All Romanian paratroopers were volunteers, recruited from all branches of the Romanian army. Any applicants had to fulfill several conditions : be over 18 years with an age limit of 28 years, have attended at least 4 years of education, and to speak at least a foreign language ( Russian, Hungarian, Bulgarian or Polish ). Each man accepted for service would sign a contract for a three year term. Every man had to jump at least three times to complete his training cycle.

In early 1942, a second paratroop company ( the 9th ), with the same structure and organization was created. With these two companies, the Paratroop Battalion was created and placed under the command of captain Enea Bordan. Six months later, the battalion faced the first major exercise, when the paras were dropped in rough terrain over the Hodoroabelor Valley, in the Bucegi mountains. For the first time, the battalion was transported and supplied entirely by air, testing both the training and the ability of its men. But the battalion was still mainly an infantry formation so in 1943 a third company, the 10th, was activated. This last unit was a heavy weapons company, and it was later decide to group all the 3 companies ( the 8th , the 9th and the 10th ) into an independent battalion, which was renamed as the 4th Paratroop Battalion.

On the 10th of December 1943, Marshal Antonescu decided to create The Military Paratroop Corps within the ARR and a separate Paratroop Instruction Center, destined to train all Romanian paras from now on. The Military Paratroop Corps was supposed to be made up of several paratroop regiments and a few independent airborne battalions. A fully-trained regiment was supposed to have three paratroop battalions ( of three paratrooper companies and a heavy weapons company ), a heavy mortar company and a "security" company. It would have been similar to German regiments, with the sole difference of having just one heavy weapons company in each battalion instead of three.

Although the plans called for the formation of an entire regiment by late 1943, made up of some 2877 officers, NCO's and soldiers, logistical difficulties ( particularly the lack of transport planes ) severely hampered training, so that by August the 23rd, 1944, only the 4th Paratroop Battalion was fully trained and had some 861 men battle - ready.

On August the 23rd 1944, Romania left the Axis, by signing a cease - fire agreement with the Allies. The Romanian leader of state, Marshal Antonescu was arrested and a new government announced that Romania will fight no more alongside the Germans. However, the Romanian government had no intention of "handing over" the German troops inside its borders to the Russians. All German units were notified that they had to leave the country and retreat into Yugoslavia or Hungary.

Hitler, however had different plans : the oilfields of Romania were vital for the German war machine ( in his memoirs Albert Speer says that after the Romanian "defection" the stocks of gas available to the Wehrmacht dropped from 50000 tons/month to 20000 tons/month ) so he ordered general Gerstenberg to occupy the capital ( Bucuresti ) and install a puppet regime that would keep Romania on the Axis side. So, in the morning of August the 24th, a German column, composed of some 2000 men, reinforced with 16 Flak 88's and 42 20 mm Flak guns attacked the city. This attempt ended in failure, so Gerstenberg pulled back his men and dug in around the airfield Otopeni, waiting for some reinforcements about to be flown in from Yugoslavia.

It was on this day that the Romanian paratroopers saw action for the first time. Their initial mission was to engage a 4000 men strong German force that had entrenched inside the Baneasa forest and Baneasa airfield. First to arrive on the scene was the "Operative Detachment", made of of elements from the 9th and 10th company, followed soon by the entire 8th company. It was on this occasion that the battalion suffered the worst casualties in its history : they were supposed to receive American air support, but because of poor communication, some USAF bombers dropped their payload onto the Romanian positions, causing heavy casualties amongst the paras. The German forces were eventually liquidated on August the 27th after the 9th Infantry Division and the "Niculescu Armored Detachment" arrived to assist the paratroopers. There was fierce German opposition every step of the way as recalled by sergeant Nicolae Pangica : " When the command company resumed its attack towards the main hangar for the fifth time that afternoon we came under heavy fire coming from automatic weapons placed near the terminal. Our squad was ordered to silence these weapons who hampered the progress of our company, so we started to crawl , through the mud and tall grass towards the enemy weapons emplacements. When we managed to get close enough, we all opened fire simultaneously, each man firing at its own target. The Germans couldn't realize from where did our accurate fire came from, because we were covered with fire by the hall company, and the wind who was blowing agitated the tall grass, confusing the enemy. Soon, there was no sign of life in the German position, so we ceased fire and approached carefully. The Germans were laying dead in their dugouts, hit by our bullets. But what impressed us the most was the sight of an improvised machine gun bipod for two machine guns taken from an aircraft. Behind the weapon we found a colonel who had died with his finger on the trigger... He had the Iron Cross, 1st Class at his neck, but when we took a good look we saw he only had one leg : the other one was an artificial leg, all the way up to the thigh...".

However, the best known battles of that day for the 4th Paratroop Battalion, are the infamous clashes with the men of the Waffen SS's 500th Paratroop Battalion Here are the events as recorded in the Romanian archives: in the morning of August the 24th, two Junkers Ju-52 aircraft carrying elements of the Waffen SS's 500th Paratroop Battalion attempted to land on the airfields of Boteni and Tântareni. The German soldiers were tasked with securing the airfields and destroying all the Romanian aircraft belonging to the Romanian 1st Air Corps stationed there. On both airfields there were elements of the 4th Paratroop Battalion as well as regular infantry security companies, which reacted quickly to the German threat : the German paratroopers were attacked and annihilated almost immediately after landing. Other drops were made as well ;here are some official Romanian reports : 1." On the Draganesti airfield, a 6-engine Giant aircraft has dropped 151 German paratroopers armed with : 14 small guns and machine guns. The planes has been protected by 10 fighters. The paratroopers dropped, together with the German soldiers already in the area ( estimated to be some 400 ), having some 17 machine guns, 14 guns and an 7.5 cm antiaircraft gun, have dug in around the Draganesti railway station. ( Special information bulletin NR. 587 of the General Inspector of Gendarmerie - August the 26th 1944, 1800 hours)" 2. "Subsector NR 2 Gaesti, reports : At Badulesti, 8 km northwest of Gaesti, a German Giant aircraft has crash-landed. After a firefight, about 100 Germans surrendered and were taken prisoner. The prisoners stated that they came from Belgrade and were heading for Brasov. ( Information report nr 7 of the 2nd Sector, Dambovita - August the 26th 1944, 1400 hours ) 3."This morning, at 07.45 hours, I was announced by the ARR that a German 6-engine Giant airplane has crash landed near the Coanda airfield ( in the Coanda forest ), nort-east of the Costesti village on the Titu-Gaiesti roads. I moved in with a company commanded by myself. After a short firefight, when the German detachment exited the aircraft it thought that it was heavily outnumbered and surrounded, so it stopped fighting. The detachment was 66 men strong ( one captain, two junior officers, 10 NCO's, 53 soldiers ) plus the plane's crew of 8 airmen and one officer. According to the informations they gave me, they were coming from Belgrade and were bound for Mizil or Focsani, and there were two or three ( it's not sure, because they took off under the cover of darkness ) 6-engine Giant airplanes. We had no losses... ( Information report nr 4 of the 4th Training and Auto Repair Batalion - Salcuta, August the 27th, 1130 hours )".

the Romanian paratroopers, backed up by the "Niculescu Armored Detachment", during the recapture of the Otopeni airfield. The official diary of the German Army Group F stated on the 1st of September that : "The final situation of our airlifted troops is : 1. The Brandenburg paratroop batalion : a) 25 and 26th : Headquarters, the 2nd and 3rd company at Otopeni. Established contact with the general in charge there ( it was Gerstenberg ). Last radio contact on the 27th, at 12.35 hours ; b) 1/2 ( read "half") of the 1st company and the 4th company were bound for Ploiesti on the 26th : landed at Mizil and Meri ( 25 km south-east of Ploiesti ) because of anti-aircraft fire. 1/2 of the 1st heads for Mizil on the 27th, 1/2 of the 1st broadcasts on the 30th reporting that it's stationing 45 km east of Brasov and has linked up with the 6th Army. 2. The training batalion from the Nis combat school : a) 1/2 landed at Otopeni on the 26th. News about the landing came only through other planes that came back ; b) On the 27th, the HQ and the 1st company headed for Mizil but were rerouted towards Buzau ; c) On the 27th, one company and a half transported by 3 Giant aircraft were sent to Mizil, occupied by the 6th Army. No news about them ; the planes did not come back. 3. The 3rd Batalion of the 4th Brandenburh Regiment : a) HQ and sections of the 11th company ( a heavy weapons company ) headed for Mizil on the 27th. Shot down by Romanian AA fire east of Ploiesti. The batalion commander reports he'll try to make his way on foot towards Mizil with his 10 survivors... The batalion's HQ has reformed at Reghin on the 31st."

Finally, the 4th Paratroop Battalion participated to the attack against Gerstenberg's forces, which were pushed back towards Ploiesti, where they had to surrender. Total losses during the five days of battle stood at 19 men killed, 59 injured and three missing in action. All sources agree that the Romanian paratroopers fought with great courage and tenacity, although it was their first battle.

It was also the end of the war for the men of the 4th Paratroop Battalion, since their unit was sent back to training and refitting, but would never return to the front. They were garrisoned in Bucharest and used only for guarding important objectives, VIP escort or, occasionally, military police. Indeed, although by February 1945 some 1500 paratroopers were ready for action, the Soviets considered that the unit was not Communist enough. Furthermore, they saw no use for the Romanian paras, so the Soviet high command forced the ARR to disband this elite regiment on the 1st of March 1945. This, however, was not the end ; five years later, in February 1950, a paratroop unit was re-established, largely thanks to the efforts of former members of the 4th Paratroop Battalion, and paratroopers have remained an important part of the Romanian armed forces to this day.