28mm late war British & Germans Arnhem etc

[tin shed gamer]

Now you've managed to find the second seed of truth in the myth.
The Mk1 half zip smock. Was deemed the best issue for the theatre .As the patterns field is a sand colour and more predominant than the subsequent marks.(so if your after paras in North Africa and in to Sicily then a more sand/yellow coloured smock is the way to go.)
It was common practice/fashion to bumble around with tail hanging down off duty(non airborne smocks didn't have a nappy.)
'The men with tails' was an Arab nickname. Which is then thrown into the PR mix.

I'll take some time tomorrow and see if I dig some images out of a few books of modern photos of period clothing to help pop this back on track.
TSG.

[Harry Faversham]

Great stuff, Looking forward to seeing the piccys.

 

[commissarmoody]

Got to love those nicknames. The regiment i servied with was 504 PIR, "Devils in Baggy Pants" was supposedly called that by Germans in the fighting around Anzio.
The full quote being something to the effect of.
"American paratroopers attack us day and night. Giveing us no rest. God save us from these black hearted devils in baggy paints."
Now i would have gone with the moniker of "Black hearts". But who knows if its even true or not refureing to the joint Canadian-American first Special Warfare unit also operating in thst area? 

[carlos marighela]

If all of these nicknames are to be believed, Red Devils, Green Devils, Devil Dogs, etc, etc, then one can only conclude that the German soldier was a singularly unimaginative soul or somehow obsessed with eternal perdition.

Somehow, I fancy their origin stems either from the units keenly desiring such a soubriquet  and projecting it on to the lips of their opponents or, perhaps, the fervid imaginations of folk who would have every German soldier shouting out ‘Gott in Himmel!’ or ‘Achtung Spitfeur!’ in a caption bubble whenever a plucky Tommy or doubty GI appeared on the horizon.

[Harry Faversham]

One thing about these Paras I found hard to pin down was the colour of the berets.

Off the peg, Vallejo Burnt Red, is a good start for 'Red Devils' headgear.

 

[carlos marighela]

 

[commissarmoody]

Quickly fallowed by the hanz scream. 

[Shahbahraz]

Quickly fallowed by the hanz scream. 

Isn't the next line...  'Kamerad!!!!' ?

[commissarmoody]

Yep!
"Sneil Sneil! Ze English Swinhounds are breaking thru!"

[Ash]

In the spirit of things I think any further Para additions should look like this:

[commissarmoody]

Yes, and dont forget the dagger in the teeth for close in work. 

[tin shed gamer]

Here's a little Canadian Para humour of the time.

[Harry Faversham]

Seeing as how this fine thread's gone bonkers, let's have a sing song...

The Merry Month of May.
To the tune of 'Far Far Away'

On her leg she wears a silken garter,
she wears it in the springtime, in the merry month of May,
And if you ask her why the hell she wears it,

She wears it for her paratrooper,
Far, far away.
Far, far away,
She wears it for her paratrooper,
Far, far away.

Around the park she wheels a perambulator,
She wheels in in the springtime in the merry month of May,
And if you ask her why the hell she wheels it,

She wheels it for her paratrooper,
Far, far away.
Far, far away,
She wheels it for her paratrooper,
Far, far away.

Behind the door her father keeps a shotgun,
He keeps it in the springtime, in the merry month of May,
And if you ask him why the hell he keeps it,

He keeps it for that paratrooper,
Far, far away.
Far, far away,
He keeps it for that paratrooper,
Far, far away.

The paratrooper went to his unit,
He joined it in the springtime in the merry month of May,
And if you ask him why the hell he joined it,
He joined it to be very, very,

Far, far away.
Far, far away,
He joined it to be very, very,
Far, far away.

In her hand she holds a bunch of daisies,
She holds them in the springtime, in the merry month of May,
She holds them for a paratrooper,
... six feet down.

Six feet down,
Six feet down,
She holds them for a paratrooper,
Six feet down.

[tin shed gamer]

Ash as promised .

[tin shed gamer]

And a few more