Air Storm Regiment 40
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Air storm regiment 40 "Willi Singer" |
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|---|---|
 Association badge |
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| active | March 1, 1960 to June 30, 1991 |
| Country |
 German Democratic Republic
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| Armed forces | National Peoples Army |
| Armed forces |
.svg){kind=small} Land Forces
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| Branch of service | Airborne Force |
| Type | Paratroopers |
| Insinuation | Kdo. Land Forces |
| Last deployment | TÜP Lehnin ( ⊙ ) |
| Former locations | 1960-1982 |
| Origin of the soldiers | GDR |
| Nickname | robin |
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The Luftsturmregiment 40 (LStR-40) was the only airborne troop unit of the National People's Army (NVA) of the GDR . It emerged in 1986 from the Paratrooper Battalion 40 . On October 6, 1969 it was given the honorary name " Willi Singer ".
Set up in Prora on Rügen in 1960 as the 5th Motorized Rifle Battalion , the association was renamed several times and from 1972 was directly subordinate to the Land Forces command. From 1982 it was moved to the Lehnin military training area near Potsdam . The paratrooper training base in Burg near Magdeburg did not belong to the LStR-40, but was directly under the command of the land forces and was thus an independent institution. The designation paratrooper training base 40 (FJABas-40, also referred to as FJAB-40 in the troops) had the camouflage name "Coltsfoot". The association (LStR-40 was a part of the army in the parlance of the NVA) was dissolved on June 30, 1991 in Lehnin, about six months after the dissolution of the NVA.
In addition to the LStR-40 , which was designed as a special unit , there were in the long-range reconnaissance units and divisional reconnaissance units of the NVA, but also in units of the Ministry for State Security (MfS) , who had, among other things, parachute training .
assignment
The task of the paratroopers of the NVA and similar units in other armies of the Warsaw Pact was to take or destroy targets in the rear of the enemy, to impair the enemy’s supplies and morale, and to tie up enemy forces. The mission profile essentially comprised the three core areas of military reconnaissance , commando missions and special missions . The main objective of the operation was the destruction of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons (KWEM).
enlightenment
Under military reconnaissance , the operations to obtain information in the operational depth of the enemy through observation and reporting by electronic means were summarized.
In relation to the location, the location and the type of use, this could include, for example:
- the observation of military, economic and administrative (political, social) goals;
- the determination of target assignment data for the preparation of the deployment of fighter-bomber forces (with the help of forward air controllers ) as well as detailed data and information for the preparation of artillery and rocket strikes;
- spying on the approach of opposing operational and strategic reserves (ports, airfields, railways) and the directions of their relocation;
- the monitoring of enemy VIPs and the reconnaissance of enemy reconnaissance forces in their own hinterland.
Commando operations
During commando operations , comparable to hunting combat with a coup d'état , ambush or raid , the unmasking of the deployed paratroopers was accepted with approval. The aim was to completely destroy the object of the raid, whereby traces could not be avoided and there was a high probability that opposing defenses provided starting points against the acting paratroopers.
For this reason, too, command operations had to be planned down to the last detail, taking worst-case scenarios into account as well. Evasion and the repatriation of the emergency services had to be planned.
The following targets, among others, were considered for commando operations:
- Nuclear weapons and artillery systems that were suitable for firing nuclear ammunition.
- Command posts of the opposing major formations in the presumed main direction of attack against their own forces, or which were presumably exposed to the main load of the opposing attack forces.
- Systems of the EloKa , air traffic control systems and command and weapon deployment system of the air force .
- important weapon systems (intelligence complexes, chemical weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons, etc.)
- Traffic engineering facilities such as marching roads, bridges (viaducts or aqueducts), dams, marshalling yards, electrical works, television towers, port facilities, airfields
- Warehouses of operational importance (ammunition, fuel and other warehouses),
- important individuals or groups of people in the rear of the enemy
- Destruction or capture of opposing forces in your own hinterland.
Special missions
Special missions were supposed to be carried out by soldiers who were specially trained for covert operations and, as a rule, would have had far-reaching operational significance. Possible types of use were:
- Observation of high-ranking personalities of military and political as well as economic life and
- if necessary, kidnapping or killing such personalities
- Repatriation of people who are important for the Warsaw Pact from the rear of the enemy
- hidden hand strokes in bunkers and specially secured facilities of the military, political and economic leadership and the fulfillment of tasks in these facilities
- Training, advice and participation in operations by groups acting illegally, such as the K groups , also on their own territory occupied by the enemy.
- Actions in periods of tension, before the outbreak of war, in the rear of the enemy.
- Actions against divers and other smaller, opposing troops on their own territory.
Set up as a paratrooper battalion in the early 1960s, the unit went through several reorganizations and renaming due to changes in Soviet military doctrine . From the mid-1980s it was expanded to a regiment, whereby the original concept of use in small, independent combat groups was not given up.
organization
Commanders
| Rank | Surname | period of service | comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant colonel | Ehrhard Bernhagen | from February 15, 1962 | First battalion commander |
| major | Hubert Pardella | from September 13, 1962 | later colonel |
| Captain | Egon Gleau | from September 1, 1966 | later Major General Kdr. 4.MSD |
| Lieutenant colonel | Werner Schulz | from April 15, 1968 | later major |
| major | Kurt Elsner | from November 1, 1971 | |
| major | Friedhelm Reddig | from September 1, 1973 | later Colonel Dr. |
| major | Michael Langer | from 1979 | |
| Lieutenant colonel | Jürgen Flache | from August 2, 1981 | later Colonel Dr. |
| major | Klaus-Dieter Krug | from August 15, 1983 | from December 1, 1986 first regimental commander
last position: chief of staff of a division |
| major | Frank Lippert | from August 15, 1988 | |
| major | Norbert Seiffert | from September 15, 1989 | last NVA commander |
| Lieutenant colonel | Harald Altmann | until June 30, 1991 | resolution |
In the early years, the airborne troops were structured like a light rifle battalion typical of the NVA, which could be deployed as individual companies or as a closed group. In the course of time, the paratroopers developed the use in small combat groups - a tactic that was also used in similar units in other countries. Teams of five to twelve soldiers were assigned one or more limited tasks. In the NVA, the concept was called “Einsatzgruppentaktik”, the use of several such groups “coordinated use”. The task forces could reach the strength of a paratrooper platoon if the order made it necessary. In the early years of the TT there were only a few drop-off planes in the NVA. That changed with the creation of the AN-26 squadron in Dresden and the close cooperation of the paratrooper part with the transport helicopter squadron 34 (Brandenburg-Briest). Until around 1983, the NVA paratrooper troops limited themselves to the tactics of the task forces and operated with them like a special unit. Particular attention was paid to military physical training and close combat, as well as extensive shooting training. The task forces were assigned specialists such as task force radio operators , snipers and explosive divers with six months of pioneer diving training in Havelberg TLE40. Every year 10 to 15 parachute jumps were completed during the jump camp or training lasting several days, mostly with round canopy RS 3/8. In addition, there were training sections in radio, blasting, mountaineering and ski training. The troops' efficiency was checked every six months by the Land Forces Command.
Each paratrooper was trained in several uses. For this purpose, courses were held to further specialize the paratroopers. As a rule, a soldier with the paratroopers of the NVA completed at least one, often two or three, special courses within the three years in addition to their normal training
- Automotive and armored engineering course,
- Sniper course,
- Tactics course,
- Close combat course for specialists (extension of the normal close combat program),
- Medical course (also an extension of the normal training program),
- Course on reconnaissance and special tactics of the NATO armed forces.
The course on the use and handling of nuclear mines , however, was attended simultaneously by whole years of service.
After the conversion to the Soviet air storm concept, parts of this operational concept were retained. In addition, since neither the association nor the air transport capacities grew in accordance with the requirements of the new doctrine, nothing fundamentally changed in terms of practical application possibilities.
The paratroopers were subordinated to Military District V (North) until 1972 and then directly to the Land Forces Command (KdoLaSK). The cover name of the air storm regiment 40 (LStR-40) was "soldering tin".
recruitment
recruitment
Every paratrooper in a combat unit had to sign up for at least three years.
Every paratrooper in a paratrooper or air storm company or the demolition train (later renamed the reconnaissance train) was a volunteer. At the latest at the draft, a conscript, as with the Bundeswehr, had to express the desire to come to this troop and was examined for suitability for jumping. If he was fit, he was delegated to the GST district training center (BAZ) located in the vicinity , where he received GST training for the paratrooper career. This happened in the summer months from April to October, one week a month with exemption from school or teaching. Here mostly former paratroopers of the NVA carried out the training with the young people.
The training included long cross-country runs and marches as well as handling maps and compasses alone or in a group, touch radio training (only giving numbers), shooting training with small-caliber weapons, overcoming the storm track and various obstacles. In addition, there was driving school training for classes 1 and 5 ( trucks and motorcycles ). Those who did not complete these training courses before taking up their duties were rarely called up for the military unit.
In the training with the theory and practice of parachuting, the young people had to pack their parachutes, the round canopy themselves (different types of parachutes have been used over the years - PD-47, RS 4/3, RS 4/5, RS-8 and after dropping off the skydiving license various sport parachutes, which were similar to those of the NVA). The youngsters had to do twelve parachute jumps in order to successfully complete the basic training. The training took place in the district training centers of the districts of the GDR . For a short time, attempts were made to train all future paratroopers at the parachute jump school of the Society for Sport and Technology in Halle-Oppin. That didn't work out and they went back to carrying out training in the machining centers.
In the supply unit with cooks, drivers, car mechanics and tank attendants of the paratrooper association, soldiers also served in basic military service for 18 months. When the FJB was increased to LStR, a heavy company was set up, which was equipped with anti-tank guided missiles and grenade launchers . The soldiers serving here were not dropped by parachute, were mobile in the battle by UAZ and were therefore landed with helicopters.
In the reservist training train, former paratroopers were regularly called up for reservist service and maintained their military strength within three months.
Recruitment and training
Tactics training
The paratroopers of the NVA were only trained in task force tactics until the mid-1980s. From 1986 the training for air storm tactics began, whereby the elements of the task force tactics were retained. The Einsatzgruppe (EG) was another name for a team, command, group or a similar military formation that mostly had to perform tasks in the rear of the enemy (rGG).
The task force usually consisted of up to twelve soldiers, but could also consist of just one squad with three to four soldiers. If the task force was larger, the size designation was given after the task force - e.g. B. "Einsatzgruppe - Zug" or "Einsatzgruppe - Company".
The tactics training was very diverse and began with the paratroopers of the NVA with the normal basic training that every soldier of the NVA had to get behind them.
Wherever possible, special elements of paratrooper tactics were incorporated here. After completing the basic training, the paratrooper's special tactical training began, which in turn led through individual training to group training up to the unity of a paratrooper company. Since the soldiers of the NVA's only paratrooper unit completed their military service in the paratrooper battalion or, from 1986, in the air storm regiment every at least three years, there was plenty of time for thorough, intensive and individual training. Many soldiers received one or more specializations that were applied in practice in the form of courses with subsequent permanent application to preserve what they had learned and to complete their knowledge and skills.
These specialists were trained in the following areas:
- Weapons specialist or sniper
- Demolition specialist (also trained in creating or finding hidden charges)
- Communications specialist (portable radio technology of all kinds)
- Automotive specialist
- paramedic
- Close combat in the North Korean fighting technique Kyŏksul (introduced in 1988), previously Sambo
- Topography specialist (specialist in assessing terrain)
- Language specialist (especially English-speaking countries)
- Opponent specialist (high knowledge of structures, tactical symbols and weapons of the NATO armed forces, recognizing the context of the hostile structure of the combat order, Kdo height and structure of command posts, starter batteries, underground rooms, etc.)
Tactics training comprised the largest share of the planned training hours with around 550 training hours per year of service. In almost every other training that led outside the barracks, elements of tactical training flowed, such as the type of movement or the constant observation and permanent availability of personal armament.
The NVA paratrooper received intensive training for combat activities in built-up areas and in the wooded low mountain range. They had an amphibious component and were able, independently or in a small team, to carry out combat activities within a limited framework, to penetrate undetected into the rGG, to carry out the task set and, if necessary, a next task. They were trained to return to their own troops.
With the introduction of air storm tactics from 1986, the range of activities of the paratroopers of the NVA expanded. By supplying (medium) heavy weapons such as recoilless guns , anti-tank guided missiles and grenade launchers (mortars) as well as increased air landing capabilities by means of helicopters and moving the heavy weapons onto the battlefield of the paratroopers, they were able to penetrate larger key areas or objects deep within to capture and hold the rear of the enemy until relief came or the task of repatriation of staff and technology was completed. Since the heavy equipment was often mounted on UAZ (off-road vehicles), the mobility of the paratroopers increased enormously, and it was intended and proven in a tactical exercise that the paratroopers would act as part of an operational maneuver group (OMG) of an armored division (more rarely MotSchützendivision ) as a foray department. Here opposing objects were destroyed one after the other in an action strip in order to pave certain paths for the subsequent reinforced division or recognized dangerous objects such as z. B. nuclear weapons, command posts, operational camps of the enemy, means of electronic warfare to incapacitate.
equipment
The NVA airborne troops had only light weapons throughout their existence. They largely used the material that was also used in other units. There were only deviations in the uniforms and in-house developments due to use.
Armament
The standard armament of the parachutists was the submachine gun KMS-72 . It was introduced in the early 1960s, fired ammunition of the caliber 7.62 × 39 mm , had a shoulder rest that could be folded to the right and a retractable bayonet . The weapons used were produced under license in the GDR. From 1985 there was a conversion to the successor, the AKS-74N in caliber 5.45 × 39 mm .
Light machine guns served as group machine guns . Initially this was the RPD , later the IMG-K (7.62 × 39 mm), which in turn was replaced by the IMG-K74 in caliber 5.45 × 39. Each parachute group also resulted in two anti-tank weapons of the type RPG-2 , or in later years either the RPG-7 D - in two parts separable - or the RPG-18 during the march with.
Each soldier's combat kit also included the F-1 , RGD-5 or HG4 fragmentation hand grenades and a combat dagger or knife . As in all armies of the Warsaw Treaty, the Makarow PM in caliber 9 × 18 mm was available as a pistol .
The troops used the Dragunow sniper rifle SWD for special tasks . From 1985 the AKS-74N was used as a telescopic sight in the task force. With it, targets up to 600 m away should be fought safely.
In the early years as a motorized rifle battalion MSB 5 and again after the restructuring in 1986 to the LStR, heavy support weapons were available in the troops. These included the 82 mm M-43 grenade launcher and the recoilless RG-82 guns in 82 mm and RG-107 in 107 mm as well as the 9K115-2 Metis-M anti-tank guided missile . The recoilless guns fired shaped charges or HE shells . There was also a recoilless anti- tank rifle of caliber 73 mm of the type SPG-9D . Some of them were mounted on off-road vehicles ( UAZ-469 ) and were used from these. The Soviet guided weapons 9K111 Fagot and 9K115 Metis were introduced in 1986 for anti-tank combat . The shoulder-mounted infrared missiles 9K32 Strela-2 were used for air defense .
In the single-axle fork trailers of the task force, in which the parachute technology (12 complete pieces of equipment) was transported, was the entire combat kit of the task force as well as various explosives (detonating cords and detonators, detonators, e.g. detonator no.8 with immediate detonation or with a millisecond delay, as well as the explosives TNT , PLNP-10 or Semtex H ).
Transport motor vehicles
Off-road vehicles from GDR production were used for land transport, later also those from Soviet production. Initially it was the GAZ-69 and the P3, later mainly the UAZ-469 . In addition, the trucks common in the NVA, for example W 50 and motorcycles, were used.
Transport aircraft
During the entire period, the NVA's inadequate air transport capacity was a problem that severely limited its operational capability. The number of aircraft and helicopters made available was never sufficient. And even if there were theoretically machines that could transport very large loads, the transport space was insufficient for heavy weapons or for movement in large units. The Soviet aircraft Il-14 , An-8 , An-12 , An-26 and An-2 were mainly used , and later also helicopters of the Mi-4 and Mi-8 types . The largest transport aircraft available was the An-22 , which could carry and drop 150 parachutists. Since the paratroopers of the NVA would have acted in any case in the presence of the united armed forces (see Warsaw Pact ), planes of the Soviet Army would have been used if no demolition machines of the NVA had been available. Often enough people jumped out of these aircraft during training in the jump camps.
The An-26 of the Transport Fliegerstaffel 24 stationed in Dresden would have been the most likely deployment aircraft of the NVA paratroopers. This machine could transport 30 fully equipped paratroopers to the dropping point and drop them from 7000 m to 250 m at a speed of up to 350 km / h.
Parachutes
The majority of the regular and professional soldiers had already completed at least basic training with 12 jumps at the Society for Sport and Technology before joining the FJB ; many also HALO free-fall jumps from higher altitudes below the oxygen limit. The task forces of the paratroopers of the NVA generally jumped in a stabilized free fall. For this purpose, the jumper was stabilized in the air by an auxiliary parachute (about 0.8 m² canopy area) after leaving the aircraft. The soldier then opened the main unit manually using a pull-up handle at the commanded opening height. These parachutes all belonged to the RS series for round canopy parachutes. These were manufactured in the parachute engineering company VEB Seifhennersdorf and could be jumped both automatically with a pull-up line and manually. During training, the paratroopers of the paratrooper companies jumped from heights of up to 1,600 m and fell for 20 seconds in a stabilized fall.
For jumps from 300 m, the stabilized fall lasted three seconds before the parachute opened. All parachutes were with the opening devices ( 3 KAP- equipped), who opened the parachute automatically when the jumper did not trigger the screen manually. The last round canopy of the NVA to jump was the RS 9/2 A , together with the reserve unit BE-8 . Air storm regiment 40 was also partially equipped with paraglider systems that had been in use since the late 1970s. These were types RL-10/2 ST and RL-12/2 ST . With these systems, the soldiers were able to advance further into the rear of the enemy and land with pinpoint accuracy in gliding operations (HAHO procedure). These parachute systems were only used by the paratrooper specialists, qualified professional soldiers and members of the parachute service. Oxygen jumps did not take place.
Uniforms
The uniforms of the paratroopers were based on those of the Wehrmacht , which had been further developed and adapted to Soviet uniformity principles. Since the paratroopers of the NVA belonged to the land forces, they wore their uniforms. In the early years they wore field service suits for NVA scouts. It consisted of a jacket (with a hood) and trousers, both in a camouflage pattern on a blue-gray background. Lace-up shoes replaced the usual boots, a leather hood replaced the steel helmet. In later years, the Polish paratroopers introduced the airborne helmet, which had ear flaps. In 1964 the paratroopers got their own dress uniform. It differed in the beret (1969) and the collar tabs (silver-colored parachute over a swing arm, see illustration), which were held in orange weapon color . These collar tabs were attached to the service uniform and a stone-gray beret and laced ankle boots were worn.
After five jumps, the parachute jump badge was awarded. There were additional trailers for the number of jumps reached with 10; 25, 30; 35; 40; 50; 75; 100; 150 and then in further steps of 50. In 1972 the Minister for National Defense ordered the revision of the uniform on the basis of so-called innovator proposals from the troops. The new combat suit consisted of four parts (jacket, trousers, combat vest, rain jacket), printed in the so-called "one-dash-no-dash" camouflage pattern. The characteristic of the paratroopers of the NVA was their special, tight-fitting parachute helmet from Polish production. It was equipped with it from 1975.
The combat vest was also a "one-dash-no-dash" camouflage pattern, which was initially closed by three, from the mid-1980s by two small snap hooks. The belt was permanently drawn into the vest so that the paratrooper could put on or take off his equipment in seconds. Pockets were sewn onto the combat vest, in which all necessary equipment and means that were not packed in the knapsack were stored. The magazine pouch for 4 magazines (the LMG magazine pouch was also sewn onto the LMG shooter) was attached to the front right. On the left was the pocket for the protective mask ( gas mask ). At the back, on the buttocks, there were other smaller pockets sewn on that could hold other objects. On the back was a rucksack in which the tarpaulin or ammunition and explosives could be stowed. Two snap hooks above the rucksack were intended to hold the protective clothing suit. Compass, writing materials and the like were carried in the breast pockets. There was a pocket for the pistol inside the combat vest. Camouflage loops were provided and were also used to attach hand grenades and other equipment.
history
The Soviet Army was the first to test and officially deploy parachute troops in the 1920s. During the Second World War , the German Reich used paratroopers for the first time , while the Western Allies only later set up and deployed appropriate units. The Soviet Army trained German communists to be parachute agents who carried out espionage and sabotage in the Reich and in the areas conquered by the Wehrmacht .
Survivors of these units were used in the construction of the parachute units of the NVA and the Ministry of State Security . In addition, the experience of paratroopers of the Wehrmacht was used. From 1952 the Society for Sport and Technology of the GDR offered parachuting as a military sport in the GDR's pre-military training. When the NVA was founded in 1956, a cadre experienced in parachuting was available. Part of it served in the NVA's long-range reconnaissance units in the first few years.
Name changes
| No. | Name (abbreviation) | date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Motorized Rifle Battalion 5 (MSB-5) | from March 1, 1960 | Direct submission to Kdo. MB-V |
| 2. | Paratrooper Battalion 5 (FJB-5) | February 15, 1962 | |
| 3. | Paratrooper Battalion 2 (FJB-2) | 1st December 1971 | |
| 4th | Paratrooper Battalion 40 (FJB-40) | November 8, 1972 | Transfer to Kdo. LaSK |
| 5. | Air Storm Regiment 40 (LStR-40) | 1st December 1986 | Grew up as a regiment |
1960 to 1972
From the end of the 1950s there were considerations within the NVA and other armies of the Warsaw Pact to set up airborne units. The decisive demand for this finally came from the Soviet Union, not least because the Bundeswehr began to set up airborne and paratrooper units from 1955 .
On March 1, 1960, the Motorized Rifle Battalion 5 (MSB-5) was set up in Prora on Rügen . His task was to secure a parachute training as soon as possible. In the medium term, 300 paratroopers should be permanently available and in the long term a whole regiment . Both the name and the stationing in the remote barracks on Rügen - which were once intended to be a hotel of the National Socialist organization Kraft durch Freude (KdF) - served secrecy.
In September 1961, the unit began jumping operations, aircraft of the type IL-14 were sold . Like the rest of the equipment, they came from the Soviet Union. The first two parachute companies consisted of 80 soldiers each, who were organized in three platoons into three groups.
On February 15, 1962, the association was renamed Fallschirmjägerbataillon 5 (FJB-5). It was subordinate to the NVA, which led it as an independent branch of service . From that year the unit took part in Warsaw Pact exercises. The following year, changes to the uniform were approved, including a gray beret for duty. The steel helmet was not worn. From 1969 a red beret was part of the going out and parade uniform .
1972 to 1986
Until the early 1970s, the unit was under the Military District V . On December 1, 1971, it was briefly renamed Fallschirmjägerbataillon 2, then on November 8, 1972, Fallschirmjägerbataillon 40. The latter went hand in hand with the subordination to the Land Forces command in Potsdam, whose only combat force was the FJB-40. All units under the command of the LaSK had the number 40 in their name. This meant that the troops were managed centrally and not under a single troop command (in the event of war, the 5th NVA Army ).
Background was probably a flaw. The land forces of the GDR were divided into two military districts, V North and III South , which each had to provide an army in the event of war . Since it was not possible to set up a paratrooper battalion for both districts, as initially planned, the existing battalion was led centrally. In the event of war, each army that would have acted within the combined forces of the Warsaw Pact should each receive a company and parts of the FJB, which would then have grown up after calling up and adding reservists to a paratrooper battalion. The third FJK was probably intended for the Mitte group in Berlin.
Although the available funds were not sufficient for the establishment of two battalions, the existing one was expanded in the 1970s. So it got its own train for the training of NCOs and one for the training of reservists. At the beginning of the seventies, the troop had already been supplemented by a demolition train, which was later renamed the reconnaissance train.
At the end of the winter of 1978 there was a snow catastrophe with numerous power outages in the northern part of both parts of Germany . The battalion was used as a disaster relief worker. Soldiers brought food to remote farms and villages using helicopters and skis, among other things.
From December 1980, the unit in Strausberg near Berlin was used to guard the housing estate in which the Minister for National Defense and some of his deputies as well as other generals and officers of the NVA lived. Colonel-General Streletz , Goldbach and Reinhold were among the deputies of the Minister for National Defense who lived in this freely accessible housing estate in Strausberg . The previously responsible Guard Regiment Hugo Eberlein (WR-2) was released from this task. The reason for this was that the then Minister for National Defense, Army General Heinz Hoffmann , was one of the members of the Politburo, which did not live in Wandlitz and placed value on guarding by its own troops. The paratroopers were trusted to perform this task, even if that was not actually one of the tasks of this unit.
In order to be able to cope with this task, the small paratrooper unit got an additional company. The 4th FJK was reorganized and in the beginning had four paratroopers as the only company in the troop unit. Since these were not sufficient to fulfill the additional task, from 1983 all companies were assigned alternately to the guard. Every paratrooper company was ordered to "special watch" every eight weeks for two weeks in Strausberg. The waking rhythm was 48 hours. During the two off-duty days, intensive training was provided in Strausberg and the surrounding area, and the training facilities of the Ministry of National Defense (on-site shooting range) and the parachute jump training base of the Air Force Command were used. Swimming training in the indoor swimming pool or in Straussee , both of which were located directly next to the paratroopers' accommodations, was intensified. Tactics and hand-to-hand combat training were carried out in the woods around Strausberg.
1981 began the move of the troops from Prora to the military training area Lehnin near Potsdam. This was considered one of the best-developed exercise areas of the NVA and had facilities that did not exist in this form on Rügen. A village was built for local and urban warfare and heliports. The soldiers were housed in makeshift shelters for more than a year before the barracks were expanded and the move could be completed.
1986 to 1991
At the end of the 1980s, the influence of the Soviet head of state Mikhail Gorbachev began to gain acceptance in the Warsaw Pact armed forces . The military leadership began to orientate their units not only offensively, but increasingly defensively. For the air storm troops, this meant that they should now also be able to intercept enemy units breaking through.
At the same time, the NVA continued to work on implementing the Soviet plans. From 1986 onwards, community training focused on company-wide deployment in battalions. Due to the political changes in autumn 1989, this development was ended.
In autumn 1989 the paratroopers almost had their only "real" deployment. The GDR leadership considered the association to be particularly politically reliable. During the Monday demonstrations in the course of the fall of the Wall , he and other selected units of the NVA were kept on standby . For this purpose, a few days before the announced Monday demonstration, several hundred paratroopers from the LstR-40 were accommodated in Leipzig in a barracks made available for this mission. This took place at night and in the strictest of secrecy. In addition, tactics and techniques for breaking up a demonstration were extensively trained here, under the guidance of the organs otherwise responsible for this. The association was supposed to strengthen the police and the MfS special units of the main department XXII (anti-terrorism) and put down the resistance of the population. However, the deployment order was not issued.
After the fall of the wall on 9/10 In November 1989 the Willi Singer Association saw the same disintegration symptoms from December 1989 as in all other armed organs of the GDR . Many soldiers felt abused and said goodbye. About half of the paratroopers left the unit. Nevertheless, the regimental leadership tried to keep the service going.
On January 31, 1990, two members of the NVA paratroopers were assigned to an association of the previous "enemy" for the first time and sat in on the paratrooper battalion 271 of the Bundeswehr in Iserlohn . In the following months there were more and more contacts with similar associations in other countries.
In September 1990, the soldiers of the LStR-40 completed the last parachute jumps in the large formation. In addition, the last class of volunteers moved in. On October 3, 1990, the remnants of the unit, like the entire NVA, were taken over by the Bundeswehr. The basic training of the 100 recruits now followed the standards of the Bundeswehr. The efforts to transfer the troops as an airborne unit to the newly established Bundeswehr Command East failed. Only a few paratroopers were taken over and used in other units of the Bundeswehr. Between January and June 1991, Air Storm Regiment 40 was disbanded.
Calls
Operations were limited to humanitarian aid in the winter of 1978/79 on the island of Rügen . The soldiers helped for three weeks to supply the villages and homesteads that had been cut off by snowstorms with food and medicine and to clear roads. Rumors of operations in Afghanistan during the Afghan war are not substantiated.
Meritorious soldiers of the Union
| No. | date | Name of company bike | comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | April 12, 1984 | Chief Ensign Günther Schmidt | As the first NVA paratrooper for his 1000th parachute jump |
| 2. | 1988 | Chief Ensign Heilek | Awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit - bronze
|
Individual evidence
- ↑ Timeline of the military history of the German Democratic Republic 1949-1984. Berlin (East), Military Publishing House of the GDR, p. 267
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) 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. see parachute technology
- ↑ http://www.spekon.de/ today Sächsische Spezialkonfektion GmbH
- ↑ Phoenix film from minute 7:00
- ↑ Honecker's elite troop. The paratroopers . A film by Axel Friedrich ( broadcast on Phoenix )
literature
- Karl-Heinz Dissberger u. a .: From heaven to earth into battle. Paratroopers of the National People's Army. 2nd improved edition. Kabinett Verlag, Zurich et al. 1999, ISBN 3-906572-15-3 .
- NVA, Command of the Land Forces: Program for the training of NCOs in the NCO training platoon of the Paratrooper Battalion-40 . Potsdam 1977, DNB 560877161 .
Web links
40th ARB | ATZ-40 | FJABas-40 | GeWA-40 | IBB-40 | LStR-40 | MTS of LaSK | NB-40 | OHS of LaSK | OHS for AMK | PiBB-40 | RAZ-40 | WSB-40