Fallschirmjäger with FG42 - German Paratroopers | Gallery

Fallschirmjäger with FG42

A german paratrooper who was part in the liberation of Benito Mussolini on the Gran Sasso mountain in Italy. He's wearing the long paratrooper coat('Knochensack' =bone bag) and his Fallschirmjäger-Gewehr 42 (paratrooper rifle), an excellent weapon -sometimes issued with scopes- but too costly to produce. (Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-567-1503A-01)


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.ww2incolor.com/gallery/german-paratroopers/18846/fallschirmjager-with-fg42

These guys sure deserve our admiration for their fighting skills, Monte Casino it’s the perfect example of that.

This photo is sometimes labelled as SS Paratrooper at Gran Sasso. However the only SS on the operation were from Skorzeny’s commando unit (not SS Para’s) and I think only 1 or 2 gliders were SS men (one platoon was involved). So I am not 100% sure if he is SS or Para. I don’t know how the SS were armed at Gran Sasso (but I doubt FG42) so I think he’s a Para.

The place Grad Sasso, the Gliders is also Correct and his his carrying a FG42 Assault Rifle used by Ger Paratroopers during the war. Chances are, that this trooper came in on that Glider with none other than Otto Skorzeny, Commando Extrodinary.

Exactly location is Campo Imperatore (2130 mt above sea level) just below Gran Sasso.
German forces: paratrooper of Lehrbataillon (2. Fallschirmjägerdivision) and some SS of Sicherheitsdienst. The airport of take off of ten gliders DFS-230 of operation, glider tugs Heinkel 111, was Pratica di Mare, south-east of Rome, today base of Test Flying Center of Italian Air Force. The exact name of famous battle is Monte Cassino and not Monte Casino.