Parachute Force (Imperial Japanese Navy)

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Parachute troops of
the Imperial Japanese Navy

IJN Para Badge.jpg

Insignia of the parachute troops of the Imperial Japanese Navy
active November 1940 to 1945
Country JapanJapan Japanese Empire
Armed forces JapanJapan (naval war flag) Imperial Japanese Navy
Armed forces Navy special landing forces
Branch of service Airborne Force
Type Paratroopers ,
light infantry
Butcher Pacific War

The parachute force of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( Japanese 日本 海軍 空 挺 部隊 , Nippon kaigun kūtei butai ) was a branch of the Special Landing Forces of the Imperial Japanese Navy (SLKM) for operational use in the rear enemy area, which took place parallel to amphibious landings.

Their formation began in December 1940 with the recruitment of 26 officers, NCOs and soldiers. In the following period two battalions of paratroopers were set up. During the Pacific War , airborne missions took place on Sulawesi and Timor .

The parachute force of the Navy is to be distinguished from the parachute force of the Imperial Japanese Army .

assignment

The primary mission of the parachute troops of the Imperial Japanese Navy was to take beachheads or key areas by surprise in order to divert attention from the actual goal, an amphibious landing of the main forces. The focus was on conquering enemy airfields that were near the point where the amphibious landing was planned. As soon as an enemy airfield or an enemy airfield was taken, it was used for supply and reinforcement. Surrounding road junctions were taken or blocked.

In the course of the Second World War it became clear that the presence of Japanese parachute troops alone posed a constant threat to Allied military objects and supply routes in the hinterland and thus tied up troops for object protection .

history

Before the start of World War II , only the Soviet Union and the German Reich had deployed significant parachute troops. It was only with the success of the German paratroopers in the occupation of Norway and during the western campaign , including the storming of Fort Eben Emael , that the Imperial Japanese Navy saw the need to deploy its own parachute and airborne troops.

Lineup

Although the Kaiserreich Japan was allied with the German Reich, there was no exchange between the armed forces in terms of training, armament, organization or tactics when setting up the Japanese parachute troops. The Japanese Navy reorganized the parachute troops and developed training, tactics, equipment and organization in parallel to the Imperial Japanese Army , with which there has always been rivalries. The armed forces only shared the existing weapons.

In November 1940, the SLKM set up a small test unit at the Yokosuka Marine Flieger Base near Tokyo Bay . The unit was christened 1001 Go Jikken Kenkyu (German 1001st Experimental Unit) and consisted of 26 men under the command of Lieutenant Yamabe Masao. When they started their parachute training, they used life-size dolls and the men's first parachute jump took place on January 15, 1941. Like their comrades in the Army Paratroopers, they initially used unwieldy aviation emergency parachutes.

In June 1941, the unit was moved to the Tateyama Navy Combat School where it began to look for volunteers among the defense units ( Japanese 防備 隊 , Bōbi-tai ) of the naval bases. They had to be under 30 years of age and have served for at least two years. In September 1941 the Navy Ministry ordered two parachute battalions of 750 men each. The associations were set up in November. It turned out that the training of 1,500 paratroopers was proving difficult, so first and second class parachute training took just a week and ten days, respectively. The following classes then received a two-week training course. The first days of training consisted of two hours of gymnastics, one hour of jumping training, three hours of parachute maintenance and packing, and one hour of theory about skydiving. After a few days, the correct jump training took place: for self-confidence, the soldier first threw off a life-size doll with a parachute he had packed. Then there were six real jumps. Since Tateyama was near the coast, there were frequent and unpredictable winds, which led to some injuries and even deaths, as the latter were driven off into the sea and drowned. After the difficult and dangerous training was completed, two parachute battalions were set up from the graduates on November 15 in the Yokosuka Marine Base: The 1st Yokosuka Special Landing Unit under Lieutenant Staff Captain Horiuchi Toyoaki and the 3rd Yokosuka Special Landing Unit under Lieutenant Fukumi Koichi. The naval paratroopers, like other special landing forces, were named after their naval base location. As is customary with Imperial Japanese Units, both units were sometimes named Horiuchi or Fukumi units after the surname of their commander .

The map shows the targets of the Japanese navy and army in late 1941 and early 1942

After the 1st and 3rd Yokosuka SLKM had completed their jumping training, they were transferred to Formosa to complete their training . At the end of December 1941, the 1st Yokosuka SLKM was relocated to Davao City on Mindanao in the Philippines , which had recently been conquered . A planned airborne operation to conquer the oil fields on the Tarakan Islands was canceled because the airfield required for take-off on Jolo Island could not be made available in time. Manado was chosen as the next target.

The attack on Manado took place on January 11, 1942 and was successfully completed. On February 19, there was another air landing near Kupang in West Timor , in which the paratroopers suffered almost 90% casualties. In December 1942, both SLKMs were relocated to Japan and merged to form the 1st Yokosuka SLKM. The parachute equipment was retired and the unit was from then on a regular SLKM, equipped for amphibious operations.

In June 1943 the 1st Yokosuka SLKM, now 900 men strong and equipped with Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tanks, was relocated to Saipan . 200 of them were to be transferred to Rabaul , but were diverted to Truk .

Calls

Manado

First Airborne Operation of the Japanese Empire: V-formation of Type 96 “Tina” transport aircraft, which drop paratroopers of the 1st Yokosuka SLKM over Langoan Airfield, Manado, Celebes, during the Battle of Manado . January 1942.
Navy paratroopers prepare to attack Longoan Airfield.

On January 11, 1942, the first airborne operation of the Japanese Empire took place. 500 paratroopers of the 1st Yokosuka SLKM landed near Manados on the Celebes . Their task was to land near Manado City, to cause confusion among the Dutch defenders and to divert attention from the actual amphibious landing of the 1st and 2nd Sasebo SLKM (2500 men with a company of Type 95 Ha-Go tanks). 1,500 Dutch soldiers under Major BFA Schilmöller defended Manado and the nearby airfield at Langoan for two days before they surrendered. The paratroopers lost 20 people, while the Dutch lost 140 men.

Borneo

Marine paratroopers of the 1st Yokosuka SLKM with life jackets on their sea transport to Borneo.

After the successful air landing near Manado, the 1st Yokosuka SLKM was ready to take part in the Japanese invasion of Borneo . For the operation, the SLKM was brought to its destination in Borneo by sea.

Kupang

On February 19, 1942, 300 paratroopers from the 3rd Yokosuka SLKM landed in a first wave of attacks near Kupang in the Dutch East Indies, West Timor. As usual, they were supposed to divert attention from the actual amphibious landing of a combined Army-Navy force of 4,600 men. In a second wave of disengagement, another 500 paratroopers were dropped. Over 700 paratroopers were killed in fierce fighting and only 78 men survived.

After the 3rd Yokosuka SLKM was broken up, the survivors were assigned to the 1st Yokosuka SLKM.

Saipan

Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tank of the 1st Yokosuka SLKM on Saipan

In June 1943 the 1st Yokosuka SLKM, now 900 men strong and equipped with Type 2 Ka-Mi amphibious tanks, was relocated to Saipan . There the unit was broken up in the course of the Battle of Saipan in June 1944.

Mariana Islands

In mid-1945, the Navy High Command planned to carry out an air landing similar to the operation carried out by the Giretsu Kūteitai in May 1945 on Okinawa. In June 1944, who had allies in the Battle of the Marianas Islands taken several airfields used for long-range bombers of the type B-29 Boeing Superfortress for air attacks on Japan were used. The company was called Operation Ken and was supposed to bring 300 soldiers to the Marianas over a distance of 3750 miles. The attack was planned for July 24, 1945, but the operational airfield of the Misawa naval base on Honsu was bombed by the American air force on July 14. The transport aircraft intended for Operation Ken were destroyed. August 19, 1945 was planned as the new deployment date, but it was postponed and was no longer renewed due to the surrender of Japan .

organization

The units had a battalion strength of 500–900 men, with the following structure:

Total strength: approx. 600–850 men

The following marine parachute units were set up:

1. Yokosuka SLKM

850 men; Airborne mission at the Battle of Manado (January 1942); parts sent to Truk in September 1943 ; Main part shipped to Saipan , where it was destroyed in the Battle of Saipan in 1944.

3. Yokosuka SLKM

850 men; Airborne use in the Battle of Koepang (1942); then dissolution; Remnants of the unit in 1. Yokosuka SLKM absorbed; Transfer to Saipan , where she was destroyed in the Battle of Saipan in 1944.

equipment

weapons

Type 14 pistol
Arisaka type 38
Type 96 light machine gun

Basically, naval paratroopers used standard infantry weapons from the Imperial Japanese Forces. However, a small number of weapons have been modified for airborne use, e.g. B. to attach folding shoulder rests or to be able to disassemble weapons into more manageable pieces. However, modified weapons were not delivered to the troops until 1943. Following the example of the Wehrmacht paratroopers, naval paratroopers were basically armed with Type 14 or Type 4 pistols, Type 91 hand grenades and Type 30 bayonets.

Pistols and submachine guns

Rifles and machine guns

Guns

Others

Transport planes and gliders

(Allied code name behind)

From 1942 the navy started working on an experimental glider, the Yokosuka MXY5 , which, however, never went into series production.

vehicles

uniform

A naval paratrooper in his two-piece, olive-green uniform. He is holding a Type 38 carbine with a Type 30 bayonet attached . Two ammunition belts hang crossed in front of his chest, each with 17 pockets containing loading clips for the carbine. As is common with Japanese soldiers, the white bag contains the ashes of a fallen comrade.

Marine paratroopers wore a special two-piece olive green paratrooper blouse made of 50% cotton and 50% silk. The waist-length jacket was supplied in two different versions, each with different pockets. Voluminous pockets were attached to the front and sides of the trousers, some of them with divided compartments. A light field cap with a chinstrap and a neck sun protection was provided as headgear. The steel helmet, which was dark, olive-green in color, was put on over the field cap. The helmet had its own chin strap that was worn over the chin strap of the field cap. The footwear used was brown ankle-high leather boots and brown leather gloves.

For the combat mission , the marine paratrooper also carried a water bottle and a bread bag with several food rations. Riflemen carried two crossed cotton straps, each with 17 pockets and provided with ammunition. In addition, the equipment consisted of signal flags, a small shovel, national flag (position information for own air force), mosquito net and a type 2 first aid kit. Officers wore the same equipment plus a short sword, binoculars, flashlight and map case.

Parachutes

In the Empire of Japan, the type 1 , type 1 special and type 4 parachutes , which were used by units of the Japanese navy and the army during the Second World War, were developed in order to build up their own paratroopers .

Web links

literature

  • Army Military Intelligence's Special Series: Japanese Parachute Troops published in July 1945
  • Rottman & Takizawa: Japanese Paratroop Forces of World War II Osprey Publishing, UK, 2005, ISBN 978-1-84176-903-5

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Japanese paratroopers in the Dutch East Indies, 1941-1942. (No longer available online.) Dutcheastindies.webs.com, archived from the original on July 8, 2015 ; accessed on October 13, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dutcheastindies.webs.com
  2. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 3
  3. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 4
  4. ↑ a b Rottman & Takizawa, p. 6
  5. ↑ a b c Rottman & Takizawa, p. 7
  6. ↑ a b Rottman & Takizawa, p. 20
  7. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 21
  8. ↑ a b c Rottman & Takizawa, p. 27
  9. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 24
  10. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 25
  11. ↑ a b Rottman & Takizawa, p. 58
  12. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 13
  13. ^ Rottman & Takizawa, p. 14
  14. ↑ a b Rottman & Takizawa, p. 19