This is from,
Enemy Air-Borne Forces, Military Intelligence Service, Special Series No. 7, December 2, 1942
[DISCLAIMER: The following text is taken from a WWII U.S. War Department
Special Series publication. As with all wartime intelligence information, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. No attempt has been made to update or correct the text. Any views or opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the website.]
55. HISTORICAL NOTE
About the time that Germany was making world headlines with her conquest, partly air-borne, of the Low Countries, the Japanese, who are notorious imitators, were starting their parachute training in earnest. Since the end of 1940, Japanese parachutists have received training from German instructors. In accordance with their recommendations, most of the training since 1941 has been conducted at Hainan Island at Sama-A (Navy) and at Kiungshon (Army). By the autumn of that year, a hundred German instructors were reported to be in Japan, Occupied China, and Formosa, mainly at Tatsuka, Nakamita, Shirahama, Shibata, Tachikawa, Kasumigaura, Kogo, and Hainan Island. Some training has been reported in Manchuria at Hsinking and Harbin, and also in North China near Shanghai, Wuchang, Nanking, and Hsiang Fan.
The Japanese parachute battalion consists of a headquarters staff, a supply unit (which carries 15 reserve aero engines), 3 parachute companies, and flying personnel. The total strength of a battalion is about 670 officers and men. The Japanese parachute company comprises a command group, a supply group, and 3 sections. The section is formed of 2 rifle groups, and 1 heavy weapons group. A rifle group is made up of a squad of riflemen, an antitank team, and an airplane crew. A heavy weapons group has 1 machine-gun section, 1 gun crew, and 1 airplane crew. The organization of the Japanese parachute company as reported several months ago is shown in figure 8.
[(AR) = armed with automatic rifle (P) = armed with pistol]
(a) Total company: 107 pistols, 95 automatic rifles, 18 AT rifles, 12 MG's, 3 40-mm Arisaka cannon (model 19), 19 portable radios, 1 command plane, 10 transport planes, 20 pursuit planes.
(b) Personal and armament of company headquarters: 1 captain (CO) (P); 1 Lt (2d-in-comd) (P); 1 Lt (technical O) (P); 1 1st Sgt (P); 1 Transport Sgt (P); 4 EM (clerk, first-aid man, liaison agent, mechanic) (P).
(c) Supply section: 1 NCO (sec chief) (P); 4 NCO’s (pilots) (P); 1 NCO (observer) (P); 2 EM (mechanics) (P); 2 EM (basic) (P); 1 radio set; 5 planes--1 command, 1 transport, 2 pursuit.
(d) Combat section headquarters: 1 Lt (sec CO) (P); 1 NCO (mechanic) (P).
(e) Initial ammunition for the rifle group: 32-34 hand grenades; 360-450 rds, pistol; 3,000-3,375 rds, automatic rifle; 1,500 rds, AT rifle.
(f) Rifle squad: 1 NCO (Ldr) (P); 3 EM (sharpshooters) (AT rifles); 3 EM (loaders) (AR).
(g) AT team: 1 NCO (Ldr) (P); 3 EM (sharpshooters) (AT rifles); 3 EM (loaders) (AR).
(h) Plane crew of the rifle group: 3 NCO's (pilots) (P); 1 NCO (observer) (P); 1 EM (mechanic) (P); 3 planes—1 transport, 2 pursuit.
(i) Initial ammunition for the weapons group: 450 rds, pistol; 1,525 rds AT; 5,000 rds, MG; 100 rds, cannon.
(j) MG squad: 1 NCO (Ldr) (P); 4 EM (gunners) (P); 4 EM (loaders) (AR); 2(7) 12.7 mm MG's. (k) Gun crew: 1 NCO (Ldr) (P); 1 EM (gun pointer) (P); 1 EM (loader) (AR); 1 EM (range-finder operator) (AR); 1 EM (sharpshooter) (AR); 1 40-mm Arisaka cannon (model 19). (l) Plane crew of the weapons group: 1 NCO (observer) (P); 3 NCO's (pilots) (P); 1 EM (mechanic) (P); 3 planes—1 transport, 2 pursuit.
Figure 8. Organization of the Japanese parachute company (July 1941)
57. SELECTION OF PERSONNEL
Trainees are selected between the ages of 20 to 25 after a strict medical examination, part of which is conducted in a room subject to controlled air pressure. Intelligence and psychological tests are also given. Many applicants are eliminated in the preliminary examinations, only the superior candidates being chosen. At the Shibata training center, it is reported that two steel globular cages about 5 feet in diameter, with a seat inside and an opening at eye-level in front of the seat, are used in training parachutists to overcome giddiness and in rejecting those who prove unsatisfactory. A trainee is strapped in the seat, and the cage then rolled about. Immediately upon stopping, the candidate must read satisfactorily certain letters and figures which are held opposite the eye-level opening in the cage.
58. OFFICER STANDARDS
All members of Japanese parachute troops receive high pay as compared to that of ordinary Japanese soldiers. They take special courses in foreign languages and map reading, and must be familiar with airplanes and engine details. All parachute troop officers are drawn from the Japanese Air Corps. They cannot be over 28 years old, with the exception of the battalion commanders, usually colonels, for whom the top allowable age is 35. In addition to meeting the same rigid requirements as the younger men, officers must have completed special courses at the Staff College
59. THE JAPANESE TRAINING PROGRAM
Originally 6 months in duration, the Japanese parachutist training course has been intensified and shortened under German supervision. The basic training of the parachute troops in the Canton area, in March 1941, consisted of five stages. The first stage began with somersaults and the second stage with jumps from a table, the height gradually increasing to 12 feet. In the third stage, troops jumped from platforms from 12 to 25 feet high onto sand pits. The fourth stage progressed to controlled parachute jumps from a 350-foot tower, the parachute being attached to the tower by a rope.1 Parachutists were given about 3 months of preliminary training before jumps from aircraft were made. During these 3 months they attended classes in geography, topography, foreign languages, and communications, and, in addition, gained experience as passengers in different types of aircraft. The fifth stage of training consisted of "first" jumps from slow-flying aircraft at 4,000 feet. Later jumps were made at lower altitudes, and from faster aircraft. Jumpers were trained to delay opening of the parachute until 250 to 350 feet from the ground. They were told that such timing reduced the time of exposure to cold, and eliminated to some degree drift and danger of ground fire. The standard aimed at is said to be 12 men jumping in 10 seconds, as a transport covers a distance of approximately 730 yards during that time. Equipment carried by troops was increased as training advanced.
1 According to one report, airplanes are used for this stage.
60. EQUIPMENT OF JAPANESE PARACHUTISTS
Japanese parachute troops are not only capably trained but intelligently equipped for combat employment.
a. Clothing
All ranks are provided with special clothing: fur-lined jacket and trousers, and a hood with goggles. Buff-colored crash helmets, with ear flaps and chin straps, and light canvas-webbing equipment (inside the helmet) were worn in the Netherlands East Indies operations. Japanese parachutists landed at Koepang in green uniforms.
b. Officer Accessories
Each Japanese officer carries a flashlight, a wallet containing maps, and writing material. At Palembang officers wore after landing a green khaki cap, similar to a baseball cap, with an orange star at the front, and green khaki shirts and shorts. Each of them carried a 32-caliber automatic pistol (with cleaning rod), a Leicatype camera, field glasses (calibrated on the right lens only), and a haversack containing such articles as leather gloves, cigarettes, several small liquid-filled vials, and packages of concentrated food.
c. Haversack
The noncommissioned officers and men are equipped with a haversack containing a complete change of underclothing, an extra pair of shoes, and ordinary and emergency rations.
d. Food
The 3-day ration carried in the haversack consists of 2 1/4 pounds of rice, 2 tins of canned fish, 2 tins of canned meat, and 1 ounce of tea. The iron ration for parachutists is made in wafer form of ground rice and wheat, with some sesame seed. In addition, they use an extract of mussel flesh, prunes, preserved ginger, crushed bean meal, and norwi (dried seaweed containing alkali, soda, and iodine). Such rations have been tried out successfully in the climates of Malaya, the East Indies, the Philippines, China, Manchuria, and Siberia.
e. Weapons
Japanese parachute troops carry pistols and daggers or knives, used to cut the parachute shrouds upon landing. The individual sometimes wears a small radio receiving set on his belt. Other radios, machine guns, light mortars, entrenching tools, and so on, are frequently dropped separately from the men. Troops are usually equipped with submachine guns and light folding bicycles. The majority of the Japanese dropped at Koepang were armed with either submachine guns or automatic rifles.
f. Parachutes With the Japanese export market for silk largely cut off since Pearl Harbor, it will be logical to expect the Japanese to produce an almost indefinite number of high-quality parachutes with their abundant silk. At the start of the offensive against Sumatra in early 1942, each man carried a spare parachute for use in emergency. Normally the Japanese parachute opens after 3 seconds and then checks the falling rate to 16.5 feet per second. Since the average Japanese soldier is lighter than the American, he can theoretically carry down relatively more equipment. In Japanese maneuvers, the parachute of a section leader, who jumps first, is often dyed a special color to enable other members of the section to watch for signals from him during the descent and after landing.
61. JAPANESE AIRCRAFT EMPLOYED IN AIR-BORNE TRANSPORT
A standardized national type for the transport of airborne units, such as the Ju-52 in Germany, has not yet been revealed in enemy operations in the Orient. In some raids, the Japanese have used type TB-92 four-motored bombers. In the Palembang attack, among the craft they used were several captured Hudsons with British identifications; at Koepang, aircraft resembling Douglas types were used. Japanese parachutists are known to have been transported in command planes, such as the Kawa amphibian biplane, Model 115; in transport planes, such as the triple-engined Mitsubishi, Model 112, bomber and transport; and in various pursuit planes. It was reported a year ago that the Fukudakei factory was producing troop-carrying gliders with 25-horsepower engines to extend the range.
62. TACTICS IN THE USE OF JAPANESE PARACHUTE TROOPS
The usual first operation of Japanese invasion forces is to seize key airdromes and their environs. Bombardment of nearby air bases is a common tactic in connection with the capture of a selected airdrome; such bombing is designed to minimize air interference with landing operations. For obvious reasons, the Japanese try not to damage the runways of the airdromes which they hope eventually to use for their own invading planes and air-landing troops. The details of the Japanese attack on Koepang are worth repeating. Transports resembling Douglas types, supported by bombers and fighters, each carried from 15 to 30 green-uniformed men, who were dropped in groups of from 6 to 8. All ground defenses were strafed. The jumpers, who appeared to make their jumps from the belly of the aircraft, were apparently carried by the slipstream along a static rail to the tail assembly, where a catch pulled the ripcord and released the jumper. The jumps were made from 300 to 500 feet, there being no aerial opposition. In addition to white parachutes, red and blue ones were used. During the descent submachine guns were fired, and the Japanese made a great deal of noise, calling out, "You are my prisoner, Australian!" and similar taunts. Upon landing, the Japanese quickly took up ambush and sniping positions.
63. THE JAPANESE MANEUVERS OF JUNE 1941 NEAR AKITA
In the Japanese maneuvers carried out in June 1941 near Akita to test basic training and to formulate tactical doctrine, four problems were investigated: (1) the dropping of a unit of approximately two infantry platoons to carry out a demolition mission in enemy rear areas; (2) the dropping of a similar-sized unit to cover the landing of an infantry battalion transported by plane; (3) a problem like the preceding, except that the parachutists were protected by low-flying airplanes using machine guns; (4) the dropping of an infantry company to seize important terrain features in the rear of an enemy position prior to an attack by ground troops. If the reported views as to the success of the maneuvers are correct, the Japanese concluded: first, that the employment of parachute troops for demolition movements was advantageous neither from the point of view of certainty in accomplishing a mission, nor from the point of view of economy in men and equipment; second, that the use of parachute troops in the absence of support from air-landing troops or from ground troops was a doubtful procedure; third, that no necessity existed for the formation of highly trained parachute units, for the reason that with very little basic training the men and equipment of infantry units could be utilized. The final point, though a little puzzling, may reflect the alleged Japanese Army dislike for highly specialized units and preference for all-around units.
. JAPANESE AIR-LANDING TROOPS
A corollary to the Japanese opinion just cited would surely be that ordinary troops could be used as air-landing troops with very little preliminary instruction or practice in air movement. Japan has already considerably outstripped Italy in air-borne capabilities. With her already large number of parachutists, with her aggressive air force, with her still formidable navy, and, above all, with her veteran, agile troops, Japan may be expected to try other and possibly greater air-borne operations before she is brought to her knees.
Enemy Air-Borne Forces, Military Intelligence Service, Special Series No. 7, December 1942 (LoneSentry.com)