241 Sentences With "airborne operation" | Random Sentence Generator

In a statement about the incident, Tynes noted the "inherent risk" in any airborne operation.

US Army paratroopers conduct an airborne operation from a C-130 Hercules in Pordenone, Italy, on December 12.

To be published in America as "The Battle of Arnhem: The Deadliest Airborne Operation of World War II" in September; $35.

A number of soldiers were injured when a strong gust of wind blew them into trees during an airborne operation in Mississippi on Wednesday evening.

On April 22019, the Army conducted a heavy drop and personnel airborne operation as part of exercise Saber Junction 16 at Hohenfels training area in Germany, according to the paper.

The descent was the culmination of Exercise Falcon's Leap, hosted by the Royal Netherlands Army to train NATO airborne forces to be able to plan and execute an airborne operation together.

This gave the SOTG the ability to support critical portions of the exercise such as the joint forcible entry, a multinational airborne operation delivering paratroopers from Ramstein Airbase into the exercise to seize key terrain.

SOFIA (Reuters) - One Canadian soldier died and three other troops were injured during an airborne operation, part of U.S.-led multinational military drills in southern Bulgaria on Tuesday, a Bulgarian spokeswoman for the Swift Response 2019 exercise said.

"Harakat Al-Shabaab Al Mujahideen carried out the airborne operation as a retribution for the crimes committed by the coalition of Western crusaders and their intelligence agencies against the Muslims of Somalia," al Shabaab said in an emailed statement.

It all came together so that on June 6, 1944, the largest amphibious landing to date, along with the largest airborne operation to date could combine with resistance movements and secret intelligence operations to free Europe from the evil grasp of an insane dictator and save an entire race of people.

It was this tactical unit that would spearhead the first strategic airborne operation in history.

In September 1943 Kapitokhin organized the Dnieper Airborne Operation. The Dnieper Airborne Operation was a failure, and Kapitokhin was demoted afterwards for alleged incompetence. In August 1944 Kapitokhin was appointed commander of the 38th Guards Airborne Corps as part of a separate airborne army. On 5 November, he was promoted to Lieutenant general.

Shortt & McBride, p.4Moreman, p.91 It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.

Shott & McBride, p.4Moreman, p.91 It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.Guard, p.

The Vyazma Airborne Operation was a Red Army airborne landing in the rear of German lines during the Battles of Rzhev. It took place from 18 January to 28 February 1942. The objective of the airborne landing was to help troops of the Kalinin Front and Western Front to encircle and destroy Army Group Centre. The airborne operation was unsuccessful and resulted in the loss of most of the troops landed.

In March 1948 the school was disbanded. In March 1952 after the beginning of the Korean War, the Aerial Navigation School was reactivated as part of the Airborne Operation School located at MCAS Cherry Point. The Airborne Operation School consisted of the Aerial Navigation School, Radio Operator School and the Electronic Countermeasures School. During this time Marine Navigators trained in such aircraft as C-54s, R4D-6s, and R4D-8s (Super DC-3).

The 4th Airborne Corps was an airborne corps of the Red Army in World War II. It fought in the Vyazma airborne operation, an unsuccessful landing during the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive.

Also in the area was the Training and Reserve Battalion, 16th SS Division Reichsführer-SS. The Allied airborne operation was a failure, and Arnhem was not liberated until 14 April 1945.

Operation Junction City was an 82-day military operation conducted by United States and Republic of Vietnam (RVN or South Vietnam) forces begun on 22 February 1967 during the Vietnam War. It was the largest U.S. airborne operation since Operation Varsity in March 1945, the largest airborne operation of the Vietnam War, and one of the largest U.S. operations of the war.Retrieved 9 November 2010. The operation was named after Junction City, Kansas, home of the operation's commanding officer.

280–281 The 435th left the United States in October 1943, arriving at RAF Langar, England, in early November. On arrival, it began training for participation in the airborne operation over Normandy.

4Moreman, p.91 This was later to become the 1st Parachute Battalion. It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.Guard, p.

A Soviet airborne operation, conducted by the 4th Airborne Corps in seven separate landing zones, five of them intended to cut major road and rail line of communication to the Wehrmacht's 9th Army.

In 1940 Erp was occupied by German troops. In 1944, paratroopers participating in the largest airborne operation in history, Operation Market Garden, liberated Erp and its surroundings. The liberated strip from Eindhoven to Arnhem was later nicknamed Hell's Highway.

He commanded the airborne corps during the Dnieper Airborne Operation. In August 1944, Zatevakhin became the commander of the Separate Airborne Army and the commander of the Soviet airborne, replacing Alexander Kapitokhin. On 5 November, he was promoted to Lieutenant general.

Seventeen Locusts were received by the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in late 1943. Eight were eventually used during the airborne Operation Varsity in March 1945. The tanks did not perform well in action and Locusts were never used in action again.

Glantz, David M. Soviet military operational art: in pursuit of deep battle, Frank Cass, London, 1991 . The largest drop during the war was corp-sized (the Vyazma airborne Operation, the 4th Airborne Corps). It was unsuccessful.The Soviet Military Encyclopedic Dictionary (1983), p. 174.

Map of Steyr AUG operators. The Argentinian Army with the Steyr AUG in 1986 in Puerto Deseado. An officer of the Austrian counter-terrorism unit EKO Cobra handling the Steyr AUG during an airborne operation. SEK policeman with the Steyr AUG in Bavaria.

Parachute Field Ambulance troops just before boarding their aircraft. The next airborne operation the 224th was involved in was Operation Varsity the crossing of the River Rhine in March 1945. The divisions drop zones were on the high ground to the east of Hamminkeln.

Cole, p. 158 As this was the first airborne operation in daylight without the element of surprise, the 224th were warned to expect around 600 casualties.Cole, p. 159 The 224ths airborne contingent was transported across the Rhine, in seven aircraft and three gliders.Cole, p.

Airborne operation Military parachuting or gliding form of inserting personnel or supplies. Purpose Delivering personnel, equipment, or supplies. Origins Attributed to Italian troops on November 1927. Parawings worn by members of the British Armed Forces who have undergone parachute training at RAF Brize Norton.

Such an airborne operation was vetoed by Trafford Leigh-Mallory, as being too risky for the aircraft involved. At any rate, the land portion of the attack (generally considered to be part of Operation Perch) bogged down due to German resistance and the delayed deployment of troops to Normandy.

One hundred twenty C-119s and C-46s dropped 3,437 paratroopers of the 187th RCT and 12 officers and men of the 60th Indian Parachute Field Ambulance (PFA) near Munsan-ni in the second largest airborne operation of the war. The 187th RCT suffered 4 fatalities (3 KIA and 1 in an accident).

Hooton, The Luftwaffe: A Study in Air Power, p. 69. This included an airborne operation around Rotterdam and The Hague to seize airfields and bridges in the "Fortress Holland" area. The paratroopers were from General der Flieger Kurt Student's airborne forces. Air and ground operations were to commence simultaneously, on Hitler's orders.

During the German occupation, Elven was the scene of the first airborne operation, dubbed Operation Savannah, on 15 March 1941. A monument commemorates the event on the road to Questembert. Three members of the French Resistance were shot in July 1944. The Rue des Martyrs de la Résistance is dedicated to them.

He served in the Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge and in Operation Varsity: the airborne operation over the River Rhine. After the Second World War he served in Palestine and left the Army in 1948. Fry farmed in Somerset in 1949. He then joined the Metropolitan Police and served with Special Branch.

The Gran Sasso raid was the rescue of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini from the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif by German paratroopers and Waffen-SS commandos in September 1943, during World War II. The airborne operation was personally ordered by Adolf Hitler, approved by General Kurt Student, and planned and executed by Major Harald Mors.

The unit's first airborne operation was in Norway in 1942 when they were sent to destroy a heavy water plant. However, both gliders crash landed, and the few survivors were executed by the Gestapo. In 1943 9 Field Company RE (Airborne) also took part in further airborne operations in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

4Moreman, p.91 These men took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.Guard, p.218 The success of the raid prompted the War Office to expand the existing airborne force, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment.

The German soldiers went through Ingen but that was all. Grebbeberg, the Netherlands, seen from the south. And also in 1944, in the airborne operation on Arnhem, Ingen was of no strategical use. But on the night of 3 December 1944 the Germans used an old Dutch defence: they destroyed the dikes of the Rhine south of Arnhem.

With the 187 ABN linkup completed, the British relieved the Americans at Sukchon and passed through for the continuation of their drive towards the Chongchon River. 187 ABN returned to Pyongyang on 23-24 October by ground transport. The airborne operation itself was successful, but came too late to intercept any significant KPA force or government/military officials.

Using the new shaped charges, they disabled the fort's guns and trapped the garrison inside. The assault cost 21 casualties. In the aftermath of this episode, the Allies formed their own glider forces, as part of their airborne forces. Before they could see action, the Germans had made their largest airborne operation, the attack on Crete.

When troopcarrier helicopters are just used to bring infantry from A to B it is called an 'Air mobile' operation. With attack helicopters performing on their own it is called an 'Air mechanized' operation. When paratroopers are deployed it is called an 'Airborne' operation. The brigade is also able to operate 'Motorized' with heavily armed light armored vehicles.

The defenders surrendered two days after the invasion, but the harbour facilities had been destroyed. Landings were carried out at the same time to invest Oran at three different beaches. A similar operation took place at Algiers, codenamed Operation Terminal and included another coup de main in its harbor and an airborne operation to seize nearby airfields.

Pigeon William of Orange William of Orange was a male war pigeon of British military intelligence service MI14. He was awarded the 21st Dickin Medal for delivering a message from the Arnhem Airborne Operation. This message saved more than 2000 soldiers at the time of the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. Its official name in military record is NPS.42.NS.15125.

Mis-drops of the paratroopers (some as far as off-target) confused the Allies into believing the Germans conducted a division-level airborne operation,Goldstein, Donald M. Nuts!: The Battle of the Bulge: The Story and Photographs. Potomac Books. 1994 and the 215th was told that 500 Nazi paratroopers had seized the road between Eupen and Malmedy, within of their location.

After a sharp fight, the North Koreans broke contact and withdrew. As a result of the US airborne operation, the KPA 239th Regiment found itself caught between the EUSAK advance from the south and 187 ABN to the north. After concentrating in the vicinity of Yongyu, the KPA 239th Regiment attempted a breakout to the north just after midnight on 21-22 October.

After one week preparations were declared complete. The planning and training for the airborne drops at Sicily and Normandy had taken months. One United States Air Force historian noted that 'Market' was the only large airborne operation of World War II in which the USAAF "had no training program, no rehearsals, almost no exercises, and a...low level of tactical training." Gen.

By midnight, the Indian Army, accompanied by the Indian Air Force, launched a major three-pronged assault into East Pakistan. The Indian Army won several battles on the eastern front including the decisive Battle of Hilli. The operation also included a battalion-level airborne operation on Tangail, which resulted in the capitulation of all resistance within five days.Owen Bennett Jones.

However, even after the careful analysis the airborne operation failed, and major war broke out between India and Pakistan. Ayub Khan blamed Bhutto for starting the conflict, while the armed forces became increasingly involved in the war. However, both Soviet- Union and United States deescalated the conflict. China provided economic and moral help and even threatened India on its conflicted border issues.

While in the ETO the 75th TCS wore first the Sqdn code "SH" and then in late Spring 1944, it was changed to "CK." After its arrival in the UK, the Squadron began training for participation in the airborne operation over Normandy. The squadron flew its first combat missions on D-Day by dropping paratroopers of 101st Airborne Division near Cherbourg.

Otway, p.21 On 22 June 1940, No. 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and on 21 November, re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with a parachute and glider wing.Shott & McBride, p.4Moreman, p.91 It was 38 men of this battalion who on 10 February 1941 took part in Operation Colossus the first British airborne operation.

Meanwhile, Sombor was captured against determined Chetnik resistance, and Subotica was also captured. This, the first airborne operation in Hungarian history, was not without incident. The battalion's aircraft consisted of five Italian-made Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 transport aircraft formerly with the civilian airline MALERT, but pressed into service with the Royal Hungarian Air Force (, MKHL) at the start of the European war.

Operation Freshman was the codename given to a British airborne operation conducted in November 1942 during World War II. It was the first British airborne operation conducted using Airspeed Horsa gliders, and its target was the Vemork Norsk Hydro chemical plant in Telemark, Norway which produced heavy water for Nazi Germany. By 1942, the German nuclear weapons programme had come close to being able to develop a nuclear reactor, but in order for the reactor to function it would require a great deal of heavy water. The source of the heavy water was the Norsk Hydro plant, which had been occupied in 1940. When the British government learned of the German nuclear developments, it was decided that a raid would be launched to destroy the plant and deny the Germans the heavy water required to develop a nuclear weapon.

Because of a lack of equipment training facilities in mid-1940, when the British airborne establishment was formed, the War Office was able to accept only 500 volunteers for training as airborne troops.Otway, p. 30 Progress in setting up proper training facilities and acquiring suitable transport aircraft was so slow that the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, was conducted by a retrained Commando unit.Otway, p.

The Hungarians pursued the 1st Army south, and occupied the area between the Danube and the Tisza meeting virtually no resistance. Serb Chetnik irregulars fought isolated engagements, and the Hungarian General Staff considered irregular resistance forces to be their only significant opposition. The Hungarian 1st Parachute Battalion captured canal bridges at Vrbas and Srbobran. This, the first airborne operation in Hungarian history, was not without incident.

The last major airborne operation of the war in Europe was Operation VARSITY, a crossing of the Rhine in March 1945. This operation was deemed a complete success in the use of air-power, ground support elements and Close Air Support. The marking of drop zones and landing strips was extremely accurate, and enabled the Airborne forces to achieve all their allocated targets without major losses.

The 202nd Coastal Division was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was based in Sicily during the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign. Elements of the Division were used to form the incomplete 230th Coastal Division.

The operation established a fortified airhead in Điện Biên Province, in the north-west corner of Vietnam and was commanded by Brigadier General Jean Gilles. The Operation began at 10:35 on 20 November 1953, with reinforcements dropped over the following two days. With all its objectives achieved, the operation ended on 22 November. Castor was the largest airborne operation since World War II.

FG-42, with bipod deployed. Nazi Germany was responsible for a large amount of experimental weaponry during the war. Among these was the FG-42, a rifle built specifically for the Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers). The rifle was meant to be a jack-of-all-trades, that would be used during the first stages of an airborne operation, before heavier weapons like the MG-42 could be sent in.

He organized the training of the airborne and the formation of ten airborne corps and five brigades. In January and February 1942, Glazunov planned and conducted the Vyazma Airborne Operation during the Rzhev- Vyazma Offensive. On 27 March 1942, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In June 1943, Glazunov was released from command and became the deputy commander of the 29th Guards Rifle Corps.

On 26 August 1966, units of 1 Parachute Battalion (called Parabats) first participated in operations as part of the South African Border War in South-West Africa (now Namibia). This involvement was eventually to last for more than twenty years. In April 1978 44 Parachute Brigade was established, with the addition of 2 and 3 Parachute Battalions. On 4 May 1978 South Africa's first major airborne operation (Operation Reindeer) took place.

On 17 September, the Allied forces staged their airborne operation at Arnhem. Again, IV./JG 54 was thrown into the fray, but for the second time in less than 3 months, against vastly superior opposition, it was destroyed in less than a fortnight.Weal 2001, pg. 94. Whether due to problems getting the Me 163 operational, or his unit's catastrophic losses, Späte gave up his command of IV./JG 54.

Alexander Fyodorovich Kazankin (; 15 April 1900 – 20 March 1955) was a Red Army Lieutenant general who commanded the Soviet airborne. He fought in the Russian Civil War and graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in 1934. Kazankin led the 4th Airborne Corps during the Vyazma airborne operation. He later commanded the 1st Guards Airborne Division, 16th Guards Airborne Division, 12th Guards Rifle Corps and 39th Guards Rifle Corps.

On arrival, it began training for participation in the airborne operation over Normandy. The squadron flew its first combat missions on D-Day by dropping paratroopers of 101st Airborne Division near Cherbourg. The unit towed Waco CG-4A and Airspeed Horsa gliders carrying reinforcements to the same location that afternoon and on the following morning. The squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its part in Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion.

4Moreman, p.91 the men of which took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.Guard, p.218 The success of the raid prompted the War Office to expand the airborne forces, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment as well as converting several infantry battalions into airborne battalions in August 1942.

The mascot of the regiment was initially the Golden eagle named "Bac Kan" Terre information magazine numéro 183, avril 2007, p.51. in reference to the first mission participation of the Airborne engineers in Indochina during the airborne operation "Lea" in October 1947. Since 2014, the mascot is a Bald eagle named "Malizia", name of François Grimaldi ( said "François la Malice") who in the 13th century conquered the Rock of Monaco.

On arrival, it began training for participation in the airborne operation over Normandy. The squadron flew its first combat missions on D-Day by dropping paratroopers of 101st Airborne Division near Cherbourg. The unit towed Waco CG-4A and Airspeed Horsa gliders carrying reinforcements to the same location that afternoon and on the following morning. The squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for its part in Operation Overlord, the Normandy invasion.

General Blamey declared the capture of Lae and Salamaua to be "a signal step on the road to Victory".Reconquest, p. 12 Tolson described the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment's operation at Nadzab as "probably the classic text-book airborne operation of World War II". Coming after the impressive but flawed performance of the airborne arm in the Allied invasion of Sicily, Nadzab influenced thinking about the value of airborne operations.

A major command exercise called EAGLE was conducted on the night of 11 May. Except for some serious failures by the very inexperienced 315th and 442nd Troop Carrier Groups, the exercise went very well. Even Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, the commander of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force, seemed impressed, although he later warned General Dwight Eisenhower that the American airborne operation was a potential disaster in the making.

Colonel Peter Gerahty CBE (1 September 1921 – 15 November 2013) was one of the last surviving British Army officers to have served with 6th Airborne Division in Operation Varsity on 24 March 1945: the largest airborne operation in the history of warfare, part of Operation Plunder: the Rhine Crossing in March 1945. He was later appointed a CBE for his work on combat development with the Ministry of Defence.

D. Sukhorukov, "Vozdushno-desantnye voiska" [Airlanding forces], Voyenno-istorichesky zhurnal (VIZh, the Military-Historical Journal), January 1982:40, cited in Glantz, 1984, 32. The Stavka however, earmarked three of these airborne brigades use in an airborne operation to cross the Dnepr River.' However, by January 1944, some of these formations (the 15th and 16th at least) were becoming Guards Rifle Divisions (the 15th became the 100th Guards in January 1944).

The commander of the airborne army ruled out an airborne operation. Canadian Combat engineer staff opined that bombing the sea dike at Westkapelle, on the western tip of the island, would not suffice to flood the island. Simonds' superior, lieutenant-general Harry Crerar, was highly skeptical of the plan, but he was soon removed from the scene by illness. Simonds was therefore able to drive through his preference for inundating the island.

Whereas all other Allied airborne landings had been a surprise for the Germans, the Rhine crossing was expected, and their defences were reinforced in anticipation. The airborne operation was preceded by a two-day round-the- clock bombing mission by the Allied air forces. Then on 23 March, 3,500 artillery guns targeted the German positions. At dusk Operation Plunder, an assault river crossing of the Rhine by the 21st Army Group, began.

The 208th Coastal Division was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was based in Sicily during the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign. Coastal divisions, were second line divisions, usually formed from men in their forties and fifties intended to perform labouring and second lined duties.

The 213th Coastal Division was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was based in Sicily during the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign. Coastal divisions, were second line divisions, usually formed from men in their forties and fifties intended to perform labour and second line duties.

The 207th Coastal Division was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was based in Sicily during the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign. Coastal divisions, were second line divisions, usually formed from men in there forties and fifties intended to perform labouring and second lined duties.

The Germans also planned an airborne operation (Operation Stösser) in the area north of Malmédy in order to take the road junction at Baraque Michel, allowing the Sixth Army's 12th SS Panzer Division to advance to the Belgian city of Liège.Forty (2000), pp. 112–113 The operation would be undertaken by a special unit formed up of one hundred paratroopers from each battalion of Army Group H's First Parachute Army.Krott (2003), p.

For this purpose, a Parachute Holding Wing was established on 1 April 1966. The Para Holding Wing was responsible for carrying out basic and reservist training for all active and reservist paratroopers. In wartime, the Para Holding Wing had the added responsibility of providing transit camp facilities for the launching of an airborne operation. On 5 June 1967, the Personal Accounts Office (Other Ranks) of the Parachute Regiment also moved from Mathura to Gwalior.

The Battle of Kolwezi was an airborne operation by French and Belgian airborne forces that took place in May 1978 in Zaire during the Shaba II invasion of Zaire by the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FNLC). It aimed at rescuing European and Zairian hostages held by FNLC rebels after they conquered the city of Kolwezi. The operation succeeded with the liberation of the hostages and light military casualties.

Operation Varsity was the greatest airborne operation of the war. Some 40,000 paratroops were dropped by 1,500 troop-carrying planes and gliders beginning on 24 March 1945. On 2 January 1945, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion was again committed to ground operations on the continent, arriving at the front during the last days of the Battle of the Bulge. They were positioned to patrol during both day and night and defend against any enemy attempts to infiltrate their area.

The 11th Airborne saw its first action on the island of Leyte in the Philippines, but in a traditional infantry role. In January 1945 the division took part in the invasion of Luzon. The two glider infantry regiments again operated as conventional infantry, securing a beachhead before fighting their way inland. The parachute infantry regiment was held in reserve for several days before conducting the division's first airborne operation, a combat drop on the Tagaytay Ridge.

It had been the division's first major airborne operation. The 2nd Air Commando Group's C-47s, which had transported the parachute battalion, returned to Kalaikunda and then moved to Comilla. The 317th Tactical Control Squadron spent the next two weeks supplying XV Corps who were engaged with Japanese forces northeast of Rangoon and returned to Kalaikunda on 19 May. The group's fighter squadrons provided air cover for Rangoon until 9 May when they too returned to home station.

A supersonic transport (SST) is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. To date, the only SSTs to see regular service have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 and it was last flown in 1999 by NASA. Concorde's last commercial flight was in October 2003, with a November 26, 2003 ferry flight being its last airborne operation.

In August 1945, it fought in the Khingan–Mukden Offensive Operation, part of the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. At the end of the war, it was in Tongliao, where the division conducted its first airborne operation. On 5 December 1945 the division became the 124th Guards Rifle Division, still with the 18th Guards Rifle Corps in the East Siberian Military District.Feskov et al 2013, p. 147 The division relocated to Nizhneudinsk, Irkutsk Oblast in the spring of 1946.

During Northern Edge 2000, there were a number of live-fire exercises, an airborne operation, and multiple close air support missions flown. A robust theater missile defense cell took part in the exercise by conducting anti-ballistic missile operations against a simulated attack. Global Hawk, an unmanned aerial vehicle, made its first appearance in Northern Edge providing battlefield commanders with near real-time aerial imagery. Northern Edge 2001 facilitated unit level training, theater engagement, and joint operations in a cold climate.

Operation Tonga was the last that Tetrarchs saw of active combat. During the first week of October 1944, the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment underwent an extensive reorganization, in which it was completely restructured, and all the remaining Tetrarchs were retired.Flint, p. 138 They were replaced with the M22 Locust, a purpose-built airborne light tank of American design; eight Locusts were used by the regiment in March 1945 during Operation Varsity, the airborne operation to cross the river Rhine.

When the war broke out, their son Willie asked for permission to enlist in the army, and both parents consented to their son's request. Willie Sandoval was trained as a paratrooper and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. He fought in Italy and Germany, and was killed on October 6, 1944, during a combat mission related to Operation Market-Garden, the largest airborne operation of all time. Other families like the Sandovals had multiple members join the Armed Forces.

Airborne troops marching through Hamminkeln, Germany, 25 March 1945. Whereas all other Allied airborne landings had been a surprise for the Germans, the Rhine crossing was expected, and their defences were reinforced in anticipation. The airborne operation was preceded by a two-day round-the-clock bombing mission by the Allied air forces. Then on 23 March 3,500 artillery guns targeted the German positions. At dusk Operation Plunder, an assault river crossing of the Rhine by the 21st Army Group, began.

No. 285 Squadron generally held two pilot and navigator conversion courses per year. Each six-month course included approximately 120 hours in the FFMS and 30 hours in flying aircraft. It culminated in an airborne operation module, which included formation flying, airdrops, night landings with night-vision goggles, and simulated combat utilising the C-130's self-defence systems to prepare the aircrew for conditions in Middle East deployments. Following this exercise, the new C-130 aircrew were posted to No. 37 Squadron.

Italian soldiers of the 206th Coastal Division, taken prisoner by British forces. Typical of the second-rate equipment issued to the Coastal Divisions, they are wearing Adrian helmets, rather than the more modern M33 helmets. The 206th Coastal Division was an infantry division of the Italian Army during World War II. The division was based in Sicily during the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky. It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat.

The leader of the airborne operation, paratrooper-Oberleutnant Georg Freiherr von Berlepsch entered the first glider, Skorzeny and his SS troopers sat in the fourth and fifth glider. To gain height before crossing the close by Alban Hills the leading three glider-towing plane units flew an additional loop. All following units considered this manoeuvre unnecessary and preferred not to endanger the given time of arrival at the target. This led to the situation that Skozeny's two units arrived first over the target.

US Army paratroopers utilizing the T-10D Parachute during an airborne operation from a C-130. The T-10 Parachute is a series of static line- deployed parachutes used by the United States armed forces for combat mass- assault airborne operations and training. The T-10 parachute was introduced in the early 1950s. In 1976, the B model introduced the anti-inversion net; in 1986, the C model was introduced, which changed the pocket band free length from 4" to 7½".

VIOLET proved to be SAARF's only airborne operation: the balance of the units were air-transported to their assignments. SAARF teams were spread across northern Europe to assist local military governments in establishing radio links, in translation and interrogation, in monitoring the movement of German forces back to Germany, in screening the inmate populations of German prisons to determine who were political prisoners and who were criminals, and in searching for Nazis who had been identified as possible war criminals.

Operation Virginia: This mission was the first airborne operation conducted by the Baker Section. Beginning on the night of March 15, 1951, four Americans and 20 Koreans were dropped 30 miles inland from the Sea of Japan. The mission, which was to destroy railroad, was considered a complete failure for a plethora of reasons. A blizzard delayed the team's arrival, the team missed their drop zone, and when they called for an extraction one of the three helicopters were shot down.

For Operation Varsity, the Allied airborne assault across the Rhine in March 1945, the group staged out of RAF Boreham as a result of the need for shorter flying distances. The group released British paratroops of the 5th Parachute Brigade near Wesel on 24 March. During the operation, the group suffered its heaviest losses of the war, losing nineteen aircraft, with another 36 badly damaged. Following each airborne operation, the group resumed transport activities, hauling cargo and evacuating wounded personnel.

Paratroopers from the 6th Airborne Division in Hamminkeln during Operation Varsity Whereas all other Allied airborne landings had been a surprise for the Germans, the Rhine crossing was expected and their defences were reinforced in anticipation. The airborne operation was preceded by a two-day round-the-clock bombing mission by the Allied air forces. Then on 23 March 3,500 artillery guns targeted the German positions. At dusk Operation Plunder, an assault river crossing of the Rhine by the 21st Army Group, began.

The leader of the airborne operation, paratrooper-Oberleutnant Georg Freiherr von Berlepsch, entered the first glider, while Skorzeny and his SS troopers sat in the fourth and fifth glider. To gain height before crossing the close-by Alban Hills, the leading three glider-towing plane units flew an additional loop. All following units considered this manoeuvre unnecessary and preferred not to endanger the given time of arrival at the target. This led to the situation that Skorzeny's two units arrived first over the target.

As a member of the American forces in the Philippines, McLaren was under U.S. command. However, on 20 April 1945, upon the request of the Australians who had a need for his talents, General Robert L. Eichelberger personally signed an order releasing McLaren back to Australian command.Richardson 1957, p. 153. After being transferred to Z Special Unit, under the command of the Services Reconnaissance Department, attached to the Allied Intelligence Bureau, McLaren subsequently took part in an airborne operation near Balikpapan in late June 1945.

Despite the heavy shelling of the Canadian positions, there were very few casualties considering the length of time they were there and the strength of the enemy positions. During this time, the Battalion maintained an active defence as well as considerable patrol activity until its return to the United Kingdom on 23 February 1945. On 7 March 1945, the Battalion returned from leave to start training for what would be the last major airborne operation of the war, Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine.

The first British airborne operation in Sicily began at 18:00 on 9 July 1943, when the gliders transporting the 1st Airlanding Brigade left Tunisia for Sicily. En route they encountered strong winds and poor visibility, and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and sixty- five of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men.

Flanagan, p. 204 Although attached to XVIII Airborne Corps, the division was not chosen to participate in Operation Market Garden, a large- scale airborne operation intended to seize several bridges through the Netherlands to allow the Allied armies to bypass the Rhine river and enter Germany. The 17th was passed over in favour of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions because it had only recently arrived in the European Theater and was considered to be unprepared logistically as it was still collecting its combat equipment.Flanagan, p.

Churchill tanks of the 6th Guards Tank Brigade carrying American paratroopers of the 17th Airborne Division, Germany, 29 March 1945. Operation Varsity was a successful large-scale airborne operation. All of the objectives that the airborne troops of the 17th had been tasked with had been captured and held, usually within only a few hours of the operation's beginning. The bridges over the Issel had been successfully captured, although one later had to be destroyed to prevent its capture by counter-attacking German forces.

The Ranger student reaches his objective in several ways: cross-country movement, parachuting into small drop zones, air assaults into small, mountain-side landing zones, or a 10-mile march across the Tennessee Valley Divide. The student's commitment and physical-mental stamina are tested to the maximum. At the end of the Mountain Phase, the students travel by bus to a nearby airfield and conduct an airborne operation, parachuting into Swamp Phase. Non-airborne are bused to Eglin Air Force Base for the Swamp Phase.

Brereton had no experience in airborne operations but had extensive command experience at the air force level in several theaters, most recently as commander of Ninth Air Force, which gave him a working knowledge of the operations of IX Troop Carrier Command. Market would be the largest airborne operation in history, delivering over 34,600 men of the 101st, 82nd and 1st Airborne Divisions and the Polish Brigade. 14,589 troops were landed by glider and 20,011 by parachute. Gliders also brought in 1,736 vehicles and 263 artillery pieces.

The first operation of the Rhineland campaign, Market Garden, was commanded by Montgomery and was to secure a bridgehead over the Rhine in the north, at Arnhem, which would outflank the Siegfried Line. Market Garden had two distinct parts. Market was to be the largest airborne operation in history, dropping three and a half divisions of American, British, and Polish paratroopers to capture key bridges and prevent their demolition by the Germans. Garden was a ground attack by the British Second Army across the bridges.

Nikolai Viktorovich Staskov, 1943 Dnepr airborne operation: lessons and conclusions Military Thought, July 2003 The Army was later involved in the Battle of Kiev (1943) and in 1944, as part of 2nd Ukrainian Front, actions around the Korsun- Cherkassy Pocket, Kamenets-Podolsky pocket, and the Uman-Botoshany, Iassy- Kishinev, Bratislava-Brno, and Prague Offensives.Aberjona Press, Slaughterhouse, 2005 It also fought in the Battle of Debrecen, at which, due to its low priority, it only had five divisions assigned. 40th Army was disbanded in July 1945.

In 1943, the unit took part in the first airborne operation in the Southwest Pacific, dropping paratroops to seize enemy bases and cut overland supply lines in New Guinea. It was awarded the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for its role in the liberation of the Philippines during 1944–1945. After the war, the unit served in the reserves and was elevated to active service during the Korean War. It returned to reserve duty until its inactivation in 1957; then again since 1991 after its reactivation.

Operation Colossus was the codename given to the first airborne operation undertaken by the British military, which occurred on 10 February 1941 during World War II. The British airborne establishment was formed in June 1940 by the order of the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in response to the successful airborne operations conducted by the German military during the Battle of France. Training began immediately, but a shortage of proper equipment and training facilities, as well as bureaucratic difficulties, meant that only a small number of volunteers could immediately be trained as parachute troops. The first airborne unit to be formed was actually a re- trained Commando unit, No. 2 Commando, which was subsequently renamed as No. 11 Special Air Service Battalion and numbered approximately 350 officers and other ranks by September 1940. The battalion finished its training in December 1940, and in February 1941 thirty-eight members of the battalion, known as X Troop, were selected to conduct an airborne operation, which was intended to test the capability of the airborne troops and their equipment, as well as the ability of the Royal Air Force to accurately deliver them.

As the speed of the German advance slowed and the VVS began reasserting itself, the Soviets launched a major operation which became the Battles of Rzhev. In particular, Zhigarev presided over the Vyazma airborne operation, a major operation conducted by the 4th Airborne Corps (Soviet Union) which was intended to cut off German supply and communication lines. However, the operation was not a success, and airborne elements were eliminated by German forces in Operation Hannover.Christopher Chant, The encyclopedia of codenames of World War II, Routledge, 1986, , Google Print, p. 77.

Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops.Otway, p.21 On 22 June 1940, No. 2 Commando was redeployed to parachute duties and on 21 November re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with both a parachute and glider wing,Shortt & McBride, p.4Moreman, p.91 the men of which took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.

The British Royal Marines made their first post-World War II amphibious assault during the Suez Crisis of 1956 when they successfully landed at Suez on 6 November as part of a joint seaborne/airborne operation code-named MUSKETEER. Despite all the progress that was seen during World War II, there were still fundamental limitations in the types of coastline that were suitable for assault. Beaches had to be relatively free of obstacles, and have the right tidal conditions and the correct slope. However, the development of the helicopter fundamentally changed the equation.

However, five Dutch commandos were sent to Burma to fight against the Japanese forces in the Arakan Campaign in 1943. The troop returned to Europe in July 1944; in the ensuing months, multiple commandos were dropped in the German-occupied Netherlands to establish contact with the Dutch resistance forces. In September 1944, Dutch commandos joined the Allied paratrooper force to fight in the failed airborne Operation Market Garden. In addition, the troop fought to feed the Dutch island of Walcheren as part of the allied Operation Infatuate, in November 1944.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) currently prohibits the use of mobile phones aboard any aircraft in flight. The reason given is that cell phone systems depend on frequency reuse, which allows for a dramatic increase in the number of customers that can be served within a geographic area on a limited amount of radio spectrum, and operating a phone at an altitude may violate the fundamental assumptions that allow channel reuse to work.47 C.F.R. § 22.925 Prohibition on airborne operation of cellular telephones.. Retrieved August 21, 2009.

Based on the skills, experience, and training achieved during and after the Sukchon-Sunchon operation, the same support units completed the largest aerial resupply operation in history by packaging and airdropping 1,643 tons and airlanding 202 tons of equipment and supplies.. Future trends for the US Army Airborne units were affected by this operation. One other airborne operation took place during the Korean War. On 23 March 1951, 187 RCT, reinforced with two US Army Ranger companies, dropped at Munsan-ni () behind the KPA 19th Division. Again, strategic surprise was achieved.

The Battle of Belgium included the first tank battle of the war, the Battle of Hannut. It was the largest tank battle in history at the time but was later surpassed by the battles of the North African Campaign and the Eastern Front. The battle also included the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael, the first strategic airborne operation using paratroopers ever attempted. The German official history stated that in the 18 days of bitter fighting, the Belgian Army were tough opponents, and spoke of the "extraordinary bravery" of its soldiers.

Vasey and Herring considered both an overland operation to capture Dumpu, and an airborne operation using paratroops of the US Army's 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. Blamey did not agree with their idea of capturing Dumpu first, insisting that Kaiapit be taken beforehand. Until a road could be opened from Lae, the Kaiapit area could only be supplied by air and there were a limited number of transport aircraft. Even flying in an airborne engineer aviation battalion to improve the airstrip would have involved taking aircraft away from operations supporting the 7th Division at Nadzab.

Achilles tank destroyer on the east bank of the Rhine moves up to link with airborne forces whose abandoned Horsa gliders can be seen in the background. Operation Varsity was a successful large-scale airborne operation. All of the objectives that the airborne troops had been tasked with had been captured and held, usually within only a few hours of the operation beginning. The bridges over the Issel had been successfully captured, although one later had to be destroyed to prevent its capture by counter-attacking German forces.

Contemporary observers and historians generally agree that Operation Varsity was successful. General Eisenhower called it "the most successful airborne operation carried out to date", and an observer later wrote that the operation showed "the highest state of development attained by troop-carrier and airborne units".Huston, p. 215 In the official summary of the operation, Major General Ridgway wrote that the operation had been flawless, and that the two airborne divisions involved had destroyed enemy defences that might otherwise have taken days to reduce, ensuring the operation was successful.

The airborne assault over the Rhine (Operation Varsity), was the largest single airborne operation in the history of airborne warfare and also involved the U.S. 17th Airborne Division. Five battalions of the Parachute Regiment in the 6th Airborne Division took part. The first unit to land was the 3rd Parachute Brigade (8th, 9th and 1st Canadian Battalions).Devlin, p. 624 The brigade suffered a number of casualties as it engaged the German forces in the Diersfordter Wald, but by 11:00, the DZ was almost cleared of German forces.

There was a special mention of the unit in the House of Lords in the British Parliament. The 12 members of the unit who participated in the airborne operation were also awarded the American Parachutist Badge. On their return to India, the unit was awarded the President's Trophy by the first President of the Republic of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad on 10 March 1955 at Agra, the first one of its kind and the only one to date. The troops of the unit were also awarded 25 Mentioned-in-Despatches.

Both corps fell under the First Allied Airborne Army under U.S. Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton. The first U.S. airborne operation was by the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion in November 1942, as part of Operation Torch in North Africa. The U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions saw the most action in the European Theater, with the former in Sicily and Italy in 1943, and both in Normandy and the Netherlands in 1944. The 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team was the principal force in Operation Dragoon in Southern France.

The Dutch Korps Speciale Troepen made two combat jumps during the Indonesian War of Independence. The first jump was as part of Operation Kraai: the capture of Yogyakarta, and the capture of Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta on 19 and 20 December 1948. The second combat jump happened during Operation Ekster: the capture of Jambi and the oilfields surrounding is, on Sumatra from 29 December 1948 till 23 January 1949. From The Indonesian side, the first airborne operation was an airborne-infiltration operation by 14 paratroopers on 17 October 1947, in Kotawaringin, Kalimantan.

Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops.Otway, p. 21 On 22 June 1940, No. 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and, on 21 November, redesignated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with a parachute and glider wing.Shortt & McBride, p. 4Moreman, p. 91 It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.

When the war broke out, their son Willie asked for permission to enlist in the army, and both parents consented to their son's request. Willie Sandoval was trained as a paratrooper and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. He fought in Italy and Germany, and was killed on October 6, 1944, during a combat mission related to Operation Market-Garden, the largest airborne operation of all time. Because of the contributions of these young American the street was renamed Hero Street USA in May 1967, by former Mayor of Silvis, William Tatmen.

The First U.S. Army Airborne Operation, army.mil, by Jay A. Graybeal (Army Heritage Museum), dated 28 June 2007, last accessed 4 February 2020Airborne Breast Oval Background Trimmings, Insignia of Airborne Units, U.S. Army, Second World War; last accessed 1 July 2012 The color pattern of the background trimming varied depending upon the unit. In 1944 the separate parachute and glider insignias with infantry blue or artillery red background were merged into a combined parachute and glider on a blue base with a red circle. (Note: During World War II the term "Airborne" included parachute, glider, and air-landing units.

Firefly aircraft on board HMAS Sydney during her Korean War deployment The first involvement Australia had with naval aviation was in 1911, when an Australian-born Royal Navy officer became one of the first four naval officers to receive pilot qualifications. During World War I, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) experienced several forms of airborne operation, with operating a seaplane, while HMA Ships and were used for experiments with aircraft launch platforms. An aircraft embarked aboard Sydney was also involved in one of the first naval air battles. Several Australians also flew as part of the Royal Naval Air Service.

On 6 February, the 3rd Parachute Brigade undertook an exercise in which the entire brigade was dropped by 98 transport aircraft. At the end of March, 284 aircraft were used in Exercise 'Bizz II' in which the entire division was deployed by parachute or glider. Finally, between 21 April and 26 April, Exercise 'Mush' utilised approximately 700 aircraft to deploy the British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade against the 6th Airborne Division, who moved by road, in a simulation of a full-scale airborne operation. As the date of the operation approached, training became more intensive.

The Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II, in which the Allies took the island of Sicily from the Axis powers (Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian Campaign. To divert some of their forces to other areas, the Allies engaged in several deception operations, the most famous and successful of which was Operation Mincemeat. Husky began on the night of 9–10 July 1943, and ended on 17 August.

After landing, the gliders were destroyed and pilots were sometimes returned by aircraft. The only known instance of a glider returning from the field occurred in April 1943, when a famous glider and test pilot Sergei Anokhin evacuated two wounded partisan commanders in a G-11, towed by a Tupolev SB bomber, piloted by Yuriy Zhelutov, on a short towrope. Gliders were also used to supply partisans in some areas in 1944 and to transport sabotage groups behind enemy lines. G-11 gliders were also used in at least one small- scale airborne operation, the Dnepr crossing, carrying anti-tank guns and mortars.

This, the first airborne operation in Hungarian history, was not without incident. The battalion's aircraft consisted of five Italian- made Savoia-Marchetti SM.75 transport aircraft formerly belonging to the civilian airline MALERT, but pressed into service with the Royal Hungarian Air Force (, MKHL) at the start of the European war. Shortly after takeoff from the airport at Veszprém-Jutas on the afternoon of 12 April, the command plane, code E-101, crashed with the loss of 20 or 23 lives, including 19 paratroopers. This was the heaviest single loss suffered by the Hungarians during the Yugoslav campaign.

German paratroopers land in Crete, May 1941 The only Greek territory remaining free by May 1941 was the large and strategically important island of Crete, which was held by a large but weak Allied garrison consisting primarily of the combat-damaged units evacuated from the mainland without their heavy equipment, especially transport. To conquer it, the German High Command prepared "Unternehmen Merkur", the first mass-scale airborne operation in history. The attack was launched on May 20, 1941. The Germans attacked the three main airfields of the island, at the northern towns of Maleme, Rethimnon, and Heraklion, with paratroopers and gliders.

Citus et Certus. p. 25 The detachment dropped paratroopers over the assault area on 15 August and also released gliders carrying troops and equipment such as jeeps, guns, and ammunition. The following day it flew a resupply mission over France, then transported supplies to bases in Italy before returning to England at the end of the month. In September 1944 the squadron participated in Operation Market Garden the unsuccessful airborne operation intended to seize bridges across the Meuse River in the Netherlands, dropping paratroops of the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions and releasing gliders carrying reinforcements.

During the first week, students execute a seven-hour land navigation course in which they move under load, cross-country, during daylight and limited visibility, covering approximately 15 kilometers. They receive an introduction to the fundamentals of reconnaissance and surveillance and are taught how to maximize the capabilities of the equipment in the Army’s inventory such as optics, thermals, and cameras. Students learn how to camouflage themselves and equipment, stalking, and selection, occupation, and concealment of surveillance sites. The first week ends with an airborne operation that can accommodate both static line and Military Free-Fall qualified paratroopers.

Citus et Certus. p. 25 The detachment dropped paratroopers over the assault area on 15 August and also released gliders carrying troops and equipment such as jeeps, guns, and ammunition. The following day it flew a resupply mission over France, then transported supplies to bases in Italy before returning to England at the end of the month. In September 1944 the squadron participated in Operation Market Garden the unsuccessful airborne operation intended to seize bridges across the Meuse River in the Netherlands, dropping paratroops of the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions and releasing gliders carrying reinforcements.

The resultant failure rate was accordingly high, but there was never a shortage of candidates, especially for the American divisions, as the rate of pay was much higher than that of an ordinary infantryman. As the division trained, a debate developed in the U.S. Army over whether the best use of airborne forces was en masse or as small compact units. On 9 July 1943, the first large-scale Allied airborne operation–the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky)–was carried out by elements of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division and the British 1st Airborne Division.Devlin, p. 204.

Earle Wheeler, a United States army general ordered the operation as a part of the raised nuclear alert. Under secrecy, Operation Giant Lance was a part of numerous escalations of nuclear threat, launched according to Nixon and Wheeler’s decision to initiate a “Show of Force” alert on the 10th of October 1969. This was a series of operations to increase military pressure, including the airborne operation ‘Operation Giant Lance’. Initiated on the 13th of October, Eighteen B-52 bomber aircraft were deployed in preparation for the operation, requiring accompanying KC-135 tankers to refuel and support the extended patrol of the squadron.

During the planning for the Sixth Army's operations, Reichenau seemed to display a lack of interest when the subject turned to the capture of the bridges at Maastricht, in the Netherlands, and Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium. The defeat and/or capture of these objectives were essential for the Sixth Army to advance into the Low Countries. So unenthusiastic was Reichenau about the suggested airborne operation by glider troops against the fort, that he refused to allow the diversion of any army artillery. Richthofen supplied a Flak battalion, Flakgruppe Aldinger, for the task of supporting them.

4th IBCT(A) conduct airborne operation in Alaska during Exercise Arctic Aurora, c. June 2016 The 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division (25th ID) is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army. The unit is stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska and is the only airborne brigade combat team in the Pacific Theater. It is also the newest airborne IBCT and one of only five in the United States Army; the others are the three IBCTs of the 82nd Airborne Division and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.

Later, in March 1945, the battalion took part in the last airborne operation of the war: the River Rhine crossing in Germany. After the war in Europe ended, they were sent to India to conduct operations against the Japanese Empire, however, the war ended before they could begin. As a result, the battalion was sent to British Malaya, Singapore and Java to help disarm the Japanese occupiers and restore law and order. While in the Far East 252 men of the battalion were convicted of mutiny and soon afterwards, in May 1946, the battalion was disbanded.

Impressed by the success of German airborne operations, during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops.Otway, p.21 On 22 June 1940, No. 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and on 21 November, re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with a parachute and glider wing, and later became the 1st Parachute Battalion.Shortt & McBride, p.4Moreman, p.91 It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.

IX Corps' forces coming from the south were to link up with the paratroopers within twenty-four hours. Easy progress by Hoge's divisions on 20 and 21 March and the continuing rapid withdrawal of PVA forces made it evident that the projected airborne operation would not be profitable. Ridgway canceled it on the morning of the 21st as the 1st Cavalry Division came up on the Cairo Line without opposition. Moving ahead of the main body of the division, an armored task force meanwhile entered the Chunchon basin and at 13:30 on the 21st entered the town itself.

Two years after graduation, in 1976, he joined the Belgian Army and became a paratrooper. While in the army he participated in the Battle of Kolwezi, a joint French and Belgian airborne operation which resulted in the liberation of hostages from the city of Kolwezi. Following his time in the army, he began a formal study of homeopathy and qualified as a homeopathic practitioner in France. He travelled widely studying various forms of alternative and spiritual healing; it is known that he visited the Philippines in 1977, and he later stated he had visited China, Peru, and India.

The Soviets mounted only one large-scale airborne operation in World War II, despite their early leadership in the field in the 1930s. Russia also pioneered the development of combat gliders, but used them only for cargo during the war. Axis air superiority early in the conflict limited the ability of the Soviets to mount such operations, whilst later in the conflict ongoing shortages of materiel, including silk for parachutes, was also a problem. Nonetheless, the Soviets maintained their doctrinal belief in the effectiveness of airborne forces, as part of their concept of "deep battle", throughout the war.

The following day it flew a resupply mission over France, then transported supplies to bases in Italy before returning to England at the end of the month. In September 1944 the squadron participated in Operation Market Garden the unsuccessful airborne operation intended to seize bridges across the Meuse River in the Netherlands, dropping paratroops of the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions and releasing gliders carrying reinforcements. During the Battle of the Bulge, the unit delivered supplies to isolated combat positions of the 101st Airborne and 7th Armored Divisions in Bastogne and Marcouray, Belgium.Citus et Certus, p.

On the afternoon of March 23, Brereton and Coningham, commanding all the cooperating air forces, made the final decision to launch Varsity when weather officers predicted clear weather the next day. Although the Germans had anticipated the assault and prepared positions for 10,000 defending troops, the unprecedented size of the airborne operation overwhelmed the defense. Using 300 double-tow glider sorties, a troop carrier group of 72 Curtiss C-46 Commandos, and three parallel ingress lanes, nearly 17,000 troops were concentrated in the objective area in less than four hours, using 540 planeloads of paratroopers and 1,348 gliders.

From D-Day to VE Day, 13 RCAF fighter pilots in service on the continent accounted for more than 120 German aircraft claimed destroyed. The top scorer was Squadron Leader Don Laubman, with 15 victories. On 26 and 27 September Laubman flew four missions and downed seven enemy aircraft; four German Focke-Wulf Fw 190s and three German Messerschmitt Bf 109s (plus another Bf 109 damaged). This happened in the Nijmegen area (the location of Operation Market-Garden, the airborne operation to capture the Dutch Rhine bridges.) After his tour ended he arrived back in Canada in November 1944.

44 The invasion, planned for 10 July, would land the United States Seventh Army to operate on the Western sector, and the British Eighth Army to operate in the Eastern sector, and had as its objectives the port of Syracuse and the airfields inland. An airborne operation was to attempt to capture the bridges and waterways behind Syracuse. The division was to land on a one brigade front (151st Brigade) south of Cap Murro Di Porco with the 5th Division to their right (north). High winds scattered both seaborne and airborne landings, but were able to concentrate and advance.

From 7 to 14 April 2015, French and Nigerien forces carried out an airborne operation in the far north of Niger to search for Jihadists. As part of the operation, 90 French Foreign Legion paratroopers of the 2e REP jumped near the Salvador pass. Two legionnaires were injured during the jump before they were joined by a joint force of Nigerien and French soldiers from the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment (1er RHP). On 26 November 2015, a French Air Parachute Commando died in hospital in France as a result of his injuries after being hit by an anti-tank mine on 13 October near Tessalit during a reconnaissance mission.

From the start of the war until December 1940 Trettner served as Staff Officer, Operations (Ia) in the Staff of the 7th Paratroop Division until 14 June 1939. He was later appointed Chief Of Operations in the Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps (15 December 1940 to 6 April 1942), taking part in the airborne operation on Crete. He was promoted to Chief of Staff of the XI. Paratroop Corps, but on 4 October 1943 was reassigned to head formation and become Commanding Officer of the 4th Parachute Division (Germany), a command he held until 3 May 1945 when he surrendered to the US troops.

Supermarine Spitfire Mark Vs, reinforcement aircraft for North African units, lined up at Bone airfield, Algeria. As an insufficient number of transport aircraft were allocated to the brigade, it was only possible to transport 3rd Parachute Battalion by air, with the battalion's strength consisting of its headquarters staff and 'B' and 'C' companies.Saunders, p.78'A' Company remained with the rest of 1st Parachute Brigade, and would land with the brigade in Algiers on 12 November. The battalion landed at Gibraltar at dawn on 10 November, and its commander, Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Pine Coffin, was informed that the battalion was scheduled to conduct an airborne operation the next day.

Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France in May 1940, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops.Otway, p. 21 On 22 June 1940 No. 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and on 21 November re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with a parachute and glider wing and was later redesignated the 1st Parachute Battalion.Shortt and McBride, p. 4Moreman, p. 91 It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941.

Operation Hokki was conducted by Finland between 31 July 1944 to 31 August 1944 during the Continuation War. The mission's objective was to destroy the railway yards of Petrozavodsk in order to prevent the enemy from supplying its troops in the Battle of Ilomantsi. Due to the many setbacks that occurred, the objective of the mission was changed and the Finnish troops ended up destroying a large portion of railroad tracks that were being used to supply the Soviet troops in Ilomantsi. Operation Hokki is the only known Finnish airborne operation during World War II and was the largest landing operation in Finnish history.

The paratroopers were under the command of Colonel William C. Mayville Jr., commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The aircraft from which the units were delivered into battle were the C-17s of the 62d and 446th Airlift Wings from McChord AFB, Washington and the 437th Airlift Wing and 315th Airlift Wing (AFRES) from Charleston AFB, South Carolina. The C-17s were under the command of Colonel Robert “Dice” R. Allardice, commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing. This airborne operation was not only the largest since the 1989 invasion of Panama, but was the first airborne personnel insertion ever conducted with the C-17.

On March 7, 1945, a company of armoured infantry of the U.S. 9th Armored Division captured the last intact bridge over the Rhine at Remagen. General George Patton's Third US Army also made a crossing of the river the day before the much anticipated Rhine crossings by the 21st Army Group (First Canadian Army and the British Second Army) under Field Marshal Montgomery in the third week of March 1945. Operation Varsity was a massive airborne operation in conjunction with Operation Plunder, the amphibious crossings. By early April, the Rhine had been crossed by all the Allied armies operating west of the river, and the battles for the Rhineland were over.

An airhead is a designated area in a hostile or threatened territory which, when seized and held, allows the air landing of further teams and materiel via an airbridge, and provides the maneuver and preparation space necessary for projected operations. Normally it is the area seized in the assault phase of an airborne operation. It may also be used as a staging or refueling point for less permanent operations. Typically, an airhead is established by helicopter- landed or paratrooper forces, and often will take place at an airport (to allow conventional transport to land later on) or at a helicopter or glider- accessible area.

On 9 July 1943, the first large-scale Allied airborne operation was carried out by elements of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division and the British 1st Airborne Division in support of the Allied invasion of Sicily, code-named Operation Husky.Devlin, p. 204. The 11th Airborne Division's commanding general, Major General Swing, was temporarily transferred to act as airborne advisor to General Dwight D. Eisenhower for the operation, and observed the airborne assault which went badly. The 82nd Airborne Division had been inserted by parachute and glider and had suffered high casualties, leading to a perception that it had failed to achieve many of its objectives.

125 As a consequence of these delays the division was not fully trained and combat-ready until January 1945, and was transferred to France and the European Theater of Operations in February.Flanagan, p. 285 When the division arrived in France, it came under the command of the First Allied Airborne Army, which controlled all Allied airborne formations. The division, along with two others, was selected to participate in Operation Varsity, the airborne operation to support the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group crossing the River Rhine, but was removed from the operation due to there being insufficient transport aircraft to carry all three divisions into combat.

A course on dealing with helicopters is also taken by all soldiers. During this course they get to know the capabilities of the helicopters, and learn how to equip it and prepare it to perform a tactical mission. Soldiers also train on jumping out of helicopters from low altitudes onto land and into sea, and also train on landing from helicopters using ropes. This course is finalized by conducting a tactical maneuver during which soldiers perform an airborne operation using helicopters on a specific area to perform a mission, given that the helicopter will return later to pick them up at a specific time from another predetermined check point.

Once these objectives were taken, the airborne troops would consolidate their positions and await the arrival of Allied ground forces, defending the territory captured against the German forces known to be in the area. C-47s and CG-4A gliders before take-off, 24 March 1945. Operation Varsity would be the largest single-lift airborne operation conducted during the conflict; more significantly, it would contradict previous airborne strategy by having the airborne troops drop after the initial amphibious landings, in order to minimize the risks to the airborne troops learned from the experiences of Operation Market Garden, the attempt to capture the Rhine bridges in the Netherlands in 1944.Jewell, p.

Curtiss C-46 "Commando" in flight One specific failure in the massive operation was the critical lack of transport aircraft for the operation, an unsolved flaw that had dogged every large-scale airborne operation the Allies had conducted. In the original planning for Varsity, an extra airborne division, the 13th, had been included; however, a lack of transport aircraft to drop this division led to it being excluded from the final plan. Thus, the unsolved problem of a shortage of transport aircraft meant that a third of the planned troops to be used were discarded, weakening the fighting power of the airborne formation.Devlin, p.

He spent months in the hospital, recovering and regaining his strength. After his recovery, Urquhart served in North Africa and the Mediterranean, before returning to England to participate in the planning of airborne operations associated with Operation Overlord. In the autumn, as the 1st Airborne Corps Intelligence Officer, he assisted with the planning for Operation Market Garden, an ambitious airborne operation designed to seize the Dutch bridges over the rivers barring the Allied advance into northern Germany. He became convinced that the plan was critically flawed, and attempted to persuade his superiors to modify or abort their plans in light of crucial information obtained from aerial reconnaissance and the Dutch resistance.

The BPL reunited on 18 June near Savannakhet at the French Air Force's Seno Airbase. Between 2 and 4 August it conducted the final airborne operation of the war, in which it parachuted into the town of Phanop in Khammouane Province, linking up with local militia units and sweeping the territory up to Mụ Giạ Pass on the Vietnamese border. Following the implementation of the Indochina ceasefire on 6 August, the 1st BPL with 981 personnel returned to Seno and transferred to the Laotian National Army. Following the October departure of its French officers, the unit was redesignated the 1st Parachute Battalion (French: 1er Bataillon Parachutiste – 1er BP).

On October 17, 1944, after the completion of Market Garden, the staff of the First Allied Airborne Army learned that Gen. Bradley hoped to cross the Rhine River at Wesel, Germany, and on November 7 completed a study for an airborne operation by two divisions, Operation Varsity, to support the endeavor. A number of factors delayed the target date to January 1, 1945, and the Battle of the Bulge further disrupted the schedule. After the Allied counter-offensive in January, Eisenhower planned an assault over the Rhine in the same area, and Operation Varsity was revisited on February 10 with few changes in the outline plan.

Siegert received his elementary training in New Zealand, before being sent to Canada to qualify as a pilot under the Empire Training Scheme. He was eventually sent to England and served in Nos 299 and 190 Squadrons RAF, both airborne forces squadrons, flying the Stirling four-engined bomber in the troop transport and glider-towing role. In addition they also flew missions for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), dropping men and supplies into occupied Europe. Early on 6 June 1944 Siegert saw action during Operation Tonga, the British airborne operation launched to precede the beach landings, his No. 190 Squadron aircraft towing a glider carrying men from the 5th Parachute Brigade.

They were Hari Hadi Sumantri (Semarang Radio Air Force mechanic), FM Soejoto (An Air Force Radio interpreter from Ponorogo), Iskandar (troop leader), Ahmad Kosasih, Bachri, J. Bitak, C. Williem, Imanuel, Amirudin, Ali Akbar, M Dahlan, JH. Darius, and Marawi. They were deployed from the C-47 Dakota RI-002 aircraft flown by an American named Bob Freeberg as well as the owner of the aircraft, co-pilot Warrant Officer Suhodo, and the Jumpmaster, Pilot Officer Amir Hamzah. Acting as the pointer to the parapet was Major Tjilik Riwut who was a native son of Borneo. This was the first airborne operation in Indonesian history.

Buckley wrote that Bucknall was unprepared to support the attack once problems developed and that Erskine was not suited to the task. Wilmot agreed with Dempsey that Bucknall, not the Germans, was to blame for the 7th Armoured Division withdrawal. He further wrote that Bucknall refused to reinforce the division, because he had already decided that its lines of communication were endangered D'Este wrote that the failure to unhinge the German front line south of Caen and outflank the I SS Panzer Corps, was "one of the costliest Allied mistakes" of the campaign. With the British withdrawal the chance of mounting a "snap airborne operation" to seize Caen or to deepen the Allied bridgehead had been lost.

An Army Jump Master giving the hand signal for "30 seconds" during an airborne operation over a drop zone Hand and arm signals for United States Army use were first laid down in Field Manual 21-60. They were superseded in Training Circular 3-21.60. Hand and Arm signals are one of the most common forms of communication used by United States Army soldiers or group of soldiers when a radio silence is in effect or if the soldiers need to remain undetected. Through the use of these signals military leaders, such as team leaders, squad leaders and platoon leaders, are able to keep command and control (C2) over their particular element.

Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the Fallschirmjäger, and as the most senior member of the Fallschirmjäger, commanded it throughout the war. Student led the first major airborne attack in history, the Battle for The Hague in May 1940. He also commanded the Fallschirmjägers in its last major airborne operation, the invasion of Crete in May 1941. The operation was a success despite German losses, and led the Allies to hasten the training and development of their own airborne units.

Beginning in January 1942, the corps fought in the Vyazma Airborne Operation. Between 27 January and 2 February, three battalions of the corps' 8th Airborne Brigade, the 201st Airborne Brigade of the 5th Airborne Corps and the 250th Separate Rifle Regiment were paradropped in the German rear near the village of Ozrechnya. The rest of the 4th Airborne Corps, composed of the 9th Airborne Brigade and 214th Airborne Brigade was dropped from 18 to 24 February west of Yukhnov with its objective to cut the Warsaw road and link up with the 50th Army. During the airdrop on 23 February, 4th Airborne Corps commander Alexei Levashev was killed when his aircraft was shot down.

Operation Freshman was the first British airborne operation conducted using gliders, its target was the Vemork Norsk Hydro chemical plant in Norway, which produced heavy water for Nazi Germany.Ferguson, p.9 By 1942 the German atomic weapons programme had come close to being able to develop a nuclear reactor, but in order for the reactor to function it would require a great deal of heavy water. The source of this water was the Norsk Hydro plant, which had been occupied in 1940; when the British government learned of the German nuclear developments, it was decided that a raid would be launched to destroy the plant and deny the Germans the heavy water.

The 17th gained its first Medal of Honor during its time fighting in the Ardennes, and was then withdrawn to Luxembourg to prepare for an assault over the River Rhine. In March 1945, the division participated in its first, and only, airborne operation, dropping alongside the British 6th Airborne Division as a part of Operation Varsity, where it gained three more Medals of Honor. The division then advanced through Northern Germany until the end of World War II, when it briefly undertook occupation duties in Germany before shipping back to the United States. There, it was officially inactivated in September 1945, although it was briefly reactivated as a training division between 1948 and 1949.

440 As such the 13th Airborne Division was dropped from the operational plan, primarily because it had no combat experience, whereas the 6th Airborne Division had participated in Operation Tonga, the British airborne landings during Operation Neptune, and the 17th had seen combat in the Ardennes. The plan for the operation was therefore altered to accommodate the two remaining airborne divisions. This would be the first airborne operation the 17th would take part in, and indeed would be its only before it was disbanded. The two airborne divisions would be dropped behind German lines, with their objective to land around Wesel and disrupt enemy defences in order to aid the advance of the British Second Army.

Operation Mallard was the codename for an airborne forces operation, which was conducted by the British Army on 6 June 1944, as part of the Normandy landings during the Second World War. The mission's objective was to airlift glider infantry of the 6th Airlanding Brigade and divisional troops to reinforce the British 6th Airborne Division on the left flank of the British invasion beaches. Using two landing zones, one to the west of the Caen canal and the other to the east of the River Orne, Mallard was the third airborne operation involving units of the division on D-Day. The first, Operation Deadstick, had captured what are now known as the Pegasus and Horsa Bridges.

25 The detachment dropped paratroopers over the assault area on 15 August and also released gliders carrying troops and equipment such as jeeps, guns, and ammunition. The following day it flew a resupply mission over France, then transported supplies to bases in Italy before returning to England at the end of the month. In September 1944 the group participated in Operation Market Garden the unsuccessful airborne operation intended to seize bridges across the Meuse River in the Netherlands, dropping paratroops of the 82d and 101st Airborne Divisions and releasing gliders carrying reinforcements. During the Battle of the Bulge, the group delivered supplies to isolated combat positions of the 101st Airborne and 7th Armored Divisions in Bastogne and Marcouray, Belgium.

Norton also argues that improvements were made for supporting the airborne troops; he notes that a large number of artillery pieces were available to cover the landings and that observers were dropped with the airborne forces, thus augmenting the firepower and flexibility of the airborne troops. He also highlights the development of a technique that allowed entire brigades to be landed in tactical groups, giving them greater flexibility.Norton, pp. 91–93 Dropping the airborne forces after the ground forces had breached the Rhine also ensured that the airborne troops would not have to fight for long before being relieved, a major improvement on the manner in which the previous large-scale airborne operation, Market Garden, had been conducted.

A hole, a par five, on the south course (Hylands Golf Course Uplands) in Ottawa, Ontario was named "Arnhem, in honour of the Royal Canadian Artillery squadrons that took part in Second World War allied airborne Operation MARKET GARDEN from 17 to 26 September 1944. The operation, intended to secure a series of bridges so the allies could advance into Germany, fell short when the allied forces were unsuccessful in securing the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem." The village of Somerby in Leicestershire has a memorial hall dedicated to the men of the 10th battalion who were based there and who did not return. Each year there is a parade in their honour led by the Seaforth Highlanders.

One version of the patch worn on the uniforms of American pathfinders who served during World War II. U.S. Army pathfinders and C-47 Skytrain flight crew just before D-Day, June 1944. In military organizations, a pathfinder is a specialized soldier inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operation, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander. Pathfinders first appeared in World War II, where they served with distinction, and continue to serve an important role in today's modern armed forces, providing commanders with the option of flexibly employing air assets.

Operation Market Garden, the brainchild of British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, commander of the 21st Army Group, which took place on September 17, 1944, was the next major airborne operation into the Netherlands, the largest to date. The mission of the airborne troops was to capture a series of bridges from Best in the south, to Arnhem (by the British 1st Airborne Division) in the north. This would then allow the ground element to cross the bridges in a rapid maneuvre. While the operation ultimately failed due to delays among the ground forces, the airborne divisions accomplished most of their missions; this was due in large part to the efforts of the pathfinder forces.

A similar mission was carried out by the pathfinders of the 506th PIR at Prüm, Germany, on February 13, 1945. Their objective was to set beacons to guide in planes to resupply the surrounded 4th Infantry Division, and they succeeded; this allowed the division to fight off the Germans surrounding them. The only major airborne operation into Germany came on March 24, 1945, in the form of Operation Varsity, the crossing of the Rhine River by American, British and Canadian paratroopers. Because it was another daylight drop (navigation should not be a problem) and that the drop zones were heavily defended, pathfinders were not dropped prior to the main paratrooper forces in this operation.

While assigned as Intelligence Officer of the 51st Troop Carrier Wing in North Africa, he joined Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, artillery commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, on a clandestine mission behind Axis lines in Italy on September 7–8, 1943. Meeting with Italian prime minister Marshal Pietro Badoglio and General Giacomo Carboni, the pair had been sent to assess the chances of success of an airborne operation to seize two airfields near Rome in advance of the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno, and the credibility of Italian assurances of cooperation. As a result of the meeting, the proposed operation was cancelled at the last minute and a disaster averted.

In March 1945, the Allies crossed the River Rhine. South of the Ruhr, General Omar Nelson Bradley's U.S. 12th Army Group's pursuit of the disintegrating German army resulted in the capture of the Ludendorff Bridge across the Rhine at Remagen by the 9th Armored Division of the U.S. First Army. Bradley and his subordinates quickly exploited the crossing made on March 7, 1945, and expanded the bridgehead until the bridge collapsed 10 days later. North of the Ruhr on March 23, 1945, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group which incorporated the US Ninth Army launched Operation Plunder (with the airborne Operation Varsity in support) crossing the Rhine at Rees and Wesel.

The 6th Airborne Division, under the command of Major-General Richard Nelson Gale, was fully mobilised by late December 1943, with orders to prepare for airborne operations to be conducted during mid-1944. The division's first airborne operation would also be the first time it saw combat, conducting Operation Tonga, the British airborne landings in Normandy on the night of 5/6 June, D-Day.Tugwell, p. 202 It was tasked with guarding the left flank of the British amphibious landings by securing the area east of the city of Caen, capturing a number of bridges that spanned several rivers and canals, and then preventing any Axis forces from advancing on the British beaches.

Battalions of the 82d prepared for a possible parachute jump to support elements of the 1st Armored Division which had been ordered to Bosnia-Herzegovina as part of Operation Joint Endeavor. Only after engineers of the 1st Armored Division bridged the Sava River on 31 December 1995 without hostilities did the 82d begin to draw down against plans for a possible airborne operation there. The 82d's 49th Public Affairs Detachment was deployed in support of the 1st Armored Division and air-landed in Tuzla with the 1AD TAC CP and began PA operations to include establishing the first communications in print and radio and covering the crossing of the Sava River by the main forces.

U.S. Army footage from 'Operation Baker' 1967 showing U.S. troops putting aces of spades in the mouths of dead VietCong/NLF (can be seen 1:53 min:sec & 2:34 min:sec into the video footage) The ace of spades has been employed, on numerous occasions, in the theater of war. In the Second World War, the soldiers of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the American 101st Airborne Division were marked with the spades symbol painted on the sides of their helmet. In this capacity, it was used to represent good luck, due to its fortunate connotations in card playing. All four card suits were used for easy of identification of regiments within the airborne division following the confusion of a large scale combat airborne operation.

In the fall of 2008, SETAF went through major organizational changes as it restructured to support AFRICOM. It was August 2008 when SETAF conducted its final airborne operation and, shortly thereafter, SETAF soldiers replaced their maroon berets with black berets and replaced their airborne tabs with historic SETAF scrolls. In early December 2008, the U.S. Ambassador to Italy and the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs announced in Rome that SETAF officially had assumed duties as the U.S. Army Africa, the Army component headquarters for AFRICOM. As of March 2013, during the last 30 months, U.S. Army Africa conducted more than 400 theater security cooperation activities, exercises, and Senior Leader Engagements with each event designed to build partner capacity in Africa.

In Norway, a company of paratroopers dropped at Oslo's undefended airstrip. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon of April 9, 1940, the Germans flew in sufficient reinforcements to seize the capital, but by that time the Norwegian government had fled. German paratroopers landing at the Ockenburg airfield near The Hague, 10 May 1940 The paratroopers' first major action and the first large scale airborne operation in history, was the Battle for The Hague on 10 May 1940. German paratroopers landed at three airfields near The Hague. From one of these airfields, they were driven out after the first wave of reinforcements, brought in by Ju 52s, was annihilated by anti-aircraft fire and fierce resistance by some remaining Dutch defenders.

Six man parties of 1st Airborne Division Paratroops marching toward Hotspur gliders of the Glider Pilot Exercise Unit at Netheravon. However, despite these difficulties, by mid 1941 the fledgling airborne establishment was able to form the first British airborne unit. This was No. 11 Special Air Service Battalion, which numbered approximately 350 officers and other ranks, and had been formed by converting and retraining No. 2 Commando.Otway, pp.31–32 On 10 February 1941 thirty eight men from the battalion conducted the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, a raid against an aqueduct in southern Italy; it was hoped that the destruction of the aqueduct would deprive Italian civilian and military installations of their water supply, damage Italian morale and the Italian war effort in North Africa.

The Headquarters staff of Combined Operations at the War Office was tasked with devising a plan for the glider-borne assault on the plant, as it had been with previous airborne and commando operations, such as Operation Biting. This was the first British airborne operation ever to use gliders; all previous operations had been conducted solely with parachutists.Otway, p. 73 The staff decided that although gliders would be the most suitable for the operation due to the heavy loads to be carried by the airborne troops, and the possibility that they could be widely dispersed if they were dropped by parachute, the airborne troops would still be trained for a possible parachute insertion if the landing zone for the gliders was found to be unsuitable.

In July it attacked gun emplacements during the Saint-Lô break out. The unit patrolled the Arnhem sector to support the airborne operation in the Netherlands in September 1944, and in December, transportation facilities during the Battle of the Bulge. During the Western Allied invasion of Germany, the squadron flew ground support missions by strafing trucks, locomotives and oil depots near Wesel when the Allies crossed the Rhine in March 1945; it continued offensive operations until 21 April 1945. After the German capitulation, the unit became part of the United States Air Forces in Europe Army of Occupation, at AAF Station Kaufbeuren, then moved to AAF Station Giebelstadt in early 1946 where it received its first jet aircraft, the P-80A Shooting Star.

The 511th's airborne operation had originally been scheduled for 2 February, but with Major General Swing's insistence that the drop was only to go ahead if his ground forces were in range to offer support, the dogged Japanese resistance encountered delayed the operation. With only forty-eight C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft available, the 511th was forced to deploy in three waves. The regimental staff, the 2nd Battalion and half of the 3rd Battalion would drop first, the rest of the regiment would arrive in the second lift, and the 457th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion would drop in the third.Flanagan, p. 315. Paratroopers of the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment prepare for their combat jump on Tagaytay Ridge, 3 February 1945.

The division was originally formed as an air landing division (Luftlandivision) trained and equipped to be transported by aircraft (i.e. having only light artillery and few heavy support weapons) to take part in Operation Tanne Ost, an aborted airborne operation in Scandinavia. Despite its name, the 91st in practice was a regular Heer unit and spent its entire existence as a conventional infantry division. Formed in the Baumholder area from replacement center personnel in January 1944 under the command of Generalleutnant Bruno Ortner, its command was transferred to Generalleutnant Wilhelm Falley and moved to the Cotentin peninsula with von der Heydte's 6th Parachute Regiment and 100th Panzer Replacement and Training Battalion, armed with captured French light tanks, attached as part of the German 7th Army.

Walter Cronkite as he appeared during the television broadcast of the concert. During the concert, Walter Cronkite narrated parts of history during and after the Second World War, in order to illustrate the historical meaning of the concert. During the concert Walter Cronkite was positioned at the side of the Rhine, in a military Jeep. In his initial appearance at the beginning of the concert, Walter Cronkite both describes the reason for his presence and the reason for the concert: > I am here tonight, because as a war correspondent, I was part of the allied > airborne operation that for a brief moment in history, more than fifty years > ago, focused the world's attention on this crossing of the Rhine and this > Dutch City of Arnhem.

Many of these aircraft carried Australian civil registrations. It flew troops and equipment to New Guinea, established courier and passenger routes in Australia, and trained with airborne troops. C-47s dropping paratroopers at Nadzab The group again equipped with C-47's and left Australia for New Guinea in September 1943. It took part in the first airborne operation in the Southwest Pacific on 5 September, dropping paratroops at Nadzab, New Guinea, to cut supply lines and seize enemy bases in the area. Until November 1944, the group transported men and cargo to Allied bases on New Guinea, New Britain, Guadalcanal, and in the Admiralty Islands. It also dropped reinforcements and supplies to forces on Noemfoor on 3 and 4 July 1944.

The squadron deployed to Australia, arriving in January 1943 as an element of Fifth Air Force. It made numerous flights in unarmed planes over the Owen Stanley Range transporting reinforcement and supplies to Wau, Papua New Guinea, where enemy forces were threatening a valuable Allied airdrome, for which it was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation. It performed paratroop drops at Nadzab (the first airborne operation in the Southwest Pacific) and Noemfoor in New Guinea; Tagaytay, Luzon, and Corregidor and Aparri in the Philippines. Also performed cargo airlift, supply and evacuation, and other assigned missions along the northern coast of New Guinea; the Dutch East Indies and in the Philippines as part of MacArthur's island hopping offensive against the Japanese in the Southwest Pacific.

Eisenhower Commission, Eisenhower Memorial The British and Americans contemplated an airborne operation before the attack. In Operation Eclipse, the 17th Airborne Division, 82d Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division, and a British brigade were to seize the Tempelhof, Rangsdorf, Gatow, Staaken, and Oranienburg airfields. In Berlin, the Reichsbanner resistance organization identified possible drop zones for Allied paratroopers and planned to guide them past German defenses into the city. After General Omar Bradley warned, however, that capturing a city located in a region that the Soviets had already received at the Yalta Conference might cost 100,000 casualties, by April 15 Eisenhower ordered all armies to halt when they reached the Elbe and Mulde Rivers, thus immobilizing these spearheads while the war continued for three more weeks.

An attempt to advance into northern Germany spearheaded by a major airborne operation in the Netherlands failed.. After that, the Western Allies slowly pushed into Germany, but failed to cross the Rur river in a large offensive. In Italy, Allied advance also slowed due to the last major German defensive line. SS soldiers from the Dirlewanger Brigade, tasked with suppressing the Warsaw Uprising against Nazi occupation, August 1944 On 22 June, the Soviets launched a strategic offensive in Belarus ("Operation Bagration") that destroyed the German Army Group Centre almost completely.: "It was the most calamitous defeat of all the German armed forces in World War II." Soon after that, another Soviet strategic offensive forced German troops from Western Ukraine and Eastern Poland.

25 British efforts to prevent illegal roadblocks in South Armagh were thwarted by the IRA during the 1981 Irish hunger strike, when a covert observation post was ambushed and a Royal Green Jackets soldier was killed."After Dean was killed, some Army commanders concluded that it was not worth risking the lives of soldiers to prevent an IRA roadblock being set up." Harnden, page 172 In 1984 the British Army began the building of 12 surveillance watchtowers along the border between County Armagh and the Republic of Ireland, with the aim of hindering the IRA's freedom of movement. The airlift of materials and personnel involved was the largest airborne operation of the British Army since D day in World War II.Harnden, Toby (2000).

The main Regiment's task is to provide close combat support to the Folgore Parachute Brigade granting the freedom of deployment and movement within the whole of the assigned objective area/area of responsibility and providing counter- mobility to the opposing forces as required. For this reason the guastatori paracadutisti must be expert scouts, masters in handling and using explosives, engineers able to create and/or remove obstacles as required, high trained troops in assaulting well-organised enemy defensive positions and also able to launch tactical bridge. As for the other parachute units belonging to the Folgore, the preferential area of employment is the airborne operation. In addition to the previous main military tasks, the 8th Regiment is also asked to support Italian population.

By 18:00 hours, the 504th had accomplished its assigned mission (although the enemy had managed to destroy one of the bridges). In just four hours, the regiment had jumped, assembled, engaged the enemy, and seized its objectives. The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment were some of the first Allied troops to land in the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation in history. For the next two days, the regiment held its ground and conducted aggressive combat and reconnaissance patrols until the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Guards, part of the 5th Guards Armoured Brigade of the Guards Armoured Division, made the ground link-up, spearheading the advance of the British 30th Corps, commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Brian G. Horrocks, of the British Second Army.

Following the Normandy invasion in June 1944, the Dutch civilian population was put under increasing pressure by Allied infiltration and the need for intelligence regarding the German military defensive buildup, the instability of German positions and active fighting. Portions of the country were liberated as part of the Allied Drive to the Siegfried Line. The unsuccessful Allied airborne Operation Market Garden liberated Eindhoven and Nijmegen, but the attempt to secure bridges and transport lines around Arnhem in mid-September failed, partly because British forces disregarded intelligence offered by the Dutch resistance about German strength and position of enemy forces and declined help with communications from the resistance. The Battle of the Scheldt, aimed at opening the Belgian port of Antwerp, liberated the south-west Netherlands the following month.

In July 2014, NASA submitted a report to Congress detailing the reasons for the delay and a projected budget overrun, as is required by law for NASA projects which spend at least 15% over budget. In order to finance the budget overrun, NASA diverted funds from other planned satellite missions, such as the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite. The launch of ICESat-2 took place on 15 September 2018 at 15:02 UTC from Vandenberg Air Force Base Space Launch Complex 2 aboard a Delta II 7420-10C. To maintain a degree of data continuity between the decommissioning of ICESat and the launch of ICESat-2, NASA's airborne Operation IceBridge used a variety of aircraft to collect polar topography and measure ice thickness using suites of laser altimeters, radars, and other systems.

MacArthur, in turn, awarded General Tunner the Distinguished Service Cross. Yet, while the airdrop itself had been a success, despite MacArthur's optimistic predictions, the operation would come too late to intercept any significant KPA elements and the US landings initially met little resistance.. Indeed, most of the KPA had succeeded in withdrawing north, and had crossed the Chongchon River, or were in the process of doing so, while Premier Kim Il Sung’s government and most important officials had moved to Kanggye () in the mountains southeast of Manpojin () on the Yalu River. Most of the American POWs had also been moved to more remote parts of North Korea, and were unable to be rescued. The KPA had shown no organized resistance, owing to the surprise achieved by the airborne operation.

Unloading was also a long process, taking approximately ten minutes; it was noted that the time it took to unload the M22 from a C-54 on the battlefield meant that both the tank and aircraft would make excellent targets for enemy fire.Fletcher, p. 72. Operational use of the tank would therefore be restricted to the availability of airfields large enough to accommodate a fully laden C-54, which might not be in the right geographical location or might even have to be captured in advance of a planned airborne operation. A heavy transport aircraft, the Fairchild C-82 Packet, was developed to specifically carry the M22 inside its fuselage and unload it through a set of clam-shell doors, but it did not enter service until after the war had ended.

The Battle of Elephant Point was an airborne operation at the mouth of the Yangon River conducted by a composite Gurkha airborne battalion that took place on 1 May 1945. In March 1945, plans were made for an assault on Rangoon, the capital of Burma, as a stepping-stone on the way to recapturing Malaya and Singapore. Initial plans for the assault on the city had called for a purely land-based approach by British Fourteenth Army, but concerns about heavy Japanese resistance led to this being modified with the addition of a joint amphibious-airborne assault. This assault, led by 26th Indian Division, would sail up the Rangoon River, but before it could do so, the river would have to be cleared of Japanese and British mines.

U.S. Army paratroopers prepare to board a C-17 Globemaster III into the Kurdish-controlled area of northern Iraq. This was the first combat insertion of paratroopers using a C-17. On March 26, 2003, the 173rd Airborne Brigade conducted the 44th combat jump in US history, dropping 965 paratroopers into northern Iraq to secure a lodgement at Bashur during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). The 173rd was originally to be attached to the 4th Infantry Division but when Turkey refused the US permission to move the 4th Infantry Division through its territory, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) ordered the 173rd to plan an airborne operation into Iraq. Without the 4th Infantry Division, Special Operations Forces (SOF) troops would be fully responsible for securing northern Iraq until conventional forces could fight their way up north from Kuwait.

9 Montgomery's plan involved dropping the US 101st Airborne Division to capture key bridges around Eindhoven, the US 82nd Airborne Division to secure key crossings around Nijmegen, and the British 1st Airborne Division, with the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade attached, to capture three bridges across the Nederrijn at Arnhem. Although Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton commanded the First Allied Airborne Army, his second in command Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning took command of the airborne operation. The British Second Army, led by XXX Corps would advance up the "Airborne corridor", securing the airborne division's positions and crossing the Rhine within two days. If successful the plan would open the door to Germany and hopefully force an end to the war in Europe by the end of the year.

The group also hauled freight in Italy. The 90th TCS stayed in the UK and operated from RAF Welford until the rest of the groups aircraft returned from Italy on 24 August. In September the 438th Group helped to supply the Third Army in its push across France, and transported troops and supplies when the Allies launched Operation Market-Garden, the airborne operation in the Netherlands. As part of Operation Market Garden, 90 aircraft from the 438th dropped 101st Airborne paratroopers near Eindhoven without loss on 17 September. The next day, 80 aircraft towed gliders again without loss of aircraft, although two gliders aborted and 11 C-47s suffered flak damage. However, when 40 C-47s towing 40 CG-4A Horsa Gliders left Greenham Common on 19 September, things did not go so well in adverse weather.

Men of the 101st Airborne Division inspect a broken glider, September 1944. On 17 September 1944, the 101st Airborne Division became part of XVIII Airborne Corps, under Major General Matthew Ridgway, part of the First Allied Airborne Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton. The division took part in Operation Market Garden (17–25 September 1944), an unsuccessful Allied military operation under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, commander of the Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group, to capture Dutch bridges over the Rhine fought in the Netherlands and the largest airborne operation of all time. The plan, as outlined by Field Marshal Montgomery, required the seizure by airborne forces of several bridges on the Highway 69 across the Maas (Meuse River) and two arms of the Rhine (the Waal and the Lower Rhine), as well as several smaller canals and tributaries.

At the other points, Vroenhoven and Veldwezelt, the Germans had had time to establish strong bridgeheads and repulsed the attacks. German soldiers are welcomed into Eupen-Malmedy, a German border region annexed by Belgium in the Treaty of Versailles (1919) A little known third airborne operation, Operation Niwi, was also conducted on 10 May in southern Belgium. The objectives of this operation was to land two companies of the 3rd battalion Grossdeutschland Infantry Regiment by Fi 156 aircraft at Nives and Witry in the south of the country, in order to clear a path for the 1st and 2nd Panzer divisions which were advancing through the Belgian–Luxembourg Ardennes. The original plan called for the use of Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft, but the short landing capability of the Fi 156 (27 metres) saw 200 of these aircraft used in the assault.

The impressive series of combat engagements are earned at the battle of Nghia Lo, colonial route N°6 (RC6), Hoa Binh and the defense of the camp by an airborne operation on Langson. Crowned of a magnificent epoque, the 2e BEP makes and clears way to Dien Bien Phu on April 9 and 10 of 1954 in the middle of the furnace. Following the couter-attack of supporting point "Huguet", lead by a rare determination during the night of the 22 and 23 of April; the 2e BEP and the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1er B.E.P) merge to form a single foreign marching battalion. On May 7, the foreign marching battalion is dissolved and the 2e BEP is recreated by members of the 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion. On June 1, 1954, the 2e BEP leaves Asia on November 1, 1955.

The commando force consists of 2 companies of 160 personnel, who have been recruited after undergoing 2 years of rigorous and specialized training at various institutions around the country including Army's Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Mizoram. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, announced the approval of the Central Government for raising a second battalion of 40 more personnel, in the wake of increased terrorist activity across India. The recruits, in the 18-21 age group, were selected after going through the Three Star physical Efficiency Test and Endurance test, as specified by the Kerala Public Service Commission. The second stage training was completed at Commando School, Chennai, National Disaster Management School, Coimbatore, Counter insurgency and Anti Terrorism School, Silchar, National Adventure School, Munnar, Underwater Operation and Diving school, Kochi and Airborne Operation Air force School, New Delhi.

Operation VARSITY was another airborne operation to assist the crossing of the Rhine by the British 21st Army Group. Starting at 0709 on 24 March 1945, transport aircraft carrying the 14,365 troops of the British 6th Airborne Division and the US 17th Airborne Division Varsity took off from airbases in England and France and rendezvoused over Brussels, before turning northeast for the Rhineland dropping zones. The airlift consisted of 540 transport aircraft containing paratroops, and a further 1,050 troop-carriers towing 1,350 gliders. The 17th Airborne Division consisted of 9,387 personnel, who were transported in 836 C-47 transports, 72 C-46 Commando transports, and more than 900 Waco gliders. The 6th Airborne Division consisted of 7,220 personnel transported by 42 Douglas C-54 and 752 C-47 Dakota transport aircraft, as well as 420 Horsa and Hamilcar gliders.

At the outbreak of World War II Welhaven was made head of a commission set up to plan the evacuation of the population of Oslo in case of war. When the German invasion of Norway came on 9 April 1940, attempts were made to evacuate people, but in the chaos of the invasion the organization fell through and at 1300hrs Welhaven called off the evacuation work. At the same time German troops entered Oslo after having captured Fornebu Airport in an airborne operation, their seaborne attack having been blunted at the battle of Drøbak Sound early that morning. Welhaven had been contacted by Minister of Justice and the Police Terje Wold in the early hours of 9 April and had been authorized to use all municipal powers to prepare Oslo for war, especially in case of bombing.

The impressive series of combat engagements were earned at the battle of Nghĩa Lộ, colonial route N°6 (RC6), Hòa Bình and the defense of the camp by an airborne operation on Langson. Crowned of a magnificent epoque, the 2e B.E.P made and cleared way to Dien Bien Phu on April 9 and 10 of 1954 in the middle of the furnace. Following the couter-attack of supporting point "Huguet", led by a rare determination during the night of the 22 and 23 of April; the 2e B.E.P and the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion (1er B.E.P) merged to form a single Foreign Marching Battalion. On May 7, the Foreign Marching Battalion was dissolved and the 2e B.E.P was recreated by members of the 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion (3e B.E.P). On June 1, 1954, the 2e B.E.P left Asia on November 1, 1955.

Staff Sergeant James Harley Wallwork DFM (21 October 1919 – 24 January 2013) was a British soldier and a member of the Glider Pilot Regiment who achieved notability as the pilot of the first Horsa glider to land at Pegasus Bridge in the early hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. This achievement was described as "the greatest feat of flying of the second world war" by Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory.After landing Wallwork was severely wounded in the head but managed to carry munition boxes up to the troops defending the canal bridge at Benouville (called 'Pegasus Bridge' some days after D-day by Royal Engineer-troops). Although most noted for his part in the Battle of Normandy, Wallwork flew gliders in every major British airborne operation of the Second World War.

They managed to achieve their objectives due to the initiative and leadership of the officers and NCOs and the scattered airdrops made the occupying Germans feel overwhelmed. The German Fallschirmjäger had the same experience during the Battle of Crete; however, Adolf Hitler drew the wrong conclusion and never again committed his paratroops to an airborne operation, despite the great success they had at the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael during the attack on the Maginot Line. By contrast the US Army sought to rectify the problem by creating a special unit, which would jump in ahead of a parachute assault and mark the drop zones, providing terminal air guidance to the drop aircraft. These were Pathfinder units; JASCOs were a similar response to command and control deficiencies noted in the after action reports for The Battle of Guadacanal and the Battle of Tarawa.

Men of the 504th Regimental Demolition Platoon keep a close eye while a demolitions expert searches for hidden S-mines on the slope of Hill 1017, November 1943. The operation secured the flanks of the Fifth Army, allowing it to break out of the coastal plain and drive on to Naples. On 1 October 1943, the 504th became the first infantry unit to enter the city of Naples, which it subsequently garrisons, along with most of the rest of the 82nd Airborne Division. The airborne operation at Salerno was not only a success, but it also stands as one of history's greatest examples of the mobility of the airborne unit: within only eight hours of notification, the 504th developed and disseminated its tactical plan, prepared for combat, loaded aircraft and jumped onto its assigned drop zone to engage the enemy and turn the tide of battle.

In March 1945, the 6th Airborne Division was informed that it would be participating in Operation Varsity, an airborne operation in support of 21st Army Group crossing the River Rhine during Operation Plunder. On March 24 the division, in conjunction with the American United States 17th Airborne Division, would be dropped by parachute and glider near the city of Wesel, where it would capture the strategically important village of Hamminkeln, several important bridges over the River IJssel and the southern portion of a major forest, the Diersfordter Wald.Otway, pp. 302–303. Eight Locusts from the regiment, divided into two troops of four, would land with the 6th Airlanding Brigade in landing-zone 'P' east of the Diersfordter Wald and west of Hamminkeln, acting as a divisional reserve; the rest of the regiment would arrive by road after crossing the Rhine with 21st Army Group.

The situation was very similar to the crash in which he would himself be killed. In appreciation of his work with US forces he was decorated by the United States as an Officer of the Legion of Merit (Officer) on 26 September 1944. Scarlett-Streatfeild was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 38 Group RAF on 18 October 1944 being promoted acting air vice marshal on 18 October 1944.RAF 38 Group website – Commanding Officers The group had ferried airborne troops in Operation Market Garden the Arnhem mission and required reorganization to ready it for the next major airborne operation; the Group Headquarters moved immediately to Marks Hall, Essex and the squadrons were redeployed to RAF Earls Colne (296 and 297), RAF Rivenhall (295 and 570), RAF Great Dunmow (190 and 620), RAF Wethersfield (later to RAF Shepherds Grove) (196 and 299) and RAF Woodbridge (298 and 644).

Five days later, HMM-165's helicopters and Tripoli's landing craft carried the Marines ashore once again. In Operation Daring Endeavor, the Marines located, closed with and destroyed enemy fortifications and captured large quantities of rice. They concluded the action on the 17th and returned to the ship that same day. Three days later, Tripoli launched its fourth landing, another combined waterborne and airborne operation directed at an area in Quảng Nam Province, just south of Danang. During Operation Swift Move, initial opposition proved very light; and the landing force quickly transferred to the control of the 1st Marine Division for further action ashore in the continued defense of Danang against PAVN and Vietcong forces. Tripoli continued support activities for the battalion landing team until 3 December when it offloaded what remained aboard of the Marines' equipment at Danang, in preparation for departing Vietnam for a liberty call in Hong Kong.

The airborne assault on Fort Eben- Emael, and the three bridges it helped protect, was part of a much larger German airborne operation that involved the 7th Air Division and the 22nd Airlanding Division. The 7th Air Division, comprising three parachute regiments and one infantry regiment, was tasked with capturing river and canal bridges that led to the Dutch defensive positions centered around Rotterdam, as well as an airfield at Waalhaven. The 22nd Airlanding Division, which was composed of two infantry regiments and a reinforced parachute battalion, was tasked with capturing airfields in the vicinity of The Hague at Valkenburg, Ockenburg and Ypenburg. Once these airfields had been secured by the parachute battalion, the rest of the division would land with the aim of occupying the Dutch capital and capturing the entire Dutch government, the Royal Family and high-ranking members of the Dutch military.

When World War II began in September 1939, Bols moved through several staff officer positions, serving in several institutions and Army formations before being promoted to colonel and taking charge of all training for the troops under the command of 21st Army Group and helping to plan Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy. Bols was then promoted again and commanded the 185th Infantry Brigade during the Allied advance through Western Europe, before taking over command of the 6th Airborne Division from Major General Richard Gale in late 1944. He led the division in the Battle of the Bulge, as well as Operation Varsity, the airborne operation to cross the River Rhine, then led the division into northern Germany until the end of the conflict. Canadian paratroopers captured the town of Wismar in the late days of the war, in order to stop the Soviet army from invading Denmark.

Thompson, p.56 The brigade had been issued with briefing materials for the operation, which it studied as it sailed to North Africa, but the plan had been abandoned by the time it arrived; Allied intelligence reported that between 7,000 10,000 German troops had recently been airlanded in Tunis, which ensured that an airborne operation out of the question. With this ambitious plan cancelled, on 14 November First Army directed that a single parachute battalion would be dropped the next day near Souk el-Arba and Béja; the battalion was to contact French forces at Beja to ascertain whether they would remain neutral, or support the Allies; secure and guard the cross roads and airfield at Soul el Arba; and patrol eastwards to harass German forces. The 2nd Battalion of the 509th PIR would drop at the same time, with the objective of capturing the airfields at Tebessa and Youks el-Bain.

The last organized KPA unit to leave Pyongyang, its mission was to fight a delaying action against the expected UNC advance from Pyongyang. Already under threat from the south, the KPA 239th Regiment had reacted vigorously to 3/187 ABN's arrival from the north.. Now, as a result of the unexpected US airborne operation, it was encircled and found itself attacked from two separate points in its rear.. The KPA 239th Regiment was pinned along a line of hills, 139 (), 192 (), and 300 (), between Yongyu and Op'a-ri. The KPA, by this time apparently convinced that both routes to the north had been blocked by the US airborne forces, would attempt one last push in an effort to regain contact with the other KPA forces that had infiltrated northward. Because of the severe casualties already sustained, the KPA 239th Regiment would be forced to leave behind large quantities of ammunition and supplies, including thirty- four 82mm mortars.

5,200 men, mostly from the 5th New Zealand Brigade, were evacuated on the night of 24 April, from Porto Rafti of East Attica, while the 4th New Zealand Brigade remained to block the narrow road to Athens, dubbed the 24 Hour Pass by the New Zealanders. On 25 April (Anzac Day), the few RAF squadrons left Greece (D'Albiac established his headquarters in Heraklion, Crete) and some 10,200 Australian troops evacuated from Nafplio and Megara. 2,000 more men had to wait until 27 April, because Ulster Prince ran aground in shallow waters close to Nafplio. Because of this event, the Germans realised that the evacuation was also taking place from the ports of the eastern Peloponnese. On 25 April the Germans staged an airborne operation to seize the bridges over the Corinth Canal, with the double aim of cutting off the British line of retreat and securing their own way across the isthmus.

Arapov graduated from the academy in October 1941, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and became assistant chief of the 1st Separate Staff Operations Department of the 50th Army, part of the Bryansk Front and from November part of the Western Front. He participated in the Battle of Moscow and the defense of Tula and Plavsk. In the defenses of the two cities, Arapov was reported by his superiors to have "skillfully coordinated the operations of the combat units." During the battle for Tula, as the representative of the army staff, Arapov "skillfully combined his personal courage with the ability to manage the troops, ensuing the fulfillment of orders." During the Vyazma airborne operation in January and February 1942, Arapov made dozens of flights to troops of the 4th Airborne Corps, dropped in the rear of German Army Group Centre, to coordinate their operations with those of the 50th Army.

Operation Varsity (24 March 1945) was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft, it was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day and in one location. Varsity was part of Operation Plunder, the Anglo-American- Canadian assault under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross the northern Rhine River and from there enter Northern Germany. Varsity was meant to help the surface river assault troops secure a foothold across the Rhine River in Western Germany by landing two airborne divisions on the eastern bank of the Rhine near the village of Hamminkeln and the town of Wesel. The plans called for the dropping of two divisions from U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, under Major General Matthew B. Ridgway, to capture key territory and to generally disrupt German defenses to aid the advance of Allied ground forces.

Parachutes open overhead as waves of paratroops land in the Netherlands during operations by the First Allied Airborne Army in September 1944 Williams was promoted to Major general on 26 August, shortly after returning to the European Theater to resume command of the IX Troop Carrier Command. While he had been away, operational control of IX Troop Carrier Command had been transferred from the Allied Expeditionary Air Force to the First Allied Airborne Army, a newly formed formation under Brereton's command. On 10 September Brereton held a conference with his troop carrier and airborne commanders and their staffs at his headquarters at Sunnyhill Park, near Ascot, Berkshire, where they were briefed on Operation MARKET, an airborne operation to seize a series of bridges in the Netherlands to enable the 21st Army Group to cross the Rhine River. At the conference Williams was given operational control of the Nos 38 and 46 Groups RAF, which he would exercise from his command post at Eastcote.

This was the only nighttime airborne operation conducted during the war, and though the American paratroopers were very badly scattered, some units taking several days to fully reorganise, it was a complete operational success, and they suffered relatively low casualties. Next, the main attack began, with 5 main beachheads being attacked: American forces attacked Utah and Omaha, the British, at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians, at Juno. With the singular exception of Omaha, the invading forces were able to get through with ease, losing only 10,000 of the 156,000 men deployed, an exceptionally low figure for a naval invasion. One reason for this was that commander Erwin Rommel was absent from the battle, as he was busy celebrating his wife's birthday, and his chief of staff, Friedrich Dollmann, was at a practice wargame in Rennes, Rommel himself had accurately predicted that a naval invasion was coming, and that the battle for the coast would only last a few hours, yet was absent as it happened.

For this, and two follow-up missions with gliders and supplies, the group was later awarded the coveted Distinguished Unit Citation. The 434th TCG spent the summer of 1944 mainly in carrying freight, fuel and troops to France. It was not involved in the invasion of southern France(as were several of the UK based C-47 groups) and its next combat operation was 'Market', the airborne operation in the Netherlands on 17 September. Two serials (the term for a specifically briefed formation) of 45 C-47s each dropped paratroops of the 101st Airborne Division in the Veghcl sector. Heavy flak shot down four aircraft and damaged 10 of the first serial and another plane was lost from the second serial plus nine damaged. Next day, 80 of the group's aircraft towed gliders to a landing zone in the Son area. Seven gliders landed prematurely, two of them in the sea, and flak brought down two C-47s and damaged 33.

The 2nd Ox and Bucks were once again involved in a gliderborne air assault landing, known as Operation Varsity: the largest airborne operation in the history of warfare and the airborne support for Operation Plunder: the Rhine Crossing in late March 1945. The Germans were defending their last great natural barrier in the West and Operation Varsity which began on 24 March 1945 was the last major battle on the Western Front during the Second World War. The 2nd Ox and Bucks landed on the north-east perimeter of 6th Airborne Divisions's landing zone, the furthest east of any British Army unit, to capture bridges from the Germans. The battalion, like many others during the assault, suffered heavily as the Germans met the landing gliders with ferocious fire in the air and on the ground; the 2nd Ox and Bucks lost 400 killed or injured out of a total battalion strength of 800 men.

Ridgway made the final decision on the airborne operation late in the afternoon of 22 March during a conference at Eighth Army main headquarters in Taegu. General Earle E. Partridge, the Fifth Air Force commander, assured him that the weather would be satisfactory on the next day; Col. Gilman C. Mudgett, the new Eighth Army G-3 operations officer, predicted that contact with the airborne unit would be made within a day's time, as Ridgway required, and also that the entire I Corps should be able to advance rapidly.Colonel Mudgett replaced Dabney, who was now a Brigadier General, on 21 March 1951. Given these reports, Ridgway ordered the airborne landing to take place at 09:00 on the following day.Eighth Army CG SS Rpt, Mar 51; Eighth Army G3 Jul, Sum, 21 Mar 51; Eighth Army Comd Rpt, Nar, Mar 51; Rad, GX-3-4097 KGOO, CG Eighth Army to CG I Corps et al.

On 24 March 1945 Operation Varsity began, an airborne operation to aid in the establishment of a bridgehead on the east bank of the River Rhine which involved the British 6th Airborne Division and the U.S. 17th Airborne Division, under Major General William Miley. Varsity was the airborne component of Operation Plunder, in which the British Second Army, under Lieutenant-General Miles C. Dempsey, and the U.S. Ninth Army, under Lieutenant General William Simpson, crossed the Rhine at Rees, Wesel, and an area south of the Lippe Canal.Harclerode, p. 550 Both divisions would be dropped near the town of Hamminkeln, and were tasked with a number of objectives: they were to seize the Diersfordter Wald, a forest that overlooked the Rhine, including a road linking several towns together; several bridges over a smaller waterway, the River Issel, were to be seized to facilitate the advance; and the town of Hamminkeln was to be captured.

The company also made a combat jump alongside Chef de Battalion Marcel Bigeard's 6th Colonial Parachute Battalion. On November 21, 1953, Lieutenant Molinier jumped on Dien Bien Phu with the first wave of Operation Castor, at the border Landing Zone (L.Z) Natacha. at 1500, 67 enlisted and officers, as well as 8 Brandt 120mm mortars and 800 rounds of ammunition are dropped on the landing zone. At 1600, the company was in position to fire. This company is the first heavy 120mm mortar unit to be dropped in an airborne operation. The 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company had packed the mortars in alvéoles type compartments about 3 to 4 meters in diameter. Following the drop, the company received another drop of a supplementary 4 120mm mortars to make the total count of 12 120mm mortars available with 99 officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and legionnaires. On March 12, 1954, Lieutenant Molinier was wounded during a recon operation conducted with the 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion 1er BEP on “Béatrice”.

Hill commanded the battalion during its first airborne operation in North Africa, dropping near the towns of Souk el-Arba and Béja, in Tunisia. It secured Beja and then sent out patrols to harass German troops, ambushing a convoy and inflicting numerous German casualties, and defended a bridge at Medjez el Bab, although it was eventually forced to retreat. Hill was wounded during an attack by the battalion on Gue Hill, in which he attempted to capture three Italian tanks using his revolver; the crews of two were successfully subdued without incident, but the third opened fire and hit Hill in the chest several times. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the French Legion of Honour for his service in North Africa and then evacuated back to England. There he took command of the 3rd Parachute Brigade in the newly formed 6th Airborne Division, and jumped with the brigade during Operation Tonga, the British airborne landings in Normandy on the night of 5/6 June 1944.

Ivan Chernyakhovsky and other members of his military council on the eve of the Battle of the Dnieper, 1943 (The following is, largely, a synopsis of an account by GlantzThe History of Soviet Airborne Forces, Chapter 8, Across The Dnieper (September 1943), by David M. Glantz, Cass, 1994. (portions online) with support from an account by Staskov.1943 Dnepr airborne operation: lessons and conclusions Military Thought, July 2003, by Nikolai Viktorovich Staskov. (online) See ref at Army (Soviet Army) under 40th Army entry.) Stavka detached the Central Front's 3rd Tank Army to the Voronezh Front to race the weakening Germans to the Dnieper, to save the wheat crop from the German scorched earth policy, and to achieve strategic or operational river bridgeheads before a German defence could stabilize there. The 3rd Tank Army, plunging headlong, reached the river on the night of 21–22 September and, on the 23rd, Soviet infantry forces crossed by swimming and by using makeshift rafts to secure small, fragile bridgeheads, opposed only by 120 German Cherkassy flak academy NCO candidates and the hard-pressed 19th Panzer Division Reconnaissance Battalion.

Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings during World War II. The paratroopers and glider-borne airborne troops of the division, commanded by Major-General Richard Nelson Gale, landed on the eastern flank of the invasion area, near to the city of Caen, tasked with a number of objectives. The division was to capture two strategically important bridges over the Caen Canal and Orne River which were to be used by Allied ground forces to advance once the seaborne landings had taken place, destroy several other bridges to deny their use to the Germans and secure several important villages. The division was also assigned the task of assaulting and destroying the Merville Gun Battery, an artillery battery that Allied intelligence believed housed a number of heavy artillery pieces, which could bombard the nearest invasion beach (codenamed Sword) and possibly inflict heavy casualties on the Allied troops landing on it. Having achieved these objectives, the division was then to create and secure a bridgehead focused around the captured bridges until they linked up with advancing Allied ground forces.

On the same day as the airborne operation, a task force (TF) composed of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, US 1st Cavalry Division, reinforced with a company of tanks from the US 70th Tank Battalion, designated TF Rogers for the 70th Tank Battalion's commander, LTC William M. Rogers, started from Pyongyang under orders to link up with 2/187 ABN at Sunchon the day after the jump.. TF Rogers arrived at Sunchon at 09:00 on 21 October, having picked up five American POWs on the way who had recently escaped from their North Korean captors. MG Gay and BG Frank A. Allen, Jr., the 1st Cavalry's assistant division commander, had observed TF Rodgers successfully establish contact with 2/187 ABN from overhead in a Stinson L-5 Sentinel liaison aircraft. Upon returning to Pyongyang, Allen climbed into his jeep and, accompanied by his aide, his driver, and two war correspondents, started back for Sunchon, arriving there about noon. General Allen was in 2/187 ABN's CP only a short time when a North Korean civilian was brought in to relate an account of North Koreans murdering 200 Americans the previous night in a railroad tunnel northwest of the town.