Many countries have one or several paratrooper units, usually associated with the national Army or Air Force, but in some cases the Navy.
Argentina In 1944, Argentina became the second country on the continent of South America to use Paratroopers, after Peru. The first paratroopers were issued jump helmets similar to that used by the British at the time, with other equipment based on the . The
4th Parachute Brigade (
4 Brigada Paracaidista) is a unit of the
Argentine Army specialised in airborne assault operations. It is based in
Córdoba,
Córdoba Province. The
Fuerza de Despliegue Rápido ("Rapid Deployment Force") is based on this unit. The members of the unit wear
Red berets (
Boina Rojas) of the paratroopers with unit badges. As of 2022 it consists of: • 4th Airborne Brigade HQ (Córdoba) • 2nd Paratroopers Regiment "
General Balcarce" (Córdoba) • 14th Paratroopers Regiment (Córdoba) • 601st Air Assault Regiment (Campo de Mayo) • 4th Paratrooper Artillery Group (Córdoba) • 4th Paratrooper Cavalry Scout Squadron (Córdoba) • 4th Paratrooper Engineer Company (Córdoba) • 4th Paratrooper Signal Company (Córdoba) • 4th Paratrooper Jump Support Company (Córdoba) • Logistic & Support Base "Córdoba" (Córdoba)
Australia Airborne forces raised by Australia have included a small number of conventional and special forces units. During the Second World War the
Australian Army formed the
1st Parachute Battalion; however, it did not see action. In the post-war period Australia's parachute capability was primarily maintained by special forces units. In the 1970s and 1980s a parachute infantry capability was revived, while a Parachute Battalion Group based on the
3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (3 RAR) was established in 1983. However, following a reorganisation 3 RAR relinquished the parachute role in 2011, and this capability is now maintained by units of
Special Operations Command.
France during the Second World War (
Free French SAS) Constant "Marin" Duclos was the first
French soldier to execute a parachute jump on November 17, 1915. He performed 23 test and exhibition parachute drops without problems to publicise the system and overcome the prejudice
aviators had for such life-saving equipment. In 1935, Captain Geille of the
French Air Force created the Avignon-Pujaut Paratroopers Schools after he trained in
Moscow at the Soviet Airborne Academy. From this, the French military created two combat units called
Groupes d’Infanterie de l’Air. Following the
Battle of France, General
Charles de Gaulle formed the 1re Compagnie d’Infanterie de l’Air in September 1940 from members of the
Free French forces who had escaped to
Britain. It was transformed into the Compagnie de Chasseurs Parachutistes in October 1941. By June 1942, these units were fighting in Crete and
Cyrenaica alongside the British
1st SAS Regiment. As part of the
SAS Brigade, two independent French SAS units were also created in addition to the other French Airborne units. They operated until 1945. in Indochina In May 1943, the
1er Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes was created from the 601e Groupe d'Infanterie de l'Air in
Morocco and the 3e and 4e Bataillons d'Infanterie de l'Air (BIA) in
England in the
Special Air Service. The 2e and 3e Régiments de Chasseurs Parachutistes followed in July 1944. During the
Invasion of Normandy, French Airborne forces fought in
Brittany, (
Operation Dingson,
Operation Samwest). The first Allied soldier to land in France was Free French SAS Captain Pierre Marienne who jumped into Brittany (
Plumelec,
Morbihan) on June 5 with 17
Free French paratroopers. The first Allied soldier killed in the liberation of France was Free French SAS Corporal Emile Bouétard of the
4e Bataillon d’Infanterie de l’Air, also in Brittany in Plumelec: June 6, 0 h 40. Captain Pierre Marienne was killed on July 12 in Plumelec. French SAS paratroopers also fought in the
Loire Valley in September 1944, in
Belgium on January, and in
Netherlands in April 1945. The 1er Régiment Parachutiste de Choc carried out operations in
Provence. (armoured light vehicle) of the
1st Parachute Hussar Regiment in Afghanistan After
World War II, the post-war French military of the
Fourth Republic created several new airborne units. Among them were the
Bataillon de Parachutistes Coloniaux (BPC) based in
Vannes-Meucon, the Metropolitan Paratroopers, and the Colonial Paratroopers and
Bataillons Étrangers de Parachutistes (
French Foreign Legion), which coexisted until 1954. During the
First Indochina War, a Bataillon Parachutiste Viet Nam was created (BPVN) in southeast Asia. In total, 150 different airborne operations took place in Indochina between 1945 and 1954. These included five major combat missions against the
Viet Minh strongholds and areas of concentration. When the French
left Vietnam in 1954, all airborne battalions were upgraded to regiments over the next two years. Only the French Air Force's Commandos de l'Air (Air Force) were excluded. In 1956, the 2e Régiment de Parachutiste Coloniaux took part in the
Suez Crisis. Next, the
French Army regrouped all its Army Airborne regiments into two parachute divisions in 1956. The 10th parachute division (
10e Division Parachutiste, 10e DP) came under the command of General
Jacques Massu and General Henri Sauvagnac took over the 25th Parachute Division (
25e Division Parachutiste, 25e DP). Again the Commandos de l'Air were kept under command of the Air Force. By the late 1950s, in
Algeria, the
FLN had launched its
War of Independence. French paratroopers were used as counter insurgency units by the French Army. This was the first time in airborne operations troops used helicopters for
air assault and
fire support. But in the aftermath of the
Algiers putsch, the 10e and 25e Parachute divisions were disbanded and their regiments merged into the Light Intervention Division (''Division Légère d'Intervention
). This division became the 11th Parachute Division (11e Division Parachutiste'', 11e DP) in 1971. In the aftermath of the
Cold War, the French Army reorganised and the 11e DP become the 11th Parachute Brigade in 1999.
Germany The first known airborne commando operation in military history was conducted by Maximilian Hermann Richard Paschen von Cossel, then Leutnant of the Royal Prussian Army and his new pilot, then Royal Saxon Vice Sergeant Rudolf Windisch. Windisch flew the Roland Walfisch used for this purpose and set Cossel down in a wooded area behind the Russian front. During the night of October 2/3, 1916, Cossel blew up the Rowno–Brody railway line, 85 kilometers behind the eastern front, in several places. This was acknowledged in the army report of October 4, 1916: Eastern theater of war: ... Oberleutnant v. Cossel, who was set down from the plane southwest of Rowno by Vice Sergeant Windisch and picked up again after 24 hours, interrupted the Rowno-Brody railway line at several points by means of explosives. ... The First Quartermaster General. Ludendorff. According to Russian reports, however, the tracks were only slightly damaged in one place, so that a train just passing them could continue its journey unhindered.
Nazi Germany's
Luftwaffe units made the first
airborne invasion when invading
Denmark on April 9, 1940, as part of
Operation Weserübung. In the early morning hours they attacked and took control of the
Masnedø fort and
Aalborg Airport. The Masnedø fort was positioned such as it guarded the
Storstrøm Bridge between the islands of
Falster and Masnedø – on the main road from the south to
Copenhagen. Aalborg Airport played a key role acting as a refueling station for the
Luftwaffe in the further invasion into
Norway. In the same assault the bridges around
Aalborg were taken. were also used in the Low Countries against the
Netherlands, although their use against
The Hague was unsuccessful. Their most famous drop was the 1941
Battle of Crete, though they suffered large casualties. Hence later in the war, the
7th Air Division's Fallschirmjäger assets were re-organised and used as the core of a new series of elite Luftwaffe Infantry divisions, numbered in a series beginning with the
1st Fallschirmjäger Division. These formations were organised and equipped as
motorised infantry divisions, and often played a "fire brigade" role on the western front. Their constituents were often encountered on the battlefield as ad hoc
battle groups (
Kampfgruppen) detached from a division or organised from miscellaneous available assets. In accord with standard German practice, these were called by their commander's name, such as
Group Erdmann in France and the
Ramcke Parachute Brigade in
North Africa. After mid-1944,
Fallschirmjäger were no longer trained as paratroops owing to the realities of the strategic situation, but retained the
Fallschirmjäger honorific. Near the end of the war, the series of new
Fallschirmjäger divisions extended to over a dozen, with a concomitant reduction in quality in the higher-numbered units of the series. Among these divisions was the 9th
Fallschirmjäger Division, which was the final parachute division to be raised by Germany during
World War II. The Russian army destroyed the division during the
Battle of Berlin in April 1945. The
Fallschirmjäger were issued specialist weapons such as the
FG 42 and specially designed helmets. In the modern
German Bundeswehr, the
Fallschirmjägertruppe continue to form the core of special operations units. The division has two brigade equivalents and several independent companies and battalions. All told, about 10,000 troops served in that division in 2010, most of them support or logistics personnel. The Fallschirmjägertruppe currently uses the Wiesel Armoured Weapons Carrier (AWC), a light air-transportable
armoured fighting vehicle, more specifically a lightly armoured weapons carrier. It is quite similar to historical scouting
tankettes in size, form and function, and is the only true modern tankette in use in Western Europe.
India The Parachute Regiment is the Special Forces/airborne regiment of the Indian Army. The Regiment was formed in 1952 The regiment has a total of 14 regular, one
Rashtriya Rifles and two
Territorial Army (India) battalions; of the regular bns, five are Airborne battalions, while nine are Special Forces battalions. Formerly designated "Commando" units, they are now designated Special Forces: Three of the Special Forces battalions were originally trained for use in certain environments; 1st Bn [strategic reserve], 9th Bn [mountain] and 10th Bn [desert]. Subsequently, the 21st Bn was raised for
jungle warfare. Currently, all Special Forces battalions are cross trained for all environments. The 8th Battalion became 16th Battalion, Mahar Regiment in 1976 before reconverting to the 12th Battalion, Mechanised Infantry Regiment. A sizable part of the battalion was retained in the airborne role for some time, forming the armoured element of the 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade and equipped with their
BMP-2 Infantry Combat Vehicles. But due to administrative and logistic reasons, it was discontinued and their role being taken over by the para battalions themselves, with a platoon strength of each battalion being trained and equipped for the mechanized role within the brigade. The 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade comprises the following units: • 03 Airborne battalions • 01 Parachute Field Regiment (Artillery) (9 & 17 Parachute Field Regiments in rotation) • 60 Parachute Field Hospital • 411 (Independent) Parachute Field Company (Bombay Sappers) • 622 Parachute Composite Company (ASC) • 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade OFP (Ordnance) • 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade Signal Company • 2 (Independent) Parachute Field Workshop Company (EME) • 252 (Para) Air Defence Battery ( 50th (Independent) Parachute Brigade Provost Section. The President's Body Guard also forms part of the brigade as the pathfinders company. Three Airborne units in rotation form part of the Parachute Brigade alternatively serving their field tenures in counter-insurgency/high altitude areas. One of the two field regiments (9 Para Fd Regt and 17 Para Fd Regt) also forms part of the brigade while the other serves out its field tenure on rotation. The two Territorial Army battalions, 106th (Bangalore) and 116th (Deolali) form the airborne element of the Terriers (as the Territorial Army is popularly known) and are presently involved in COIN operations. 31st Battalion (Commando), Rashtriya Rifles, is also affiliated to the Parachute Regiment, for special operations conducted by the counter-insurgency force.
Israel Israel Defense Forces (IDF) paratroopers have a history of carrying out special forces-style missions dating back to the 1950s. In 1956 the IDF conducted a large paratroop drop at the
Mitla Pass, as part of
Operation Kadesh. Paratrooper Brigade soldiers wear
maroon berets with the infantry pin and reddish-brown boots. Distinct from all other soldiers of the IDF, Paratroopers wear a tunic and belt over the shirt. The IDF has one active paratrooper brigade and four reserve brigades consisting of personnel who served their mandatory time in the 35th brigade, and who are mostly relatively recently discharged, aside from officers. The IDF paratrooper brigades include: • 35th
Paratroopers Brigade - Has been active since 1955 and is part of
Central Command •
55th Paratroopers Brigade (Reserve) •
226th Paratroopers Brigade (Reserve) • • 646th Paratroopers Brigade (Reserve)
Italy The first units of Italian parachutists were trained and formed shortly before the Second World War in
Castel Benito, near
Tripoli (
Libya), where the first Military school of Parachuting was located. They were two native battalions of the
Royal Libyan Troops Corps and two battalions of Italian troops, later joined by the
Carabinieri Paratroopers Battalion. Moved back to Italy in 1941, the staff of the Castel Benito school was expanded into the Paratroopers School at
Tarquinia and became a massive training program. In 1941, a Parachutist division was completed and was designated the
185th Infantry Division "Folgore". It was trained for the assault on
Malta but was used instead in ground combat operations in the
North African Campaign, where it fought with great distinction during the
Second battle of El Alamein, effectively stalling the southern part of the Commonwealth attack until the general retreat of the Axis forces, when it was destroyed. Another major paratroopers division was formed during 1942 (the 184th Infantry Division "Nembo") and a third had started forming in 1943 (the 184th Parachute Division "Ciclone"). After the
September 8th 1943 Armistice, elements of the "Nembo" division joined the Allies against the germans as part of the
Italian Liberation Corps (
Corpo Italiano di Liberazione) and later as part of the
Combat Group "Folgore" (
Gruppo di Combattimento "Folgore") of the
Italian Co-belligerent Army. Other scattered elements joined the
Italian Social Republic, where they formed several Parachute units that continued to operate alongside the Germans against the Allies, fighting with distinction during the
Battle of Anzio. After WW2, the
Italian Army conscripted the
Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore", currently the largest unit of paratroopers of the
Italian Army. The Brigade operates as
Light Infantry with airborne drop and air transport capability with secondary light mechanized capabilities, as part of the
"Vittorio Veneto" Division, the on-call divisional HQ controlling the rapid reaction components of the
Italian Army. In 1982 the Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" landed in
Beirut with the
Multinational Force in Lebanon. In 1991, a Parachutist Tactical group was deployed to
Kurdistan. Its mission was to provide humanitarian aid. From July 1992, the Brigade supplied personnel to the "Vespri Siciliani" and later "Strade Sicure" internal security operations. The Folgore participated in
Operation Restore Hope in
Somalia from 3 December 1992 to September 1993. Parts of the Brigade have been employed many times in the
Balkans (IFOR/SFOR in
Bosnia and KFOR in
Kosovo), with MNF in
Albania and
INTERFET in
East Timor. The Folgore participated from August 2005 to September 2005 in
Operation Babylon in
Iraq and to December 2014 in
Afghanistan. In August 2007, the Folgore took part in
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, under aegis of the
United Nations (Resolution 1701), as a result of the war between
Israel and
Hezbollah of summer 2006. The Paratroopers Brigade "Folgore" is still mainly deployed abroad in international stabilization and peacekeeping operation, on rotation with the other elite units of the
Italian Army. Other paratroopers units operate as part of the
Army Special Forces Command and of the other Special Forces components provided by the
Navy,
Air Force and
Carabinieri.
Japan was a
Japanese special forces/
airborne unit during
World War II. The unit was a
division-level force, and was part of the
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF). It was commanded by a
major general, and was organized as follows: • Headquarters company (220 personnel) • Aviation brigade • Raiding brigade • Two glider infantry regiments • Raiding artillery company (120 personnel) • Raiding signals company (140 personnel) • Raiding engineer company (250 personnel) Notably, Japanese troopers fought in the
Battle of Palembang and in the takeover of Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. The 1st Airborne Brigade (Japanese: 第1空挺団, Dai-Ichi Kūtei Dan), established in 1958 is the
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s elite airborne unit meant for anti-guerilla and commando operations. The unit is currently used for homeland defense and international combat operations as part of the JGSDF’s
Ground Component Command (Japanese: 陸上総隊).
Peru During the
Ecuadorian–Peruvian War, the Peruvian army had also established its own paratrooper unit and used it to great effect by seizing the Ecuadorian port city of
Puerto Bolívar, on July 31, 1941, marking the first time in the Americas that
airborne troops were used in combat. In 1965, a paratrooper unit known as the
Sinchis was established under the
Civil Guard as a
counterinsurgency and anti-narcotics force. With the dissolution of the Civil Guard in 1991, the unit became part of the
National Police of Peru.
Poland The
1st (Polish) Independent Parachute Brigade was a parachute
brigade under the command of
Major General Stanisław Sosabowski, created during the
Second World War in Scotland in September 1941, with the exclusive mission to drop into
occupied Poland in order to help liberate the country. The British government, however, pressured the Poles into allowing the unit to be used in the
Western theatre of war.
Operation Market Garden eventually saw the unit sent into action in support of the
British 1st Airborne Division at the
Battle of Arnhem in 1944. The Poles were initially landed by glider from 18 September, whilst, due to bad weather over England, the parachute section of the Brigade was held up, and jumped on 21 September at
Driel on the South bank of the Rhine. The Poles suffered significant casualties during the next few days of fighting, but still were able, by their presence, to cause around 2,500 German troops to be diverted to deal with them for fear of them supporting the remnants of 1st Airborne trapped over the lower Rhine in Oosterbeek. The Brigade was originally trained close to
RAF Ringway and later in
Upper Largo in Scotland. It was finally based in Lincolnshire, close to
RAF Spitalgate (Grantham) where it continued training until its eventual departure for Europe after D-Day. The Brigade was formed by the Polish High Command in exile with the aim of it being used to support the
Polish resistance during the
nationwide uprising, a plan that encountered opposition from the British, who argued they would not be able to support it properly. The pressure of the British government eventually caused the Poles to give in and agree to let the Brigade be used on the
Western Front. This request was refused on the grounds of "operational considerations" and the "difficulties" in coordinating with the Soviet forces. They were massively expanded during
World War II, forming ten Airborne Corps plus numerous Independent Airborne Brigades, with most or all achieving
Guards status. The 9th Guards Army was eventually formed with three Guards Rifle Corps (37,38,39) of Airborne divisions. One of the new units was the
100th Airborne Division. At the end of the war they were reconstituted as Guards Rifle Divisions. They were later rebuilt during the
Cold War, eventually forming seven Airborne Divisions, an Independent Airborne regiment and sixteen Air Assault Brigades. These divisions were formed into their own VDV commands (Vozdushno-Desantnye Voyska) to give the Soviets a rapid strike force to spearhead strategic military operations. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been a reduction in airborne divisions. Three
VDV divisions have been disbanded, as well as one brigade and a brigade-sized training centre. Nevertheless, Russian Airborne Troops are still the largest in the world. VDV troops participated in the rapid deployment of Russian forces in and around
Pristina Airport during the
Kosovo War. They were also deployed in
Chechnya as an active bridgehead for other forces to follow.
Turkey The Turkish Paratrooper Commando Battalion (Türk Paraşütçü Komando Tugayı) are an elite military unit within the
Turkish Land Forces, established in 1952 under NATO's influence as part of a broader effort to modernize and professionalize the Turkish military. This highly trained unit specializes in airborne operations, special warfare, and rapid deployment in combat situations. The unit played a significant role in the
Cyprus War of 1974, where Turkish forces intervened in response to a Greek-led coup and the subsequent threat to the Turkish Cypriot population. Paratrooper Commandos were among the first to land on the island during the initial stages of Turkey's military intervention, executing strategic airborne assaults that were crucial in securing key areas.
Ukraine The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces (abbreviated as DShV or AAFU), known until 2017 as the Ukrainian Airmobile Forces are the airborne forces of Ukraine. After the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Ukraine-based units from the Soviet Airborne Forces were absorbed into the newly created
Ukrainian Ground Forces, where they remained until 2016, when they separated to become one of five branches of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Air Assault Forces are in constant combat readiness. They are the high-mobility branch of the military, responsible for air assaults and military parachuting operations. Before the
Russo-Ukrainian War they were also the main forces sent by Ukraine to peacekeeping missions around the world. They are considered the elite of Ukraine's armed forces.
United Kingdom , October 1942 The
Parachute Regiment has its origins in the elite force of
Commandos set up by the
British Army at the request of
Winston Churchill, the
Prime Minister, during the initial phase of the
Second World War. Churchill had been an enthusiast of the concept of airborne warfare since the
First World War, when he had proposed the creation of a force that might assault the German flanks deep behind the trenches of the static
Western Front. In 1940 and in the aftermath of the
Dunkirk evacuation and the
Fall of France, Churchill's interest was caught again by the idea of taking the fight back to Europe – the airborne was now a means "to be able to storm a series of water obstacles... everywhere from the Channel to the Mediterranean and in the East
". Enthusiasts within the British armed forces were inspired in the creation of airborne forces (including the Parachute Regiment,
Air Landing Regiment, and the
Glider Pilot Regiment) by the example of the German Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger, which had a major role in the invasions of Norway, and the Low Countries, particularly the attack on
Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium, and a pivotal, but costly role in the
invasion of Crete. From the perspective of others, however, the proposed airborne units had a key weakness: they required exactly the same resources as the new
strategic bomber capability, another high priority, and would also compete with the badly stretched strategic air lift capability, essential to Churchill's strategy in the Far East. It took the continued reintervention of Churchill to ensure that sufficient aircraft were devoted to the airborne project to make it viable. Britain's first airborne assault took place on February 10, 1941, when, what was then known as II
Special Air Service (some 37 men of 500 trained in
No. 2 Commando plus three Italian interpreters), parachuted into Italy to blow up an aqueduct in a daring raid named
Operation Colossus. After the Battle of Crete, it was agreed that Britain would need many more paratroopers for similar operations. No 2 Commando were tasked with specialising in airborne assault and became the nucleus of the Parachute Regiment, becoming the
1st Battalion. The larger scale drops in
Sicily by the
1st Airborne Division in 1943 met with mixed success, and some commanders concluded the airborne experiment was a failure. Once again, it took the reintervention of senior British political leaders, looking ahead to the potential needs of
the invasion of France, to continue the growth in British airborne resources. Extensive successful drops were made during the
Normandy landings by the
6th Airborne Division (see
Operation Tonga), under the command of
Major-General Richard Nelson Gale, but
Operation Market Garden to seize a corridor across the Netherlands as far as
Arnhem with the 1st Airborne Division under
Roy Urquhart were less successful, and proved, in the famous phrase, to be
A Bridge too far and the 1st Airborne was virtually destroyed. Later large scale drops, such as those on the Rhine under
Operation Varsity and involving the British 6th and the
US 17th, were successful, but less ambitious in their intent to seize ground. After the war, there was fierce debate within the cash-strapped British armed forces as to the value of airborne forces. Many noted the unique contribution they had made within the campaign. Others pointed to the extreme costs involved and the need for strict prioritisation. During the debate, the contribution of British airborne forces in the
Far Eastern theatres was perhaps underplayed, to the long term detriment of the argument. Several parachute squadrons of the
Royal Air Force Regiment were formed in World War II in order to secure airfields for the
RAF – this capability is currently operated by
II Squadron.
United States In 1930, the U.S. Army experimented with the concept of parachuting three-man heavy-machine-gun teams. Nothing came of these early experiments. , Virginia. Likely ca. 1940–1945 The concept of airborne units was not popular with the top U.S. Armed Forces commanders, but President
Franklin D. Roosevelt urged their creation. In July 1940, Major General
William C. Lee organized the first paratroop platoon, a test platoon formed from part of the
29th Infantry Regiment. The platoon leader was
1st Lieutenant William T. Ryder, who made the first jump on August 16, 1940, at Lawson Field, Fort Benning, Georgia, from a
B-18 bomber. He was immediately followed by Private William N. King, the first enlisted soldier to make a parachute jump. This led to the Provisional Parachute Group, and then the
United States Army Airborne Command. Lee became the first commander at the new parachute school at
Fort Benning, in west-central
Georgia, and is regarded by the U.S. military as the father of the Airborne. The first U.S. combat jump was near Oran, Algeria, in North Africa on November 8, 1942, conducted by elements of the
2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Paratroopers
figured prominently in the
Normandy Landings of June 1944.
U.S. combat jumps in WWII •
Operation Torch •
Operation Husky •
Operation Postern •
Operation Avalanche •
Operation Overlord •
Operation Cyclone •
Operation Dragoon •
Operation Market Garden •
Operation Shoestring •
Operation Topside •
Raid at Los Baños •
Operation Varsity •
Operation Gypsy ==See also==