What kind of a unit was the Herman Goering Division?

Answer 1

The Herman Goering Division began as a police force before the war when Herman Goring was Minister of Interior.

It grew larger and became a part of the Luftwaffe, where it was an anti-aircraft unit for Hitler's Wolf Lair. Herman Goring requested that they receive paratrooper training and thus it became a "Fallschirmjager" or paratrooper unit.

However it remained an elite ground combat unit and began to receive the best equipment. It eventually grew to a division size and were equipped with tanks.

Its official name was "Fallschrimjager PanzerKorps Herman Goring", which translates as "Parachutist Armor Corps". Of course paratroopers were not armored units. Despite its name, the HGD was NOT a paratrooper unit. It would be what the Germans called a panzer-grenadier division.

The uniform that the HGD wore resembled the Luftwaffe uniforms in many ways. Their uniform had Luftwaffe insignia such as the national eagle of the Luftwaffe version. Many officers wore blue hats and blue uniforms very much like the flying branch of the air force. The tank crew wore a unique combination of black tanker uniforms such as the wrap-around tunic, but with Luftwaffe insignia. Most photos depict the fighting men as wearing the standard steel Army helmet. Later in Italy, the HGD absorbed a parachute regiment and some of these may have worn the paratrooper smocks and the paratrooper helmet.

The Herman Goering Division fought in Sicily and Italy before being sent to Poland in August 1944.