal with the background to these two units and their training, before detailing the specific equipment used in the theatre and, finally and most importantly, the combat experience at a personal level of the US Army Paratrooper in the Pacific.

US Paratrooper 1941–45

Download US Paratrooper 1941–45 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782005234
Total Pages : 175 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (82 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis US Paratrooper 1941–45 by : Carl Smith

Download or read book US Paratrooper 1941–45 written by Carl Smith and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-10-20 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Sicily, Normandy, and in the frozen hills of the Ardennes, America's airborne warriors proved themselves some of the toughest and most determined soldiers of World War 2. What made these soldiers so special? How were they recruited, how did they learn to jump and fight? What special tactics and equipment did they use? This title looks at what it was like to be one of the United States' airborne elite, through the experiences of the soldiers themselves. It is the story of the men who invariably led the way; the soldiers who flew to battle and walked home.

Ridgway's Paratroopers

Download Ridgway's Paratroopers PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : US Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 9781557502995
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (29 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ridgway's Paratroopers by : Clay Blair

Download or read book Ridgway's Paratroopers written by Clay Blair and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This powerful study of Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway offers both a detailed account of the legendary general's illustrious World War II career and a comprehensive history of American airborne operations in Europe. Considered one of the Allies' brightest and most forceful commanders, the general fought in every major battle in the Mediterranean and Europe, and his 82nd and 101st airborne divisions came to be called the best in the U.S. Army. But the book makes clear that Ridgway had to justify his faith in airborne warfare because the first drop by the 82nd-during the invasion of Sicily when the pilots were still green and the equipment faulty-had been a fiasco.

Blair tells the story in gripping battlefield narrative to capture the experiences of the soldiers who served in these elite units at Salerno, Naples, Anzio, Normandy, and elsewhere. At the same time he provides a frank analysis of the development of the airborne techniques and of the attention given to the political-military-strategic issues that influenced their deployment. Densely packed with information, the book, first published in 1985, is widely acknowledged for its engagingly honest analysis of Ridgway and airborne operations in Europe.

Hitler's Paratrooper

Download Hitler's Paratrooper PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Frontline Books
ISBN 13 : 1473827620
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hitler's Paratrooper by : Gilberto Villahermosa

Download or read book Hitler's Paratrooper written by Gilberto Villahermosa and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2010-07-30 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rudolf Witzig entered the history books as the heroic captor of Belgiumês supposedly impregnable fortress Eben Emael in May 1940 _ the first time that glider-borne troops were used in the war. To many people, he is also known as the commander of the battle group that fired the first shots of the Tunisian campaign. Remarkably, next to nothing has been written about him as an individual. This biography, completed with the full support of Witzigês widow and son, is a comprehensive history of the man and also provides important new detail on the German parachute arm that he served. In the course of his service, he was awarded the coveted Knightês Cross of the Iron Cross. He could not be awarded the decoration because he had not yet earned the Ironês Crosses 2nd and 1st class _ to resolve the problem he was awarded all three on the spot. Witzig was involved in Operation Mercury, the invasion of Crete, but was injured during the fighting. After his recovery, he was sent to Tunisia where he was credited with several successful defensive actions. He ended the war in captivity, surrendering to the Allies on 8 May 1945, the day after his name was placed on the Honour Roll of the Luftwaffe. Rudolf Witzig was born on 14th August 1916 in Westphalia. His military career started in 1935 when he was accepted as an officerês candidate. He went on to win the Knightês Cross, which was awarded by Hitler personally. Witzig died on 3rd October 2001 at the age of 85. Gilberto Vilhermosa is a serving member of the US military in Yemen. This is his second book.

Parachute Infantry

Download Parachute Infantry PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807119013
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Parachute Infantry by : David Kenyon Webster

Download or read book Parachute Infantry written by David Kenyon Webster and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 1994-04-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An English literature major at Harvard with a talent for writing, twenty-one-year-old David Kenyon Webster volunteered for duty in the U.S. Army’s parachute infantry in 1943 with the aim of seeing combat first-hand and then describing his experiences. His introduction to warfare came at the invasion of Normandy on D-Day in 1944. Webster went on to see considerable action in the next two years, serving as a combat infantryman in the campaign through northwest Europe, during which he was twice wounded. He wrote Parachute Infantry a short time after the war, relying on his letters home and recollections he penned right after his discharge, making his memoir much closer to the war than most such works. With its abundant dialogue, charged descriptions of places and events, and skillful evocation of emotions, Webster’s narrative resonates with the immediacy of a gripping novel. The memoir is divided into several episodes. The first takes place in May and June of 1944 and provides a detailed, suspenseful account of Webster’s participation in the events of D-Day. The next covers several days in September, 1944, when Webster parachuted into Holland and then as part of a group of soldiers advanced through small towns, freeing them as the Germans retreated, until he was shot in the leg and forced to leave his unit. The narrative then picks up in February, 1945, after Webster has returned to his unit, and describes several weeks near the end of the war in Europe, when German resistance was still strong but weakening. Then comes the Allied victory in 1945. We see Webster’s platoon arriving at Berchtes gaden (Hilter’s vacation retreat in the Alps) right before V-E Day and the celebrations and lax discipline that followed the final collapse of the Third Reich. In the last section of the book, Webster recalls the monotonous routine of occupation duty, concluding with his return to the States in early 1946 to be discharged. Stephen E. Ambrose introduces Parachute Infantry, pointing out as two important strengths Webster’s honesty and his ability to describe so well his fellow soldiers—men he never would have known or associated with in civilian life but with whom he developed the strongest bonds during his wartime experience. Parachute Infantry proves to be a riveting account of a young soldier’s experience of war.

Paratrooper: My Life with the 101st Airborne Division

Download Paratrooper: My Life with the 101st Airborne Division PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Page Publishing Inc
ISBN 13 : 1681396378
Total Pages : 278 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (813 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Paratrooper: My Life with the 101st Airborne Division by : Michael B. Kitz-Miller

Download or read book Paratrooper: My Life with the 101st Airborne Division written by Michael B. Kitz-Miller and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2015-08-17 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Paratrooper is the autobiography of a young man’s time with the famed 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles.” With not the finances to finish his senior year in college and a looming draft, it leads to his enlisting in the U.S. Army. With thoughts of Officer’s Candidate School, Private Michael B. Kitz-Miller heads for a newly designed Basic Training course for soldiers planning to attend Airborne School. High performance results in Leadership School and Acting Sergeant in Advanced Infantry School. At Airborne School he is a runner-up for Honor Graduate from his original class of 1,000 soldiers. Finally, the new paratrooper boards a bus for Ft. Campbell and the 101st. His first job is as an M-60 machine gunner, scoring expert his first time on the weapons range. Numerous operations follow – Cold Eagle, Swift Strike II, Desert Strike and the surprise Operation Delawar, jumping into Iran in 1964 as part of the U.S. STRIKE Command. All produce commendations and after winning the Division Soldier-of-the-Month competition a promotion to Sergeant. He soon becomes part of the Battalion Mountaineering cadre. The rigors of Recondo School and its incredible 35 percent graduation rate follow, offering a shot at Honor Graduate. Having won Battalion and Brigade competitions, the young paratrooper enters and finds himself a finalist in the Division’s Soldier-of-the-Year competition. Tough career decisions follow. The story ends with Sergeant Kitz-Miller’s opportunity, 50 years later to compare key issues that confronted him as a soldier with those of today. The evaluation of Officers and NCOs, leadership and mentoring are but a few. His final chapters on Just War Theory and current Rules of Engagement provide provocative ideas about how to address our current policies on terrorist states. Above all, it is the story of a very successful Paratrooper that loved the Airborne Infantry.

Whatever It Took

Download Whatever It Took PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0063027445
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (63 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Whatever It Took by : Henry Langrehr

Download or read book Whatever It Took written by Henry Langrehr and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Published to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, an unforgettable never-before-told first-person account of World War II: the true story of an American paratrooper who survived D-Day, was captured and imprisoned in a Nazi work camp, and made a daring escape to freedom. Now at 95, one of the few living members of the Greatest Generation shares his experiences at last in one of the most remarkable World War II stories ever told. As the Allied Invasion of Normandy launched in the pre-dawn hours of June 6, 1944, Henry Langrehr, an American paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, was among the thousands of Allies who parachuted into occupied France. Surviving heavy anti-aircraft fire, he crashed through the glass roof of a greenhouse in Sainte-Mère-Église. While many of the soldiers in his unit died, Henry and other surviving troops valiantly battled enemy tanks to a standstill. Then, on June 29th, Henry was captured by the Nazis. The next phase of his incredible journey was beginning. Kept for a week in the outer ring of a death camp, Henry witnessed the Nazis’ unspeakable brutality—the so-called Final Solution, with people marched to their deaths, their bodies discarded like cords of wood. Transported to a work camp, he endured horrors of his own when he was forced to live in unbelievable squalor and labor in a coal mine with other POWs. Knowing they would be worked to death, he and a friend made a desperate escape. When a German soldier cornered them in a barn, the friend was fatally shot; Henry struggled with the soldier, killing him and taking his gun. Perilously traveling westward toward Allied controlled land on foot, Henry faced the great ethical and moral dilemmas of war firsthand, needing to do whatever it took to survive. Finally, after two weeks behind enemy lines, he found an American unit and was rescued. Awaiting him at home was Arlene, who, like millions of other American women, went to work in factories and offices to build the armaments Henry and the Allies needed for victory. Whatever It Took is her story, too, bringing to life the hopes and fears of those on the homefront awaiting their loved ones to return. A tale of heroism, hope, and survival featuring 30 photographs, Whatever It Took is a timely reminder of the human cost of freedom and a tribute to unbreakable human courage and spirit in the darkest of times.

Israeli Paratroopers 1954–2016

Download Israeli Paratroopers 1954–2016 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1472827694
Total Pages : 65 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (728 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Israeli Paratroopers 1954–2016 by : David Campbell

Download or read book Israeli Paratroopers 1954–2016 written by David Campbell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the creation of the first volunteer paratroop unit shortly after the birth of Israel and of the Israeli Defense Force, this arm of service has been recognized as elite. They have also been the first choice for daring special missions, and it is mainly from their ranks that Israel's Special Forces units have been recruited. A unique aspect of the Israeli military is the cross-posting of officers from the airborne, armoured and other units, to ensure that all unit commanders share their aggressive qualities and thorough understanding of the capabilities of all arms. In this way the influence of the paratroop arm has been out of proportion to its size. This fully illustrated study is a complete history of Israeli paratroopers from its creation to the present day, including relevant developments in their role and organization, as well as their achievements and setbacks in conflicts such as the Six Days War and Yom Kippur War.

Hitler's Paratroopers in Normandy

Download Hitler's Paratroopers in Normandy PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1473847117
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Hitler's Paratroopers in Normandy by : Gilberto Villahermosa

Download or read book Hitler's Paratroopers in Normandy written by Gilberto Villahermosa and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-08-30 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A retired U.S. Army Master Parachutist, strategist, and military historian analyzes the actions of one German special forces group during World War II. In June 1944, Allied forces fighting desperately to establish a foothold in Normandy and then breakout of the confining bocage found themselves opposed by a bewildering array of formations of the German Wehrmacht. Among them were the newly formed German II Parachute Corps. This gripping new account examines the exploits of Germany’s II Parachute Corps and its commander, Eugen Meindl, from the Allied invasion on June 6 to the end of August 1944. Meindl was the epitome of the senior German airborne commander in the Second World War. Tough, experienced, and aggressive, he cared deeply for his troops. His Parachute Corps fought stubbornly for three weeks, before being forced to fall back. Trapped along with the bulk of the German Seventh Army in the Falaise pocket, Meindl and his paratroopers maintained their discipline and were selected by the Commander in Chief of OB West to lead the German breakout to the east. That they managed to do so, despite suffering grievous losses, while so many around them died or surrendered, is a testament to their dedication and fighting ability. Theirs is a story that deserves to be told.

The Paratrooper Generals

Download The Paratrooper Generals PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 0811768511
Total Pages : 321 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (117 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Paratrooper Generals by : Mitchell Yockelson

Download or read book The Paratrooper Generals written by Mitchell Yockelson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-06-14 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A military history detailing the key role two US Army special forces commanders and their infantry divisions played in during the second world war. Generals during World War II usually stayed to the rear, but not Matthew Ridgway and Maxwell Taylor. During D-Day and the Normandy campaign, these commanders of the 82nd “All-American” and the 101st “Screaming Eagle” Airborne Divisions refused to remain behind the lines and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with their paratroopers in the thick of combat. Jumping into Normandy during the early hours of D-Day, Ridgway and Taylor fought on the ground for six weeks of combat that cost the airborne divisions more than forty percent casualties. The Paratrooper Generals is the first book to explore in depth the significant role these two division commanders played on D-Day, describing the extraordinary courage and leadership they demonstrated throughout the most important American campaign of World War II.

Letters Home, a Paratrooper's Story

Download Letters Home, a Paratrooper's Story PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Aardvark Global Publishing DBA Ecko Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781427650306
Total Pages : 282 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (53 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Letters Home, a Paratrooper's Story by : H. L. "Bud" Curtis

Download or read book Letters Home, a Paratrooper's Story written by H. L. "Bud" Curtis and published by Aardvark Global Publishing DBA Ecko Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "H.L. "Bud" Curtis, 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (PRCT) 1943-1945"--Cover.

Between the Lines and Beyond

Download Between the Lines and Beyond PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781577471417
Total Pages : 448 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (714 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Between the Lines and Beyond by : Guy Carleton Whidden

Download or read book Between the Lines and Beyond written by Guy Carleton Whidden and published by . This book was released on 2009-02-01 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book recounts the author's experiences as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne in World War II through letters written home to his mother. As the title suggests, Guy's censored letters often forced his family to read "between the lines" to figure out the many subtle messages he was sending. Through these letters and Guy's narrative, we relive many of his experiences: Army training and the voyage to England on the S.S. Strathnaver; his historic jumps into Normandy on D-Day and into Holland during Operation Market Garden; and being seriously wounded by a German mortar shell that killed two of his friends nearly causing his own leg to be amputated. These letters show the progression of a young man as he grew in maturity and the resilience of the true and honorable soldier that emerged.

The Making of a Paratrooper

Download The Making of a Paratrooper PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700621377
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Making of a Paratrooper by : Kurt Gabel

Download or read book The Making of a Paratrooper written by Kurt Gabel and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2015-08-07 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The memoir of paratrooper Kurt Gabel—a German Jew who emigrated to the US in 1938, joined the 513th Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division, and fought against his former countrymen in the Battle of the Bulge. Gabel conveys with rare immediacy an in-depth look at the training of a paratrooper, the dangers of combat, and his transformation from romantic idealist to warrior. He vividly recounts the fire fights and such episodes as narrow escapes, separation from his battalion and his rescue by another, and the interrogation of prisoners. He tells the full story of his desperate hours on “Dead Man’s Ridge” near Bastogne.

Paratrooper

Download Paratrooper PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781612001272
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (12 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Paratrooper by : Thomas Michael Booth

Download or read book Paratrooper written by Thomas Michael Booth and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: * A gripping account on an exceptional man - the life of Jim Gavin, America's best paratrooper leader throughout World War II World War II, which occurred precisely at the juncture between air transport capability and the invention of the helicopter, saw history's first and only mass use of paratroopers dropped into battle from the sky, perhaps the most courageous combat task seen in modern warfare. And "Jumpin' Jim" Gavin was by all accounts America's best paratrooper leader. His first combat jump was in Sicily, where as a battalion commander he found his men scattered all over the landscape in one of airborne's greatest fiascos. Yet his stand with a few stalwarts at Biazza Ridge is credited with saving the U.S. invasion front. In Normandy, as assistant division commander of the 82nd Airborne, he won the eternal affection of his men for continuing to lead in combat, M-1 slung over his shoulder, even as his paratroopers were similarly scattered and faced German fire on all sides. His cool leadership served to coalesce the paratrooper bridgehead behind enemy lines until infantry from the beaches could finally reach them. During Operation Market Garden, now as commander of the 82nd, Gavin wrote a new chapter in paratrooper heroism, seizing all his objectives despite a serious spinal injury on landing. With hardly a respite after the grueling campaign in Holland, Gavin and his men were called upon for perhaps their most dangerous task - stemming the German onslaught during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war Gavin continued to earn as much respect from policymakers as he had from his men, providing commentary on our Cold War stance, the war in Vietnam, and as Kennedy's ambassador to France. He was not an unflawed individual, as this comprehensive biography reveals, but an exceptional one in every sense, especially during his days of combat leadership during history's greatest war. ILLUSTRATIONS: 16 pages

The Chosen Few

Download The Chosen Few PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Da Capo Press
ISBN 13 : 0306824841
Total Pages : 400 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (68 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Chosen Few by : Gregg Zoroya

Download or read book The Chosen Few written by Gregg Zoroya and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2017-02-14 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The never-before-told story of one of the most decorated units in the war in Afghanistan and its fifteen-month ordeal that culminated in the 2008 Battle of Wanat, the war's deadliest A single company of US paratroopers--calling themselves the "Chosen Few"--arrived in eastern Afghanistan in late 2007 hoping to win the hearts and minds of the remote mountain people and extend the Afghan government's reach into this wilderness. Instead, they spent the next fifteen months in a desperate struggle, living under almost continuous attack, forced into a slow and grinding withdrawal, and always outnumbered by Taliban fighters descending on them from all sides. Month after month, rocket-propelled grenades, rockets, and machine-gun fire poured down on the isolated and exposed paratroopers as America's focus and military resources shifted to Iraq. Just weeks before the paratroopers were to go home, they faced their last--and toughest--fight. Near the village of Wanat in Nuristan province, an estimated three hundred enemy fighters surrounded about fifty of the Chosen Few and others defending a partially finished combat base. Nine died and more than two dozen were wounded that day in July 2008, making it arguably the bloodiest battle of the war in Afghanistan. The Chosen Few would return home tempered by war. Two among them would receive the Medal of Honor. All of them would be forever changed.

The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual, 1939–45

Download The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual, 1939–45 PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Casemate
ISBN 13 : 1612007929
Total Pages : 161 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual, 1939–45 by : Chris McNab

Download or read book The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual, 1939–45 written by Chris McNab and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During World War II, it quickly became apparent that the physical and tactical demands placed upon paratroopers required men of exceptional stamina, courage and intelligence. To create these soldiers, levels of training were unusually punishing and protracted, and those who came through to take their “wings” were a true elite. The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual 1939–1945 provides an unusually detailed look into what it took to make a military paratrooper during the Second World War, and how he was then utilized in actions where expected survival might be measured in a matter of days. Using archive material from British, U.S., German and other primary sources—many never before published—this book explains paratrooper theory, training, and practice in detail. The content includes: details of the physical training, instruction in static-line parachute deployment, handling the various types of parachutes and harnesses, landing on dangerous terrain, small-arms handling, airborne deployment of heavier combat equipment, landing in hostile drop zones, tactics in the first minutes of landing, radio comms, and much more. Featuring original manual diagrams and illustrations, plus new introductory text explaining the history and context of airborne warfare, The Paratrooper Training Pocket Manual 1939–1945 provides a detailed insight into the principles and practice of this unique type of combat soldier.