How do you design your paratroopers?

[foxMiD]

As Germany. I've spend a ... lot of time looking around for a paratrooper design, but never came across any.

I know my use of them of course changes things a bit, but still. In this case, they're for my invasion of USSR, later Britain & France.
Which of course changes things ones again, but if can get the most proper design for the Soviet Union, I can do the France & Britain layout my self

It would be a lot easier to figure out my self, if combat width matter. Since they won't exactly be fighting beside my main army.
With 10 width, adding support equip. is 7.1k paratroopers. 20 witdh, 12.1k.
If I send them in too early, I get a solid Operation Market Garden.
In any case, that's a lot of troops sending in behind enemy lines!

Thank you!

 

[mergele]

Personally I am using 10 width paratrooper without any support. I don't actually expect them to win any fights, their job for me is to create an anvil to smash enemies against out of flat land. As such support equipment is not neccesary and the small size limits the losses should they jump upon an occupied province.

 

[Sir Pellew]

I do full 20 width with artillery support, AT support, field hospital and a supply support. They can hold out pretty well after establishing a foothold and can also survive some time without supply. I usually drop them around (defended) harbors and let them take the harbor by land attack.

Edit: + Eng ofc.

 

[Johuotar]

I use them very rarely but last time I used 20width with engineers.

 

[Meglok]

10 para w/ engineer, AT, and logistics. As much defense and org as I can get with 20w. Tried larger widths but that really hurts when you lose a few of those to overrun. If you really want you could go for a 40 build. Eng for entrenchment, AT so they can pierce most things (but not full armored divisions, remember Arhnem) that might react to them, and log to reduce supply needs.

They exist to "hold until relieved". Nothing more.

Add Aluminum in Asia

 

[REDDQ]

I do 20 with AT, artillery (all support ofc), Engineers and Recon for speed and extra dig-in.

 

[Achab]

AT, ART, RART, ENG, REC

 

[GeorgieBest]

40 width paratroopers (40 paratrooper brigades on their own) with support artillery work really well for me, as I typically use them in situations where all they need is enough firepower to break through to a port where I can start sending my 40 width armour divisions to support them.

 

[GreenG4ming]

9 paratroopers with pioneers, recons and mp, i only use them to take ports and it works really well in combination with naval invasion and battle ships. i drop the paratroopers in a circle around the enemy port and let the attack at 1/4 organisation, they usually can capture the port by themselv, and if not there will be battleships and a naval invasion which will support the attack on the port

 

[Misaka_Complex]

Go 40 width if you are playing Soviets, if you are playing as Germans and using it for Sea Lion go 20 width so you can do multiple paradrops on different locations close to the ports.

 

[Gefallener_Held]

I am surprised you can even attach artillery, at or engineers to paratroopers. Were these things fielded by FJ units in 1940?

 

[War Emblem]

Well, FJ never dropped as divisions after Crete so yes, they could and did have all sorts of attachments when fighting in Italy, on the East Front and in Normandy - they even had Tigers attached in some cases. I build my FJ based on this model and make them elite units. So FJ could look like:

FJ + ENG (they always had pioneers), AT and RA (if you still want to jump)
FJ + ENG, RA and Tigers

 

[PotatoesOfDoom]

I used to built 20 width paratroopers but then I realized that I tend to forget about them and/or get scared that they'll be lost in combat due to lack of supply so I usually end up just building them up into 40 width blobs so that even without arty they still have decent soft attack and then lumping in them in with the rest of my infantry.

 

[Sir Garnet]

I have seen small paratroop divisions as well, intended to block or delay reinforcements or supplies or beat weak garrisons. Pesky-size. Using paratrooops in non-droppable divisions is a whole different topic.

 

[Bundeswag]

I got a few questions about paras too.

How do I calculate how many transport planes I will need?

Can I have one big fleet in the same airzone or do I need different fleets for different airborne orders?

 

[Stolen Rutters]

I got a few questions about paras too.

How do I calculate how many transport planes I will need?

Can I have one big fleet in the same airzone or do I need different fleets for different airborne orders?

http://www.hoi4wiki.com/Battle_plan#Transport_planes
From the wiki, it appears one transport plane carries 1 weight. One paratrooper brigade weight 0.5, support units weigh 0.1 each. The number of transport planes required equals the weight of the whole army being dropped. Otherwise, it is carried out in multiple drops.

edit - As to the second question, I don't know. Here's the text of the wiki. It seems you have to have the planes in the same province as the army being dropped. I don't know how many airborne orders you can deploy at the same time from one airport though. I am more familiar with naval orders, where each port can only deploy one invasion at a time. I have never tried multiple destinations from one airport before to see if you need to micro the transport planes (assuming it's possible).

Like convoys for naval invasions, paradrops require transport planes in order to be executed. Contrary to other planes in the game, 1 transport plane does not represent 1 plane but rather a series of planes required to transport units. The amount of transport planes required is linked to the weight of a division; paratroopers battalions weigh 0.5 and paratroop support companies 0.1. If short on planes, the transports may need to make several trips to ferry the paratroops, exposing them to more enemy attacks.

Divisions need to be in a province with an airfield and sufficient transport planes in order to be able to execute the paradrop.

 

[War Emblem]

I wouldn't worry about multiple drops. In previous HOI games the transport plane would lose tons of ORG after a drop and you couldn't run a mission unless you had a certain level of ORG so basically multi drops took a long time or were for all intents impossible. Now a transport plane will drop your first wave and come right back and drop a second. You could even argue that multi drops now are preferable because it gives you that 2nd reinforcement wave.

 

[Gefallener_Held]

Well, FJ never dropped as divisions after Crete so yes, they could and did have all sorts of attachments when fighting in Italy, on the East Front and in Normandy - they even had Tigers attached in some cases. I build my FJ based on this model and make them elite units. So FJ could look like:

FJ + ENG (they always had pioneers), AT and RA (if you still want to jump)
FJ + ENG, RA and Tigers

I meant as bona fide paratroopers that can actually paradrop.

 

[KiwiNoob]

If you have smaller divisions (I use 12 width) with ENG, AT, ART and R.ART they can actually muster enough defense & attack to hold on for a little while.