[2] The lightly-armed parachute units were intended to be employed in ‘lightning’ strikes and raids in support of short-term strategic objectives.

They were not meant to become entangled in heavy pitched battles; they were, however, utilized in such roles as the Japanese military became increasingly desperate for quality troops in the later stages of WWII.

[1] The Japanese Navy planned to use the paratroop force as a diversion, by co-ordinating the timing of a seaborne assault and parachute drop to create maximum surprise at the point of contact.

Two companies, numbering 849 paratroopers, from the 1st Yokosuka SNLF, carried out Japan's first ever combat air drop, during the Battle of Menado, in the Netherlands East Indies, on January 11, 1942.

It was later replaced by two types of green uniforms made from rip stop parachute silk with built in bandoliers and cargo pockets, being better designed than other paratrooper models of the time.

[6] They wore standard infantry equipment with additional ammunition bandoliers, along with dark brown boots and gloves.

The first specifically designed Japanese military parachute was the Type 01 of 1941, similar to the German RZ version, which had more in common with the Italian D-30 series chute in having a canopy diameter of 28 feet (8.5 metres) and in a pronounced hemispherical shape with skirting and a vent hole for stable flight.

The harness was modified in the later Type 03, leaving out the lift webs, and with the rigging lines brought to a single point connected to a large steel ‘D’ ring behind the paratroopers neck for a more upright controlled landing.

[2] The particular Japanese method of opening the folded and packed chute through the use of static line was quite dangerous and liable to failure.