Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as paratroopers .
149-558: The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. BMD stands for Boyevaya Mashina Desanta (Боевая Машина Десанта, which literally translates to "Combat Vehicle of the Airborne"). It can be dropped by parachute and although it resembles the BMP-1 it is in fact much smaller. The BMD-1 was used as an IFV by
298-472: A 180° turn the left water-jet can direct water to the rear nozzle and the right water-jet to the front nozzle, creating forward thrust on one side and reverse thrust on the other, or the vehicle can reverse by closing both nozzles and directing all water flow out the forward nozzles (see PT-76 for full explanation of the water jet system). The vehicle can be transported by An-12 , An-22 , Il-76 , An-124 airplanes and Mi-6 and Mi-26 helicopters. The BMD
447-428: A 2.5-metre (8.2 ft) wide trench. It can be driven on 25° side slopes and can climb 35° slopes. The drive sprockets are at the front with six road wheels, using torsion bar suspension . The BMP-1 has a ground pressure of 0.6 kg/cm (8.5 psi) and is able to cross snow-covered and boggy terrain. It has the range, off-road speed and cross-country ability necessary to keep up with fast-moving MBTs. The BMP-1
596-500: A 2A72 30 mm autocannon , a Kalashnikov PKTM 7.62 mm medium machinegun, and 902V Tucha smoke grenade launchers. The turret will be fitted with the TKN-4GA combined day-night sighting system. The 2A72 cannon will be able to use air burst munitions. Approved in 2018, it is the most recent Russian BMP-1 upgrade. The Russian army plans to upgrade all of their BMP-1s and BMP-1Ps to BMP-1AM level. See BMP-1 variants article for
745-572: A 30 mm (1.2 in) AGS-17 "Plamya" automatic grenade launcher on top of the turret on the left side, for which it carries 290 grenades. Some BMP-1s had the AGS-17 added during major repairs ( Ob'yekt 765Sp8 ). A non-amphibious BMP-1D (the so-called 'Afghan' variant), was built in 1982 for assault units in Afghanistan . It had 5 mm thick appliqué steel armor plates on the hull sides with holes for side firing ports as well as armor plate under
894-475: A 30 mm 2A72 dual-purpose autocannon and a 7.62 mm (0.300 in) PKTM coaxial machine gun (BMP-1AM 'Basurmanin' and BMP-1M respectively). The BMP-1AM Basurmanin is an upgraded version of BMP-1 developed by The Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) research-and-manufacturing corporation (a subsidiary of the Rostec state corporation). The BMP-1AM is BMP-1 with the original turret replaced by the turret from BTR-82A with
1043-451: A BMP intended for airborne troops. The vehicle therefore must be lighter and smaller in order to meet airdrop weight requirements (the BMD-1 is secured to a pallet and parachute-dropped from cargo planes). The BMD-1 has an unconventional layout for an IFV. From the front to the back of the vehicle, the compartments are located in the following formation: steering, fighting, troop, and engine. This
1192-399: A centralized methyl bromide fire extinguishing system, the same as the one fitted to other former Soviet armoured vehicles. The BMD-1 entered serial production in 1968. It was produced by Volgograd Tractor Plant . Two airborne regiments of each airborne division were equipped with BMD-1 IFVs. Overall, each division operated 220 BMD-1 IFVs. It was displayed publicly for the first time during
1341-582: A committee—the Swing Board—composed of air force, parachute, glider infantry and artillery officers, whose arrangements for the maneuver would effectively decide the fate of divisional-sized airborne forces. As the 11th Airborne Division was in reserve in the United States and had not yet been earmarked for combat, the Swing Board selected it as the test formation. The maneuver would additionally provide
1490-487: A complete list of BMP-1 modifications and variants based upon it. The BMP-1 is a fully amphibious tracked vehicle, with a front-engined chassis developed especially for it, a welded steel hull with a sharp, sloping front with a conspicuously ridged surface, a centrally located, flat, truncated cone turret and a troop compartment at the rear. The driver sits in the front on the left side of the hull. He has three TNPO-170 periscope vision-blocks to provide vision when his hatch
1639-797: A daring glider-based assault on the Gran Sasso Hotel , high in the Apennines mountains, and rescued Benito Mussolini from house arrest with very few shots being fired. On May 25, 1944, paratroopers were dropped as part of a failed attempt to capture Josip Broz Tito , the head of the Yugoslav Partisans and later postwar leader of Yugoslavia. Before the Pacific War began, the Imperial Japanese Army formed Teishin Dan ("Raiding Brigades") and
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#17328553373141788-492: A difficult target. The same turret is used in the BMD-1 . The gunner's station is located to the left of the main gun. The gunner has a dual mode (day/night) 1PN22M1 6x/6.7x magnification image intensifying monocular periscope sight, four day-use periscope vision blocks, and an OU-3GK removable infrared or white-light searchlight. The 1PN22M1 sight has a maximum range of 400 metres (440 yd) at night, 900 metres (980 yd) with
1937-584: A few units, such as seizing a bridge. After seeing success of other units and observing smokejumper training methods on how training can be done in June 1940, General William C. Lee of the U.S. Army established the Army's first airborne division. The 101st would be reorganized into the 101st Airborne Division . The Allies eventually formed two British and five American divisions: the British 1st and 6th Airborne Divisions, and
2086-413: A fume extraction system and an electric traverse drive with a manual backup system. The main gun has a dead-zone over the commander's hatch (between the 10:00 and 11:00 o'clock positions), where the gun must be elevated over the infra-red searchlight to avoid crushing it. When the gun is facing backwards, it prevents hatches on top of the troop compartment from opening. The low profile of the turret makes it
2235-557: A key bridge at Avellino , to disrupt German motorized movements, was badly dispersed and failed to destroy the bridge before the Germans withdrew to the north. In April 1945, Operation Herring , an Italian commando -style airborne drop aimed at disrupting German rear area communications and movement over key areas in Northern Italy , took place. However the Italian troops were not dropped as
2384-516: A lack of suitable equipment or because of the location being virtually inaccessible). Several experiments were done in the 1970s in order to find a way to circumvent these limitations, including dropping the BMD with the two key crew members, the driver, and the gunner, seated inside the vehicle during the descent. The first such test took place on 23 January 1976 with Lieutenant-Colonel Leonid Shcherbakov and Major Aleksandr Margelov [ ru ] , and
2533-399: A maximum road speed of 80 kilometers per hour, reduced to around 45 kilometers per hour off-road and 10 kilometers per hour while swimming. The BMD-1 can climb 0.8-meter-high (2.6 ft) vertical obstacles, cross 1.6-meter-wide (5.2 ft) trenches, and 30% side slopes. It can climb 60% gradients. The BMD-1 has a ground pressure of 0.57 kg/cm. The 230 mm wide track is driven at
2682-465: A new fire-extinguishing system for protection against napalm . Later BMP-1Ps were fitted with an array of six 902V "Tucha" 81 millimetres (3.2 in) calibre smoke grenade launchers at the rear of the turret. Some were equipped with the track-width KMT-10 mine plow. The BMP-1P replaced the BMP-1 in production in 1979. Many BMP-1s were upgraded to the new standard during the 1980s. The BMP-1PG model added
2831-507: A new version with enhanced fighting capabilities, the BMP-2 , was introduced in 1980. It had a new two-man turret armed with a 30 mm 2A42 multi-purpose autocannon and a 9P135M-1 ATGM launcher capable of firing SACLOS guided 9M113 Konkurs and 9M113M Konkurs-M as well as 9M111 and 9M111-2 Fagot ATGMs. Later modernization plans included mounting the turret of the BMD-2 IFV on to BMP-1s, but
2980-624: A parachute drop. Men drawn from the Italian parachute forces were dropped in a special-forces operation in North Africa in 1943 in an attempt to destroy parked aircraft of the United States Army Air Forces . At about the same time, the Soviet Union was also experimenting with the idea, planning to drop entire units complete with vehicles and light tanks . To help train enough experienced jumpers, parachute clubs were organized with
3129-707: A paratrooper force to be known as the Fallschirmjäger . During the invasions of Norway and Denmark in Operation Weserübung , the Luftwaffe dropped paratroopers on several locations. In Denmark, a small unit dropped on the Masnedøfort on the small island of Masnedø to seize the Storstrøm Bridge linking the islands of Falster and Zealand . A paratroop detachment also dropped at the airfield of Aalborg which
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#17328553373143278-525: A range of up to 700 metres (770 yd). The missile launcher was intended to be used against targets that were 500 metres (550 yd) to 3,000 metres (3,300 yd) away. Requirements were issued to the various design bureaus between 1959 and 1960. There was a question as to whether the BMP should be tracked or wheeled, so a number of experimental configurations were explored, including hybrid wheeled/tracked designs. The tracked Ob'yekt 764 (codename Object 764)
3427-620: A relatively low flight speed, response delay, the inability to load a new missile until the previous one has reached its target and a very long minimum range (500 m (550 yd)). Successful operation of the ATGM while the vehicle is on the move requires a very skilled gunner. Those BMP-1s still in Russian service that were not modernized to the BMP-1P standard, can now use 9M14-2 Malyutka-2 (NATO: AT-3D Sagger D) ATGMs (developed in 1995), which have either
3576-417: A removable OU-3GA2 or OU-3GK infrared searchlight with an effective range of about 400 metres (440 yd). A dual mode (day/night) TKN-3B 5x/4.2x magnification binocular vision device is coupled to the infrared searchlight. Two periscope vision blocks are fitted with a heating and cleaning system. The commander's station is equipped with an R-123M radio set. The BMP-1 has a conical turret equipped with
3725-419: A tandem shaped-charge or high-explosive thermobaric warhead . The BMP-1 was a threat to NATO APCs, light AFVs, and even MBTs of its time, by use of its main gun or ATGM. Nevertheless, the strong anti-tank focus of its armament didn't provide sufficient firepower against enemy unarmored vehicles, infantry and light fortified positions, especially during mountain battles (mostly due to the low elevation angle of
3874-560: A unit, but as a series of small (8–10 man) groups. Another operation, Operation Potato , was mounted by men drawn from the Folgore and Nembo divisions, operating with British equipment and under British command as No. 1 Italian Special Air Service Regiment. The men dropped in small groups from American C-47s and carried out a successful railway sabotage operation in northern Italy. The Allies had learned better tactics and logistics from their earlier airborne drops, and these lessons were applied for
4023-548: A unit. The Soviets mounted only one large-scale airborne operation in World War II, despite their early leadership in the field in the 1930s. Russia also pioneered the development of combat gliders, but used them only for cargo during the war. Axis air superiority early in the conflict limited the ability of the Soviets to mount such operations, whilst later in the conflict ongoing shortages of materiel, including silk for parachutes,
4172-532: Is amphibious , propelling itself in the water using its tracks, assisted by hydrodynamic fairings on the track upper side covers. The top swimming speed is 8 kilometres per hour (5.0 mph). The shape of the hull and some features (hollow road wheels and road wheel arms with air chambers) aid flotation. The BMP-1 can overcome water barriers with a current of up to 1.2 metres per second (2.7 mph) and waves up to 25 centimetres (9.8 in) high. More challenging conditions require engineer support. Before entering
4321-648: Is a part of the Moscow Military District (306 BMD as of 2000), the subunits of this division include 51st airborne regiment from Tula (93 BMD-1) and 137th airborne regiment from Ryazan (10 BMD-1). 7th Guards Airborne Mountain Division CDO from Novorossyysk (190 BMD and BMP vehicles as of 2000), the subunits of this division include 108th Guards Air Assault Regiment from Novorossyysk (70 BMD-1) and 743rd commandos battalion from Novorossyysk (6 BMD-1). 31st Separate Airborne Brigade from Ul'yanovsk , which
4470-605: Is a part of the Volga-Ural Military District (26 BMD-1 as of 2000). Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School (51 BMD-1). 99th Internal Troops division from Rostov , Persianovka, which is a part of the North Caucasus Military District (4 BMD-1 and 33 BMD-1 IFVs in the Cherkmen regiment). 81st tank repair plant from Armavir ( Krasnodar ) (1 BMD-1). The Russian military was considering replacing
4619-475: Is armed only with a 7.62 mm PKM machine gun in front of the commander's hatch, the BMD-4 (an upgraded BMD-3 ) has been selected for the future use of the Russian airborne and naval infantry. The BMD-4 uses the same 100 mm main gun with 30 mm autocannon and 7.62 mm medium machine gun turret on an improved, larger hull raising overall weight to the 15-ton class. The waterjet swim propulsion systems of
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4768-546: Is because the BMD-1 is based on Ob'yekt 914, which in turn is based on the PT-76 amphibious light tank (refer Prototypes section in the BMP-1 article for details). This meant that transported troops had to mount and dismount the vehicle via the roof hatches, which made them an easy target on the battlefield when these actions were performed. The crew consists of four soldiers: driver, commander, gunner, and bow machine gunner, two of which (commander and machine gunner) are included in
4917-412: Is closed. The driver's center vision block can be replaced with a TVNO-2 active night binocular vision device for use in night and poor visibility conditions or with a TNPO-350B extended periscope when swimming with the trim vane erected. The BMP was the first Soviet armored vehicle to use a simple yoke steering system. The commander's station is located behind the driver's station and is provided with
5066-416: Is fully amphibious, it can swim after switching on the two electric bilge pumps, erecting the two-piece trim vane which improves the vehicle's stability and displacement in water and prevents the water from flooding the bow of the tank, and switching the driver's periscope for a swimming periscope that enables the driver to see over the trim vane. When not in use the trim vane is placed in its laying position in
5215-407: Is located in the centre of the front hull, behind the transmission, with the cooling system to the right and radiator above. The engine drives a manual gearbox with five forward and one reverse gear. The steering system considerably reduces driver fatigue, especially when compared to the usual lever systems to control the tracks in the older tracked AFVs. The BMP is very fast and maneuverable, even if
5364-404: Is made of ABT-101 an alloy composed of 91% Aluminum, 6% Zinc, and 3% Magnesium. The BMD-2 on the other hand is composed of ABT-102, which is 94% Aluminum, 4% Zinc, and 2% Magnesium. Armour thickness is 23 mm at 42° on the front of the turret, 19 mm at 36° on the sides of the turret, 13 mm at 30° on the rear of the turret, 6 mm on the top of the turret, 15 mm on the front of
5513-406: Is much smaller than that found in the BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs. It can carry five infantrymen, comprising the vehicle's commander, bow machine gunner, and three soldiers seated behind a turret. Nevertheless, it is equipped with periscope vision blocks on the sides and rear of the vehicle. There are only three firing ports, one on each side of the hull and one in the rear. As standard, the vehicle carries
5662-491: Is part of Leningrad Military District (210 BMD vehicles as of 2000), the subunits of this division include 104th airborne regiment from Pskov (51 BMD-1) and 234th airborne regiment from Pskov (98 BMD-1). 98th Guards Airborne Division from Ivanovo (220 BMD vehicles as of 2000), the subunits of this division include 217th Guards Airborne Regiment from Ivanovo (109 BMD-1) and 331st airborne regiment from Kostroma (102 BMD-1). 106th Guards Airborne Division from Tula , which
5811-656: Is still in service with the People's Liberation Army . From 1997, Iran produced its own modification of the BMP-1, the Boragh , which resembles the Chinese WZ 503. In the mid-1970s, after analysis of the use of light AFVs during the Yom Kippur , Angolan and Vietnam wars, a modernization program was begun that resulted in the BMP-1P ( Ob'yekt 765 Sp4 ). The main changes were the replacement of
5960-584: The Battle of Kursk , the Guards Airborne defended the eastern shoulder of the southern penetration and was critical to holding back the German penetration. The Soviets sent at least one team of observers to the British and American airborne planning for D-Day, but did not reciprocate the liaison. Britain's first airborne assault took place on February 10, 1941, when 'X' Troop, No 11 Special Air Service Battalion (which
6109-599: The Battle of the Bulge in January 1945 where they, along with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions were deployed as ground troops. The U.S. 11th and 13th Airborne Divisions were held in reserve in the United States until 1944 when the 11th Airborne Division was deployed to the Pacific, but mostly used as ground troops or for smaller airborne operations. The 13th Airborne Division was deployed to France in January 1945 but never saw combat as
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6258-559: The Dakotas before they reached their target. Only 295 officers and men were dropped close enough to carry out the assault. They captured the bridge, but the German 4th Parachute Regiment recaptured it. They held the high ground until relieved by the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division of the Eighth Army, which re-took the bridge at dawn on 16 July. The Allied commanders were forced to reassess
6407-533: The Geneva Conventions protects parachutists in distress, but not airborne troops . Their necessarily-slow descent causes paratroopers to be vulnerable to anti-air fire from ground defenders, but combat jumps are at low altitude (400–500 ft) and normally carried out a short distance away (or directly on if lightly defended) from the target area at night. Airborne operations are also particularly sensitive to weather conditions, which can be dangerous to both
6556-702: The Imperial Japanese Navy trained marine ( Rikusentai ) paratroopers . They used paratroops in several battles in the Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942. Rikusentai airborne troops were first dropped at the Battle of Manado , Celebes in January 1942, and then near Usua , during the Timor campaign , in February 1942. Teishin made a jump at the Battle of Palembang , on Sumatra in February 1942. Japanese airborne units suffered heavy casualties during
6705-577: The Russo-Georgian War , BMD-1s of the 104th Airborne Assault Regiment of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division advanced into South Ossetia and successfully engaged Georgian Army troops and vehicles. However, the BMD's visual and sighting equipment was criticized as being primitive. During the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014 in Eastern Ukraine , BMD-1s were used both by mechanized units of
6854-630: The Soviet Airborne Forces (VDV). An improved variant of the BMD-1 was developed, the BMD-2 . The BMD-1 also provided a basis for the BTR-D airborne multi-purpose tracked APC. In the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis , the army was instructed to consider putting more emphasis on means to project power outside of the normal sphere of Soviet influence. As a result, there was a major effort to develop
7003-654: The Soviet–Afghan War , a version with improved fighting qualities was developed, the BMP-2 . It was accepted into service in August 1980. In 1987, the BMP-3 , a radically redesigned vehicle with a completely new weapon, entered service in limited numbers with the Soviet Army. The Red Army's mechanized infantry tactics during the 1950s were similar to World War II methods, in which APCs were used as "battle taxis". They would keep
7152-499: The U.S. 1st Division behind German lines near Metz . The operation was planned for February 1919 but the war ended before the attack could be seriously planned. Mitchell conceived that US troops could be rapidly trained to utilize parachutes and drop from converted bombers to land behind Metz in synchronisation with a planned infantry offensive. Following the war, the United States Army Air Service experimented with
7301-654: The Ukrainian Army and in smaller numbers by the separatists of the Donetsk People's Republic . It was claimed that a BMD-1 was one of the six armored vehicles in Separatist forces defending Sloviansk when it was besieged . As of now, BMD-1 and vehicles based on it are used by the following units of Russian Airborne Troops or are stationed in following bases (this list does not include BTR-D APCs and BTR-D variants): 76th Guards Air Assault Division (CDO) from Pskov , which
7450-521: The combat experience in Afghanistan , a decision was made to produce a new variant of the BMD with a weapon capable of engaging targets such as those faced by the airborne troops in that conflict. This resulted in "Ob'yekt 916", which later became the BMD-2 . A lengthened BMD-1 chassis served as the basis for the BTR-D airborne multi-purpose tracked APC, which itself served as a basis for many specialized airborne vehicles. The BMD-1 can be thought of as
7599-442: The 11th Airborne Division then launched a coordinated ground attack against a reinforced infantry regiment and conducted several aerial resupply and casualty evacuation missions in coordination with United States Army Air Forces transport aircraft. The exercise was judged by observers to be a great success. McNair, pleased by its results, attributed this success to the great improvements in airborne training that had been implemented in
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#17328553373147748-461: The 11th Airborne and its individual units with further training, as had occurred several months previously in an earlier large-scale exercise conducted by the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. The 11th Airborne, as the attacking force, was assigned the objective of capturing Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield near Fort Bragg in North Carolina . The force defending the airfield and its environs
7897-459: The 1st Airborne Division were glider infantry of the 1st Airlanding Brigade , commanded by Brigadier Philip Hicks , and they fared little better. Only 12 out of 137 gliders in Operation Ladbroke landed on target, with more than half landing in the sea. Nevertheless, the scattered airborne troops maximised their opportunities, attacking patrols and creating confusion wherever possible. On
8046-432: The 3rd Battalion of the 504th PIR , Company 'B' of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion and the 456th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion , with other supporting units), making their first combat jump. Strong winds encountered en route blew the dropping aircraft off course and scattered them widely. The result was that around half the paratroopers failed to make it to their rallying points. The British airborne troops from
8195-494: The 3rd Zouaves' regimental commander, and is worn today by all members of the 509th Infantry. As part of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of the island of Sicily, four airborne operations (two British and two American) were carried out, landing during the nights of July 9 and 10 1943. The American paratroopers were from the 82nd Airborne Division, mainly Colonel James Gavin 's 505th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (consisting of
8344-522: The 504th PIR were warming up for takeoff. With Giant II cancelled, Operation Giant I was reactivated to drop two battalions of the 504th PIR at Capua on September 13. However, significant German counterattacks, beginning on September 12, resulted in a shrinking of the American perimeter and threatened destruction of the Salerno beachhead . As a result, Giant I was cancelled and the 504th PIR instead dropped into
8493-402: The Allied military, resulted in the 82nd Airborne artillery commander, Brigadier General Maxwell Taylor (future commander of the 101st Airborne Division), being sent on a personal reconnaissance mission to Rome to assess the prospects of success. His report via radio on September 8 caused the operation to be postponed (and canceled the next day) as troop carriers loaded with two battalions of
8642-586: The BMD also meant that some of the battalion's integral fire support could be done away with. In 1973, the BMD-1 completely replaced the ASU-57 airborne assault guns in the Soviet airborne forces, increasing the firepower and maneuverability of the airborne division. Since 1977 a number of Soviet BMD-1 IFVs underwent a modernization to the BMD-1P standard. In 1978, a force of 70 Cuban Army BMD-1s and ASU-57s fighting on behalf of
8791-513: The BMD series altogether with the GAZ-3937 . This very lightweight wheeled armoured personnel carrier that incorporates plastic and carbon fibre in its construction, as well as aluminum. The GAZ-3937 can be air-dropped like the BMD, but is considerably lighter and less expensive to manufacture. Since the GAZ-3937 lacks the armor protection, cross-country mobility, and heavy armament of the BMD series, and
8940-526: The BMD-1's anti-tank firepower was useless. Many BMD-1 IFVs and light APCs fell victim to Mujahideen attacks and antitank landmines. The Soviet Army lost 1,317 APCs and IFVs of all types during nine years of war in Afghanistan. Iraqi BMD-1s were deployed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq . BMD-1 and BMD-1PK IFVs are used by the Russian airborne units in KFOR . BMD-1 IFVs were used by Russian airborne units in SFOR. During
9089-473: The BMD-3/4 are strong enough to enable ship-to-shore transport, resulting in Russian naval infantry use. Airborne forces The main advantage of airborne forces is their ability to be deployed into combat zones without a land passage, as long as the airspace is accessible. Formations of airborne forces are limited only by the number and size of their transport aircraft ; a sizeable force can appear "out of
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#17328553373149238-677: The BMP-1 and its different variants was the Kurgan Machine Building Works (Kurganskiy Mashinostroitelyniy Zavod) in Russia. The PRP-3 artillery reconnaissance vehicles were produced by the Chelyabinsk Tractor Works (ChTZ). The PRP-4/PRP-4M artillery reconnaissance vehicles were produced by the Rubtsovsk Engineering Works (RMZ). Upgrades of the BMP-1 were performed by KMZ as well as by tank repair workshops of
9387-430: The BMP-1 – the Ob'yekt 914. The BMD design, Ob'yekt 915 , was basically a trimmed-down version of the Ob'yekt 914 – smaller, lighter aluminium armour, while retaining the 73mm 2A28 "Grom" low-pressure smoothbore short-recoil semi-automatic gun. The compromise made is the extremely cramped crew compartment. Development started in 1965 and trials began in 1967. A limited production began in 1968. After operational trials, it
9536-424: The BMP-1, and has the same equipment (see Gunner's station section in the BMP-1 article for details). The BMD-1 has the same turret as the BMP-1. The vehicle is armed with a 73 mm 2A28 Grom gun and a 7.62 mm PKT coaxial tank machine gun. Mounted on the mantlet is the 9S428 ATGM launcher capable of firing 9M14 Malyutka (NATO: AT-3A Sagger A) and 9M14M Malyutka-M (NATO: AT-3B Sagger B) ATGMs (for which
9685-451: The Clouds, might not in many Places do an infinite deal of Mischief, before a Force could be brought together to repel them? An early modern operation was first envisioned by Winston Churchill who proposed the creation of an airborne force to assault behind the German lines in 1917 during the First World War . Later in late 1918. Major Lewis H. Brereton and his superior Brigadier General Billy Mitchell suggested dropping elements of
9834-481: The Dutch East Indies campaign, and were rarely used as parachute troops afterward. On 6 December 1944, a 750-strong detachment from Teishin Shudan ("Raiding Division") and the Takachiho special forces unit, attacked U.S. airbases in the Burauen area on Leyte , in the Philippines . The force destroyed some planes and inflicted casualties, but was eventually wiped out. Japan built a combat strike force of 825 gliders but never committed it to battle. Ironically,
9983-510: The Dutch government. From one of these airfields, they were driven out after the first wave of reinforcements, brought in by Ju 52s , was annihilated by anti-aircraft fire and fierce resistance by some remaining Dutch defenders. As a result, numerous crashed and burning aircraft blocked the runway, preventing further reinforcements from landing. This was one of the few occasions where an airfield captured by paratroops has been recaptured. The other two airfields were recaptured as well. Simultaneously,
10132-403: The Dvina exercise in the USSR in 1970. The BMD-1 was showcased for the second time during the Moscow Red Square parade in November 1973. Western governments originally classified the BMD-1 as a light tank before its true nature was known. Because of its small crew, the introduction of the BMD led to a reduction in the number of soldiers in an airborne battalion, from 610 to 316 men. The firepower of
10281-539: The Ethiopian government was airlifted by Mi-6 helicopters behind the lines of Somali forces holding the town of Jijiiga . This attack formed a pincer with a conventional Cuban armored push and routed the Somali forces in Ogaden . It was widely used by airborne units during Soviet–Afghan War. During the initial Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, BMD-1s of the Soviet 103rd Guards Airborne Division and 345th Separate Parachute Regiment were air landed by Il-76 transports into Kabul airport and Bagram Airfield , enabling
10430-467: The Germans dropped small packets of paratroopers to seize the crucial bridges that led directly across the Netherlands and into the heart of the country. They opened the way for the 9th Panzer Division. Within a day, the Dutch position became hopeless. Nevertheless, Dutch forces inflicted high losses on German transportation aircraft. Moreover, 1200 German elite troops from the Luftlandekorps taken prisoner around The Hague, were shipped to England just before
10579-417: The Ministry of Defence during scheduled and major overhauls. More than 20,000 BMP-1 s and vehicles based on it were built in the USSR. BMP-1 s were produced under license by Czechoslovakia (BVP-1), Romania ( MLI-84 ) and India. Since 1986, the People's Republic of China has produced its own unlicensed copy called the Type 86 (WZ 501). The number of Type 86 IFVs and vehicles based upon it is around 3,000. It
10728-484: The Royal Navy. However, the losses were so great that Adolf Hitler forbade their use in such operations in the future. He felt that the main strength of the paratroopers was novelty, and now that the British had clearly figured out how to defend against them, there was no real point to using them any more. One notable exception was the use of airborne forces in special operations. On September 12, 1943, Otto Skorzeny led
10877-699: The U.S. 11th , 13th , 17th , 82nd , and 101st Airborne Divisions . By 1944, the British divisions were grouped into the 1st Airborne Corps under Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Browning , while the American divisions in the European Theatre (the 17th, 82nd, and 101st) were organized into the XVIII Airborne Corps under Major General Matthew Ridgway . Both corps fell under the First Allied Airborne Army under U.S. Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton. The first U.S. airborne operation
11026-574: The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division northwest of Rome, to assist four Italian divisions in seizing the Italian capital. An airborne assault plan to seize crossings of the Volturno river during the Allied invasion of Italy , called Operation Giant, was abandoned in favor of the Rome mission. However, doubts about the willingness and capability of Italian forces to cooperate, and the distance of the mission far beyond support by
11175-474: The VDV as a rapid deployment force. Soviet studies of airborne operations had shown that lightly armed paratroops were unable to deal with armoured forces. Also, in the early 1960s, the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle was being developed. Before the BMP-1 entered service in 1966, the Soviet Army high command decided to equip the newly created airborne divisions with similar vehicles. The use of Antonov An-12 aircraft at
11324-564: The aim of transferring into the armed forces if needed. Planning progressed to the point that Corps-size drops were demonstrated to foreign observers, including the British Military Attaché Archibald Wavell , in the Kiev military district maneuvers of 1935. One of the observing parties, Nazi Germany , was particularly interested. In 1936, Major F. W. Immans was ordered to set up a parachute school at Stendal (Borstel), and
11473-608: The airfield at Youk-les-Bains near the Tunisian border. From this base, the battalion conducted combined operations with various French forces against the German Afrika Korps in Tunisia. A unit of French Algerian infantry, the 3rd Regiment of Zouaves, was present at Youk-les-Bains and awarded the American paratroopers their own regimental crest as a gesture of respect. This badge was awarded to the battalion commander on 15 November 1942 by
11622-571: The assaults along the Western Front . One of the most famous of airborne operations was Operation Neptune, the assault of Normandy, part of Operation Overlord of the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944. The task of the airborne forces was to secure the flanks and approaches of the landing beaches in Normandy. The British glider transported troops and paratroopers of the 6th Airborne Division, which secured
11771-532: The autoloader altogether when new vehicles were delivered, but the mechanized ammunition conveyor magazine was kept. High-explosive ammunition, introduced in 1974, can only be loaded manually, from a conveyor. The 2A28 'Grom' smoothbore gun fires the same PG-15V projectiles as the SPG-9 infantry light recoilless gun, but with a smaller propellant charge. The PG-15V HEAT warhead can penetrate 280 to 350 mm (11 to 14 in) of steel armor – more than enough to penetrate
11920-532: The battle that ended Germany's paratrooper operations had the opposite effect on the Allies. Convinced of the effectiveness of airborne assaults after Crete, the Allies hurried to train and organize their own airborne units. The British established No.1 Parachute Training School at RAF Ringway near Manchester , which trained all 60,000 European paratroopers recruited by the Allies during World War II. An Airlanding School
12069-466: The beachhead on the night of September 13 using transponding radar beacons as a guide. The next night the 505th PIR was also dropped into the beachhead as reinforcement. In all, 3,500 paratroopers made the most concentrated mass night drop in history, providing the model for the American airborne landings in Normandy in June 1944. An additional drop on the night of September 14–15 of the 509th PIB to destroy
12218-493: The bridges immediately to the south of the 10th Panzer Division 's route of march through the southern Ardennes . In Belgium, a small group of German glider-borne troops landed on top of the Belgian fortress of Eben Emael on the morning of May 10, 1940, and disabled the majority of its artillery. The fort held on for another day before surrendering. This opened up Belgium to attack by German Army Group B . The Dutch were exposed to
12367-600: The capitulation of the Dutch armed forces. The Fallschirmjägers' greatest victory and greatest losses occurred during the Battle of Crete . Signals intelligence, in the form of Ultra , enabled the British to wait on each German drop zone, yet despite compromised secrecy, surviving German paratroops and airlanded mountain troops pushed the Commonwealth forces off the island in part by unexpected fire support from their light 75 mm guns , though seaborne reinforcements were destroyed by
12516-423: The center line of the vehicle and face the sides. Vehicle batteries, electric equipment and the main 330 L (73 imp gal; 87 US gal) fuel tank are located between the benches, with tool stowage beneath. There are four large D-shaped hatches in the roof of the hull, which can be opened from the troop compartment. The airtight rear doors of the troop compartment contain fuel tanks. Space inside
12665-452: The command of Guards Major Vasiliy Samodelov. Small-scale production began in 1966. The BMP went into production with the Soviet Army in 1966. The first series (Ob'yekt 765 Sp1, "specification 1") was produced until 1969. It was replaced by the improved production model, the BMP-1 (the Ob'yekt 765 Sp2), which was produced from 1969 until 1973. This, in turn, was replaced by the Ob'yekt 765 Sp3, which
12814-446: The commander's and driver's seats for added protection against mines. It had large steel armored skirts fitted to the sides of the hull covering the suspension. Firing ports were added into the top hatches of the troop compartment and a stowage box was placed on the roof at the rear of the hull on some vehicles. The 9S428 ATGM launcher was often removed and replaced by an AGS-17 automatic grenade launcher. Due to experience in Afghanistan,
12963-534: The concept of carrying troops on the wings of aircraft, with them pulled off by the opening of their parachutes. The first true paratroop drop was by Italy in November 1927. Within a few years, several battalions were raised and eventually formed into two 185th Infantry Division "Folgore" and 184th Infantry Division "Nembo" divisions. Although they later fought with distinction in World War II , they were never used in
13112-523: The concept was proved to be valid in a subsequent series of tests. A rocket parachute, the PRSM-915, was developed to ensure the vehicle's safe landing. To use the parachute, the BMD is first packed onto a special pallet before take-off. To drop the BMD, a drogue chute is released that initially drags the BMD out of the Il-76 transport plane. Once clear of the plane a single large main chute opens. The deployment of
13261-443: The crew from .50 cal machinegun fire and 20–23 mm caliber autocannons across the frontal arc, as well as from light shell fragments at distances between 500 m and 800 m. Firepower consisted of the innovative combination of the 73 mm 2A28 Grom gun and a launcher for the 9M14 Malyutka (AT-3A Sagger A) anti-tank wire-guided missile (ATGM). The gun was intended to engage enemy armored vehicles and firing points at
13410-518: The eastern flank during Operation Tonga . This operation included the capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges , and the attack on the Merville gun battery . The American glider and parachute infantry of the 82nd (Operation Detroit) and 101st Airborne Divisions (Operation Chicago), though widely scattered by poor weather and poorly marked landing zones in the American airborne landings in Normandy, secured
13559-650: The evening of July 13, 1943, more than 112 aircraft carrying 1,856 men and 16 gliders with 77 artillerymen and ten 6 pounder guns, took off from North Africa in Operation Fustian . The initial target of the British 1st Parachute Brigade , under Brigadier Gerald Lathbury , was to capture the Primosole bridge and the high ground around it, providing a pathway for the Eighth Army , but heavy anti-aircraft fire shot down many of
13708-571: The first large scale airborne attack in history. During the invasion of the Netherlands , the Germans threw into battle almost their entire Luftlandekorps , an airborne assault army corps that consisted of one parachute division and one division of airlanding troops plus the necessary transport capacity. The existence of this formation had been carefully kept secret until then. Two simultaneous airborne operations were launched. German paratroopers landed at three airfields near The Hague , hoping to seize
13857-436: The first nation to organize women in an airborne unit, recruiting 200 nurses who during peacetime would parachute into natural disaster zones but also as reservists who would be a uniformed medical unit during wartime. Several groups within the German armed forces attempted to raise their own paratroop formations, resulting in confusion. As a result, Luftwaffe General Kurt Student was put in overall command of developing
14006-564: The following weapons inside the troop compartment: an RPG-7 or RPG-16 shoulder-launched anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher, which is to be operated by two soldiers, RPK S light machine gun, and five AKM S assault rifles. It also carries portable launchers for 9M14M Malyutka missiles (9M111/9M113 missiles in BMD-1P). The vehicle has electric and manual bilge pumps, Gpk-S9 gyro-compass, engine pre-heater, TDA smoke-generating equipment, FTP-100M NBC system, R-123 transceiver, R-124 intercom and
14155-486: The forces. Seven of the 39 C-47s landed far from Oran from Gibraltar to Tunisia , and only ten actually delivered their troops by parachute drop. The remainder off-loaded after 28 C-47 troop carriers, short on fuel, landed on the Sebkra d'Oran dry lake, and marched overland to their objectives. One week later, after repacking their own chutes, 304 men of the battalion conducted a second combat jump on 15 November 1942 to secure
14304-435: The front of the bow under the barrel of the main gun and serves as additional armour. There is also a manual bilge pump for emergency use. The bilge pumps keep the vehicle afloat even if it is hit, damaged or leaks. In water, it is propelled by two hydro jets, one on each side of the hull, with the entrance under the hull and exits at the rear of the hull. The rear exits have lids that can be fully or partially closed, redirecting
14453-607: The frontal armor of NATO MBTs of the 1970s, such as the US M60A1 , the British Chieftain or the German Leopard 1 . The modernized PG-9 shell is able to penetrate up to 400 mm (16 in) of steel armor. Under battlefield conditions, it has a maximum effective range of 500 m (550 yd). The disadvantage of the BMP-1 is the small elevation angle of the gun (only 15 degrees). OG-15V high explosive ammunition
14602-607: The ground anywhere in the world within hours for a variety of missions. Benjamin Franklin envisioned the danger of airborne attack in 1784, only a few months after the first manned flight in a hot air balloon : Five Thousand Balloons capable of raising two Men each, would not cost more than Five Ships of the Line : And where is the Prince who can afford so to cover his Country with Troops for its Defense, as that Ten Thousand Men descending from
14751-487: The hot mountain regions of Afghanistan, as they were originally developed to provide airborne units with an IFV to give them a chance in engagements with enemy armour and allow them to operate in Nuclear-Biological-Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions. In Afghanistan, the main enemies were not AFVs but land mines and ambushes prepared by skillful Afghan Mujahideen armed with light anti-tank weapons, which meant that
14900-400: The hull and 10 mm on the rest of the hull. The hull's front armour has two sections: upper and lower. The upper section is angled at 78° while the lower one is angled at 50°. It is resistant to small arms fire and shrapnel. Many compromises had to be made to the design in order to save the necessary weight, not least to crew comfort. The BMD-1 has an extremely cramped interior space, which
15049-427: The infantry had to disembark to be able to use their weapons. The requirement for the BMP, which was first drawn up in the late 1950s, stressed speed, good armament, and the ability for all squad members to shoot from within the vehicle. The armament had to provide direct support for dismounted infantry in the attack and defense, and to be able to destroy comparable light armored vehicles. The vehicle needed to protect
15198-673: The infantry in close proximity to the battle tanks during movement, but on enemy contact they would unload their infantry before retreating to safer areas. This was in contrast to the German doctrine of infantry fighting vehicles manifested in the Schützenpanzer Lang HS.30 , where the vehicles were supposed to stay with the tanks and engage lighter targets, both to take a burden off the tanks and to support their infantry squads. Existing APCs offered little or no protection from either nuclear or chemical weapons, as they were either open-topped or could not be sealed sufficiently. Furthermore,
15347-470: The largely ineffective 9M14M Malyutka ATGM with the more reliable, longer range and more powerful 9P135M or 9P135M-1 ATGM launcher. It was located on a special pintle mount on top of the turret roof, that could fire the SACLOS guided 9M113 and 9M113M Konkurs-M ATGMs, which increased armor penetration to 670 mm (26 in) and had an extended range of 4,000 m (4,400 yd). The 9P135M-1 launcher
15496-401: The launcher. Each 9M14M weighs 10.9 kg (24 lb), a 9M14P is 11.4 kg (25 lb). These missiles can only be fired in daylight because of the lack of a night sight. A guidance device used in the BMP-1 has the code 9S428. Besides possessing such advantages as interference immunity and simple control equipment, wire-guided ATGMs are also hampered by significant disadvantages such as
15645-520: The long, pointed nose can give some problems when crossing large trenches. The fuel tanks have a maximum capacity of 462 litres (102 imp gal). The diesel engine is of a multifuel design and can use DL (summer) or DZ (winter). It can also use TS-1 kerosene. The BMP-1 has a maximum road speed of 65 kilometres per hour (40 mph), which is automatically reduced to around 45 kilometres per hour (28 mph) off-road. The BMP-1 can climb 70-centimetre (28 in) high vertical obstacles, and cross
15794-404: The main chute triggers the deployment of four long rods which hang beneath the pallet. As soon as the rods touch the ground retrorocket fires, slowing the BMD to a descending speed between 6 m/s and 7 m/s and giving it a relatively soft landing. This system entered service in 1975 and allows a BMD to be relatively safely parachuted with both the driver and the gunner. The BMD-1's armour
15943-485: The main gun). The appearance of the more successful BMP-2 armed with the 30mm 2A42 dual-purpose autocannon solved this serious problem. The troop compartment located at the rear of the vehicle can carry up to eight soldiers. There are four firing ports on each side of the vehicle and a single firing port in the left rear door. A combination fume extractor hose and cartridge deflector is provided to clip on to weapons at each station. Soldiers sit on two padded benches along
16092-485: The months following Operation Husky. As a result of the Knollwood Maneuver, division-sized airborne forces were deemed to be feasible and Eisenhower permitted their retention. Italy agreed to an armistice with the Allies on September 3, 1943, with the stipulation that the Allies would provide military support to Italy in defending Rome from German occupation. Operation Giant II was a planned drop of one regiment of
16241-478: The night of 11 July, a reinforcement drop of the 82nd, consisting of the 504th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (composed of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, the 376th Parachute Field Artillery and Company 'A' of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion), under Colonel Reuben Tucker , behind American lines at Farello airfield resulted in heavy friendly fire casualties when, despite forewarnings, Allied anti-aircraft fire both ashore and aboard U.S Navy ships shot down 23 of
16390-682: The night of November 16/17 1941 in preparation for a stealthy attack on the forward airfields of Gambut and Tmimi in order to destroy the Axis fighter force on the ground before the start of Operation Crusader , a major offensive by the British Eighth Army . A Würzburg radar site on the coast of France was attacked by a company of 120 British paratroopers from 2 Battalion, Parachute Regiment, commanded by Major John Frost , in Operation Biting on February 27, 1942. The key electronic components of
16539-464: The number of soldiers carried. The driver's station is located centrally in the front of the vehicle and has a hatch that is opened by raising it and rotating it to the right. The driver is provided with three periscope vision blocks, which allow him to view the outer environment when his hatch is closed. The center one can be replaced with a night vision device for use in the night and bad visibility conditions or with an extended periscope for swimming with
16688-438: The other from 400 to 1,300 metres (440 to 1,420 yd). The main armament is the 73 mm 2A28 "Grom" low pressure smoothbore semi-automatic gun. It is fed from a 40-round magazine located around the turret ring. The cyclic rate of fire is 8 to 10 rounds per minute. The gun returns to an elevation of +3° 30' to reload after each shot if the autoloader is used. The gun can be reloaded by hand if necessary. Some units removed
16837-502: The other hand, were very impressed by the potential of paratroopers, and started to build their own airborne divisions. The first United States airborne combat mission occurred during Operation Torch in North Africa on 8 November 1942. 531 men of the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment flew over 1,600 miles (2,600 km) at night from Britain, over Spain, intending to drop near Oran and capture two airfields. Navigation errors, communications problems, and bad weather scattered
16986-549: The other two towed gliders. Each group took off from a different airfield in the Carolinas. The four groups deployed a total of 4,800 troops in the first wave. Eighty-five percent were delivered to their targets without navigational error, and the airborne troops seized the Knollwood Army Auxiliary Airfield and secured the landing area for the rest of the division before daylight. With its initial objectives taken,
17135-463: The paratroopers and airlifters , and so extensive planning is critical to the success of an airborne operation. Advances in VTOL technologies ( helicopter and tiltrotor ) since World War II have brought increased flexibility, and air assaults have largely been the preferred method of insertion for recent conflicts, but airborne insertion is still maintained as a rapid response capability to get troops on
17284-504: The performance of airborne units in North Africa and more recently Sicily. However, other high-ranking officers, including the Army Chief of Staff George Marshall , believed otherwise. Marshall persuaded Eisenhower to set up a review board and to withhold judgement until the outcome of a large-scale maneuver, planned for December 1943, could be assessed. McNair ordered 11th Airborne Division commander Major general Joseph May Swing to form
17433-417: The rapid seizure of critical cities and facilities throughout Afghanistan. The 56th Air Assault Brigade executed a similar capture of Kunduz . For the remainder of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan through 1989, airborne forces under the 40th Army used BMD-1s as infantry fighting vehicles for transportation and fire support in operations against the mujahideen . BMD-1 IFVs were not suited for fighting in
17582-525: The rear and passes over five small evenly spaced road wheels suspended on independent torsion bars. On each side, there is an idler wheel at the front, a rear drive sprocket, and four track-return rollers. The independent suspension combines a hydraulic system for altering the ground clearance and maintaining the track tension with pneumatic springs, which enables the ground clearance to be altered from 100 mm to 450 mm. The alternative ground clearance allows easier transportation in an airplane. The BMD-1
17731-456: The relative safety of its armoured, radiation-shielded interior in contaminated areas and to fight alongside it in uncontaminated areas. It would increase infantry squad mobility, provide fire support to them, and also be able to fight alongside main battle tanks . The BMP-1 was first tested in combat in the 1973 Yom Kippur War , where it was used by Egyptian and Syrian forces. Based on lessons learned from this conflict, and early experiences in
17880-431: The sky" behind enemy lines in merely hours if not minutes, an action known as vertical envelopment . Airborne forces typically lack enough supplies for prolonged combat and so they are used for establishing an airhead to bring in larger forces before carrying out other combat objectives. Some infantry fighting vehicles have also been modified for paradropping with infantry to provide heavier firepower. Protocol I of
18029-494: The system were dismantled by an English radar mechanic and brought back to Britain for examination so that countermeasures could be devised. The result was a British victory. Of the 120 paratroopers who dropped in the dead of night, there were two killed, six wounded, and six captured. This was the last large-scale airborne assault by Hitler and the Germans. The German paratroopers had such a high casualty rate that Hitler forbade any further large-scale airborne attacks. The Allies, on
18178-485: The time of the BMD development allowed the transport of only light armoured vehicles for an airborne drop that weighed less than seven tons. Because the existing BMP-1 weighed 13 tonnes, it was effectively ruled out of being considered for the VDV service. The task of designing the BMD fell to the Volgograd Tractor Factory , which had produced an unsuccessful competitor to the Ob'yekt 764 that eventually became
18327-419: The time). The 9M14P missile can be used in manual mode only, like older missiles, without the advantage of semi-automatic guidance. The BMP-1 carries four ATGMs with their launching rails as a standard (two inside the turret and two inside the hull). In theory, a fifth missile can be carried on the launcher. The missiles are loaded onto a rail launcher through a small rectangular hatch in a turret's roof behind
18476-472: The transports as they flew over the beachhead. Despite a catastrophic loss of gliders and troops loads at sea, the British 1st Airlanding Brigade captured the Ponte Grande bridge south of Syracuse . Before the German counterattack, the beach landings took place unopposed and the 1st Airlanding Brigade was relieved by the British 5th Infantry Division as it swept inland towards Catania and Messina . On
18625-418: The trim vane erected. The commander's station is on the driver's left. It is provided with a hatch, one periscope vision block, an outer environment observation device, and an R-123 radio set for communications. He also fires the left bow machine gun. The right one is operated by a bow machine gun gunner, who sits to the right of the driver. The gunner's station is located on the left side of the turret, like in
18774-496: The troop compartment is limited. There is little room for personal equipment, which leads to it being stowed outside while on operation, sometimes limiting rearward traverse of the turret. The seating is cramped, especially for troops in full battle dress. In the BMP-1 and BMP-2, ammunition is stored near or even inside the compartment, which can lead to a catastrophic failure in case of a hull breach. The 300 horsepower (224 kW) UTD-20 six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engine
18923-453: The turret is unstabilised. Mounted on the gun mantlet, the ATGM launcher is capable of firing the 9M14 Malyutka , (NATO: AT-3A Sagger A), the 9M14M Malyutka-M (NATO: AT-3B Sagger B) and the 9M14P Malyutka-P (NATO: AT-3C Sagger C). All are intended to be used against enemy MBTs and other AFVs at distances from 500 to 3,000 m (550 to 3,280 yd). These ATGMs can penetrate up to 400 mm (16 in) of steel armor (NATO standard at
19072-500: The use of airborne forces after the many misdrops and the deadly friendly fire incident. General Dwight D. Eisenhower reviewed the airborne role in Operation Husky and concluded that large-scale formations were too difficult to control in combat to be practical. Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair , the overall commander of Army Ground Forces , had similar misgivings: once an airborne supporter, he had been greatly disappointed by
19221-496: The use of the infra-red searchlight. The sight is marked stadiametricly with the apparent size of a 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) tall tank at various ranges. The original sight was replaced with the 1PN22M2, which has an additional scale for the OG-15V HE-Frag rounds used by the Ob'yekt 765Sp3, produced from July 1974. The new sight has two day scales for the two projectiles – one from 200 to 1,600 metres (220 to 1,750 yd) and
19370-412: The vehicle carries two ATGMs in the turret). There are also two 7.62 mm PKT machine guns in fixed mounts, one in each corner of the bow. The vehicle is powered by a 5D-20 6-cylinder 4-stroke V-shaped liquid-cooled 15.9-liter diesel engine, which develops 270 hp (201 kW) at 2,600 revolutions per minute. The engine drives a manual gearbox with five forward and one reverse gear. The BMD-1 has
19519-438: The vehicle never left the design phase. Recent proposals for the modernization of BMP-1s include mounting new turrets armed with a 2A72 30 mm (1.2 in) autocannon, approved in 2018, or a TKB-799 Kliver one-man weapons station with a computerized fire control system, armed with a missile pod (which can be armed with either four 9M133 Kornet (AT-14 Spriggan) or 9M133F Kornet ATGMs or 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grouse) SAMs),
19668-403: The water stream to the forward-directed exits at the sides of the hull, thus enabling the vehicle to turn or float reverse, for example, to go left, the left water jet is closed, reducing thrust on that side and redirecting some or all of the water flow to the forward facing nozzle. To go right, the right water-jet is covered. The closure of the nozzles is proportionate to the control input. To make
19817-434: The water, the trim vane at the front of the hull should be erected to prevent water from flooding over the bow. While in its travelling position, it serves as additional frontal armor. The rear doors of the troop compartment must be closed tightly before entering the water. Before entering the water, either a full crew of eight troopers or an equivalent ballast must be present in the rear of the vehicle, otherwise vehicle balance
19966-455: The western flank of U.S. VII Corps with heavy casualties. All together, airborne casualties in Normandy on D-Day totaled around 2,300. BMP-1#Gunner's station The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service from 1966 to the present. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1 (Russian: Боевая Машина Пехоты 1; БМП-1 ), meaning "infantry fighting vehicle, 1st serial model". The BMP-1
20115-593: Was a combat team composed of elements of the 17th Airborne Division and a battalion from the 541st Parachute Infantry Regiment . The entire operation was observed by McNair, who would ultimately have a significant say in deciding the fate of the parachute infantry divisions. The Knollwood Maneuver took place on the night of 7 December 1943, with the 11th Airborne Division being airlifted to thirteen separate objectives by 200 C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft and 234 Waco CG-4A gliders. The transport aircraft were divided into four groups, two of which carried paratroopers while
20264-466: Was a modernized, 200 kg heavier version that was produced from 1973 to 1979. A number of improvements were made to the reliability of the chassis, engine and transmission during mass production. The latest version of the BMP-1 IFV (BMP-1P, Ob'yekt 765 Sp4), which was produced from 1979 to 1983, was armed with a more powerful ATGM launcher 9P135M-1 for the ATGM "Konkurs"/"Fagot". The main manufacturer of
20413-481: Was allocated a number of Junkers Ju 52 aircraft to train on. The military had already purchased large numbers of Junkers Ju 52s which were slightly modified for use as paratroop transports in addition to their other duties. The first training class was known as Ausbildungskommando Immans . They commenced the first course on May 3, 1936. Other nations, including Argentina , Peru, Japan , France and Poland also organized airborne units around this time. France became
20562-489: Was also a problem. Nonetheless, the Soviets maintained their doctrinal belief in the effectiveness of airborne forces, as part of their concept of "deep battle" , throughout the war. The largest drop during the war was corp-sized (the Vyazma airborne Operation , the 4th Airborne Corps ). It was unsuccessful. Airborne formations were used as elite infantry units however, and played a critical role in several battles. For example, at
20711-588: Was also set up in New Delhi , India , in October/November 1941, at the then-Welllingdon Airport (now the defunct Safdarjang Airport ) to train paratroopers for the British Indian Army which had been authorised to raise an airborne-capable formation earlier, resulting in the formation of the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade . The Indian airborne forces expanded during the war to the point that an airborne corps
20860-720: Was by the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion in November 1942, as part of Operation Torch in North Africa. The U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions saw the most action in the European Theater , with the former in Sicily and Italy in 1943, and both in Normandy and the Netherlands in 1944. The 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team was the principal force in Operation Dragoon in Southern France. The 17th Airborne Division deployed to England in 1944 but did not see combat until
21009-447: Was capable of firing 9M111 and 9M111-2 Fagot ATGMs. The Malyutka loading hatch was usually welded shut and the mounting bracket was removed. The new missiles were somewhat difficult to use since the gunner had to stand in his open hatch, exposing himself to hostile fire. It is possible to detach the 9P135M(1) ATGM launcher from the turret and use it from the ground. The BMP-1P was equipped with neutron weapon protection covering and
21158-590: Was chosen because its front-engine design provided a convenient and fast way of mounting and dismounting through two rear doors. The original prototype was built in 1964, followed by the improved Ob'yekt 765 in 1965, which was accepted by the Army in 1966, under a designation BMP-1. The 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division was the first formation in the Soviet Union to test prototypes of the new BMP ("objekt 765") infantry fighting vehicle in January–November 1965, under
21307-570: Was commissioned on 14 April 1969 and serial production started in 1970, although the vehicle weighed 500 kg more than what the requirements stated (7.5 tonnes and 13.3 tonnes when loaded with equipment). Starting from 1977 a new modernized vehicle received a designation BMD-1P following adoption of the new 9P135M-1 ATGM launcher instead of 9S428 ATGM launcher, firing the 9M113 Konkurs (AT-5 Spandrel) and 9M111M Fagot or 9M111-2 (standard load: two 9M113 and one 9M111M missiles). Most of older BMD-1s were subsequently modernized this way. In 1983, based on
21456-590: Was crucial for the Luftwaffe for operations over Norway. In Norway, a company of paratroopers dropped at Oslo's undefended airstrip. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon of April 9, 1940, the Germans flew in sufficient reinforcements to move into the capital in the afternoon, but by that time the Norwegian government had fled. In the Battle of France , members of the Brandenburg Regiment landed by Fieseler Fi 156 Storch light reconnaissance planes on
21605-524: Was formed from No 2 Commando and subsequently became 1st Battalion, The Parachute Regiment) dropped into southern Italy from converted Whitley bombers flying from Malta and demolished a span of the aqueduct near Tragino in a daring night raid named Operation Colossus . 54 effectives of 'L' Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade (largely drawn from the disbanded Layforce ) mounted a night parachute insertion onto two drop zones in Bir Temrad, North Africa on
21754-424: Was made available from 1974. The warhead has twice the weight of explosives as the anti-armor PG-15V. It is intended for use against troops or soft targets . A coaxial 7.62 mm PKT machine gun is mounted to the right of the main armament for which the BMP-1 carries 2,000 rounds. The 2A28 'Grom' gun and PKT coaxial machine gun cannot be accurately fired while the vehicle is on the move over rough ground as
21903-498: Was originally dropped under the MKS-350-9 multi-canopy parachute with a descending speed between 15 m/s and 20 m/s. The intention was to drop the vehicle off without the crew. This proved to be very problematic since the crew frequently landed at a considerable distance from the vehicle and often had trouble finding it. Also, the vehicle itself could easily land in a location from which it couldn't be extracted (either because of
22052-415: Was planned bringing together the 2nd Indian Airborne Division and the British 6th Airborne Division , but the war ended before it could materialize. A fundamental decision was whether to create small airborne units to be used in specific coup-de-main type operations, or to organize entire airborne divisions for larger operations. Many of the early successful airborne operations were small, carried out by
22201-497: Was the first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) of the Soviet Union. It was called the M-1967, BMP and BMP-76PB by NATO before its correct designation was known. The Soviet military leadership saw any future wars as being conducted with nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. A new design, like the BMP, combining the properties of an armoured personnel carrier (APC) and a light tank would allow infantry to operate from
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