The year of the creation of the airborne forces as a branch of the military. Airborne history
Vasily Filippovich Margelov, the same "Uncle Vasya", went down in the history of our Armed Forces as the founder and most brilliant commander of the "winged infantry". Leading the Air landing troops for a total of 23 years, he made a huge contribution to the reconstruction, formation and development of the Airborne Forces - it is not without reason that they are still called "Uncle Vasya's troops" to this day.
The fact is that until the 50s, the Airborne Forces were just infantry, landing, if necessary, behind enemy lines. The task of the paratroopers was to impose a battle behind enemy lines and hold the outpost until the main forces approached. Without good equipment and special equipment, they were ordinary "cannon fodder". With the advent of "Uncle Vasya" the situation has changed radically.
Having gone through several wars and having been the commander of intelligence officers and even marines, Lieutenant Colonel Margelov knew exactly what the Airborne Forces needed and, despite pressure from his superiors, began to translate his ideas into reality.
Here is what he said about the capabilities of the landing troops:
“In order to fulfill their role in modern operations, our formations and units must be highly maneuverable, covered with armor, have sufficient fire efficiency, be well controlled, be able to land at any time of the day and quickly switch to active combat operations after landing. This is, by and large, the ideal to which we should strive."
By the end of the 50s, new An-8 and An-12 aircraft were adopted by the Airborne Forces, which had a greater carrying capacity and flight range, which made it possible to parachute a larger number of personnel with standard equipment and weapons. Margelov established a personal connection with design bureaus, designers, scientists, he often traveled to design bureaus and research institutes. Often negotiating with designers to develop new equipment for the Airborne Forces, he ran into misunderstanding and obstacles from the Ministry of Defense and the "upper echelons of power." He constantly had to prove the need to equip the Airborne Forces with modern models of equipment and weapons.
By constantly fighting the airborne troops, he runs counter to the wishes of the higher leadership. For this, in 1959, Vasily Filippovich was removed from the post of commander of the Airborne Forces and appointed deputy. But already in 1961 he was reinstated to the post of commander of the airborne troops. Margelov gave twenty years to the command of the Airborne Forces. Over the years, thanks to the legendary "bata", this branch of the military has become the most popular in the USSR, serving there has become a great honor and a dream of any teenager.
By the way, the paratroopers also "gave a vest to the paratroopers, wanting to convey the traditions of the Airborne Forces marines, only it was decided to make the stripes blue - the color of the sky. At one of the meetings in the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, when approving new models of military uniforms, Admiral of the Fleet of the USSR A. A. Gorshkov grumbled with displeasure:
- Is it conceivable, Comrade Minister (Marshal A. A. Grechko), paratroopers - in vests.
Commanding Airborne General Margelov sharply objected:
- I fought in the Marine Corps and I know what paratroopers deserve and what not!
In recognition of the special merits of "paratrooper No. 1" to the Fatherland, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation established in 2005 the medal "ARMY GENERAL MARGELOV". It is awarded to military personnel, veterans and civilian personnel and the Airborne Forces for conscientious service and personal contribution to the strengthening and development of this type of troops.
A Soviet airborne unit was created - an airborne assault detachment, in the 11th rifle division. In December, it was deployed to the 3rd Special Purpose Aviation Brigade, which became known as the 201st Airborne Brigade.
The first use of airborne assault in the history of military affairs took place in the spring of 1929. In the city of Garm besieged by the Basmachi, a group of armed Red Army soldiers was landed from the air, which, with the support local residents defeated a gang that invaded the territory of Tajikistan from abroad. . However, the Day of the Airborne Forces in Russia and a number of other countries is August 2, in honor of the paratroopers at the military exercise of the Moscow Military District near Voronezh on August 2, 1930.
The paratroopers also gained experience in real battles. In 1939, the 212th Airborne Brigade took part in the defeat of the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol. For their courage and heroism, 352 paratroopers were awarded orders and medals. In 1939-1940, during the Soviet-Finnish war, the 201st, 202nd and 214th airborne brigade fought together with rifle units.
Based on the experience gained in 1940, new staffs of brigades were approved as part of three combat groups: parachute, glider and landing.
was sent to the Saratov bomber school. ... However, soon the People's Commissariat of Defense ordered the transfer of the Saratov School to the jurisdiction Airborne.
In the counteroffensive near Moscow, conditions were created for the widespread use Airborne. In the winter, the Vyazemsky airborne operation was carried out with the participation of the 4th airborne corps. In September, an airborne assault consisting of two brigades was used to assist the troops of the Voronezh Front in forcing the Dnieper River. In the Manchurian strategic operation in August 1945, more than 4 thousand people of the personnel of rifle units were landed for landing operations by landing method, who successfully completed the assigned tasks.
In 1956, two airborne divisions took part in the Hungarian events. In 1968, after the capture of two airfields near Prague and Bratislava, the 7th and 103rd Guards Airborne Divisions were landed, which ensured the successful completion of the task by formations and units of the United Armed Forces of the countries participating in the Warsaw Pact during the Czechoslovak events.
In the post-war period in Airborne a lot of work was done to increase the firepower and mobility of personnel. Numerous samples of airborne armored vehicles (BMD, BTR-D), automotive equipment (TPK, GAZ-66), artillery systems (ACS-57, ASU-85, 2S9 Nona, 107-mm B-11 recoilless rifle) were created. Complex parachute systems were developed for landing all types of weapons - "Centaur", "Reaktaur" and others. The fleet of military transport aviation was also increased, called for the mass transfer of landing formations in the event of large-scale hostilities. Large-body transport aircraft were created capable of parachute landing of military equipment (An-12, An-22, Il-76).
In the USSR, for the first time in the world, airborne troops, which had their own armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery. At large army exercises (like Shield-82 or Druzhba-82), the landing of personnel with standard equipment of no more than two parachute regiments was practiced. The state of the military transport aviation of the USSR Armed Forces at the end of the 80s made it possible to parachute 75% of the personnel and standard military equipment of one airborne division in one general sortie.
Organizational structure of the 105th Guards Airborne Division, July 1979.
Organizational structure of the 351st Guards Airborne Regiment, 105th Guards Airborne Division as of July 1979.
The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, which followed the disbandment of the 105th Guards Airborne Division in 1979, showed the profound fallacy of the decision taken by the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces - the airborne formation, specially adapted for combat operations in mountainous desert areas, was ill-considered and hastily disbanded, and 103gv.vdd was eventually sent to Afghanistan, whose personnel had no training for combat operations in such a theater of operations:
“... in 1986, the Commander of the Airborne Forces, Army General Sukhorukov D.F., came, he then said what fools we were, having disbanded the 105th airborne division, because it was intended for combat operations in mountainous desert areas. And we had to spend huge amounts of money to deliver the 103rd airborne division to Kabul by air ... "
airborne troops USSR Armed Forces was 7 airborne divisions and three separate regiments with the following names and locations:
Each of these divisions included: a directorate (headquarters), three parachute regiment, one self-propelled artillery regiment and combat support and logistic support units.
In addition to paratrooper units and formations, in airborne troops there were also air assault units and formations, but they were subordinate to the commanders of the troops of military districts (groups of troops), armies or corps. They did not differ in anything, except for tasks, subordination and OShS. Methods of combat use, combat training programs for personnel, weapons and uniforms for military personnel - it was the same as for paratrooper units and formations Airborne(central subordination). Air assault formations were represented by separate air assault brigades (ODSHBR), separate air assault regiments (ODSHP) and separate air assault battalions (ODSHB).
The reason for the creation of air assault units in the late 60s was the revision of tactics in the fight against the enemy in the event of a full-scale war. The stake was placed on the concept of using massive landings in the enemy's near rear, capable of disorganizing the defense. The technical possibility for such a landing was provided by the fleet of transport helicopters in army aviation, which had significantly increased by this time.
By the mid-80s, the USSR Armed Forces included 14 separate brigades, two separate regiments and about 20 separate battalions. The brigades were deployed on the territory of the USSR according to the principle - one brigade per one military district, which has land access to the State Border of the USSR, one brigade in the inner Kiev Military District (23odshbr in Kremenchug, subordinate to the High Command of the southwestern direction) and two brigades for the group Soviet troops abroad (35odshbr in the GSVG in the city of Cottbus and 83odshbr in the SGV in the city of Bialogard). 56gv.odshbr in OKSVA, stationed in the city of Gardez of the Republic of Afghanistan, belonged to the Turkestan Military District, in which it was formed.
Separate air assault regiments subordinated to the commanders of individual army corps.
The difference between parachute and air assault formations Airborne consisted of the following:
In the mid-80s, the following brigades and regiments were part of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces:
- 11odshbr in the Trans-Baikal Military District (Trans-Baikal Territory, the cities of Mogocha and Amazar),
- 13odshbr in the Far Eastern Military District (Amur Region, Magdagachi and Zavitinsk),
- 21odshbr in the Transcaucasian Military District (Georgian SSR, Kutaisi),
- 23odshbr of the South-Western direction (on the territory of the Kyiv Military District), (Ukrainian SSR, Kremenchug),
- 35gv.odshbr in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (German Democratic Republic, Cottbus),
- 36odshbr in the Leningrad Military District (Leningrad region, town Garbolovo),
- 37odshbr in the Baltic VO (Kaliningrad region, Chernyakhovsk),
- 38gv.odshbr in the Belarusian Military District (Belarusian SSR, Brest),
- 39odshbr in the Carpathian Military District (Ukrainian SSR, Khyriv),
- 40odshbr in the Odessa Military District (Ukrainian SSR, village Bolshaya Korenikha (Nikolaev region),
- 56gv.odshbr in the Turkestan Military District (formed in the city of Chirchik, Uzbek SSR and introduced into Afghanistan),
- 57odshbr in the Central Asian Military District (Kazakh SSR, Aktogay township),
- 58odshbr in the Kiev Military District (Ukrainian SSR, Kremenchug),
- 83odshbr in the Northern Group of Forces, (Polish People's Republic, Bialogard),
- 1318odshp in the Belarusian Military District (Belarusian SSR, Polotsk) subordinate to the 5th separate army corps(5oak)
- 1319odshp in the Trans-Baikal Military District (Chita region, Kyakhta) subordinate to the 48th separate army corps (48oak)
These brigades included a command, 3 or 4 air assault battalions, one artillery battalion and combat support units and logistic support. The personnel of the deployed brigades reached 2,500 military personnel. For example headcount personnel 56gv.odshbr on December 1, 1986 amounted to 2452 military personnel (261 officers, 109 ensigns, 416 sergeants, 1666 soldiers).
The regiments differed from the brigades in the presence of only two battalions: one parachute and one air assault (on the BMD), as well as a slightly reduced composition of the units of the regimental set
Participation of the Airborne Forces in the Afghan War
Also, in order to increase the firepower of the landing units, additional artillery and tank units will be introduced into their composition. For example, 345opdp according to the model motorized rifle regiment will be supplemented with an artillery howitzer battalion and a tank company, in the 56th brigade the artillery battalion was deployed up to 5 fire batteries (instead of the prescribed 3 batteries), and the 103rd Guards Airborne Division will be given to reinforce the 62nd separate tank battalion, which was unusual for organizational -regular structure of airborne units on the territory of the USSR.
Officer training for airborne troops
Officers were trained by the following military educational institutions in the following military specialties:
In addition to the graduates of these educational institutions, in Airborne were often appointed to the positions of platoon commanders, graduates of higher combined arms schools(VOKU) and military departments that trained for the commander of a motorized rifle platoon. This was due to the fact that the specialized Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, which produced about 300 lieutenants every year on average, was not able to fully meet the needs Airborne(at the end of the 80s they numbered about 60,000 personnel) as platoon commanders. For example, the former commander of 247gv.pdp (7gv.vdd), Hero of the Russian Federation Em Yuri Pavlovichwho began his service in Airborne from platoon commander in 111gv.pdp 105gv.vdd, graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms command school
For a long time, military units and units of the Special Forces (the so-called now army special forces) erroneously and intentionally called paratroopers. This is due to the fact that in the Soviet period, as now, there were no special forces in the Russian Armed Forces, but there were and are units and units Special Purpose (SpN) GRU of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. The phrase “troops special purpose”Or“ commandos ”only in relation to the troops of a potential enemy (“Green Berets”, “Rangers”, “Commandos”).
Starting with the emergence of these units in the USSR Armed Forces in 1950 until the end of the 80s, the existence of such units and units was completely denied. Up to the fact that about their existence the military military service they learned only when they were accepted into the personnel of these units and units. Officially, in the Soviet press and on television, units and units of the Special Forces of the GRU of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces were declared either units Airborne- as in the case of the GSVG (officially there were no special forces units in the GDR), or, as in the case of OKSVA, separate motorized rifle battalions (omsb). For example, the 173rd separate detachment special purpose (173ooSpN), stationed near the city of Kandahar, was called the 3rd separate motorized rifle battalion (3omsb)
In everyday life, servicemen of subdivisions and units of the Special Forces wore full dress and field uniforms adopted in Airborne, although neither in terms of subordination nor in terms of the assigned tasks of reconnaissance and sabotage activities did they belong to Airborne. The only thing that united Airborne and units and parts of the Special Forces are most of officers - graduates of the RVVDKU, airborne training and possible combat use behind enemy lines.
Russian Federation - period after 1991
The average emblem of the Airborne Forces of Russia
In 1991, they were separated into an independent branch of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
- 7th Guards Air Assault (Mountain) Division (Novorossiysk)
- 76th Guards Air Assault Division Chernigov Red Banner Division (Pskov)
- 98th Guards Airborne Division (Ivanovo)
- 106th Guards Airborne Division (Tula)
- 242nd Training Center Omsk and Ishim
- 31st Separate Guards Air Assault Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Class Brigade (Ulyanovsk)
- 38th separate regiment connections (Bear lakes)
- 45th Guards Separate Regiment of the Special Forces of the Airborne Forces (Kubinka, Odintsovsky District, Moscow Region)
- 11th separate air assault brigade (Ulan-Ude
- 56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade (Kamyshin) (As part of the Airborne Forces, but operationally subordinate to the Southern Military District)
- 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigade (Ussuriysk) (As part of the Airborne Forces, but operationally subordinate to the Eastern Military District)
- 100th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade (Abakan) (As part of the Airborne Forces, but operationally subordinate to the Central Military District)
In other countries
Belarus
Special Operations Forces(belor. Forces of special operations). Command reports directly to the General Staff armed forces. Commanders: Major General Lucian Surint (2010); from July 2010 - Colonel (from February 2011 Major General) Oleg Belokonev. Includes 38th, 103rd Guards mobile brigades, 5th Special Purpose Brigade, etc.
Kazakhstan
Patch of the Airmobile Troops of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Great Britain
British paratroopers 1pb ,1(British) vdd are fighting. Holland. September 17, 1944
British airborne troops, the main airborne component is 16th Air Assault Brigade(English) 16th Air Assault Brigade). The brigade was created on September 1, 1999 by merging components of the disbanded 5th Airborne (eng. 5th Airborne Brigade) and the 24th Aeromobile (Eng. 24th Air Mobile Brigade) brigades. The headquarters and units of the brigade are stationed in the city of Colchester, Essex. The 16th Air Assault Brigade is part of the 5th Division of the British Army.
Germany
Airborne troops of the Wehrmacht
Badge of a paratrooper of the Wehrmacht airborne forces, Germany
Airborne forces of the Wehrmacht(German Fallschirmjager, from Fallschirm- "parachute" and Jager- "hunter, huntsman") - the German airborne forces of the Wehrmacht operational-tactical deployment in the enemy rear. Being a select branch of the troops, only the best of the best German soldiers were recruited into them. The formation of units began in 1936, after which during the Second World War, from 1940 to 1941, they were used in major airborne operations in Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and Greece. In subsequent years, there were even larger-scale operations with their participation, but mostly only as regular infantry formations, to support the main forces. From the allies, they received the nickname "Green Devils". Throughout World War II, the permanent commander of the Fallschirmjäger was their founder Colonel-General Kurt Student.
Israel
The brigade was formed in 1954-1956 by the merger of several special forces units.
The Tsankhanim brigade belongs to the Central District and is part of the 98th Reserve Airborne Division, staffed by reservists who have served on active duty in the brigade.
USA
Chevron 1 Allied ACA, 1944
Notes
- Guderian G. Attention, tanks! The history of the creation of tank troops. - M.: Tsentropoligraf, 2005.
- Field charter of the Red Army (PU-39), 1939.
- The development of the strike power of air assault formations will occur by equipping transport and combat aircraft, Military Review website.
- Military encyclopedic Dictionary, Moscow, Military publishing house, 1984, 863 pages with illustrations, 30 sheets
- Highly mobile landing troops, Kommersant-Ukraine, have been created in the Ukrainian army.
- English word"commandos" was used to refer to members of the special airborne units, the airborne units themselves, and the entire S.S.
- Airborne in TSB.
- The first parachute formations
- Khukhrikov Yuri Mikhailovich, A. Drabkin, I fought on the IL-2 - M .: Yauza, Eksmo, 2005.
- Unknown division. 105th Guards Airborne Red Banner Division (mountain and desert). - Desantura.ru - about landing without borders
- This year marks forty-five years of 242 Airborne Training Center
- Structure of the Airborne Forces - Bratishka Magazine
- The combat charter of the airborne troops, put into effect by order of the commander of the airborne troops No. 40, dated July 20, 1983
By Presidential Decree Russian Federation dated May 31, 2006 "On the establishment professional holidays and memorable days in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" as a memorable day, designed to promote the revival and development of domestic military traditions, increase the prestige military service and established in recognition of the merits of military specialists in solving the problems of ensuring the defense and security of the state.
In 1994-1996 and 1999-2004, all formations and military units of the Airborne Forces participated in hostilities on the territory Chechen Republic, in August 2008, the military units of the Airborne Forces took part in the operation to force Georgia to peace, acting in the Ossetian and Abkhaz directions.
On the basis of the Airborne Forces, the first Russian battalion of UN peacekeeping forces in Yugoslavia (1992), peacekeeping contingents in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995), in Kosovo and Metohija (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, 1999) were formed.
Since 2005, according to their specialization, airborne units have been subdivided into airborne, airborne assault and mountain. The first includes the 98th Guards Airborne Division and the 106th Guards Airborne Division of two regiments, the second - the 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division of two regiments and the 31st Guards Separate Airborne Assault Brigade of three battalions, to the third is the 7th Guards Air Assault Division (mountain).
Two formations of the Airborne Forces (98th Guards Airborne Division and 31st Guards Separate Airborne Assault Brigade) are part of the Collective Rapid Reaction Forces of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
At the end of 2009, in each division of the Airborne Forces, separate anti-aircraft missile regiments were formed on the basis of separate anti-aircraft missile artillery divisions. At the initial stage, air defense systems entered service ground forces, which will later be replaced by landing systems.
According to information for 2012, the total number of Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation is about 30 thousand people. AT composition of the Airborne Forces includes four divisions, the 31st separate airborne brigade, the 45th separate special-purpose regiment, the 242nd training center and other units.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Today Russian paratroopers and veterans of the Russian Airborne Troops celebrate their professional holiday.
The history of our Airborne Troops began on August 2, 1930. On this day, at the exercises of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District, which were held near Voronezh, 12 people were parachuted from the air as part of a special unit. The experiment showed the enormous possibilities and prospects of the parachute units.
From that moment on, the USSR goes fast development new troops, in its tasks for 1931, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Red Army determines: “... air landing operations must be comprehensively studied from the technical and tactical side by the Headquarters of the Red Army in order to develop and distribute appropriate instructions to the places. Which is what was done.
In 1931, an airborne landing detachment was formed in the Leningrad Military District, numbering 164 people. For landing, they use the TB-3& aircraft, which took on board 35 paratroopers, and on the external suspension - either a light tank, or an armored car, or two 76 mm caliber guns. The idea was verified by experiment.
On December 11, 1932, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR adopted a resolution on the creation of mass Airborne Troops. On the basis of the airborne detachment of the Leningrad Military District, which has been landing all year, an entire brigade is being formed. The main task is the training of paratrooper instructors, plus the development of operational and tactical standards. By March 1933, the instructors were trained, the standards were calculated, and in the Belarusian, Ukrainian, Moscow and Volga military districts they began to form special-purpose aviation battalions.
For the first time, the release of a massive parachute landing in the presence of foreign delegations was carried out at maneuvers in the Kiev military district in September 1935. 1200 specially trained military personnel landed, who quickly captured the airfield. This impressed the observers. On the next major exercises in the Belarusian military district, 1800 paratroopers were already dropped. This impressed the German military observers, including Göring. who was on topic. In the spring of that year, he gave the order to form the first German airborne regiment. The experience of the Soviet Airborne Forces was appreciated from the very beginning according to its merits abroad.
Soon, the troops, who first appeared in the composition of our armed forces, will have the opportunity to test their capabilities in real combat conditions. In 1939, the 212th Airborne Brigade took part in the battles with Japanese troops on the Khalkhin Gol River. During the Soviet-Finnish war (1939-1940), the 201st, 204th and 214th airborne brigades fought.
By the summer of 1941, five airborne corps each numbering 10,000 people were being completed. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, all five airborne corps participate in fierce battles on the territory of Latvia, Belarus, and Ukraine. During the counter-offensive near Moscow in early 1942, the Vyazemsky airborne operation took place with the landing of the 4th airborne corps. This is the largest airborne operation during the war years. In total, about 10 thousand paratroopers were dropped behind German lines.
During the war years, all airborne formations receive the rank of guards. 296 paratroopers - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Based on the experience of the war in 1946, the Airborne Forces are withdrawn from the Air Force and included in the reserve troops of the Supreme High Command and directly subordinate to the Minister of the USSR Armed Forces. At the same time, the post of commander of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces was established.
The first commander of the Airborne Forces is Colonel General V.V. Glagolev.
In 1954 Commander of the Airborne Forces becomes V.F. Margelov (1909-1990), who remains in this position with a short break until 1979. An entire epoch in the history of Russian airborne troops is associated with the name of Margelov; it is not for nothing that the Airborne Forces received the unofficial name "Uncle Vasya's Troops".
In the 1950s, during the exercises of airborne units, special attention was paid to new methods of defense behind enemy lines, landing operations under conditions of use nuclear weapons. Parts of the Airborne Forces begin to receive heavy weapons - artillery installations (ASU-76, ASU-57, ASU-85), tracked airborne combat vehicles (BMD-1, BMD-2). Military transport aviation is equipped with An-12, An-22 aircraft, which were able to deliver armored vehicles, vehicles, artillery, and ammunition behind enemy lines. On January 5, 1973, for the first time in history, a caterpillar BMD-1 with two crew members on board was parachuted from the An-12B military transport aircraft on parachute-platform means in the Centaur complex. The crew commander is the son of Vasily Filippovich Margelov, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Margelov, the driver is Lieutenant Colonel Zuev Leonid Gavrilovich.
The Airborne Forces take part in the Czechoslovak events of 1968. Parts of the 7th and 103rd Guards Airborne Divisions captured and blocked the airfields of Ruzin (near Prague) and the city of Brno, paratroopers prepared them to receive military transport aircraft. Two hours later, paratroopers capture four bridges across the Vltava, the building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, publishing houses, the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the main post office, the television center, banks and other important objects in Prague. This happens without firing a shot.
In the future, units of the Airborne Forces participate in the war in Afghanistan, military conflicts in the territory former USSR- Chechnya, Karabakh, South and North Ossetia, in Osh, Transnistria and in the zone of the Georgian-Abkhaz confrontation. Two airborne battalions perform tasks
UN Peacekeeping Forces in Yugoslavia.
Now the Airborne Forces are one of the most combat-ready units Russian Army. They form the backbone of the Special Operations Forces. The ranks of the Airborne Forces number about 35 thousand soldiers and officers.
World experience
The US Airborne Forces have a rich tradition and great combat experience. Unlike Russia, the Airborne Forces in the United States are not a separate branch of the military; the Americans consider the Airborne Forces as a special component of the ground forces. Organizationally, the US Airborne Forces are united in the 18th Airborne Corps, which also includes tank, motorized infantry, and aviation units. The corps was formed in 1944 in the British Isles and took part in the fighting in Western Europe. Formations and units from its composition participated in the hostilities in Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Panama, the Persian Gulf, Haiti, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The corps currently consists of four divisions and a variety of support units and units. The total number of personnel is 88 thousand people. Corps Headquarters is at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
UK Airborne Forces
In the British airborne army also do not form a separate branch of the armed forces, but are part of the Ground Forces.
To date, the British Armed Forces have one - the 16th Air Assault Brigade as part of the 5th Division british army. It was formed on September 1, 1999, including units of the 5th Airborne Brigade and the 24th air brigade. It consists of airborne, infantry, artillery, medical and engineering units.
The main emphasis in the British military doctrine the use of the Airborne Forces is done on an airborne assault with the support of helicopter units.
The brigade inherited its name from the 1st and 6th airborne divisions, during the Second World War. The Attack Eagle emblem was borrowed from the Special Training Center located in Lohilot, Scotland.
The 16th brigade is the main strike unit of the British Army, so it takes part in all military operations conducted by the UK: Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Iraq, Afghanistan.
The brigade has a strength of 8,000 personnel, making it the largest of all British Army brigades.
Airborne Forces of France
The French Airborne Forces are part of the Ground Forces and are represented by the 11th Parachute Division. The division is divided into two brigades and consists of seven units, corresponding to the size of the battalion: the 1st Parachute Regiment of the Marine Corps, the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment of the Foreign Legion, the 1st and 9th Regiments of Parachute Commandos (light infantry) , 3rd, 6th, and 8th Marine Parachute Regiments.
The division headquarters is located in Tarbes, in the province of Hautes-Pyrenees. The personnel consists of about 11,000 people.
French paratroopers participated in all recent French military conflicts from the war in Indochina to the peacekeeping operation in Mali.
Airborne Forces of Germany
German paratroopers form the basis of the special operations forces of the Bundeswehr. Organizationally, the airborne troops are represented in the form of a Special Operations Division with headquarters in Regensburg. The Division includes: a special-purpose detachment of the KSK (“Kommando Spezialkrafte”), formed on the basis of the former 25th paratrooper brigade; 26th Airborne Brigade; 31st Airborne Brigade; and the 4th command and communications regiment; anti-aircraft missile battery; 310th separate company intelligence; 200th reconnaissance and sabotage company. The staff consists of 8 thousand people.
The paratroopers of the Bundeswehr take an active part in all peacekeeping and military operations of the UN and NATO, conducted recently.
Airborne Forces of China
In China, the airborne troops are part of the Air Force. They are consolidated into the 15th Airborne Corps (headquarters in Xiaogan, Hubei Province), which consists of three airborne divisions - the 43rd (Kaifeng, Hubei Province), the 44th (Inshan, Hubei Province) and 45th (Huangpi, Hubei Province).
At present, according to various estimates, the airborne troops of the PLA Air Force number from 24,000 to 30,000 personnel.
Replenishment of the army with the latest models of weapons and equipment makes it possible to create new types of troops or improve existing ones. This type of troops includes airborne troops, which have different units in their structure. One of them is the air assault units. What is the difference between the DShB and the Airborne Forces, the article will tell.
The governing bodies and military units of the airborne troops constitute a separate branch of the armed forces. It is subordinate to the Commander of the Airborne Troops and constitutes the mobile reserve of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the State.
The airborne assault has its mission both in peacetime and in war time. In a normal situation, the armed forces carry out measures to maintain personnel and military equipment in constant mobilization and combat readiness.
purpose airborne units in wartime is to throw them across the front line into the enemy rear to solve the following tasks:
- conducting raids;
- capture, incapacitation and destruction of controls;
- violation or destruction of communication lines and other communications;
- seizure, retention or destruction of important objects;
- taking possession of bridgeheads or areas of terrain and holding them;
- preventing the introduction of second echelons into battle;
- carrying out reconnaissance or sabotage activities.
Landing can be carried out by parachute or landing method.
During combat operations, as part of their troops, the Airborne Forces can be used to encircle and destroy airborne assault forces or enemy troops that have broken through, covering or defending individual most probable areas of enemy action.
What is DSB
DShB and landing mobile units are one. What is the abbreviation DSB? This is the abbreviated name of the airborne assault unit, which can be a brigade or battalion. DShB and airborne units can perform tasks jointly or separately.
The purpose of the DShB is to seize by assault objects or territory located in the tactical zone of action of friendly troops, in the near rear of the enemy.
The history of the landing
The first mention of the landing refers to April 1929. Then near locality Garma (present-day Tajikistan) soldiers of the Red Army landed from airplanes. Thanks to them, the Basmachi gang was defeated.
The appearance of the airborne troops took place on 08/02/1930. On demonstration flights of the aviation of the Moscow Military District on TB3 bombers, a detachment of paratroopers, consisting of 12 people, was lifted into the air.
A successful landing marked the start of the formation of another type of troops. August 2 at the legislative level entered the calendar as the day of the creation of the airborne troops.
The initial directions of development for the airborne assault were indicated by a resolution of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Red Army in 1930. On the basis of the 1st aviation brigade (Leningrad VO), the first airborne assault unit, consisting of 160 military personnel, was created. By the end of 1931, a voluntary paratrooper detachment was created in the same aviation brigade. Both units are involved in the district exercises held in September 1931.
The history of the Airborne Forces received the main breakthrough after the decision of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Red Army of December 11, 1932. Using the funds of the mentioned airborne detachment, a special purpose brigade and a school for training paratroopers are being formed. Similar airborne detachments are formed in the Moscow, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Volga military districts. In 1934, these formations were reduced and special-purpose air battalions were created.
Note! The formation of formations and units took place rapidly. At the beginning of 1935, there were 29 landing brigades and battalions.
Baptism in battle took place among the paratroopers in 1939 in the Khalkhin Gol region. Units of paratroopers participated in the hostilities of 1939-1940, in resolving the Soviet-Finnish military conflict. The experience gained in battle led to the reorganization of the landing force structure, as a result of which the brigades became three-group composition: parachute, airborne, aviation. At the beginning of 1941, the creation of the landing corps of the Airborne Forces of the three-brigade composition began.
The test of maturity for paratroopers was the Great Patriotic War. At the initial stage of the war, the Red Army consisted of 5 airborne corps, 10,000 military personnel in each. TB3, DB3, PS84 aircraft were used as delivery vehicles.
Throughout 1941, units and units of the landing force fought throughout western front, often used as ordinary rifle units.
At the beginning of 1942, the largest airborne operation of the entire period of the war was carried out. In the area of the city of Vyazma, the 4th Airborne Corps was landed to ensure the operations of the Western and Kalinin fronts.
Soldiers-paratroopers in the Far East ended the war. The end of the summer of 1945 was marked by the landing of troops in Harbin, Girin, Port Arthur, Sakhalin. The blocking and fettering of the actions of the units of the Japanese army made it possible to bring the overall victory closer.
During the Hungarian events of 1956, two airborne divisions ensured the establishment of constitutional order in the state.
In 1964 year of the Airborne Forces lost the status of an independent branch of the armed forces and were included in the structure of the Ground Forces of the USSR. For several years, there was a rearmament to modern models. The old delivery vehicles were replaced by new AN-22 and IL-76 aircraft.
In 1968, the forces of two divisions captured the airfields of Prague and Bratislava. This provided a solution to the challenges facing military units during the unrest in Czechoslovakia.
From 1979 to 1989, airborne units were actively involved in combat operations in Afghanistan. During this time, the formation of new units, the transfer of troops to new models of weapons and equipment was carried out.
Since 1992, landing units have been involved in peacekeeping functions in many hot spots on earth.
Useful video: history of the Airborne Forces
Compound
Has the main components:
- air assault conventional;
- paratrooper;
- air assault mountain.
The provision of components is carried out by connections and parts.
Which divisions are included:
- 7th Guards airborne assault mountain (Novorossiysk);
- 76 Guards. air assault (Pskov);
- 98 Guards. airborne (Ivanovo);
- 106 Guards airborne (Tula).
AT DShB composition includes:
- 11 separate guards. DShBr (Ulan-Ude);
- 31 separate guards. DShBr (Ulyanovsk);
- 56 separate guards. DShBr (Kamyshin);
- 83 separate guards. DShBr (Ussuriysk);
- 45 separate guards. special forces brigade (Kubinka);
- 345 Guards. parachute regiment (Voronezh);
- 38 Guards. communications regiment (Moscow region);
- 150 ORVB (Moscow region);
- 35 separate medical unit of the Airborne Forces (Pskov).
History of DShB
Start formation of the DShB refers to the end of the 60s of the twentieth century. Troops for the DSB were selected from the Airborne Forces. This was due to the specifics of performing individual tasks in the immediate rear of the enemy. The difference is that small groups of paratroopers were used to solve problems, which were thrown onto the ground from helicopters by landing.
The history of the DShB takes us back to the turn of the 60-70s of the last century. Against the background of difficult relations with the People's Republic of China, Far East in the area of the villages of Magdagachi and Zavitinsk, the 11th and 13th air assault brigades began to form.
Starting from the 80s, the set of units and subunits was 14 separate brigades, 2 separate regiments and 18 separate battalions. The principle of their placement throughout the USSR was simple. Each military district, which had access to the land border of the USSR, had an air assault brigade on staff. One DShBr was located on the territory of the Kyiv military district (Kremenchug). Two brigades were stationed on the territory of the allied countries (Cottbus, Germany and Bialogard, Poland).
Separate air assault regiments were part of the staff of the armies (corps) and were subordinate to their command.
By the end of 1986, the Headquarters of the main directions were formed. This entailed the creation of four new assault brigades, one for each main command.
Decision General Staff USSR in 1988-1989, individual assault units of tank and combined arms armies. Assault brigades subordinate to district commanders are being disbanded. On their basis, separate airborne brigades are formed, which are transferred to the commander of the Airborne Forces.
After the collapse, all separate air assault battalions were reduced, and the structure of the formations was greatly changed.
Note! The celebration of the day of the Airborne Forces is held annually on August 2, along with the celebration of the day of the airborne troops.
Differences
For service in the Airborne Forces and the Airborne Forces, the criteria are the same. Height from 175 cm and above, education not lower than secondary and normal general physical development, no medical restrictions.
If these criteria are met, training is required. The training of the Airborne Forces focuses on physical exercise and includes: strength, endurance, speed.
There are tests for this. physical training. If you don’t have enough endurance to run less than 2.8 km in 12 minutes, or you don’t have enough strength to pull yourself up on the horizontal bar 8 times or more, then you can forget about the airborne assault. Besides, airborne training includes passing tests on intellectual and professional suitability, psychological compatibility.
Psychophysical training involves solving problems with a risk to life. Its goal is to overcome the feeling of fear. There is no significant difference in the training of personnel for the DSHB and the Airborne Forces.
They basically have one thing in common. main task. It consists in carrying out sabotage and military operations behind enemy lines. The difference is that the airborne assault operates in the interests of the front, the fronts or the Commander-in-Chief to a strategic depth of up to 200 km. DShB are tied to the ground command of the division-corps-army level. They operate behind enemy lines to a tactical depth of up to 50 km.