History of the airborne troops. Historical background: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Lesson summary on life safety class 10 Airborne troops, their composition and purpose

The purpose of the lesson: To acquaint students in general terms with the Airborne Forces as an independent branch of the military, their

purpose, composition, weapons and military equipment.

Time: 45 minutes

Lesson type: combined

Educational visual complex: OBZh textbook grade 10, PC, projector

DURING THE CLASSES

I. Introductory part

* Organizing time

* Control of students' knowledge:

- What is the purpose of the Strategic Missile Forces?

What tasks are the Strategic Missile Forces intended for?

- What weapons of the Strategic Missile Forces do you know?

- What is the basis of armament of the Strategic Missile Forces?

- Why, in your opinion, the Strategic Missile Forces form the basis of the combat

the power of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation?

Main part

- announcement of the topic and purpose of the lesson

- explanation of new material : § 38 pp. 190-193.

The Airborne Forces (VDV) is a highly mobile independent branch of the armed forces, designed to cover the enemy by air and perform tasks in his rear.

The airborne troops are capable of solving operational and tactical combat missions independently or as part of the Ground Forces groupings both in a large-scale war and in local conflicts. Being a highly mobile branch of the armed forces, 95% consisting of units of constant readiness, the Airborne Forces or their separate units can be used as paratroopers behind enemy lines.

The Airborne Forces include 4 divisions, 242 training centers, the Ryazan Institute of the Airborne Forces, the 31st separate airborne brigade, as well as support and maintenance units.

Airborne troops, whose motto is "No one but us!" have always been considered the army elite, and serving in them is prestigious, but the most difficult.

In addition to BMDs of various classes, the Airborne Forces are armed with self-propelled artillery guns, howitzers, armored personnel carriers with ATGMs, anti-aircraft artillery mounts and MANPADS, grenade launchers, and modern small arms. All equipment and weapons of the Airborne Forces can be parachuted by military transport aircraft Il-76 and An-22.

106th Guards Airborne Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Division

The motto of the division: "No task is impossible!" The division was formed in 1944. Fought in Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia. She carried out special peacekeeping operations in Sumgait, Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan, in Tbilisi, Kyrgyzstan, Transnistria, North Ossetia and Ingushetia. In 1992, she saved the workers of the Russian and foreign embassies, as well as the UN mission in Kabul.

The paratroopers of the division in December 1994 fought with gangs in the Chechen Republic. Their courage then largely predetermined the success of the Grozny operation as a whole.

76th Guards Chernihiv Airborne Assault Red Banner Division

The motto of the division: "We are everywhere where victory is expected!" The division is based in Pskov. This is the oldest unit of the Airborne Forces, formed back in 1939. The battle path of the connection is unique - Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Stalingrad, Kursk Bulge, forcing the Dnieper, fighting in Belarus and ended the war in Germany.

In Chechnya, a battalion of Pskov paratroopers fought fierce battles with separatists in the Kandar zone; The 6th company of the 104th regiment, at a height of 776, fought surrounded by gangs.

98th Guards Airborne Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Division

The motto of the division: "Honor and Motherland above all!". The combat path of the division formed in 1944 ran through Karelia, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. Crossing the Svir River in the summer of 1944, battles with selected SS tank units in the spring of 1945 in Hungary.

Peacekeeping operations in Yerevan, Stepanokert, Baku, Tbilisi, Dushanbe, Moldova. The paratroopers of the division took part in the liquidation of bandit formations in the Caucasus ..

7th Guards Air Assault Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Division

The motto of the division: "Courage, courage, honor!". During the years of the Second World War, the connection with the battles passed through Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia. The paratroopers showed special fighting qualities when repulsing the superior forces of the SS divisions in the battle near Lake Balaton (Hungary) and during the capture of Vienna.

Beginning in 1957, the 7th division was the first to master the An-8, An-12, An-22, Il-76 aircraft, as well as new parachute systems, all generations of airborne combat vehicles and the Nona artillery system. She performed peacekeeping missions in Azerbaijan and Abkhazia. In 1993, she was relocated from Kaunas to Novorossiysk.

The combat operations of the Novorossiysk paratroopers played a key role in the defeat of gangs during the first counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya. It was they who took the brunt of the militants who invaded Dagestan in 1999, thereby frustrating the bandits' attempt to draw all the republics of the North Caucasus into a big war.

242nd Training Center of the Airborne Troops.

The motto of the training center: "Learn to win!"

The history of the center begins in 1961. Since then, junior airborne specialists have been trained within its walls in more than 50 specialties. Almost every third paratrooper comprehended the "science of surviving and winning" in the training center. The center is currently located in Omsk.

Ryazan Higher Airborne Twice Red Banner Command School (Military Institute) named after General of the Army V.F. Margelov.

The Institute traces its history back to November 1918 - from the Ryazan courses for the training of infantry officers. Since 1953, Ryazan has become a forge of officers for the Airborne Forces.

On November 12, 1996, the school was given the honorary name “named after Army General V.F. Margelov.

Conclusions:

1. The Airborne Forces are able to quickly reach areas of military operations.
2. the main organizational unit of the Airborne Forces is the airborne division.
3. The Airborne Forces are capable of inflicting sudden strikes on the enemy in the deep rear.
4. The Airborne Forces can successfully conduct combined arms combat.

III. Fixing the material:

- What combat goals are the Airborne Forces intended for?

- What combat capabilities of the Airborne Forces can you list?

IV. Lesson summary

V. Homework: 38 pp. 190-193. Tasks: 1. Prepare the message "General Vasily Margelov - the organizer of the Russian Airborne Forces."

Give examples of the heroic behavior of paratroopers in the Great Patriotic War, the Afghan and Chechen wars.

Airborne Troops (VDV) - a type of troops intended for combat operations behind enemy lines. Usually they are part of the ground forces, less often they are part of the air force (navy), but they can also be an independent branch of the armed forces.

Designed for airborne landings behind enemy lines or for rapid deployment in geographically remote areas. The main method of delivery of the Airborne Forces is parachute landing, they can also be delivered by helicopter; during World War II, glider delivery was practiced.

At the end of 1930, near Leningrad, a Soviet airborne unit was created - an airborne assault detachment. In December 1932, he was deployed to the 3rd Special Purpose Aviation Brigade, which in 1938 became known as the 201st Airborne Brigade.

The first use of an airborne assault in the history of military affairs took place as early as the spring of 1929. In the city of Garm besieged by the Basmachi, a group of armed Red Army soldiers was landed from the air, which, with the support of local residents, defeated a gang that had invaded the territory of Tajikistan from abroad. However, the Day of the Airborne Forces in Russia and a number of other countries is August 2, in honor of the parachute landing at the military exercise of the Moscow Military District near Voronezh on August 2, 1930.

In 1931, on the basis of a directive dated March 18, a non-standard, experienced aviation motorized landing detachment (airborne landing detachment) was formed in the 1st aviation brigade of the Leningrad Military District. It was intended to study issues of operational-tactical use and the most advantageous organizational forms of airborne landing (airborne) units, units and formations. The detachment consisted of 164 personnel and consisted of:

• one rifle company;
• individual platoons: sapper, communications and light vehicles;
• heavy bomber aviation squadron (air squadron) (12 aircraft - TB-1);
• one corps aviation detachment (air detachment) (10 aircraft - R-5).

The detachment was armed with:

• two 76-mm Kurchevsky dynamo-reactive cannons (DRP);
• two wedges - T-27;
• 4 grenade launchers;
• 3 light armored vehicles (armored vehicles);
• 14 light and 4 heavy machine guns;
• 10 trucks and 16 cars;
• 4 motorcycles and one scooter (probably meant a bicycle).

E. D. Lukin was appointed commander of the detachment. Then, in the same air brigade, an emergency paratrooper detachment was formed.

In 1932, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR adopted a resolution on the deployment of detachments into special aviation battalions (bOSNAZ). By the end of 1933, there were already 29 airborne battalions and brigades that were part of the Air Force. The LenVO was entrusted with the task of training airborne instructors and developing operational and tactical standards. By the standards of that time, airborne units were an effective means of disorganizing the control and rear of the enemy. They were to be used where other types of troops (infantry, artillery, cavalry, armored forces) could not solve this problem at the moment, and were intended to be used by the high command in cooperation with troops advancing from the front, airborne assaults were supposed to contribute to the encirclement and defeat the enemy in this direction.

State No. 015/890 of 1936 of the "Airborne Brigade" (ADBR) of wartime and peacetime. Name of units, number of wartime personnel (number of peacetime personnel in parentheses):

• management, 49 (50)
• communications company, 56 (46)
• musician platoon, 11 (11)
• 3 airborne battalions, each 521 (381)
• school of junior officers, 0 (115)
• services, 144 (135)

Personnel:

• Total: 1823 (1500)
• Command staff, 107 (118)
• Commanding staff, 69 (60)
• Junior command and command staff, 330 (264)
• Enlisted personnel, 1317 (1058)

Material part:

• 45 mm anti-tank gun, 18 (19)
• Light machine guns, 90 (69)
• Radio stations, 20 (20)
• Automatic carbines, 1286 (1005)
• Light mortars, 27 (20)
• Cars, 6 (6)
• Trucks, 63 (51)
• Special vehicles, 14 (14)
• Cars "Pickup", 9 (8)
• Motorcycles, 31 (31)
• Tractors ChTZ, 2 (2)
• Tractor trailers, 4 (4)

In the prewar years, a lot of effort and money was allocated to the development of airborne troops, the development of the theory of their combat use and practical training. In 1934, 600 paratroopers were involved in the exercises of the Red Army. In 1935, during the maneuvers of the Kyiv Military District, 1,188 paratroopers were parachuted and a landing force consisting of 2,500 people with military equipment landed. In 1936, 3,000 paratroopers were parachuted into the Belarusian Military District, 8,200 people with artillery and other military equipment were landed by landing method. The invited foreign military delegations present at these exercises were amazed by the size of the landings and the skill of landing.

31. Parachute units, as a new type of airborne infantry, are a means of disorganizing the control and rear of the enemy. They are used by the high command.

In cooperation with the troops advancing from the front, the air infantry contributes to the encirclement and defeat of the enemy in a given direction.

The use of air infantry must be strictly in accordance with the conditions of the situation and requires reliable provision and observance of measures of secrecy and surprise.

Chapter Two "Organization of the Red Army Troops" 1. Types of troops and their combat use, Field Regulations of the Red Army (PU-39)

The paratroopers gained experience in real battles. In 1939, the 212th Airborne Brigade took part in the defeat of the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol. For their courage and heroism, 352 paratroopers were awarded orders and medals. In 1939-1940, during the Soviet-Finnish war, the 201st, 202nd and 214th airborne brigades fought together with rifle units.

Based on the experience gained in 1940, new staffs of brigades were approved as part of three combat groups: parachute, glider and landing.

In preparation for the operation to annex Bessarabia to the USSR, occupied by Romania, as well as Northern Bukovina, the command of the Red Army included the 201st, 204th and 214th airborne brigades in the Southern Front. During the operation, combat missions were received by the 204th and 201st ADBR and landings were thrown into the area of ​​​​the city of Bolgrad and the city of Izmail, and after the closure of the state border to organize Soviet governments in settlements.

By the beginning of 1941, airborne corps of over 10 thousand people each were deployed on the basis of the existing airborne brigades. On September 4, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar, the Office of the Airborne Forces was transformed into the Office of the Commander of the Airborne Forces of the Red Army, and the formations and units of the Airborne Forces were removed from the subordination of the commanders of the active fronts and transferred to the direct subordination of the commander of the Airborne Forces. In accordance with the same order, ten airborne corps, five maneuverable airborne brigades, five reserve airborne regiments and an airborne school (Kuibyshev) were formed. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Airborne Forces constituted an independent branch of the forces (troops) of the Red Army Air Force.

In the counteroffensive near Moscow, conditions were created for the widespread use of the Airborne Forces. In the winter of 1942, the Vyazemsky airborne operation was carried out with the participation of the 4th airborne corps. In September 1943, an airborne assault consisting of two brigades was used to assist the troops of the Voronezh Front in forcing the Dnieper River. In the Manchurian strategic operation in August 1945, more than 4 thousand people of the personnel of rifle units were landed for amphibious operations by landing method, who successfully completed the assigned tasks.

In October 1944, the Airborne Forces were transformed into a separate Guards Airborne Army, which became part of the long-range aviation. In December 1944, this army was disbanded, the Airborne Forces Directorate was created with subordination to the Air Force Commander. Three airborne brigades, a training airborne regiment, advanced training courses for officers and an aeronautical division remained in the Airborne Forces.

Since 1946, they were transferred to the ground forces of the Armed Forces of the USSR, were directly subordinate to the Minister of Defense of the USSR, being the reserve of the Supreme Commander.

In 1956, two airborne divisions took part in the Hungarian events. In 1968, after the capture of two airfields near Prague and Bratislava, the 7th and 103rd Guards Airborne Divisions were landed, which ensured the successful completion of the task by formations and units of the United Armed Forces of the countries participating in the Warsaw Pact during the Czechoslovak events.

Paratroopers in the cargo compartment of the An-12.

In the post-war period, a lot of work was carried out in the Airborne Forces to increase the firepower and mobility of personnel. Numerous samples of airborne armored vehicles (BMD, BTR-D), automotive equipment (TPK, GAZ-66), artillery systems (ASU-57, ASU-85, 2S9 Nona, 107-mm B-11 recoilless rifle) were created. Complex parachute systems were developed for landing all types of weapons - "Centaur", "Reaktaur" and others. The fleet of military transport aircraft was also increased, called for the mass transfer of landing formations in the event of large-scale hostilities. Large-body transport aircraft were created capable of parachute landing of military equipment (An-12, An-22, Il-76).

In the USSR, for the first time in the world, airborne troops were created, which had their own armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery. At large army exercises (for example, "Shield-82" or "Druzhba-82"), the landing of personnel with standard equipment of no more than two parachute regiments was practiced. The state of the military transport aviation of the USSR Armed Forces at the end of the 80s made it possible to parachute 75% of the personnel and standard military equipment of one airborne division in one general sortie.

Organizational structure of the 105th Guards Airborne Division, July 1979.

By the fall of 1979, the 105th Guards Vienna Red Banner Airborne Division, specialized for combat operations in mountainous desert areas, was disbanded. Parts of the 105th Guards. The VDD was deployed in the cities of Fergana, Namangan and Chirchik of the Uzbek SSR and in the city of Osh of the Kirghiz SSR. As a result of the disbandment of the 105th Guards. VDD were formed three separate airborne assault brigades (35th, 38th and 56th) and the 345th guards separate airborne regiment.

Followed after the disbandment of the 105th Guards. The Airborne Forces in 1979, the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan showed the profound erroneousness of the decision taken by the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces - the airborne formation, specially adapted for combat operations in mountainous desert areas, was ill-considered and hastily disbanded, and was ultimately sent to Afghanistan 103 Guards. Airborne Forces, whose personnel had no training for combat operations in such a theater of operations:

“... in 1986, the Commander of the Airborne Forces, General of the Army Sukhorukov D.F., came, he then said what fools we were, having disbanded the 105th airborne division, because it was intended for combat operations in mountainous desert areas. And we had to spend huge amounts of money to deliver the 103rd airborne division to Kabul by air ... "

By the mid 80s. As part of the airborne troops of the USSR Armed Forces, there were 7 airborne divisions and three separate regiments with the following names and locations:

Organizational structure of the 351st Guards Airborne Regiment, 105th Guards Airborne Division as of July 1979.

• 7th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division. Stationed in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Baltic Military District.
• 76th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree Chernihiv Airborne Division. Stationed in Pskov, RSFSR, Leningrad Military District.
• 98th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree Svir airborne division. It was stationed in the city of Bolgrad, Ukrainian SSR, KOdVO and in the city of Chisinau, Moldavian SSR, KOdVO.
• 103rd Guards Red Banner Order of Lenin Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division named after the 60th anniversary of the USSR. It was stationed in the city of Kabul (Afghanistan) as part of OKSVA. Until December 1979 and after February 1989, it was stationed in Vitebsk, Byelorussian SSR, Belorussian Military District.
• The 104th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division, specialized for combat operations in mountainous areas. Stationed in the city of Kirovabad of the Azerbaijan SSR, Transcaucasian Military District.
• 106th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division. It was stationed in the city of Tula and in the city of Ryazan of the RSFSR, Moscow Military District.
• 44th Training Red Banner Order of Suvorov II degree and Bogdan Khmelnitsky II degree Ovruch airborne division. Stationed in the village. Gayzhyunay of the Lithuanian SSR, Baltic VO.
• 345th Guards Vienna Red Banner Order of Suvorov III degree Parachute Regiment named after the 70th anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol. Stationed in the city of Bagram (Afghanistan) as part of OKSVA. Until December 1979, it was stationed in the city of Fergana, Uzbek SSR, after February 1989 - in the city of Kirovabad, Azerbaijan SSR, Transcaucasian Military District.
• 387th Training Separate Airborne Regiment. Until 1982, he was part of the 104th Guards. VDD. In the 80s, in the 387th training OPDP, young recruits were trained to be sent to the airborne and airborne assault units as part of the OKSVA. In cinema, in the film "9th Company", the training part means exactly 387 OUPDP. Stationed in the city of Fergana, Uzbek SSR, Turkestan Military District.
• 196th Separate Communications Regiment of the Airborne Troops. Stationed in the village. Bear Lakes, Moscow Region, RSFSR.

Each of these divisions included: a directorate (headquarters), three airborne regiments, one self-propelled artillery regiment, and combat support and logistics support units.

In addition to parachute units and formations, the airborne troops also had air assault units and formations, but they were subordinate to the commanders of military districts (groups of troops), armies or corps. They did not differ in anything, except for tasks, subordination and OShS. Methods of combat use, combat training programs for personnel, weapons and uniforms for military personnel were the same as for paratrooper units and formations of the Airborne Forces (central subordination). Air assault formations were represented by separate air assault brigades (ODSHBR), separate air assault regiments (ODSHP) and separate air assault battalions (ODSHB).

The reason for the creation of air assault units in the late 60s was the revision of tactics in the fight against the enemy in the event of a full-scale war. The stake was placed on the concept of using massive landings in the near rear of the enemy, capable of disorganizing the defense. The technical possibility for such a landing was provided by the fleet of transport helicopters in army aviation, which had significantly increased by this time.

By the mid-80s, the USSR Armed Forces included 14 separate brigades, two separate regiments and about 20 separate battalions. The brigades were deployed on the territory of the USSR according to the principle - one brigade per one military district, which has land access to the State border of the USSR, one brigade in the inner Kiev Military District (23 ODSHBR in Kremenchug, subordinate to the High Command of the southwestern direction) and two brigades for groups of Soviet troops abroad (35 ODSHBR in the GSVG in the city of Cottbus and 83 ODSHBR in the SGV in the city of Bialogard). 56 Guards. ODShBR in OKSVA, stationed in the city of Gardez of the Republic of Afghanistan, belonged to the Turkestan Military District, in which it was formed.

Individual air assault regiments were subordinate to the commanders of individual army corps.

The difference between the parachute and airborne assault formations of the Airborne Forces was as follows:

• In the presence of standard airborne armored vehicles (BMD, BTR-D, self-propelled guns "Nona", etc.). In the airborne assault units, only a quarter of all units were equipped with it - in contrast to 100% of its staffing in the paratrooper units.
• In the subordination of the troops. Airborne assault units, operationally, were subordinate to the command of military districts (groups of troops), armies, and corps. The parachute units were subordinate to the command of the Airborne Forces, whose headquarters was in Moscow.
• in assigned tasks. It was assumed that the air assault units, in the event of the start of large-scale hostilities, would be used to land in the enemy's near rear, mainly by landing from helicopters. Parachute units were supposed to be used in a deeper rear of the enemy with a parachute landing from VTA aircraft. At the same time, airborne training with planned training parachute landings of personnel and military equipment was mandatory for both types of airborne forces.
• Unlike the guards airborne units of the Airborne Forces deployed in full force, some airborne assault brigades were cadre (special staff) and were not guards. The exception was three brigades that received the names of the Guards, created on the basis of the 105th Vienna Red Banner Guards Airborne Division disbanded in 1979 - the 35th, 38th and 56th.

In the mid-80s, the following brigades and regiments were part of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces:

Organizational and staffing structure of the 56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade, as of December 1986

• 11 ODSHBR in the Trans-Baikal MD (Trans-Baikal Territory, Mogocha and Amazar)
• 13 ODSHBR in the Far Eastern Military District (Amur Region, Magdagachi and Zavitinsk)
• 21 ODSHBR in the Transcaucasian Military District (Georgian SSR, Kutaisi)
• 23 ODSHBR of the South-Western direction (on the territory of the Kyiv Military District), (Ukrainian SSR, Kremenchug)
• 35 Guards. ODSHBR in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (German Democratic Republic, Cottbus)
• 36 ODSHBR in the Leningrad MD (Leningrad region, town Garbolovo)
• 37 ODSHBR in the Baltic VO (Kaliningrad region, Chernyakhovsk)
• 38 Guards. ODSHBR in the Belarusian Military District (Belarusian SSR, Brest)
• 39 ODSHBR in the Carpathian Military District (Ukrainian SSR, Khyriv)
• 40 ODSHBR in Odessa Military District (Ukrainian SSR, Nikolaev)
• 56 Guards. ODSHBR in the Turkestan Military District (formed in the city of Chirchik, Uzbek SSR and introduced into Afghanistan)
• 57 ODSHBR in the Central Asian VO (Kazakh SSR, Aktogay town)
• 58 ODSHBR in the Kiev Military District (Ukrainian SSR, Kremenchug)
• 83 ODSHBR in the Northern Group of Forces, (Polish People's Republic, Bialogard)
• 1318 ODSHP in the Belarusian Military District (Belarusian SSR, Polotsk) subordinate to the 5th separate army corps (5 KLA)
• 1319 ODSHP in the Trans-Baikal Military District (Chita region, Kyakhta) subordinate to the 48th separate army corps (48 KLA)

These brigades included a command, 3 or 4 air assault battalions, one artillery battalion and combat support and logistics support units. The personnel of the deployed brigades reached 2,500 military personnel. For example, the staff strength of the 56th Guards. On December 1, 1986, the ODShBR consisted of 2452 military personnel (261 officers, 109 ensigns, 416 sergeants, 1666 soldiers).

The regiments differed from the brigades in the presence of only two battalions: one parachute and one air assault (on the BMD), as well as a somewhat reduced composition of the regimental units.

Participation of the Airborne Forces in the Afghan War

Organizational structure of the 345th Guards Separate Airborne Regiment, for the summer of 1988

In the Afghan war, one airborne division (103rd Guards Airborne Division), one separate airborne assault brigade (56th Guards ODSHBR), one separate parachute regiment (345th Guards Airborne Division) participated from the airborne and airborne assault formations of the USSR Armed Forces. OPDP) and two air assault battalions as part of separate motorized rifle brigades (in the 66th Motorized Rifle Brigade and in the 70th Motorized Rifle Brigade). In total, for 1987, these were 18 "linear" battalions (13 paratroopers and 5 airborne assaults), which accounted for a fifth of the total number of all OKSVA "linear" battalions (which included another 18 tank and 43 motorized rifle battalions) .

In almost the entire history of the Afghan war, no situation has arisen that would justify the use of parachute landing for the transfer of personnel. The main reasons here were the complexity of the mountainous terrain and the unjustified material costs in using such methods in guerrilla warfare. The transfer of personnel of airborne and airborne assault units to mountainous areas of hostilities impassable for armored vehicles was carried out exclusively by landing from helicopters. As in all motorized rifle, tank and artillery units as part of the OKSVA, up to half of all units of the airborne and airborne assault formations were assigned to guard outposts, which made it possible to control roads, mountain passes and the vast territory of the country, thereby significantly fettering enemy actions. For example, the 2nd Airborne Battalion from the 345th Guards. The OPDP was dispersed over 20 outposts in the Panjshir Gorge near the village of Anava. By this, 2 PDB 345 OPDP (together with the 682nd motorized rifle regiment of the 108th MSD stationed in the village of Rukha) blocked the western exit from the gorge, which was the main transport artery of the enemy from Pakistan to the strategically important Charikar Valley.

The most massive combat airborne operation in the USSR Armed Forces, in the period after the Great Patriotic War, should be considered the 5th Panjshir operation in May-June 1982, during which a mass landing in Afghanistan was carried out for the first time: only during the first three days , over 4 thousand people were parachuted from helicopters. In total, about 12 thousand military personnel of various branches of the armed forces took part in this operation. The operation took place simultaneously for all 120 km into the depths of the gorge. As a result, most of the Panjshir Gorge was brought under control.

In the period from 1982 to 1986, in all airborne divisions of OKSVA, there was a systematic replacement of standard airborne armored vehicles (BMD-1, BTR-D) with armored vehicles, standard for motorized rifle units (BMP-2D, BTR-70). First of all, this was due to the low security and low motor resource of the structurally lightweight armored vehicles of the Airborne Forces, as well as the nature of the hostilities, where the tasks performed by paratroopers differed little from the tasks assigned to motorized rifles.

Also, in order to increase the firepower of the landing units, additional artillery and tank units were introduced into their composition. For example, 345 OPDP, modeled on a motorized rifle regiment, was supplemented with an artillery howitzer battalion and a tank company, in 56 ODSHBR the artillery battalion was deployed up to 5 firing batteries (instead of the prescribed 3 batteries), and the 103rd Guards. the airborne division will be given to reinforce the 62nd separate tank battalion, which was unusual for the organizational and staffing structure of the airborne forces on the territory of the USSR.

Training of officers for the airborne troops

Officers were trained by the following military educational institutions in the following military specialties:

• Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School - commander of an airborne (airborne assault) platoon, commander of a reconnaissance platoon.
• Landing Department of the Ryazan Higher Military Automobile Engineering School - commander of an automobile / transport platoon.
• Landing department of the Ryazan Higher Military Command School of Communications - commander of a communications platoon.
• The landing department of the Novosibirsk Higher Military-Political Combined Arms School - deputy company commander for political affairs (educational work).
• Landing Department of the Kolomna Higher Artillery Command School - commander of an artillery platoon.
• Landing Department of the Leningrad Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Command School - commander of an anti-aircraft missile platoon.
• Landing faculty of the Kamenetz-Podolsky Higher Military Engineering Command School - commander of an engineering platoon.

In addition to graduates of these educational institutions, the Airborne Forces often appointed graduates of higher combined arms schools (VOKU) and military departments to the positions of platoon commanders, who prepared for the commander of a motorized rifle platoon. This was due to the fact that the specialized Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, which produced about 300 lieutenants every year on average, was not able to fully meet the needs of the Airborne Forces (at the end of the 80s they had about 60,000 personnel) in platoon commanders. For example, the former commander of the 247th Guards. PDP (7th Guards Airborne Forces), Hero of the Russian Federation Em Yuri Pavlovich, who began his service in the Airborne Forces as a platoon commander in the 111th Guards. PDP 105 Guards. VDD, graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School.

For a long time, military personnel of units and units of the Special Forces (the so-called now army special forces) were mistakenly and deliberately called paratroopers. This is due to the fact that in the Soviet period, as now, in the Russian Armed Forces, there were and are no special forces, but there were and are units and units of the Special Forces (SpN) of the GRU of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. The phrase “special forces” or “commandos” was mentioned in the press and in the media only in relation to the troops of a potential enemy (“Green Berets”, “Rangers”, “Commandos”).

Starting with the emergence of these units, in the USSR Armed Forces in 1950 until the end of the 80s, the existence of such units and units was completely denied. Up to the point that conscripts learned about their existence only when they were accepted into the personnel of these units and units. Officially, in the Soviet press and on television, units and units of the Special Forces of the GRU of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces were announced either as parts of the Airborne Forces - as in the case of the GSVG (officially there were no Special Forces units in the GDR), or as in the case of OKSVA - separate motorized rifle battalions (OMSB). For example, the 173rd Separate Special Purpose Detachment (173 OOSpN), stationed near the city of Kandahar, was called the 3rd Separate Motorized Rifle Battalion (3 OMSB).

In everyday life, servicemen of subunits and units of the Special Forces wore full dress and field uniforms adopted in the Airborne Forces, although they did not belong to the Airborne Forces either in terms of subordination or in terms of the assigned tasks of reconnaissance and sabotage activities. The only thing that united the Airborne Forces and units and units of the Special Forces was most of the officers - RVVDKU graduates, airborne training and possible combat use behind enemy lines.

Airborne troops. The history of the Russian landing Alekhin Roman Viktorovich

SOVIET VDV IN 1961-1991

By April 27, 1962, on the basis of the directive of the General Staff of the Ground Forces of March 22, 1962, the artillery battalions of the airborne divisions were deployed into artillery regiments:

816th Guards Oadn, 7th Guards Airborne Division - to the 1141st Guards Artillery Regiment;

819th Guards Oadn, 76th Guards Airborne Division - to the 1140th Guards Artillery Regiment;

812th Guards Oadn 98th Guards Airborne Division - to the 1065th Guards Artillery Regiment;

844th Guards Oadn 103rd Guards Airborne Division - to the 1179th Guards Artillery Regiment;

846th Guards Oadn 104th Guards Airborne Division - to the 1180th Guards Artillery Regiment;

847th Guards Oadn 105th Guards Airborne Division - to the 1181st Guards Artillery Regiment;

845th Guards Oadn 106th Guards Airborne Division - to the 1182nd Guards Artillery Regiment.

This led to a change in the structure of the artillery units of the airborne division - in the direction of increasing the number of combat batteries. Artillery was assigned the same tasks: engaging the enemy with fire during artillery preparation and counter-preparation of an attack, artillery escort of the offensive, preventing the advancement and deployment of enemy troops, repulsing an enemy attack, and supporting the defending troops. The field guns in service with the Soviet Airborne Forces could well cope with the tasks assigned to them, however, it seems to me that the 85-mm guns could not ensure a guaranteed defeat of the main tanks of a potential enemy, since they could not penetrate their frontal armor.

At this time, a fundamentally new type of weapon began to enter service with the Airborne Forces - anti-tank guided missiles. This high-precision weapon made it possible to hit enemy armored objects with a high degree of confidence, including on the move. The warhead of the missiles "Phalanx" and "Baby" made it possible to penetrate the frontal armor of the German tanks "Leopard", the British "Chieftain" and the American M-48.

In special-purpose brigades, anti-tank guided missiles were planned to be used to destroy enemy missile systems, radar stations and communication centers. The flight range of such a missile allowed the commandos not to enter the near defense zone of the enemy's special facilities. One of the typical tasks of the GRU special forces was to destroy, with the help of anti-tank missiles, the motorcade of the head of the country that dares to become an enemy of the Soviet Union.

By order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR dated March 7, 1964, the Main Command of the Ground Forces was disbanded. The functions of the General Staff of the Ground Forces were again transferred to the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. The airborne troops were again subordinated directly to the Minister of Defense of the USSR.

By the directive of the General Staff of December 24, 1965, the 337th Guards Airborne Regiment of the 104th Guards Airborne Order of Kutuzov Division was transferred by succession the Order of Alexander Nevsky, previously belonging to the disbanded 346th Guards Airborne Landing Regiment.

By December 1, 1968, the 337th Guards Airborne Order of Alexander Nevsky Regiment of the 104th Guards Airborne Division was redeployed from the city of Kutaisi, Georgian SSR, to Kirovabad, Azerbaijan SSR.

On June 22, 1968, one of the largest aviation disasters occurred in the Airborne Forces, which resulted in a large number of human casualties: three An-12 aircraft took off from the airfield of the city of Kaunas, on board of which there was then a new equipment - BMD-1 and trained crews from the 108th Guards PDP 7th Guards Airborne Division. They were to fly to Ryazan, where the command of the Airborne Forces intended to show the new combat vehicles in action to the Minister of Defense. But in the Kaluga region, the third plane collided in the air with a civilian Il-14 passenger plane and crashed down from a height of 4000 meters. As a result of the tragedy, five crew members, 91 paratroopers and the four-year-old son of one of the officers, whom his father decided to take to relatives in Ryazan, were killed. A year later, a monument was erected at the crash site, the money for which was collected in all parts of the Airborne Forces.

In 1968, a crimson beret was introduced into the uniform of the Airborne Forces, but it lasted less than a year, after which it was replaced by a blue beret. The red band on the beret symbolized belonging to the guard.

In 1968, Soviet military paratroopers performed a number of outstanding jumps. So, on March 1, 1968, a grandiose experiment was carried out on low-altitude landing of a group of paratroopers in the amount of 50 people from a height of 100 meters from An-2 aircraft. In total, it took 23 seconds to complete this jump. The landing of people was carried out on D-1-8 parachutes without the use of reserve parachutes. On July 27, 1968, as part of a group of paratroopers who landed on the Pamirs in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Komsomol, there were also soldiers of the 104th Guards Airborne Division of the Guard, Privates Asayonok, Zizyulin and Kulpinov. They showed great skill and courage, for which they were listed in the Book of Glorious Deeds of the Transcaucasian Military District.

By a directive of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces dated July 14, 1969, due to the aggravation of the situation in the Middle East, the 98th Guards Airborne Division was redeployed from the city of Belogorsk, Amur Region, to the city of Bolgrad, Odessa Region (217th and 299th Guards Airborne Regiment), the village of Vesely Kut (1065th Guards Ap), and the 300th Guards Infantry Regiment - to the city of Chisinau, Moldavian SSR. Parts of the division were located on the foundations of military camps of the 48th Motorized Rifle Ropsha Red Banner Division named after M. I. Kalinin, which went to Czechoslovakia back in 1968. Already in June 1971, the 98th Guards Airborne Division took part in the South exercises and parachuted into one of the regions of Crimea.

In August 1972, on the basis of the 691st separate communications battalion of the Airborne Forces (Borovukha-1) and the mobile communications center of the 879th communications center of the Airborne Forces in the village of Medvezhye Ozera, Shchelkovsky District, Moscow Region, the 196th separate communications regiment of the Airborne Forces was formed. On December 20, 1972, after the departure of the 691st obs in the village of Borovukha-1, the 8th separate tank-repair battalion of the Airborne Forces was formed.

Since 1969, the airborne combat vehicle, which has become literally revolutionary, the BMD-1, began to enter service with the Airborne Forces. The car was parachuted, which made it possible to give the landing force its armor in any place where it could only be dropped. The vehicle had a sealed aluminum bulletproof hull, a filter-ventilation unit, a 240-horsepower engine, and an armament system that corresponded to what the infantrymen received on their BMP-1 vehicle. The armament of the airborne assault vehicle included the 73-mm Thunder gun, which fired rounds similar to those used on the SPG-9 mounted anti-tank grenade launcher and could pose a serious threat to enemy medium tanks at medium combat distances. Also, the 9m14 Malyutka anti-tank missile system was installed on the vehicle, with the help of which the BMD-1 crews could confidently fight enemy heavy equipment, hit the most important targets from long distances: rocket launchers, radar stations, communication centers and control points. In addition, the vehicle had a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun coaxial with the gun. For two more machine guns, there were special hatches in the bow of the vehicle hull, through which the landing force could fire from PK or RPK machine guns. The exit of the landing force from the vehicle was carried out through the upper aft hatch, as well as the upper bow hatches. In total, the car could accommodate 7 people. The thrust-to-weight ratio of the vehicle (the ratio of engine power to weight) was about 33, which gave the paratroopers a vehicle capable of overcoming steep climbs, difficult terrain and various other obstacles. This was facilitated by a high ground clearance - 450 mm, which could be reduced to 100 mm (when parachuting the car or, if necessary, "lie down" in an ambush), as well as the ability to swim at a speed of 10 km / h. On land, the BMD-1 could reach speeds of up to 65 km / h. The power reserve was 300 km (it should have been enough to complete the main and secondary tasks behind enemy lines).

For this (and a number of other) machines, the Centaur landing system was worked out, which made it possible to land part of the crew inside combat vehicles. To do this, inside the machines prepared for testing, modernized space chairs of the Kazbek-D type were installed, developed at the design bureau of the Zvezda plant by the chief designer Gai Ilyich Severin for spacecraft and adapted for use in the new project. The system had five domes with an area of ​​760 square meters. m each.

The parachute-platform means, on which it was planned to land the combat vehicle with part of the crew, were well mastered by the troops, had a fairly high reliability, confirmed by a large number of landings - 0.98 (the estimated reliability of the system had a coefficient of 0.995). For comparison: the reliability of a parachute designed for people is 0.99999, i.e., for 100 thousand openings - one technical failure.

The experiment on landing the crew inside the vehicle was planned to be carried out for the first time not only in the history of the Soviet airborne troops, but throughout the world. Preparations for the first in the world and domestic practice of landing people inside military equipment were carried out by the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Airborne Forces in close contact with the design bureau of the Moscow Aggregate Plant "Universal", a long-term lead developer of landing equipment for the Airborne Forces, led by the chief designer, Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin and the State Prize of the USSR Alexei Ivanovich Privalov. At the same time, the State Research Institute of Aviation and Space Medicine (GNIIAKM) conducted physiological tests (copra discharges) on the tolerance of shock overloads that affect a person during landing. The head of the Institute, Major General of the Medical Service, Nikolai Mikhailovich Rudny, personally supervised this work.

The complexity of such an experiment lay primarily in the fact that the paratroopers, who were to "jump" inside the combat vehicle, did not have personal means of salvation if the main system failed in the air. In this regard, the Chkalov Institute did not accept the complex for testing. The commander of the Airborne Forces had to explain for a long time to the Minister of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union A. A. Grechko and the Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union V. G. Kulikov the need for an experiment in the interests of the airborne troops. At the same time, he insisted on the participation in the experiment by all means of officers who would be able to continue to transfer their experience in the troops. When Marshal Grechko asked who would be landing, the commander of the Airborne Forces, General V.F. Margelov, took a step forward and simply said: “I ...” Of course, he was refused. Then the general proposed the candidacy of one of his sons - Alexander Margelov and an experienced paratrooper officer, master of sports in parachuting, Major Leonid Gavrilovich Zuev. In October 1971, everything was ready for the experiment, preliminary tests were completed. In a joint decision of October 28, 1971, approved by the heads of the research institutes, the command of the GNIIAKM, military transport aviation and, finally, the commander of the Airborne Forces, the successful completion of the impact and full-scale discharges of the BMD-1 with mock-ups and dummies was noted and it was proposed to conduct an experimental discharge with people.

In mid-1972, due to the delay in obtaining permission to conduct the experiment, it was decided to parachute dogs in the Centaur complex. Three dogs in one car were successfully parachuted. It was decided to land people on January 5, 1973 at the Tula airfield. By this time, the participants in the experiment had moved to the barracks of the 106th division.

At 2 pm on January 5, an An-126 aircraft took off from the airfield with an airborne combat vehicle on board, in which there were testers. The commander of the Airborne Forces was given a tough task: after landing, unmoor the car and start moving in no more than 2 minutes, during which to drive the car along the intended route with firing at targets from a gun and a coaxial machine gun. The crew had to prove that they not only perfectly endured all stages of landing, including shock overloads during landing, but also retained their physical and mental abilities, and could successfully conduct combat operations.

Here is how Alexander Margelov himself describes the experimental landing: “ At the command of the navigator, the pilot chute fell out, straightened out, gained strength and, as if reluctantly, began to slowly pull out the Centaur. Like a gigantic pendulum with a swing center around the pilot chute, the iron-machine first fell 135 degrees from the horizontal, then began to swing with a gradually decreasing amplitude of oscillation. And then the brake, and then the main parachutes opened. Turning over at the first moment upside down, in a fraction of a second we experienced a state close to weightlessness. This was convinced by the rubbish that came from nowhere in the car. In this situation, a fairly decent-sized nut that “floated up” right between the heads seemed especially unnecessary. In the next moment, everything thumped loudly on the floor and then rolled there for some time, while the machine "depicted" a pendulum. All our sensations calmly, as it seemed to us, we transmitted to the ground. Only now, after the car got out of the plane, they didn’t hear anything from the ground - I had to navigate the operation of the system according to personal feelings and according to instrument readings - the altimeter, after opening the multi-dome system, evenly “brought us closer” to the ground, and the variometer “frozen” at a rate of descent of about six meters per second.

And then came a sharp, rolling blow. Heads in helmets instantly “knocked out the Morse code” from the headrests, and everything froze. There was an unexpected silence. But this lasted a moment - we, without saying a word, began to free ourselves from the tethered systems.

It was decided not to install automatic mooring from inside the car with the help of pyrotechnic devices for the first landing, therefore, without delay, we jumped out of the BMD. Having freed it from the parachute system and platforms, they took their places inside: Leonid - behind the levers, I - in the tower. While the mechanic was starting the engine, the gunner-operator, turning the turret, was looking for targets for shelling. Eat! And immediately with the beginning of the movement, the Thunder gun thumped. Of course, this was an imitation, and the subsequent firing from the machine gun was carried out blanks, but in the first experiment this was not the main thing. The main thing is that at all stages of landing, landing, movement, firing, we maintained full combat readiness and proved that, if necessary, paratroopers can fight with the greatest combat effect, hit the enemy without leaving the car, providing other crew members with the opportunity to join with the least losses. to them to jointly carry out a combat mission.

Leonid Zuev famously, at high speed, drove up to the podium, on the way smashed the car of the division chief of staff (who, by the way, was warned about such a possibility), stopped exactly opposite the commander and clearly reported on the successful completion of the combat mission. The commander hugged and kissed us one by one, thanked us on behalf of the service and, quickly wiping his eyes, began to ask in a friendly tone about the sensations during the experiment. He was joined by other test participants».

L. I. Shcherbakov and A. V. Margelov after the jump.

After the first successful experiment, the commander of the Airborne Forces gave the order to conduct similar experimental landings in all divisions of the Airborne Forces, in each training period. A. V. Margelov was appointed responsible for the training of full-time crews. The leaders of further tests were Lieutenant General I. I. Lisov, later - his successor as deputy commander, General N. N. Guskov, and, finally, the chairman of the STC of the Airborne Forces, Colonel L. 3. Kozlenko. To date, dozens of crew landings have been carried out in the Airborne Forces in the Centaur, KSD, Reaktavr complexes and other systems developed by Soviet designers.

According to the order of the commander of the Airborne Forces, airborne landings of equipment with crews inside combat vehicles were carried out in all airborne divisions:

On November 13, 1973, in the 98th Guards Airborne Division, foreman A. I. Savchenko and senior sergeant V. V. Kotlo landed inside the BMD-1 on the P-7 parachute platform from the An-126 aircraft;

On May 30, 1974, in the 7th Guards Airborne Division, foreman M.E. Savitsky and senior sergeant A.I. Silinsky landed inside the BMD-1 on the P-7 parachute platform from the An-126 aircraft;

On June 20, 1974, in the 76th Guards Airborne Division, foreman G. I. Solovyov and corporal G. G. Martynyuk landed inside the BMD-1 on the P-7 parachute platform from the An-126 aircraft;

On July 11, 1974, in the 7th Guards Airborne Division, foreman A.V. Titov and senior sergeant A.A. Merzlyakov landed inside the BMD-1 on the P-7 parachute platform from the An-126 aircraft;

On July 22, 1974, in the RVVDKU, Lieutenant N. G. Shevelev and Lieutenant V. I. Alymov landed inside the BMD-1 on the P-7 parachute platform from the An-126 aircraft;

On August 15, 1974, in the 103rd Guards Airborne Division, corporal V.P. Lopukhov and corporal A.V. Zhagulo landed inside the BMD-1 on the P-7 parachute platform from the An-126 aircraft;

On September 3, 1974, in the 104th Guards Airborne Division, Senior Sergeant G. V. Kozmin and Sergeant S. M. Koltsov landed inside the BMD-1 on the P-7 parachute platform from the An-126 aircraft.

All landings with people were successful. Even when, during the landing of the Centaur-5 in July 1974, due to strong winds in the ground layer (gusts up to 12-15 meters per second), the domes did not unhook from the car: the BMD-1 turned upside down and dragged, but the brave young paratroopers A. Titov and A. Merzlyakov did not fall into a state of shock, maintained radio contact with the leader of the landing, calmly reported on the state of the vehicle. Having received the command to unmoor from the inside, without leaving the car, they clearly carried out the command. After the car stopped, they got out of it on their own and continued to carry out the "combat mission" during the regimental exercises.

Subsequently, the landing of military equipment with crews inside the vehicles became commonplace for the Soviet Airborne Forces.

On January 23, 1976, for the first time in world practice, the Reaktavr parachute-reactive system was tested with people inside the car. This system, unlike the "Centaur", had only one dome with an area of ​​​​540 square meters. m, which is why the cargo flew to the ground at a deadly speed. And just before the ground itself, jet braking devices came into play - three soft landing engines, which significantly reduced the fall speed in a few seconds, and the landing took place at quite acceptable speeds. Also, the platform was equipped with two shock-absorbing foam bars. A year and a half before the landing of people, one of the Reactaurs with a dog named Buran crashed. After exiting the plane and opening the canopy, the parachute exploded and the car crashed down. Soft landing engines failed. The dog died. The commission found that the dome had exceeded its strength limit due to the depletion of the resource.

The Reaktavr was landed by the same An-12b aircraft with the same crew that dropped the Centaur. Major A. V. Margelov and Lieutenant Colonel L. I. Shcherbakov landed inside the BMD. For the experiment, a landing site was specially chosen, where there was a lot of snow. However, the complex was applied to the rolled icy road so that the paratroopers felt a solid shock overload. After landing, Shcherbakov and Margelov brought the car to combat readiness, started the engine, completed the driving and shooting complex, and then drove up to the podium for congratulations, on which the commander of the airborne forces was located.

For the successful testing of the Centaur and Reaktavr systems, as well as the courage and heroism shown during these most difficult and dangerous experiments, Major A. V. Margelov and Lieutenant Colonel L. I. Shcherbakov were presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Taking into account the positive results during the testing of the latest landing systems "Centaur" and "Reaktaur", in order to consolidate this success, the commander of the Airborne Forces, General of the Army V.F. Margelov, ordered the landing of regular crews inside the BMD in all divisions. Such exercises were carried out in the shortest possible time.

Since 1976, the Reaktavr parachute-rocket systems have been adopted by the Airborne Forces. They made it possible to reduce the time for the collection of personnel and equipment at the landing site after landing. So, during the experimental exercises in 1983, landing of eight objects with Reaktavr systems was carried out. Only 12-15 minutes passed from the moment the first car left the plane to the collection of all eight cars at a distance of 1.5 km from the landing site, while with separate landing of crews and equipment, this would take 35-45 minutes. Try to imagine it: silence, calm, an open field ... and twelve minutes later, on this field, out of nowhere, a company of Soviet paratroopers in their combat vehicles!

In addition to these systems, the Airborne Forces used a joint landing complex - KSD, on which it was possible to throw out guns, mortars, along with a crew of four. KSD were used in the Airborne Forces until the military artillery switched completely to artillery systems created on the basis of the BTRD. These KSD can be considered a continuation of Grokhovsky's thought - remember the clumsy "airbuses"? Only here we can talk about a higher technological level.

In terms of technical equipment, by the mid-80s, the Soviet Airborne Forces were the strongest in the world. The Airborne Forces were armed with airborne combat vehicles BMD-1 (with ATGM "Malyutka"), BMD-1P (with ATGM "Konkurs" or "Fagot"), BMD-2, armored personnel carriers BTR-D, BTR-ZD "Rokot" (with MANPADS "Strela-2"), BTR-RD "Skrezhet" (with ATGM "Konkurs" or "Fagot"), ASU-85 artillery mounts, BM-21V Grad-V multiple launch rocket systems, D-48 guns, D-30 howitzers, 2S9 Nona-S self-propelled guns, 82-mm Podnos mortars, 120-mm Nona-B and 2S12 Sani mortars on GAZ-66 vehicles, ZU-23 anti-aircraft guns on GAZ- 66 and BTR-D.

On May 15, 1972, in order to train specialists of the regimental services, the 332nd school of ensigns of the Airborne Forces was formed in the Lithuanian village of Gayzhunai. This school trained chiefs of warehouses, technical specialists, specialists of the airborne service.

In the same 1972, the 778th separate special-purpose radio company with 85 people was formed as part of the Airborne Forces. The main task of the newly formed unit was to drive the landing aviation to the drop point, for which the groups of this company had to land ahead of time behind enemy lines and deploy the drive equipment there. In 1975, the company was reorganized into the 778th OR REP, and in February 1980 - into the 899th separate special-purpose company of 117 people - thus, the Airborne Forces received their own "special forces". In 1988, the 899th Special Forces Special Forces was reorganized into the 899th Special Forces Company (with a staff of 105 people) as part of the 196th Airborne Forces Ops. Later, the company was deployed in the 218th Separate Special Purpose Detachment of the Airborne Forces, which in 1994, together with the 901st Separate Airborne Assault Battalion, was consolidated into its own special intelligence agency, the 45th Separate Reconnaissance Regiment of the Special Purposes of the Airborne Forces, which was created in the structure of the Airborne Forces. This regiment fully justified the hopes of its creators - later, during the Chechen campaigns, detachments of the 45th regiment carried out the most difficult combat missions with a minimum level of combat losses. Now this highly professional combat unit is capable of performing a wide range of special reconnaissance missions anywhere in the world.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, for great merits in the armed defense of the Soviet Motherland, success in combat and political training, mastering new equipment and in connection with the 60th anniversary of the SA and the Navy, the 104th Guards Parachute Regiment of the 76th Guards Airborne Chernihiv Red Banner Division February 21, 1978 was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

On May 4, 1985, for success in combat and political training and in connection with the 40th anniversary of the Victory, the 7th Guards Airborne Division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

On the basis of the directive of the General Staff of February 5, 1980, by December 1, 1980, the 387th Airborne Regiment was formed as part of the 104th Guards Airborne Division. The place of deployment was the city of Kirovabad of the Azerbaijan SSR. On the basis of the directive of the General Staff of May 13, 1982, the regiment was withdrawn from the 104th Guards Airborne Division, redeployed to Ferghana of the Uzbek SSR (TurkVO) and reorganized into the 387th separate paratrooper regiment (training young replacements for airborne and airborne - assault units and formations operating in Afghanistan). Based on the directive of the General Staff of October 9, 1985, it was reorganized into the 387th separate training parachute regiment.

On the basis of the directive of the Minister of Defense of April 28, 1988 and the directive of the General Staff of October 4, 1988, by December 30, 1988, the regiment was reorganized into the 387th separate airborne regiment.

In 1990, due to the aggravation of interethnic conflicts on the territory of the USSR and for prompt response to them, it was decided to re-form the 105th Guards Airborne Division. It was decided to introduce the 387th opdp, the 345th guards opdp, the 57th odshbr and other units into the division.

By the directive of the Minister of Defense of August 18, 1990, the 387th separate regiment was to be transferred to the state of the parachute regiment and included in the 105th Guards Airborne Division. On the basis of the directive of the USSR Ministry of Defense of March 21, 1991, by October 1, 1991, he was transferred to the staff of the paratrooper regiment (mountain-desert). After that, it was handed over to the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan.

Without communication, there is no control - this does not require any proof, because life itself has repeatedly proved this statement. That is why I would like to dwell on the formation of the communications bodies of the Airborne Forces, without which there can be no command and control. The experience of the Great Patriotic War showed that the loss of communication with the airborne units landed behind enemy lines unambiguously led to the failure of the task, the lack of interaction and, as a result, to large losses of the landing force. Therefore, in the post-war period, with the qualitative development of communications, special attention was also paid to the creation of communications bodies that could provide reliable communications in the most difficult combat conditions.

One of these communication bodies was the communications center of the Airborne Forces. The formation of the unit began on August 13, 1947 in the city of Polotsk, Byelorussian SSR. The location of the unit was the military town of Zadvinye. The basis for the formation was the communications center of the 8th Guards Airborne Neman Red Banner Corps, as well as the 13th Guards Separate Communications Company of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division. The formation was carried out by the commander of the guard battalion, Major Sidorenko Nikolai Klimentievich.

On September 4, 1947, the new formation was given the name of the 191st separate communications battalion, which became part of the 8th Guards Airborne Neman Red Banner Corps. On April 21, 1956, the communications battalion of the airborne troops began to form. Formation ended on June 22, 1956. After the formation, the battalion was given the name of the 691st separate communications battalion of the airborne troops.

In August 1972, the formation of the communications regiment of the Airborne Forces began. The basis for the formation of the regiment was the 691st separate communications battalion of the airborne troops and the mobile communications center of the 879th communications center. Formation ended on December 20, 1972. The regiment was given the name of the 196th separate communications regiment of the airborne troops.

In 1983, by order of the commander of the Airborne Forces, the unit was awarded the challenge Red Banner of the Airborne Forces. In 1988, for the successes achieved in the socialist competition among the units of the airborne troops and the high military discipline, the regiment was awarded a diploma of the commander of the Airborne Forces. On December 30, 1990, the 196th separate communications regiment of the airborne troops was reorganized into the 171st separate communications brigade of the airborne troops.

The brigade organization of the communications unit of the Airborne Forces by that time better met the requirements for communications troops. The brigade consisted of separate units that could independently operate in isolation from the brigade support units. The brigade included mobile communication centers, a battalion and a communication center of the commander of the Airborne Forces, a separate special-purpose company. Subsequently, in the Russian period, in the conditions of a severe reduction in the Airborne Forces, the 171st Communications Brigade will again be reorganized into a regiment, and the unit will receive the name of the 38th Communications Regiment of the Airborne Forces.

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (CO) of the author TSB

author Zigunenko Stanislav Nikolaevich

From the book Airborne Forces. History of the Russian landing author Alekhin Roman Viktorovich

In Soviet times… Billiards began to acquire a sports bias at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Sports tournaments have already begun in some countries. Before the October Revolution of 1917, we, in Russia, also held billiard tournaments annually, but immediately

From the book History. A new complete guide for schoolchildren to prepare for the exam author Nikolaev Igor Mikhailovich

Soviet pistols In our country, self-loading pistols were first taken up after the end of the Civil War. The first domestic self-loading pistol for a 7.65 mm Browning cartridge was developed in 1920-1921 by the gunsmith S. A. Korovin. A little later he presented his sample

From the book History of Fortresses. Evolution of Long-Term Fortification [Illustrated] author Yakovlev Viktor Vasilievich

LANDING WEAPONS IN 1930-1931 These were 7.62 mm Mauser K-96 automatic pistols, Nagant revolvers, 7.62 mm Mosin rifles and carbines, 7.62 mm machine guns

From the author's book

LANDING ARMAMENT IN 1936-1941 By this time, the small arms of the paratroopers had been replenished with 7.62-mm TT pistols and submachine guns chambered for the same cartridge PPD-40 and PPSh-41, the need for which was clearly demonstrated by the short war with the Finns. Moreover, their

From the author's book

PARACHUTE EQUIPMENT OF THE VDV IN 1968–1991 The parachute platform PP-128-5000 is a metal structure on removable wheels designed for landing cargoes with a flight weight of 3750 to 8500 kg only from the An-12B aircraft.

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Soviet culture in the second half of the 1950s - 1980s After the 20th Congress of the CPSU, a period of liberalization of domestic politics began, which affected the relations between power and culture. The congresses of the artistic intelligentsia began to meet again. Many cultural management features

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The situation of the armor issue in the 80s in Russia. In complete contrast to small states, where, under the influence of the appearance of high-explosive bombs and the propaganda of armored towers by the Belgian engineer Brialmont, fortification adopted the so-called concrete-armored

A branch of the Armed Forces, which is a reserve of the Supreme High Command and is specially designed to cover the enemy by air and perform tasks in his rear to disrupt command and control, capture and destroy ground elements of high-precision weapons, disrupt the advancement and deployment of reserves, disrupt the rear and communications, as well as covering (defending) certain areas, areas, open flanks, blocking and destroying airborne assault forces, enemy groupings that have broken through, and performing many other tasks.

In peacetime, the Airborne Forces perform the main tasks of maintaining combat and mobilization readiness at a level that ensures their successful use as intended.

In the Russian Armed Forces they are a separate branch of the military.

Also, the Airborne Forces are often used as rapid reaction forces.

The main method of delivery of the Airborne Forces is parachute landing, they can also be delivered by helicopter; during World War II, glider delivery was practiced.

Airborne Forces of the USSR

pre-war period

At the end of 1930, near Voronezh, in the 11th Infantry Division, a Soviet airborne unit was created - an airborne assault detachment. In December 1932, he was deployed to the 3rd Special Purpose Aviation Brigade (OsNaz), which since 1938 became known as the 201st Airborne Brigade.

The very first use of airborne assault in the history of military affairs took place in the spring of 1929. In the city of Garm besieged by the Basmachi, a group of armed Red Army soldiers was landed from the air, and with the support of local residents, they completely defeated the gang that had invaded the territory of Tajikistan from abroad. But still, the Day of the Airborne Forces in Russia and a number of other countries is considered to be August 2, in honor of the parachute landing at the military exercise of the Moscow Military District near Voronezh on August 2, 1930.

in 1931, on the basis of an order dated March 18, a non-standard, experienced aviation motorized landing detachment (airborne landing detachment) was formed in the Leningrad Military District. It was intended to study issues of operational-tactical use and the most advantageous organizational forms of airborne landing (airborne) units, units and formations. The detachment consisted of 164 personnel and consisted of:

One rifle company;
-individual platoons: sapper, communications and light vehicles;
- heavy bomber aviation squadron (air squadron) (12 aircraft - TB-1);
- one corps aviation detachment (air detachment) (10 aircraft - R-5).
The detachment was armed with:

Two 76-mm Kurchevsky dynamo-reactive cannons (DRP);
-two wedges - T-27;
-4 grenade launchers;
-3 light armored vehicles (armored vehicles);
-14 light and 4 heavy machine guns;
-10 trucks and 16 cars;
-4 motorcycles and one scooter
E. D. Lukin was appointed commander of the detachment. Subsequently, a non-standard paratrooper detachment was formed in the same air brigade.

In 1932, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR issued a decree on the deployment of detachments into special aviation battalions (bOSNAZ). By the end of 1933, there were already 29 airborne battalions and brigades that were part of the Air Force. The LenVO (Leningrad Military District) was entrusted with the task of training airborne instructors and developing operational and tactical standards.

By the standards of that time, the airborne units were an effective means of disorganizing the control and rear of the enemy. They were to be used where other branches of the armed forces (infantry, artillery, cavalry, armored forces) could not solve this problem at the moment, and were also intended to be used by the high command in cooperation with troops advancing from the front, airborne assault forces were supposed to help encirclement and defeat of the enemy in this direction.

Staff No. 015/890 of 1936 of the "Airborne Brigade" (Adbr) of wartime and peacetime. Name of units, number of wartime personnel (number of peacetime personnel in parentheses):

Management, 49(50);
- communications company, 56 (46);
-musician platoon, 11 (11);
-3 airborne battalions, each, 521 (381);
- school of junior officers, 0 (115);
-services, 144 (135);
Total: in the brigade, 1823 (1500); Personnel:

Command staff, 107 (118);
- Commanding staff, 69 (60);
- Junior command and command staff, 330 (264);
- Privates, 1317 (1058);
-Total: 1823 (1500);

Material part:

45 mm anti-tank gun, 18 (19);
-Light machine guns, 90 (69);
-Radio stations, 20 (20);
-Automatic carbines, 1286 (1005);
-Light mortars, 27 (20);
- Cars, 6 (6);
- Trucks, 63 (51);
-Special vehicles, 14 (14);
- Cars "Pickup", 9 (8);
-Motorcycles, 31 (31);
- Tractors ChTZ, 2 (2);
- Tractor trailers, 4 (4);
In the prewar years, a lot of forces and funds were allocated for the development of airborne troops, the development of the theory of their combat use, as well as practical training. In 1934, 600 paratroopers were involved in the exercises of the Red Army. In 1935, during the maneuvers of the Kyiv Military District, 1,188 paratroopers were parachuted and a landing force consisting of 2,500 people landed along with military equipment.

In 1936, 3,000 paratroopers were parachuted into the Belarusian Military District, 8,200 people with artillery and other military equipment were landed by landing method. The invited foreign military delegations present at these exercises were amazed by the size of the landings and the skill of landing.

"31. Airborne units, as a new type of airborne infantry, are a means of disorganizing the enemy's command and rear. They are used by the high command.
In cooperation with the troops advancing from the front, the air infantry helps encircle and defeat the enemy in a given direction.

The use of air infantry must be strictly in accordance with the conditions of the situation and requires reliable provision and observance of measures of secrecy and surprise.
- Chapter two "Organization of the troops of the Red Army" 1. Types of troops and their combat use, Field Charter of the Red Army (PU-39)

The paratroopers gained experience in real battles. In 1939, the 212th Airborne Brigade took part in the defeat of the Japanese at Khalkhin Gol. For their courage and heroism, 352 paratroopers were awarded orders and medals. In 1939-1940, during the Soviet-Finnish war, the 201st, 202nd and 214th airborne brigades fought together with rifle units.

Based on the experience gained in 1940, new staffs of brigades were approved as part of three combat groups: parachute, glider and landing.

In preparation for the operation to annex Bessarabia to the USSR, occupied by Romania, as well as Northern Bukovina, the command of the Red Army enlisted the 201st, 204th and 214th airborne brigades in the Southern Front. During the operation, combat missions were received by the 204th and 201st adbrs and landings were thrown into the area of ​​​​Bolgrad and the city of Izmail, and after the closure of the state border to organize Soviet governments in settlements.

The Great Patriotic War

By the beginning of 1941, on the basis of the existing airborne brigades, airborne corps were deployed, numbering more than 10 thousand people each.
On September 4, 1941, by order of the People's Commissar, the Office of the Airborne Forces was transformed into the Office of the Commander of the Airborne Forces of the Red Army, and the formations and units of the Airborne Forces were removed from the subordination of the commanders of the active fronts and transferred to the direct subordination of the commander of the Airborne Forces. In accordance with this order, ten airborne corps, five maneuverable airborne brigades, five reserve airborne regiments and an airborne school (Kuibyshev) were formed. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Airborne Forces were an independent branch of the forces (troops) of the Red Army Air Force.

In the counter-offensive near Moscow, conditions appeared for the widespread use of the Airborne Forces. In the winter of 1942, the Vyazemsky airborne operation was carried out with the participation of the 4th airborne corps. In September 1943, an airborne assault consisting of two brigades was used to help the troops of the Voronezh Front in forcing the Dnieper River. In the Manchurian strategic operation in August 1945, more than 4 thousand people of the personnel of rifle units were landed for landing operations by landing method, who quite successfully completed their tasks.

In October 1944, the Airborne Forces were transformed into a separate Guards Airborne Army, which became part of the long-range aviation. In December 1944, this army was, on the basis of the order of the Headquarters of the Supreme Command of December 18, 1944, transformed into the 9th Guards Army, on the basis of the command of the 7th Army and formations of a separate guards airborne army with direct subordination to the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. The airborne divisions were reorganized into rifle divisions.
At the same time, the Airborne Forces Directorate was created with direct subordination to the Air Force Commander. Three airborne brigades, a training airborne regiment, advanced training courses for officers and an aeronautical division remained in the Airborne Forces. At the end of the winter of 1945, the 9th Guards Army, consisting of the 37th, 38th, and 39th Guards Rifle Corps, was concentrated in Hungary southeast of Budapest; On February 27, she became part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, on March 9 she was reassigned to the 3rd Ukrainian Front. In March - April 1945, the army took part in the Vienna strategic operation (March 16 - April 15), advancing in the direction of the front's main attack. In early May 1945, the army, as part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front, took part in the Prague operation (May 6-11). The 9th Guards Army ended its combat path with an exit to the Elbe. The army was disbanded on May 11, 1945. The commander of the army was Colonel General Glagolev VV (December 1944 - until the end of the war). On June 10, 1945, in accordance with the order of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command of May 29, 1945, the Central Group of Forces was formed, which included the 9th Guards Army. Later it was withdrawn to the Moscow District, where in 1946 its department was transformed into the Directorate of the Airborne Forces, and all its formations again became guards airborne - the 37th, 38th, 39th corps and 98, 99, 100, 103, 104 , 105, 106, 107, 114 airborne division (airborne division).

post-war period

Since 1946, they were transferred to the ground forces of the Armed Forces of the USSR, were directly subordinate to the Minister of Defense of the USSR, being the reserve of the Supreme Commander.
In 1956, two airborne divisions took part in the Hungarian events. In 1968, after the capture of two airfields near Prague and Bratislava, the 7th and 103rd Guards Airborne Divisions were landed, which ensured the successful completion of the task by formations and units of the United Armed Forces of the countries participating in the Warsaw Pact during the Czechoslovak events.

In the post-war period, a lot of work was done in the Airborne Forces to increase the firepower and mobility of personnel. Numerous samples of airborne armored vehicles (BMD, BTR-D), automotive equipment (TPK, GAZ-66), artillery systems (ASU-57, ASU-85, 2S9 Nona, 107-mm B-11 recoilless rifle) were made. Complex parachute systems were created for landing all types of weapons - "Centaur", "Reaktaur" and others. The fleet of military transport aviation, called for the mass transfer of landing formations in the event of large-scale hostilities, was also greatly increased. Large-body transport aircraft were made capable of parachute landing of military equipment (An-12, An-22, Il-76).

In the USSR, for the first time in the world, airborne troops were created, which had their own armored vehicles and self-propelled artillery. At large army exercises (like Shield-82 or Druzhba-82), personnel were landed with standard equipment numbering no more than two parachute regiments. The state of the military transport aviation of the USSR Armed Forces at the end of the 1980s allowed 75% of the personnel and standard military equipment of one airborne division to be dropped by parachute in just one general sortie.

By the fall of 1979, the 105th Guards Vienna Red Banner Airborne Division was disbanded, specially designed for combat operations in mountainous desert areas. Parts of the 105th Guards Airborne Division were deployed in the cities of Ferghana, Namangan and Chirchik of the Uzbek SSR and in the city of Osh of the Kirghiz SSR. As a result of the disbandment of the 105th Guards Airborne Division, the 4th separate airborne assault brigades (35th Guards, 38th Guards and 56th Guards), 40th (without the status of "Guards") and 345th Guards Separate Parachute Regiment.

The entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, which followed the disbandment of the 105th Guards Airborne Division in 1979, showed the profound fallacy of the decision made by the leadership of the USSR Armed Forces - an airborne formation specially adapted for combat operations in mountainous desert areas was thoughtlessly and rather hastily was disbanded, and the 103rd Guards Airborne Division was eventually sent to Afghanistan, the personnel of which had no training at all for combat operations in such a theater of operations:

105th Guards Airborne Vienna Red Banner Division (mountain and desert).:
“... in 1986, the Commander of the Airborne Forces, Army General Sukhorukov D.F., arrived, he then said what fools we were, having disbanded the 105th airborne division, because it was specially designed for combat operations in mountainous desert areas. And we had to spend huge amounts of money to deliver the 103rd airborne division to Kabul by air ... "

By the mid-80s, the airborne troops of the USSR Armed Forces included 7 airborne divisions and three separate regiments with the following names and locations:

7th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division. Based in Kaunas, Lithuanian SSR, Baltic Military District.
-76th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree Chernihiv Airborne Division. It was stationed in Pskov, RSFSR, Leningrad Military District.
-98th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree Svir airborne division. It was based in the city of Bolgrad, Ukrainian SSR, KOdVO and in the city of Chisinau, Moldavian SSR, KOdVO.
-103rd Guards Red Banner Order of Lenin Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division named after the 60th anniversary of the USSR. It was stationed in the city of Kabul (Afghanistan) as part of OKSVA. Until December 1979 and after February 1989, it was stationed in Vitebsk, Byelorussian SSR, Belorussian Military District.
-104th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division, specially designed for combat operations in mountainous areas. It was stationed in the city of Kirovabad of the Azerbaijan SSR, Transcaucasian Military District.
-106th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov II degree airborne division. It was stationed in the city of Tula and in the city of Ryazan of the RSFSR, Moscow Military District.
-44th Training Red Banner Order of Suvorov II degree and Bogdan Khmelnitsky II degree Ovruch airborne division. Located in the village Gayzhyunay of the Lithuanian SSR, Baltic VO.
-345th Guards Vienna Red Banner Order of Suvorov III degree parachute regiment named after the 70th anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol. It was located in the city of Bagram (Afghanistan) as part of OKSVA. Until December 1979, it was based in the city of Fergana, Uzbek SSR, after February 1989 - in Kirovabad, Azerbaijan SSR, Transcaucasian Military District.
-387th training separate parachute regiment (387th oopdp). Until 1982, he was part of the 104th Guards Airborne Division. In the period from 1982 to 1988, young recruits were trained in the 387th opdp to be sent to the airborne and airborne assault units as part of the OKSVA. In cinematography, in the film "9th Company", the training part means precisely the 387th opdp. Based in the city of Fergana, Uzbek SSR, Turkestan Military District.
-196th Separate Communications Regiment of the Airborne Troops. Settled in the village. Bear Lakes, Moscow Region, RSFSR.
Each of these divisions included: a directorate (headquarters), three airborne regiments, one self-propelled artillery regiment, and combat support and logistics support units.

In addition to parachute units and formations, the airborne troops also had air assault units and formations, but they were directly subordinate to the commanders of military districts (groups of forces), armies or corps. They practically did not differ in anything, except for tasks, subordination and OShS (organizational staff structure). Methods of combat use, combat training programs for personnel, weapons and uniforms for military personnel were the same as for paratrooper units and formations of the Airborne Forces (central subordination). Air assault formations were represented by separate air assault brigades (ODSHBR), separate air assault regiments (ODSHP) and separate air assault battalions (ODSHB).

The reason for the creation of air assault units in the late 60s was the revision of tactics in the fight against the enemy in the event of a full-scale war. The stake was placed on the concept of using massive landings in the near rear of the enemy, capable of disorganizing the defense. The technical possibility for such a landing was provided by the fleet of transport helicopters in army aviation, which had significantly increased by this time.

By the mid-80s, the USSR Armed Forces included 14 separate brigades, two separate regiments and about 20 separate battalions. The brigades were based on the territory of the USSR according to the principle - one brigade per one military district, which has land access to the State border of the USSR, one brigade in the inner Kiev Military District (23rd brigade in Kremenchug, subordinate to the High Command of the southwestern direction) and two brigades for the group Soviet troops abroad (35gv.odshbr in the GSVG in the city of Cottbus and 83odshbr in the SGV in the city of Bialogard). 56ogdshbr in OKSVA, located in the city of Gardez of the Republic of Afghanistan, belonged to the Turkestan Military District, in which it was created.

Individual air assault regiments were subordinate to the commanders of individual army corps.

The difference between the parachute and airborne assault formations of the Airborne Forces was as follows:

In the presence of standard airborne armored vehicles (BMD, BTR-D, self-propelled guns "Nona", etc.). In the airborne assault units, only a quarter of all units were equipped with it - in contrast to 100% of its staffing in the paratrooper units.
- In the subordination of the troops. Airborne assault units, operationally, were directly subordinate to the command of military districts (groups of troops), armies, and corps. The parachute units were subordinate only to the command of the Airborne Forces, whose headquarters was in Moscow.
-In assigned tasks. It was assumed that the air assault units, in the event of the start of large-scale hostilities, would be used to land in the near rear of the enemy, mainly by landing from helicopters. Parachute units were supposed to be used in a deeper rear of the enemy with a parachute landing from VTA aircraft (military transport aviation). At the same time, airborne training with planned training parachute landings of personnel and military equipment was mandatory for both types of airborne forces.
-Unlike the guards airborne units of the Airborne Forces deployed in full force, some airborne assault brigades were cadre (incomplete) and were not guards. The exception was three brigades that received the names of the Guards, created on the basis of the Guards parachute regiments, disbanded in 1979 by the 105th Vienna Red Banner Guards Airborne Division - the 35th, 38th and 56th. The 40th air assault brigade, created on the basis of the 612th separate airborne support battalion and the 100th separate reconnaissance company of the same division, did not receive the status of "guards".
In the mid-80s, the following brigades and regiments were part of the Airborne Forces of the USSR Armed Forces:

11th separate airborne assault brigade in the Trans-Baikal Military District (Chita region, Mogocha and Amazar),
-13th separate airborne assault brigade in the Far Eastern Military District (Amur Region, Magdagachi and Zavitinsk),
-21st separate airborne assault brigade in the Transcaucasian Military District (Georgian SSR, Kutaisi),
-23rd separate air assault brigade of the South-Western direction (on the territory of the Kyiv Military District), (Ukrainian SSR, Kremenchug),
-35th Separate Guards Airborne Assault Brigade in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (German Democratic Republic, Cottbus),
-36th separate airborne assault brigade in the Leningrad Military District (Leningrad region, Garbolovo township),
-37th separate airborne assault brigade in the Baltic Military District (Kaliningrad region, Chernyakhovsk),
-38th Separate Guards Airborne Assault Brigade in the Belarusian Military District (Belarusian SSR, Brest),
-39th separate airborne assault brigade in the Carpathian Military District (Ukrainian SSR, Khyriv),
-40th separate airborne assault brigade in the Odessa Military District (Ukrainian SSR, village Bolshaya Korenikha, Nikolaev region),
-56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade in the Turkestan Military District (created in the city of Chirchik, Uzbek SSR and introduced into Afghanistan),
-57th separate airborne assault brigade in the Central Asian Military District (Kazakh SSR, Aktogay township),
-58th separate airborne assault brigade in the Kiev Military District (Ukrainian SSR, Kremenchug),
-83rd separate airborne assault brigade in the Northern Group of Forces, (Polish People's Republic, Bialogard),
-1318th separate airborne assault regiment in the Belarusian Military District (Belarusian SSR, Polotsk) subordinate to the 5th separate army corps (5oak)
-1319th separate airborne assault regiment in the Trans-Baikal Military District (Buryat ASSR, Kyakhta) subordinate to the 48th separate army corps (48oak)
These brigades had in their composition management, 3 or 4 air assault battalions, one artillery battalion and combat support and logistics support units. The personnel of fully deployed brigades ranged from 2,500 to 3,000 troops.
For example, the staffing strength of the 56gdshbr on December 1, 1986 was 2452 military personnel (261 officers, 109 ensigns, 416 sergeants, 1666 soldiers).

The regiments differed from the brigades in the presence of only two battalions: one parachute and one air assault (on the BMD), as well as a somewhat reduced composition of the regimental units.

Participation of the Airborne Forces in the Afghan War

In the Afghan war, one airborne division (103 guards airborne division), one separate airborne assault brigade (56gdshbr), one separate parachute regiment (345gv.opdp) and two air assault battalions as part of separate motorized rifle brigades (in the 66th brigade and in the 70th brigade). In total, for 1987, these were 18 "line" battalions (13 parachute and 5 air assault), which accounted for a fifth of the total number of all OKSVA "line" battalions (which included another 18 tank and 43 motorized rifle battalions).

In virtually the entire history of the Afghan war, not a single situation has arisen that would justify the use of parachute landing for the transfer of personnel. The main reasons here were the complexity of the mountainous terrain, as well as the unjustified material costs in using such methods in the counter-guerrilla war. The delivery of the personnel of the parachute and airborne assault units to the mountainous areas of hostilities, impassable for armored vehicles, was carried out only by the landing method using helicopters. Therefore, the division of the line battalions of the Airborne Forces in OKSVA into air assault and parachute assault should be considered conditional. Both types of battalions operated in the same way.

As in all motorized rifle, tank and artillery units as part of the OKSVA, up to half of all units of the airborne and airborne assault formations were assigned to guard outposts, which made it possible to control roads, mountain passes and the vast territory of the country, significantly restricting the the very actions of the enemy. For example, battalions of the 350th Guards RAP were often based in various parts of Afghanistan (in Kunar, Girishka, Surubi), controlling the situation in these areas. The 2nd Airborne Battalion from the 345th Guards Opdp was distributed to 20 outposts in the Panjshir Gorge near the village of Anava. With this, 2pdb 345opdp (together with the 682nd motorized rifle regiment of the 108th motorized rifle division stationed in the village of Rukha) completely blocked the western exit from the gorge, which was the main transport artery of the enemy from Pakistan to the strategically important Charikar Valley.

The most massive combat airborne operation in the USSR Armed Forces, in the period after the Great Patriotic War, must be considered the 5th Panjshir Operation in May-June 1982, during which the first mass landing of the 103rd Guards Airborne Forces in Afghanistan was carried out: only during the first three days, more than 4 thousand people were parachuted from helicopters. In total, about 12 thousand military personnel of various branches of the armed forces participated in this operation. The operation took place simultaneously for all 120 km deep into the gorge. As a result of the operation, most of the Panjshir Gorge was taken under control.

In the period from 1982 to 1986, in all airborne divisions of OKSVA, a systematic replacement of regular airborne armored vehicles (BMD-1, BTR-D) with armored vehicles, standard for motorized rifle units (BMP-2D, BTR-70) was carried out. First of all, this was due to the rather low security and low motor resource of the structurally lightweight armored vehicles of the Airborne Forces, as well as the nature of the hostilities, where combat missions performed by paratroopers will not differ much from the tasks assigned to motorized rifles.

Also, to increase the firepower of the landing units, additional artillery and tank units will be introduced into their composition. For example, 345opdp, modeled on a motorized rifle regiment, will be supplemented with an artillery howitzer battalion and a tank company, in the 56th brigade the artillery battalion was deployed up to 5 fire batteries (instead of the prescribed 3 batteries), and the 103rd Guards Airborne Division will be given to reinforce the 62nd separate tank battalion, which was unusual for the organizational and staff structure of the Airborne Forces units on the territory of the USSR.

Training of officers for the airborne troops

Officers were trained by the following military educational institutions in the following military specialties:

Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School - commander of an airborne (airborne assault) platoon, commander of a reconnaissance platoon.
-Airborne Department of the Ryazan Military Automobile Institute - commander of an automobile / transport platoon.
- Landing Department of the Ryazan Higher Military Command School of Communications - commander of a communications platoon.
-Airborne faculty of the Novosibirsk Higher Military Command School - deputy company commander for political affairs (educational work).
-Airborne Department of the Kolomna Higher Artillery Command School - commander of an artillery platoon.
-Poltava Higher Anti-Aircraft Missile Command Red Banner School - commander of an anti-aircraft artillery, anti-aircraft missile platoon.
- Landing department of the Kamenetz-Podolsky Higher Military Engineering Command School - commander of an engineering platoon.
In addition to graduates of these educational institutions, the Airborne Forces often appointed platoon commanders, graduates of higher combined arms schools (VOKU) and military departments that trained motorized rifle platoon commanders. This was due to the fact that the profile Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, which produced an average of about 300 lieutenants every year, was simply not able to fully meet the needs of the Airborne Forces (at the end of the 80s they had about 60,000 personnel) in platoon leaders. For example, the former commander of 247gv.pdp (7gv.vdd), Hero of the Russian Federation Em Yuri Pavlovich, who began his service in the Airborne Forces as a platoon commander in 111gv.pdp 105gv.vdd, graduated from the Alma-Ata Higher Combined Arms Command School.

For quite a long time, military units and units of the Special Forces (the so-called now army special forces) were erroneously and / or deliberately called paratroopers. This circumstance is connected with the fact that in the Soviet period, as now, the Russian Armed Forces did not have and do not have special forces, but there were and are units and units of the Special Forces (SpN) of the GRU of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces. In the press and in the media, the phrases “special forces” or “commandos” were mentioned only in relation to the troops of a potential enemy (“Green Berets”, “Rangers”, “Commandos”).

Starting from the formation of these units in the USSR Armed Forces in 1950 until the end of the 80s, the existence of such units and units was completely denied. It got to the point that conscripts learned about their existence only when they were accepted into the personnel of these units and units. Officially, in the Soviet press and on television, units and units of the Special Forces of the GRU of the General Staff of the USSR Armed Forces were announced either as parts of the Airborne Forces - as in the case of the GSVG (officially there were no Special Forces units in the GDR), or as in the case of OKSVA - separate motorized rifle battalions (omsb). For example, the 173rd separate special forces detachment (173ooSpN), based near the city of Kandahar, was called the 3rd separate motorized rifle battalion (3omsb)

In everyday life, the servicemen of the units and units of the Special Forces wore the full dress and field uniforms adopted in the Airborne Forces, although they did not belong to the Airborne Forces either in terms of subordination or in terms of the assigned tasks of reconnaissance and sabotage activities. The only thing that united the Airborne Forces and units and units of the Special Forces was most of the officers - RVVDKU graduates, airborne training and possible combat use behind enemy lines.

Airborne Forces of Russia

The decisive role in the formation of the theory of combat use and the development of weapons of the airborne troops belongs to the Soviet military leader Vasily Filippovich Margelov, commander of the Airborne Forces from 1954 to 1979. The name of Margelov is also associated with the positioning of airborne formations as highly maneuverable, covered with armor and having sufficient fire efficiency units to participate in modern strategic operations in various theaters of military operations. On his initiative, the technical re-equipment of the Airborne Forces was launched: serial production of landing equipment was launched at defense production enterprises, modifications of small arms designed specifically for paratroopers were made, new military equipment was modernized and created (including the first tracked combat vehicle BMD-1), were taken to armament and new military transport aircraft entered the troops, and finally, their own symbols of the Airborne Forces were created - vests and blue berets. His personal contribution to the formation of the Airborne Forces in their modern form was formulated by General Pavel Fedoseevich Pavlenko:

"In the history of the Airborne Forces, and in the Armed Forces of Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, his name will remain forever. He personified a whole era in the development and formation of the Airborne Forces, their authority and popularity are associated with his name not only in our country, but and abroad...
…IN. F. Margelov realized that in modern operations, only highly mobile, capable of wide maneuver landing forces would be able to successfully operate deep behind enemy lines. He categorically rejected the installation of holding the area captured by the landing until the approach of the troops advancing from the front by the method of tough defense as disastrous, because in this case the landing would be quickly destroyed.

During the Second World War, the largest operational-tactical formations of the airborne troops (forces) - the army - were formed. The Airborne Army (VDA) was specially designed to carry out major operational and strategic tasks behind enemy lines. It was first created at the end of 1943 in Nazi Germany as part of several airborne divisions. In 1944, the Anglo-American command also created such an army, consisting of two airborne corps (a total of five airborne divisions) and several military transport aviation formations. These armies never took part in hostilities in full force.
-During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, tens of thousands of soldiers, sergeants, officers of the airborne units of the Red Army Air Force were awarded orders and medals, and 126 people were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
-After the end of the Great Patriotic War and for several decades, the Airborne Forces of the USSR (Russia) were and probably remain the most massive airborne troops on Earth.
-Only Soviet paratroopers in full combat gear were able to land on the North Pole, back in the late 40s
- Only Soviet paratroopers dared to jump from many kilometers in airborne combat vehicles.
- The abbreviation of the Airborne Forces is sometimes deciphered as “Two hundred options are possible”, “Uncle Vasya’s troops”, “Your girls are widows”, “I’m unlikely to return home”, “The paratrooper will withstand everything”, “Everything for you”, “Troops for the war”, etc. d.

Airborne troops
(VDV)

From the history of creation

The history of the Russian Airborne Forces is inextricably linked with the history of the creation and development of the Red Army. A great contribution to the theory of combat use of airborne assaults was made by Marshal of the Soviet Union M.N. Tukhachevsky. Back in the second half of the 1920s, he was the first among Soviet military leaders to deeply study the role of airborne assault forces in a future war, and substantiated the prospects of the Airborne Forces.

In the work "New Questions of War" M.N. Tukhachevsky wrote: “If a country is prepared for the widespread production of airborne assault forces capable of capturing and stopping the operation of the enemy’s railways in decisive directions, paralyzing the deployment and mobilization of his troops, etc., then such a country will be able to reverse the previous methods of operational operations and give the outcome of the war much more decisive character.

A significant place in this work is given to the role of airborne assault forces in border battles. The author believed that during this period of the battle it would be more profitable to use airborne assault forces to disrupt mobilization, isolate and tie down border garrisons, defeat local enemy troops, capture airfields, landing sites and solve other important tasks.

Much attention was paid to the development of the theory of the use of the Airborne Forces by Ya.I. Alksnis, A.I. Egorov, A.I. Cork, I.P. Uborevich, I.E. Yakir and many other military leaders. They believed that the most trained soldiers should serve in the Airborne Forces, ready to complete any task, while showing determination and stamina. Airborne assault forces must deliver sudden attacks on the enemy where no one is waiting for them.

Theoretical studies led to the fact that the combat activity of the Airborne Forces should be of an offensive nature, bold to the point of insolence and extremely maneuverable in carrying out quick, concentrated strikes. Airborne assault forces, making maximum use of the suddenness of their appearance, must swiftly strike at the most sensitive points, achieve hourly success, thereby increasing panic in the enemy ranks.

Simultaneously with the development of the theory of the combat use of the Airborne Forces in the Red Army, bold experiments were carried out on the landing of airborne assault forces, an extensive program was conducted to create experimental airborne units, questions of their organization were studied, and a system of combat training was developed.

For the first time, an airborne assault was used to perform a combat mission in 1929. On April 13, 1929, the Fuzaili gang made another raid from Afghanistan to the territory of Tajikistan. The plans of the Basmachi included capturing the Garm district and in the future to ensure the invasion of the Alai and Ferghana valleys of larger bands of the Basmachi. Cavalry detachments were sent to the Basmachi invasion area with the task of destroying the gang before it captured the Garm district. However, the information received from the city testified that they would not have time to block the path of the gang, which had already defeated a detachment of Garm volunteers in the oncoming battle and threatened the city. In this critical situation, the commander of the Central Asian military district P.E. Dybenko made a bold decision: to transfer a detachment of fighters through the air and with a sudden blow to destroy the enemy on the outskirts of the city. The detachment consisted of 45 people armed with rifles and four machine guns. On the morning of April 23, two platoon commanders flew to the combat area on the first plane, followed by the commander of the cavalry brigade T.T. Shapkin, brigade commissar A.T. Fedin. The platoon commanders were supposed to capture the landing site and ensure the landing of the main forces of the detachment. The task of the brigade commander was to study the situation on the spot and then, returning back to Dushanbe, report the results to the commander. Commissar Fedin was supposed to take command of the landing force and lead the actions to destroy the gang. An hour and a half after the first plane took off, the main landing forces took off. However, the detachment's plan of action planned earlier was canceled immediately after the plane landed with the commander and commissar. Half of the city was already occupied by the Basmachi, so it was impossible to delay. Having sent a plane with a report, the brigade commander decided to immediately attack the enemy with available forces, without waiting for the landing force to arrive. Having obtained horses in the nearest villages and splitting into two groups, the detachment moved to Garm. Having burst into the city, the detachment unleashed powerful machine-gun and rifle fire on the Basmachi. The bandits were confused. They knew about the size of the city's garrison, but they were armed with rifles, and where did the machine guns come from? The bandits decided that a division of the Red Army had broken into the city, and, unable to withstand the onslaught, retreated from the city, losing about 80 people in the process. The approaching cavalry units completed the defeat of the Fuzaili gang. District Commander P.E. Dybenko, during the analysis, highly appreciated the actions of the detachment.

The second experiment took place on July 26, 1930. On this day, under the leadership of military pilot L. Minov, the first training jumps were made in Voronezh. Leonid Grigoryevich Minov himself later told how the events unfolded: “I didn’t think that one jump could change a lot in life. I loved flying with all my heart. Like all my comrades, at that time I treated parachutes with distrust. and did not think. In 1928, I happened to be at a meeting of the leadership of the Air Force, where I made my report on the results of work on "blind" flights at the Borisoglebsk school of military pilots. After the meeting, Pyotr Ionovich Baranov, the head of the Air Force, called me and asked: "In your report, you said that you must fly blind without fail with a parachute. Leonid Grigorievich, what do you think, are parachutes needed in military aviation?" What could I say then! Of course, parachutes are needed. The best proof of this was the forced parachute jump of test pilot M. Gromov. Recalling this incident, I answered Pyotr Ionovich in the affirmative. Then he suggested that I go to the USA and get to know how they are doing with the rescue service in aviation. Frankly, I reluctantly agreed. I returned from the United States of America "small": with a "diploma" in my pocket and three jumps. Pyotr Ionovich Baranov put my memorandum in a skinny folder. When he closed it, on the cover I saw the inscription: "Parachuting business." I left Baranov's office two hours later. There was a lot of work to be done on the introduction of parachutes in aviation, on the organization of various studies and experiments aimed at improving flight safety. It was decided to hold classes in Voronezh in order to familiarize the flight crew with parachutes and the organization of jumps. Baranov suggested thinking about the possibility of training 10-15 paratroopers at the Voronezh training camp to perform a group jump. On July 26, 1930, participants in the training camp of the Air Force of the Moscow Military District gathered at the airfield near Voronezh. I had to perform a demonstration jump. Of course, everyone who was on the airfield considered me an ace in this matter. After all, I was the only person here who had already received an air parachute baptism and jumped more than once, not two, but had as many as three jumps! And the prize-winning place I took at the competitions of the strongest skydivers in the USA, apparently, seemed to be something inaccessible to those present. Together with me, the pilot Moshkovsky, who was appointed my assistant at the training camp, was preparing to jump. There were no more applicants. My jump was really successful. I landed lightly, not far from the audience, I even stood on my feet. Met with applause. A girl who came from somewhere handed me a bouquet of field daisies. - "And how is Moshkovsky?"... The plane enters the course. His figure is clearly visible in the doorway. It's time to jump. It's time! But he is still standing in the doorway, apparently not daring to rush down. Another second, second. Finally! A white plume shot up over the falling man and immediately turned into a tight canopy of a parachute. - "Hurrah-ah-ah! .." - there was a sound around. Many pilots, seeing Moshkovsky and me alive and unharmed, expressed a desire to jump too. On that day, the squadron commander A. Stoilov, his assistant K. Zatonsky, pilots I. Povalyaev and I. Mukhin made jumps. And three days later there were 30 people in the ranks of paratroopers. After listening to my report on the course of the classes over the phone, Baranov asked: "Tell me, is it possible to prepare, say, ten or fifteen people for a group jump in two or three days?" Having received a positive answer, Pyotr Ionovich explained his idea: "It would be very good if it were possible during the Voronezh exercise to demonstrate the dropping of a group of armed paratroopers for sabotage operations on the territory of the "enemy."

Needless to say, we accepted this original and interesting task with great enthusiasm. It was decided to launch the landing from the Farman-Goliath aircraft. In those days it was the only aircraft we had mastered for jumping. Its advantage over the TB-1 bombers available in the air brigade was that a person did not need to get out onto the wing - the paratroopers jumped directly into the open door. Moreover, all trainees were in the cockpit. The feeling of a comrade's elbow reassured everyone. In addition, the releaser could watch him, cheer him up before the jump. Ten volunteers who had already completed training jumps were selected to participate in the landing. In addition to the landing of fighters, the plan of the landing operation included the dropping of weapons and ammunition (light machine guns, grenades, cartridges) from aircraft on special cargo parachutes. For this purpose, two soft mail bags and four light-heavy boxes designed by K. Blagin were used. The landing group was divided into two detachments, since no more than seven paratroopers fit in the cockpit. After the landing of the first paratroopers, the plane returned to the airfield for the second group. During the break between jumps, it was planned to drop six cargo parachutes with weapons and ammunition from three P-1 aircraft. As a result of this experiment, I wanted to get an answer to a number of questions: to establish the degree of dispersion of a group of six people and the time of separation from the aircraft of all fighters; fix the time it will take to descend the paratroopers to the ground, receive the dropped weapons and bring the landing force into full readiness for combat operations. In order to expand the experience, the drop of the first detachment was planned from a height of 350 meters, the second - from 500 meters, dropping cargo - from 150 meters. Preparations for the landing operation were completed on 31 July. Each fighter knew his place on the plane and his task on the ground. The paratroopers' equipment, consisting of the main and reserve parachutes, was stowed and carefully fitted to the soldier's figure, weapons and ammunition were packed in hanging bags and cargo parachute boxes.

On August 2, 1930, at exactly 9 o'clock, a plane took off from the base airfield. On board is the first detachment of paratroopers. Together with us and the head of the second group Ya. Moshkovsky. He decided to see where the place of separation of our group was, so that later he could accurately parachute his guys. We were followed by three R-1 planes, under the wings of which cargo parachutes were suspended on bomb racks.

Having made a circle, our plane turned to the landing site, located about two kilometers from the airfield. The landing area is a field free from crops measuring 600 by 800 meters. She adjoined a small farm. One of the buildings, located on the outskirts of the farm, was designated as a landmark for collecting paratroopers after landing and as a starting point for the start of military operations of the landing force in the rear of the "enemy". - "Get ready!" - trying to shout over the rumble of engines, I commanded. The guys immediately got up and stood one after another, clutching the pull ring in their right hand. Faces are tense, focused. As soon as they crossed the site, I gave the command: "Go!" ... - the fighters literally poured out of the plane, I dived last and immediately pulled the ring. I counted - all the domes opened normally. We landed almost in the center of the site, not far from each other. The soldiers quickly gathered their parachutes and ran up to me. In the meantime, the R-1 link passed overhead and dropped six parachutes with weapons on the edge of the farm. We rushed there, unpacked the bags, took out machine guns, cartridges. And now our "Farman" with the second group reappeared in the sky. As planned, Moshkovsky's group left the plane at an altitude of 500 meters. They landed next to us. It took only a few minutes, and 12 paratroopers, armed with two light machine guns, rifles, revolvers and grenades, were in full readiness for combat operations ... "

So the world's first parachute landing was dropped.

In the order of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR dated October 24, 1930, People's Commissar K. Voroshilov noted: “Successful experiments in organizing airborne assaults should be noted as achievements. Airborne operations should be comprehensively studied from the technical and tactical side by the Headquarters of the Red Army and they were given appropriate instructions on the spot.

It is this order that is the legal evidence of the birth of the "winged infantry" in the Land of Soviets.

Organizational structure of the airborne troops

• Command of the Airborne Troops
• Airborne and air assault formations:
  • 98th Guards Airborne Svir Red Banner Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Division
  • 106th Guards Red Banner Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Airborne Division
  • 7th Guards Air Assault (Mountain) Red Banner Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Division;
  • 76th Guards Air Assault Chernihiv Red Banner Division;
  • 31st Separate Guards Airborne Assault Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Class Brigade;
• Military unit of special purpose:
  • 45th Separate Guards Order of Kutuzov Order of Alexander Nevsky Special Purpose Regiment;
• Military support units:
  • 38th Separate Communications Regiment of the Airborne Troops;

Airborne Troops- a type of troops intended for combat operations behind enemy lines.

Designed for airborne landings behind enemy lines or for rapid deployment in geographically remote areas, often used as a rapid reaction force.

The main method of delivery of the Airborne Forces is parachute landing, they can also be delivered by helicopter; during World War II, glider delivery was practiced.

The Airborne Forces consist of:
• paratroopers
• tank
• artillery
• self-propelled artillery
• other units and divisions
• from units and subunits of special troops and rear.

The personnel of the Airborne Forces are parachuted along with their personal weapons.

Tanks, rocket launchers, artillery guns, self-propelled guns, ammunition and other materiel are dropped from aircraft using airborne equipment (parachutes, parachute and parachute-rocket systems, cargo containers, platforms for installing and dropping weapons and equipment) or delivered by aircraft behind enemy lines to captured airfields.

The main combat properties of the Airborne Forces:
• ability to quickly reach remote areas
• strike suddenly
• successfully conduct combined arms combat.

The Airborne Forces are armed with airborne self-propelled guns ASU-85; self-propelled artillery guns "Octopus-SD"; 122-mm D-30 howitzers; airborne combat vehicles BMD-1/2/3/4; armored personnel carriers BTR-D.

Part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation may be part of the joint armed forces (for example, the Joint Forces of the CIS) or be under joint command in accordance with the international treaties of the Russian Federation (for example, as part of the UN peacekeeping forces or the CIS collective peacekeeping forces in zones of local military conflicts ).