Paratrooper

A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infantry armed with small arms and light weapons, although some paratroopers can also function as artillerymen or mechanized infantry by utilizing field guns, infantry fighting vehicles and light tanks that are often used in surprise attacks to seize strategic positions behind enemy lines such as airfields, bridges and major roads.

Paratroopers jump out of aircraft and use parachutes to land safely on the ground. This is one of the three types of "forced entry" strategic techniques for entering a theater of war; the other two being by land and by water. Their tactical advantage of entering the battlefield from the air is that they can attack areas not directly accessible by other transport. The ability of airborne assault to enter the battlefield from any location allows paratroopers to evade emplaced fortifications that guard from attack from a specific direction. The possible use of paratroopers also forces defenders to spread out to protect other areas which would otherwise be safe. Another common use for paratroopers is to establish an airhead for landing other units, as at the Battle of Crete.

This doctrine was first practically applied to warfare by the Imperial German Army in 1916 then the Italians and the Soviets.^{[citation needed]} The first known airborne commando operation in military history was conducted by Maximilian Hermann Richard Paschen von Cossel, then Leutnant of the Royal Prussian Army and his new pilot, then Royal Saxon Vice Sergeant Rudolf Windisch. Windisch flew the Roland Walfisch used for this purpose and set Cossel down in a wooded area behind the Russian front. During the night of October 2/3, 1916, Cossel blew up the Rowno–Brody railway line, 85 kilometers behind the eastern front, in several places. This was acknowledged in the army report of October 4, 1916: Eastern theater of war: ... Oberleutnant v. Cossel, who was set down from the plane southwest of Rowno by Vice Sergeant Windisch and picked up again after 24 hours, interrupted the Rowno-Brody railway line at several points by means of explosives. ... The First Quartermaster General. Ludendorff. According to Russian reports, however, the tracks were only slightly damaged in one place, so that a train just passing them could continue its journey unhindered. The second operational military parachute jump from 490 metres (1,600 ft) was logged in the night of August 8—9 1918 by Italian assault troops. Arditi Lieutenant Alessandro Tandura [it] jumped from a Savoia-Pomilio SP.4 aircraft of the Gruppo speciale Aviazione I [it] piloted by Canadian Major William George Barker and British Captain William Wedgwood Benn (both Royal Air Force pilots), when Tandura dropped behind Austro-Hungarian lines near Vittorio Veneto on a reconnaissance and sabotage mission, followed on later nights by Lts. Ferruccio Nicoloso and Pier Arrigo Barnaba.

The first extensive use of paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) was by the Germans during World War II. Later in the conflict paratroopers were used extensively by the Allied Forces. Cargo aircraft of the period (for example the German Junkers Ju 52 and the American Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota) being small, they rarely, if ever, jumped in groups much larger than 20 from one aircraft. In English, this load of paratroopers is called a "stick," while any load of soldiers gathered for air movement is known as a "chalk." The terms come from the common use of white chalk on the sides of aircraft and vehicles to mark and update numbers of personnel and equipment being emplaned.

In World War II, paratroopers most often used parachutes of a circular design. These parachutes could be steered to a small degree by pulling on the risers (four straps connecting the paratrooper's harness to the connectors) and suspension lines which attach to the parachute canopy itself. German paratroopers, whose harnesses had only a single riser attached at the back, could not manipulate their parachutes in such a manner. Today, paratroopers still use round parachutes, or round parachutes modified so as to be more fully controlled with toggles. The parachutes are usually deployed by a static line. Mobility of the parachutes is often deliberately limited to prevent scattering of the troops when a large number parachute together.

Some military exhibition units and special forces units use "ram-air" parachutes, which offer a high degree of maneuverability and are deployed manually (without a static line) from the desired altitude. Some use high-altitude military parachuting, also deploying manually.

Many countries have one or several paratrooper units, usually associated with the national Army or Air Force, but in some cases the Navy.

In 1944, Argentina became the second country on the continent of South America to use Paratroopers, after Peru. The first paratroopers were issued jump helmets similar to that used by the British at the time, with other equipment based on the Fallschirmjäger. The 4th Parachute Brigade (4 Brigada Paracaidista) is a unit of the Argentine Army specialised in airborne assault operations. It is based in Córdoba, Córdoba Province. The Fuerza de Despliegue Rápido ("Rapid Deployment Force") is based on this unit. The members of the unit wear Red berets (Boina Rojas) of the paratroopers with unit badges. As of 2022 it consists of: