Foreign Volunteers with the Fallschirmjäger

[Dan E. Moe]

Still looking for info! Also interested in info on the SS-Jagdverbände. Any good books to recommend?

Any info on the "Arabische Fallschirmjäger-Kompanie" ?
source: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... agdverband

[parahist]

Interesting posts. Thanks! I'm looking infos for Nordic Counries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Danmark) citisens who was served (and jumped) in Fallshirmjäeger units.

Now I found Gunnar Baardseth and Anders Øvergård from SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 600 and Axel Cappelen who served in Luftwaffe unit. All of them comes from Norway. Øvergård and Cappelen killed in action.

Is there any other info or more people?

[Shadwell_army]

Erik Brørup served in SS-Fallschirmjäger-Bataillon 500 from 21st of July 44 to 8th of Sept. 44.

[parahist]

Erik Brørup, where is he coming from? Nationality? Did he make training jumps?

[parahist]

What about Baltics, people from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Quite many Baltics served volunteers (and after conscriptions) in German Army and SS-groups. But was there anyone who served in Fallschirmjäger units? I belive yes...

[Arensburger]

Priido (Friido) Tahk.jpg (42.6 KiB) Viewed 2052 times

Estonian Friido Tahk should be taken in the picture. When and where is this picture taken? Does anyone have any idea?

[parahist]

Was that Estonian Friido Tahk also served in Fallshirmjäger units? If yes, what unit and when? And I don't any idea when that picture was taken.

[K.Kocjancic]

Found some more:

PARACHUTE BRIGADE "GRUPPE B"
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The parachute brigade was party of UNA and was formed in beginning of February, 1945 under the orders of general Pavlo Shandruk. From the German side, the paratroopers brigade was sponsored by the Jagdverband Ost under the command of SS standartenfuehrer Otto Scorzeny. The German side was represented by major Aeuh and Ukrainian section in the Jagdverband Ost by T. Bulba-Borovets (former commander of UNRA - Ukrainian National-Revolutionary Army). The brigade totalled 400 men, forming two regiments, although plans were to increase it to 5,000 people. The brigade was trained in city of Jaltburgund.

In the spring of 1945, the brigade was to be involved in operation "Maiglockchen" (Konvalii). It was to be parachuted in Western Ukraine and continue waging a guerilla type war against the Red Army, however the operation did not occur due to lack of fuel for the planes.

Members of "Gruppe B" wore typical fallschirmjaeger uniforms, probably with UNA cap badges. T. Bulba-Borovets himself wore uniform of a Wehrmacht general without any UNA distinctions.

(source: http://ukr-ww2.onestop.net/una.html#gruppe_b )

Since this is a unit sponsored by the Germans and trained by the SS-Jagdverbände I would like to include it.

Is there any other info on this unit, esp. regarding its fate?

[Dan E. Moe]

Maybe Askold knows?

[Askold]

I should, since I am the one who wrote this about 16 years ago Since then, hardly any information has surfaced. The original info was taken from the UNA veteran's archive, mainly the newsletter "Visting Combatanta". Since then, only the smallest prices of the info had surfaced: came across info that recruitment that was being made among Galicia members - anyone with plane flying experience or without fear of heights was preferred. Another slither of info - a photo of two members of the Staff - both wearing Wehrmacht uniforms. Back in 2000 i wasn't sure what uniform was gen. Bulba-Borovets wearing - Luft or WH. I can confirm now, that they were indeed outfitted with WH uniforms. That's about it.

[Za Rus]

The KONR had a parachute battalion, too (Falschirmjager Battalion 9.).

Just curious where you got this information from? I cannot find any association with KONR and this 9th Fallschirmjäger Division.

[CF Geust]

See my post at the ROA paratrooper topic 17 Sept 2022 (here repeated).

According to K.M. Aleksandrov (Ofitserskij korpus armii general-lejtenanta A.A. Vlasova 1944-1945, Moskva 2009)
VVS KONR incorporated 9-j otdelnyj parashjutno-desantnyj bataljon:

- C.O. major A.L. Bezrodnyj
- Kontrrazvedka podporuchnik I. Ustjuzhin
- 1. company: kapitan G.N. Speranskij
- 2. company: kapitan Smirnov
- 4. company: kapitan Tishchenko

[Halfdan S.]

At least one Volksdeutscher from Denmark seems to have served with the Fallschirmjäger

Erik Brørup, where is he coming from? Nationality? Did he make training jumps?

He's Danish, I believe that Munoz wrote on him in detail, would have to check up.

Best
Halfdan S.

[Za Rus]

See my post at the ROA paratrooper topic 17 Sept 2022 (here repeated).

According to K.M. Aleksandrov (Ofitserskij korpus armii general-lejtenanta A.A. Vlasova 1944-1945, Moskva 2009)
VVS KONR incorporated 9-j otdelnyj parashjutno-desantnyj bataljon:

- C.O. major A.L. Bezrodnyj
- Kontrrazvedka podporuchnik I. Ustjuzhin
- 1. company: kapitan G.N. Speranskij
- 2. company: kapitan Smirnov
- 4. company: kapitan Tishchenko

My friend found this for me about Kotsar, who was replaced by Bezrodny. Found info on Gelb Speransky, who escaped POW camp and made his way eventually to New York and died in 1995. Does anyone have any information about Smirnov and Tishchenko?

BEZRODNY Alexey Lavrentievich

Major of the Red Army[52]

Air Force Major KONR

Born October 18, 1904 in Kyiv. Ukrainian. From employees. Non-partisan. In the Red Army since October 1926.

In October 1926, he was enlisted as a Red Army soldier in the 12th armored division of the UVO. In 1928 he completed a two-year course for hydraulic engineers, in 1930 he completed a two-year course for rate-setters. From the beginning of the 1930s - in reserve. From July 27, 1938, he was the head of the construction site of 107-116 military construction sites (order No. 0078 for the KVO), later - acting head of the district military construction department. Since 1940, he was a military technician of the 1st rank (Order of the NPO of the USSR No. 02550), head of the economic part of the headquarters of the Drogobych garrison (Order No. 02066 for KOVO). On September 30, 1941, he left at the disposal of the Main Directorate of the Airborne Forces of the Red Army with the rank of captain (order No. 0104 of the Main Military Engineering Directorate of the Red Army). By order of the same Directorate No. 015 dated October 5, 1941, he was appointed brigade engineer of the 214th airborne brigade.

In captivity from the beginning of 1942. Kept in a camp near Smolensk. In the spring of 1942, as part of a group of captured commanders, he expressed a desire to join the RNNA, a volunteer formation organized in Osintorf near Smolensk by former members of the White movement: Colonel K.G. Kromiadi and S.N. Ivanov. In June 1942, he traveled around prisoner-of-war camps, agitating for joining the RNNA, and recruited a large group of former commanders of the Red Army. Then he was appointed chief of the operational department and assistant chief of staff of the RNNA. One of the initiators of the creation of the aviation training group of Major Filatov, consisting of 22 people from among the pilots, navigators, gunners, radio operators, engineers and technicians who ended up in the RNNA. After the German command of the RNNA was reorganized into the 700th Eastern Volunteer Regiment in February 1943, with the majority of officers, he was transferred to the 1st Russian Eastern Reserve Regiment "Center" Lieutenant Colonel N.G. Yanenko in Bobruisk, and from there - to the prisoner of war camp, where he was for some time. In 1944 he served as a propaganda officer in the Russian volunteer battalions of the ROA in France. At the end of 1944, he applied for a transfer to the Armed Forces of the KONR, and after passing the certification commission of the command department of the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the KONR, he was enlisted in the officer reserve. In February 1945, by order of Major General of the Armed Forces KONR F.I. Trukhina was sent to the Air Force KONR. At the end of the month, he was appointed Major General of the Armed Forces of the KONR V.I. Maltsev, Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the Airborne Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel of the Armed Forces KONR M.D. Kotsar. In view of the passivity of the battalion commander, he took over the entire practical organization of the unit and training. By April, the battalion had turned into a select combat formation and taken command of the battalion instead of Kotsar. On the evening of April 20, the battalion connected with the main forces of the KONR Air Force, which marched south from Marienbad. On April 27, in Langedorf, he surrendered to representatives of the 12th American Corps of the 3rd Army.

[CF Geust]

According to the dissertation of Aleksandrov Bezrodnyi was sentenced to death 27 June 1946 by the Military Tribunal of Turkmenistan SSR.