I just though that I would ask why the Fallshrimjauger (poor spelling I know) jumped without their weapons in their hands? They jumped with those canisters which I think is a bit dangerous as all the enemy would have to do is kill the Germans before even grabbing his weapon. Why did the Germans put weapons in canisters rather at their sides? Any help would be great. Thanx. Jet
Not even the American or British Paratroops jumped with the weapons in their hands. Reason for this is safety. They did however jump with their weapons strapped to their backs. As to the reason of the German practice of putting the weapons in container, no answer there. Sorry
Because of the rather athletic forward landing roll necessitated by their parachute harness, the German paratrooper could carry little more than a pistol and some grenades on his person. Therefore, many weapons containers, called Waffenhalter, had to be carried and dropped. http://www.feldgrau.com/fallequip.html
It was true that they jumped without weapons due to the harness but they did jump with MP40's at Crete and I also have a photo of guys jumping with rifles in a training exercise at I believe Wittstock. Will try to scan some in and post them.It was possible to jump with a weapon but it was more dangerous however some fallschirmjager felt that it was worth the risk rather than landing virtually unarmed. The German parachute was based on an Italian design and was uncontrollable in the air. The users was at the mercy of the wind. It did however allow for very low drops, some records state that in drops over Crete they jumped at a height of only 80ft in some cases.
For Crete a specially made long box was parachuted in with MG ammo boxes, mg 34's and K98's plus the ammo and bandoleers to go with it. In any case the Fallshirmtruppen this day were sitting ducks ! E