Customer Reviews

World War II Troop Type Parachutes Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan: An Illustrated Study

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Okay,so you're a collector of airborne paraphenalia(excuse the pun),where are you going to learn about the items that make a parachute soldier unique?Here is a concise,clearly documented analysis and history of the Axis parachutes.You learn from an experts eye how to repack that original 'chute,the pros and cons of each system,and how the troops used them.
I was fascinated with the Fallschirmjager before I purchased this book,but my knowledge was seriously lacking as to recognition and handling of their RZ chutes.Now ,I can be confident that my collection recieves the appropriate care thanks to Mr Richards methodical ,painstaking research and publication.

This work looks less at how these parachutes were used than the parachutes themselves, their construction and materials. There is some discussion of the units equipped with these parachutes but mostly it's about the gear. This book is filled with excellent photographs, both recent and contemporary, of the parachutes and associated material. There are diagrams of how the chutes were prepared and packed. However, I would have liked the book better if it had included diagrams to explain the construction of some of the canopies, which was hard for me to visualize despite the very good written descriptions. Richards has obviously done considerable research and it shows in his description of different models of the parachutes, especially the German RZ series. A very good reference.