Romanian paratroopers in action?

Hello everyone! I'm looking for any information about Romanian paratroopers: about their OB, weapons, operations, airdrops (did they any), losses or just anything. I've searched the net but I haven't found a thing.

I'm especially intrested in the eastern front so, it would make me happy, if you can tell me about the Russian front. But any information that you can tell to me is positive... Most important questions are WHERE did they figth, WHEN did they figth and against WHO did they figth. HOW many were there, WHAT happened, DID they make an airdrop, WERE they fanatic...

I'm asking your kind help becourse, In here, where I live (Finland) they don't sell books about Romania in WWII... Thank you!!

-the FINN

AFAIK they never saw airborn action - only after 23rd august '44 they faught against German units around Bucharest. But I may be wrong.

They never made any combat jumps and only saw action as ground troops against the Germans around Bucharest, in August-September 1944.

They were a very good unit and fought well in their brief operational career. Among the units they defeated on the airfields close to Bucharest there were elements of the elite German Brandemburgers.

You may want to take a look in the thread 4th Parachute Battalion.

At first, thank you everybody for tour reply. This seems quite interesting can you tell me more about the figthing around Bucharest? For instance, did the Romanians use their FT-17 forces to destroy their enemy? I read so somewhere in worldwar.ro...

Who were the Brandenburgers? Did they belong to an SS-division Marie Theresa or Freiwilligen SS-Kavalrie Division Rumänische 2nd? And what were 'the other units?' Now I'm getting out of my subject [the Eastern Front] but... can't do nothing. The Romanian paratroopers are so fascinating!!!

Thanks for the link!!!

-the FINN

It’s also interesting to see the equipment they used until 1943, including the Mauser 7,65 mm (model 712 “Schnellfeuer”, produced since 1932) SMG (see these links: http://www.worldwar2.ro/forum/index.php?showtopic=1896&st=15, http://world.guns.ru/handguns/hg90-e.htm) and the French-model (leather) helmets.

Here's what I've written about this topic quite a few years earlier, posted on a history forum:

"During the battle to control Bucharest, reportedly there were attempts
to fly in parts of the Brandenburg Paratroopers' Division
(Fallschirmeinheiten Div. Brandenburg), as well as cadets of the
close-combat school from Nis (Nahkampfschule Nisch), from Serbia.

These men were flown in by Messerschmitt Me 323 'Gigants', as well as Ju
52/3m's. These élite troops were intended to strengthen the various
German units, assembled in an ad-hoc unit, called "Kampfgruppe Stahel",
fighting in and around Bucharest after the Rumanians' surprise defection
from the Axis camp in the night of August 23, 1944.

However, the majority of these transport aircraft were shot down
en-route, either by Rumanian fighter planes (Bf 109Gs), or by the
Rumanian flak.
According to Rumanian documents, up to a half dozen
'Gigants' and 3-4 Ju 52s were lost during August 25-27, 1944.

Does anybody have any specific information on the eventual fate of these
troops, and - mainly - the actual number and specific units/codes of the
Me 323 and Ju 52s involved in the airlift?
Thank you."

Gen. Dénes

This post has been edited by Dénes on May 09, 2006 09:09 pm

Thank you, Dénes!!!

I found this one in WW2.ro, armor section:

Could this mean that the romanian paratroopers were supported by the legendary FT-17 "tanks" and some police forces? And a continuation question: what kind of forces did the police have, if they did attack into German locations? They were propably not well armed, I suppose?

-the FINN

Those Rumanian police troops and FT-17 tankettes did not attack the German paratroopers. They rounded up the German soldiers they found in the Capital.

Gen. Dénes