1st Marine Parachute Regiment
The 1st Marine Parachute Regiment ( German 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment ), also known as Paramarines or Marine Paratroopers , was a short-lived airborne unit of the US Marine Corps during World War II .
history
The Marine Corps trained first paratroopers since 1940 . A total of three battalions had been trained by 1943; acted as training camps u. a. the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst . The unit was subordinated to the I Marine Amphibious Corps, the sub-units came to various divisions of the Marines. The regiment had a total strength of 3,000 men.
The 1st Parachute Battalion was assigned to the 1st Marine Division and took part in the 1942 Battle of Guadalcanal . The battalion suffered heavy losses in the fighting for the island of Gavutu and the Battle of Bloody Ridge , which is why it was brought to New Caledonia in September 1942 . The 2nd Parachute Battalion fought in October 1943 as part of the 3rd Marine Division on Choiseul and later with the 3rd Parachute Battalion on Bougainville . Eventually the regiment was disbanded in December 1943. The reasons for this were the high losses, the lack of suitable transport aircraft and the dispensability of such an airborne unit for the Marine Corps. Planned missions such as New Britain or Santa Isabel were no longer carried out.
The Marines Ira Hayes and Harlon Block , later known for their photography Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima , temporarily served with the Paramarines.
Today, marine infantry units are generally trained in air landings with helicopters. However, only members of the marine reconnaissance battalions and the special forces of the marine infantry receive training in parachute jump.
literature
- Jon T. Hoffman: Silk Chutes and Hard Fighting - USMC Parachute Units in WWII . 1999. ( online )