The disadvantage is that the slow, low flying aircraft are much more vulnerable to anti aircraft fire. For mass combat drops, troops are normally dropped below 300 metres (1000 feet). A large Drop Zone (DZ) is usually required. The low flying aircraft may be able to avoid enemy radar. Known as LALO, the advantage of this is that a large amount of troops can be dropped into an area quickly and spend little time in the air. The traditional method of inserting airborne troops is by mass parachute drops at low-level (150 - 600 metres / 500 - 2000 feet) by round canopy, static-line deployed parachutes. There are three basic types of jumps from an aircraft: LALO (Low Altitude Low Opening), HAHO (High Altitude High Opening), and HALO (High Altitude Low opening). ![]() Others argue that there is still no better way of landing a large unit of troops in the one place so quickly and efficiently. Many would argue that since the advent of helicopters, paratroopers have became obsolete. Today, most armies operate parachute troops for one role or another. Paratroopers have also been used in mass drops in the Indo-Pakistani wars, Vietnam, Afghanistan by the Soviets, Grenada by the American's, the wars in Angola and Southern Rhodesia by South Africa, Panama by the Americans, and most recently in Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003 by the American's. Israeli paratroopers made their first and only mass drop in history in the same conflict. The last mass drop by British Paratroopers was at Suez in 1955. The French used paratroopers extensively during the war in Indochina, Dien Bien Phu being the best known. New techniques of HAHO and HALO were developed for inserting special forces teams into enemy territory. Since World War Two paratroopers have been used less on mass drops. The largest Airborne operation in history was Operation Market Garden in September 1944 when 35,000 troops from three divisions (two American, one British) were landed by parachute and glider in Holland. There were also many other smaller drops. Other significant parachute drops of World War Two include Crete, Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy, Holland, the South of France, the Rhine and Nadzab in the Pacific. America formed its first parachute units in 1940. The British saw the advantages of using parachute troops and from 1940 onwards established parachute units. ![]() The first mass combat drop of World War Two was made by the Germans in Holland in May 1940. During this time the Germans and Italians were developing their own airborne forces. They greatly expanded their parachute units and in 1936 dropped 1,800. ![]() In 1933 the Soviets staged the first mass parachute drop when they dropped 62 parachutists from three bombers. In the 1920s armies began to think more of using troops dropped by parachute. The Italians are said to have made the first combat jump in 1918. American General Billy Mitchell proposed parachute troops to be used as early as 1917. Initially they were used as a means of escape from observation balloons or aircraft. Parachutes have been used by the military for various purposes since the First World War.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |