Parachute Rifle Platoon

"...Hope Jerry don't mind us droppin' in!"

– Airborne Squad, Company of Heroes

Boots on the ground, rifles in hand.

The Parachute Rifle Platoon is a unit in Flames of War. It represents the 82nd or 101st airborne divisions.

Late War

The Stats

IRL

Paratroopers were first spearheaded by the Russians and Germans, though the allies followed closely behind. They even improved on the concept with the introduction of the C-47 skytrain and controllable parachutes.

American Paratroops were equipped with some of the most advanced dedicated Paratroop equipment in the world. Everything from 57mm cannons, Jeeps, motorbikes, to specialist weapons were given to Paratroops to supplement them. They also had ridiculous casualties, though this was and still isn't uncommon for paradropped troops compared to standard infantry.

Platoons were commanded by a First Lieutenant, a Second Lieutenant, and a Technical Sergent, with 47 soldiers. Each squad was commanded by a Staff Sergeant, with a Sergeant operating as an assistant squad leader.

While an entire list could be made, we'll simply highlight some of the more unique weapons in their arsenal.

• The Johnson LMG was the American equivalent to the FG-42. It loaded from the side and was better than the B.A.R, but had intricate parts, which gave it the same problems as many other German weapons. Still, the few that were issued were very popular because anything was better than the B.A.R. except the Japanese knock off Bren (or the original Czech MG that the Bren was licensed from) and the patently awful Italian Breda Modello 30. Late war paratroopers would carry the M1919A6, the famous 30cal M1919 medium machine gun crudely refitted into a bipod LMG.

• The M1 Carbine was intended only for secondary use, but its lighter weight made it ideal for Paratroops. However, troops often complained of a lack of stopping power, due to it shooting .30 instead of .30-06 like the Garand. The M1A1 had a collapsible wire stock to ease portability during the jump.

• The M3 Grease Gun combined the .45 ACP awesomeness of the Thompson with the solid design of the MP40. It sacrificed the fire rate for a lower overall weight.