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81-592: Troops of the Soviet Airborne Forces traditionally wore a sky blue beret and blue-striped telnyashka and they were named desant (Russian: Десант) from the French Descente . The Soviet Airborne Forces were noted for their relatively large number of vehicles, specifically designed for airborne transport, as such, they traditionally had a larger complement of heavy weaponry than most contemporary airborne forces. The first airborne forces parachute jump

162-413: A clear day with optimal meteorological factories; other shades of blue are often visible in the sky, as Light Sky Blue and similar gradations, among which the other conventional celeste, similar to the light blue sky colours rather than the pure celeste . One scientific explanation needs to be made: the sun emits light across the entire electromagnetic spectrum and so celeste, which is very close to

243-433: A collection of shades comparable to that of a clear daytime sky. Typically it is a shade of cyan or light teal , though some iterations are closer to light blue . The term (as "sky blew") is attested from 1681. A 1585 translation of Nicolas de Nicolay 's 1576 Les navigations, peregrinations et voyages faicts en la Turquie includes "the tulbant [turban] of the merchant must be skie coloured ". Displayed at right

324-649: A directive of the Commissariat of Military and Naval Affairs transformed the Leningrad Military District's 3rd Motorised Airborne Landing Detachment into the 3rd Airborne Brigade (Special Purpose)  [ ru ] commanded by M.V. Boytsov. In addition, the 13th and 47th Airborne Brigades plus three airborne regiments (the 1st, 2nd, and 5th, all in the Far East) were created in 1936. In March and April 1941, five Airborne Corps (divisions) were established on

405-402: A good or at least moderate AIQ (Air Quality Index), absence of mist , haze , resulting in a good diffusion of light blue without saturation , which causes the prevalence of the white or of the warm colours of sunrise and sunset ; in these excellent conditions, it is possible to see Celeste and its variations perpendicularly to the sun , toward the horizon , where the sunlight

486-704: A mobilization unit in Stavropol. The 130th Air Assault Brigade existed between 1986 and 1989 as a mobilization unit in Abakan. In addition to the Landing Assault units of the Ground Forces' military districts and armies, the Soviet General Staff also experimented with the inclusion of landing assault units in experimental combined arms corps. Two such corps were formed in the mid-1980s with the task to exploit and widen

567-478: A sign of elite status of the airborne troops. In 1970, the telnyashka became an official part of the uniform. In accordance with a directive of the General Staff , from August 3, 1979, to December 1, 1979, the 105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division was disbanded. From the division remained in the city of Fergana the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment (much stronger than the usual regimental size) with

648-415: A tank or motor rifle division. The 5th Corps had the 1318th Separate Landing Assault Regiment and 276th Separate Helicopter Regiment, while the 48th Corps had the 1319th Separate Landing Assault Regiment and 373rd Separate Helicopter Regiment. Around 1987-88 the two corps were disbanded and reverted to divisions, losing their landing troops and helicopters. V. I. Shaykin lists the following force structure of

729-700: Is 26 April, by an order of the Defense Minister of the USSR. At the end of the war, the 322nd Guards Rifle Regiment was in the city of Třeboň , Czechoslovakia . During the war, the regiment was thanked on six occasions by the Stalin , the Supreme Commander . In all 2,065 of its soldiers, sergeants and officers were decorated for valor and heroism by the Soviet Union . The 7th Guards Airborne Division (second formation)

810-431: Is characteristic. The Japanese equivalent is known as sora iro or mizuiro , referring to the colour of the sky or its reflection on the sea. The other one is also another conventional celeste ( HEX #99cbff and RGB 153,203,255) containing 100% of blue , associated to a more generic color of the sky and remembering a type of light zenithal blue and the next sky blue gradations. Celeste, that is,

891-538: Is dated to 2 August 1930, taking place in the Moscow Military District . Airborne landing detachments were established after the initial 1930 experimental jump, but creation of larger units had to wait until 1932–33. On 11 December 1932, a Revolutionary Military Council order established an airborne brigade from the existing detachment in the Leningrad Military District . To implement the order,

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972-405: Is maximum as the sky is directly illuminated, and these shades merge with the golden light of solar rays and the white of the horizon, both in the morning and afternoon , or even across the entire region between the star and the horizon, when the star is high, relatively next to solar or true noon . In particular, in the warm seasons, with the inclination of a hemisphere with respect to

1053-607: Is the web colour sky blue . Celeste ( Spanish: [θeˈleste, se-] , Italian: [tʃeˈlɛste] , English: / s ɪ ˈ l ɛ s t / ) is the colloquial name for the pale turquoise blue colour. The same word, meaning "of the sky", is used in Spanish , Portuguese and Italian for the colour. Etymologically , it is derived by Latin term caelestis , that means del cielo in Italian. There are two "conventional" colours denominated celeste, according to

1134-763: Is the colour dark sky blue . This is the colour called sky blue in Pantone . The source of this colour is the "Pantone Textile Paper eXtended (TPX)" colour list, color #14-4318 TPX—Sky Blue. 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division The 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division is the only elite guards (other than Spetsnaz VDV) division of the Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) ( Military Unit Number 61756) responsible for mountain warfare and jungle warfare. The 7th Guards Airborne Division

1215-448: Is the colour medium sky blue . This is the colour that is called sky blue in Crayola crayons. This colour was formulated by Crayola in 1958. "Sky blue" appears in the 32, 48, 64, 96 and 120 packs of crayons. Displayed at right is the colour vivid sky blue . Deep sky blue is an azure - cyan colour associated with deep shade of sky blue. Deep sky blue is a web colour . This is

1296-638: Is the tone of sky blue that is called sky blue ( bleu ciel ) in the Pourpre.com colour list, a colour list widely popular in France . Spanish sky blue is the colour that is called celeste (the Spanish word for "sky blue") in the Guía de coloraciones ( Guide to colourations ) by Rosa Gallego and Juan Carlos Sanz, a colour dictionary published in 2005 that is widely popular in the Hispanophone realm. Displayed at right

1377-454: The pure Celeste strictly speaking ( HEX #B2FFFF; RGB 178,255,255) from here on (and which can be thought as the "true" or "conventional" celeste), is a gradation of the cyan and a cold color . It is the colour of the sky with optimal visibility , when it is clear, perfectly or near-perfectly cloudless and sunny with an optimal quantity of humidity , absence or optimal quantity of atmospheric dust , aerosol / particulates with

1458-726: The 115th Guards Rifle Division in June 1945. The second formation of the 7th Guards Airborne Division was started in September 1948 based on 322nd Guards Rifle Regiment. The first formation of the division was formed during the Second World War at Ramenskoye in December 1942. It fought at Demyansk, Voronezh, Korsun, on the Dnieper River, and at Targul Frumos and Budapest. It gained the honorific "Cherkassy." (Poirer and Connor, p76) On May 8, 1945,

1539-520: The 11th (activated 1 October 1948 in Ryazan, Moscow Oblast, from the 347th Guards Air Landing Regiment, 38th Airborne Corps), the 13th Guards (at Galenki, Primorskiy Kray, with the 37th Airborne Corps), the 21st Guards (Estonia, Valga, with the 15th Airborne Corps), and the 31st Guards (Carpathians, 39th Airborne Corps). At the end of 1955 and the beginning of 1956 the 11th Guards, 21st, 100th and 114th Guards Airborne Divisions were disbanded as well as all

1620-586: The 56th Air Assault Brigade fought in the Soviet–Afghan War . The Airborne Forces ( Воздушно-десантные войска ( ВДВ ), literal translation: Air-Landing Troops) of the Soviet Union and their present-day Russian Federation successor are a separate combat service directly subordinated to the General Staff. Their combat doctrine establishes their role as a highly mobile operational reserve of the armed forces,

1701-733: The Battle of Ilovaisk during the war in Donbas , Ukraine. The division was subsequently awarded the Order of Suvorov in May 2015. In December 2016, Vladimir Shamanov announced that a separate battalion of the division's 97th Air Assault Regiment would be formed in Dzhankoy , with the rest of the regiment reformed from the battalion in the future. The regiment was reported forming in 2021 in Novostepove Crimea. In

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1782-568: The Caucasus region . On 1 December 2006 it was renamed as 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division. In 2014 the division's 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment allegedly took part in the war in Donbas in Ukraine . Since February 2022 the division has been heavily engaged in the invasion of Ukraine with its commanding general having been reportedly killed in action on February 28, 2022. There were two separately formed 7th Guards Airborne Divisions in

1863-493: The National Observer . For the 50th anniversary, Erlauf erected a Soviet-sponsored memorial. It features a local girl, linking arms with a GI on her right, and a Soviet soldier on her left. To this day, an enlarged photo and a small exhibit mark the spot where this historic encounter took place: A life-size Major General Reinhart, smiling at General Drichkin, as they compare their watches one minute past midnight, on 9 May 1945,

1944-461: The Red Army and Soviet Ground Forces / Soviet Airborne Troops . The first division was formed during the Second World War at Ramenskoye in December 1942. It fought at Demyansk, Voronezh, Korsun, on the Dnieper River, and at Targul Frumos and Budapest. It ended the war with 4th Guards Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in May 1945. As part of a postwar military reorganization, this division was retitled

2025-452: The color models . One is the pure Celeste , ( HEX #B2FFFF; RGB 178,255,255) which may be referred as the "true" celeste as it is traditionally or officially understood; in English , it may also be referred to as Italian sky blue (blu cielo italiano) and Bianchi Green , referring to Bianchi , the famous Italian company for bikes , the first in the history of vehicles, whose colour

2106-548: The crossing of the Dnieper River . The 1st, 3rd and 5th Guards Airborne Brigades were intended to secure the far side of the Dnieper between Kaniv and Rzhishchev. The drop was poorly executed and instead of the intended 10 by 14 km (6.2 by 8.7 mi) area, troops were dispersed over 30 by 90 km (19 by 56 mi) and unable to concentrate their forces. The majority were killed or captured; some survivors joined partisan groups. David Glantz wrote in 1984: In August [1944],

2187-405: The sun , there are simultaneously the optimization of sunlight , daylight hours , and so the pure celeste might be visible in the entire region between the horizon and sun both in the morning and afternoon ; generally, the higher the sun is during the day and the year, the less visible celeste and variations will be. In particular, in the morning across the sun and the horizon in

2268-447: The white with a RGB of 178,255,255, is very luminous, and so visible in the direction of the sun because it is there the maximum quantity of solar light, especially towards the horizon, even if human eyes can only perceive the visible light . Here because celeste and variations are easier to be visible in the warm seasons because of the inclination of a hemisphere with respect to the sun , spring and especially summer , with

2349-596: The 108th Airborne Regiment were tasked to fly from Kaunas to Ryazan , where they were to demonstrate their vehicle assault landing skills to the Minister of Defence of the USSR, Andrei Grechko . The group of three An-12 aircraft took off early in the morning, reaching a cruising altitude of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Approaching the city of Kaluga, a plane carrying the staff of a company and battalion command (91 officers and men) collided with an Ilyushin Il-14 passenger plane that

2430-626: The 111th Guards Parachute Regiment became the 35th Separate Guards Air Assault Brigade . However, there was also a mistaken Western belief, either intentional Soviet deception or stemming from confusion in the West, that an Airborne Division, reported as the 6th, was being maintained at Belogorsk in the Far East in the 1980s. This maskirovka division was then 'disbanded' later in the 1980s, causing comment within Western professional journals that another division

2511-552: The 111th, 345th, 351st and the 383rd Parachute Landing Regiments and additional support units. The division was specialized in warfare in mountain and arid regions and the decision to disband it proved to be a seriously misguided one in the coming Soviet–Afghan War . The division gave birth to the following formations: From the late 1970s to the 1980s, 13 separate landing assault brigades were activated. These brigades provided air-mobile capability for military districts and groups of forces. In 1989, these brigades transferred to control of

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2592-480: The 1st Airborne Corps and the three existing separate maneuver airborne brigades). The new guards airborne divisions trained in airborne techniques, and all personnel jumped three to ten times during training, though many were from jump towers. After the defeat of German forces in the Battle of Kursk , the bulk of the airborne divisions joined in the pursuit of German forces to the Dnieper River which formed part of

2673-458: The 247th Regiment of the division was also reported to have been forward deployed in Crimea. In the initial stages of the invasion of Ukraine , and in circumstances that were not immediately made clear, the former commanding general of the division, Major-General Andrei Sukhovetsky , was reportedly killed by a Ukrainian sniper near Mariupol on 28 February 2022. The division's equipment includes

2754-600: The 7th Guards division was used again during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia . The first experimental air assault brigade – the 1st Airborne Brigade – was apparently activated in 1967/1968 from parts of the 51st Guards Parachute Landing Regiment (PDP) (Tula), after the Soviets had been impressed by the American experiences in Vietnam War . In 1973 the 13th and 99th Airborne Divisions were reorganised as air assault brigades, and thus

2835-470: The 86th Army Corps with its 1154th Separate Assault Landing Battalion need further investigation, as the 86th Army Corps was expanded into the 36th Combined Arms Army on June 1, 1976, and could not exist simultaneously around 1989, as the Army was itself reduced into the 55th Army Corps on June 1, 1989. The service march of the airborne forces is We Need One Victory, also known as Our 10th Parachute Battalion . It

2916-591: The Airborne Forces is an integral part of all the solemn events of the Airborne Forces. Every year, the band's personnel take part in the Victory Parade on Red Square , as well as the opening ceremony of the International Army Games . In the ranks of the combined band are musicians of the military bands of the airborne and assault formations of the Airborne Forces. There are six other military bands in

2997-512: The German Panther–Wotan line which they defended. Even as ten guards airborne divisions fought at the front, new airborne brigades formed in the rear areas. In April and May 1943, twenty brigades formed and trained for future airborne operations. Most of these brigades had become six new guards airborne divisions (11th through 16th) by September 1943. The Stavka earmarked three airborne brigades for use in an airborne operation as part of

3078-513: The Ministry of Defence. The creation of the post-war Soviet Airborne Forces owe much to the efforts of one man, Army General Vasily Margelov , so much so that the abbreviation of VDV in the Airborne Forces is sometimes waggishly interpreted as Войска дяди Васи or "Uncle Vasya's Forces". Airborne units of two divisions (7th and 31st Guards) were used during Soviet operations in Hungary during 1956, and

3159-543: The Soviet airborne forces in 1989 in his study: note: HH is not an official designation, but denotes Helicopter-Heavy - The original three Air Assault Brigades - the 11th, 13th and 21st had their organic helicopter regiments and they have retained them until 1988~89. The brigades, which were formed later lacked own helicopter assets and relied on the helicopter regiments of their higher echelon commands. note: The 36th Army with its 906th Separate Assault Landing Battalion and

3240-546: The Stavka formed the 37th, 38th, and 39th Guards Airborne Corps. By October, the newly formed corps had combined into a separate airborne army under Maj. Gen. I. I. Zatevakhin. However, because of the growing need for well-trained ground units, the new army did not endure long as an airborne unit. In December, the Stavka reorganized the separate airborne army into the 9th Guards Army of Col. Gen. V. V. Glagolev , and all divisions were renumbered as guards rifle divisions. As testimony to

3321-553: The VDV. During the same period, 19 separate landing assault battalions were activated. These battalions originally provided air-mobile capability to armies and other formations but were mostly disbanded in 1989. In 1979, the 58th Air Assault Brigade was activated as a mobilization unit in Kremenchug. It was co-located with the 23rd Air Assault Brigade from 1986 and disbanded in 1989. The 128th Air Assault Brigade existed between 1986 and 1989 as

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3402-707: The aftermath of the War in Abkhazia of 1992–1993. At some point after 1990 the division was given the 'Mountain' designation. Between January 1995 and April 2004, the 108th Regiment fought in the North Caucasian region, notably in the August 1999 battle for the "Donkey's Ear" heights in Dagestan . In 1997, the division's 97th Guards Airborne Regiment was disbanded. In August 2014 the division's 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment fought in

3483-540: The airborne corps headquarters. The number of divisions, thus, decreased to 11. In April 1955 the transport aircraft were separated from the VDV and the Air Force Military Transport Aviation was created. In 1959 the 31st and 107th Guards Airborne Divisions were disbanded, but in October 1960 the 44th Training Airborne Division was formed. In 1964 the Soviet Airborne Forces were directly subordinated to

3564-628: The airborne forces. The Song and Dance Ensemble of the Airborne Forces is the theatrical troupe of the VDV. It began its creative activity in 1937, as the Red Army Song and Dance Ensemble of the Kyiv Military District , numbering only 18 people. On 3 May 1945, three days after the signing of the German armistice, the ensemble gave a concert on the steps of the destroyed Reichstag . During the Cold War,

3645-622: The base. On 4 November 1956 the regimental staff, together with fighters from the 119th Parachute Regiment, entered the city of Budapest and took part in street fighting until the city was secured on 7 November. In 1968, the division participated in Operation Danube to suppress the Prague Spring uprising. The 108th Regiment distinguished itself in the most dangerous and difficult missions, for which about two hundred of its personnel received high government awards. On 23 June 1969, troops of

3726-412: The basis of the existing 201st , 204th , 211th , 212th , and 214th Airborne Brigades. The number of Airborne Corps rose from five to ten in late 1941, but then all the airborne corps were converted into "Guards" Rifle Divisions in the northern hemisphere summer of 1942. The Soviet airborne forces were mostly used as 'foot' infantry during the war. Only a few small airborne drops were carried out in

3807-484: The beginning of the 1970s the designation was changed from Separate Air Assault Brigade ( отдельная воздушно-штурмовая бригада (о вшбр )) to Separate Landing Assault Brigade ( отдельная десантно-штурмовая бригада (о дшбр )). In 1973 a third brigade was formed: The experimental 1st Separate Air Assault Brigade was fully staffed by Airborne Troops personnel due to its background, but the regular air assault brigades formed afterwards lacked any airborne parachute training and

3888-511: The cold season, with a low sun and sunlight , the pure celeste may be visible only at the horizon, where the cyan is more intense for the maximum light , but is more difficult because of the major weather instability. In anyway, since sunlight is strongest at the horizon , that is where the pure celeste is more evident, producing the tonalities of the cyan , very close to the white . Alternatively, other variants, like Celeste polvere, Pallido and Velato , are visible towards

3969-503: The colour on the colour wheel ( RGB/HSV colour wheel ) halfway between azure and cyan. The colour name deep sky blue came into use with the formulization of the X11 colour names over 1985–1989. The normalized colour coordinates for deep sky blue are identical to Capri , which first came into use as a colour name in English in 1920. At right is displayed the colour French sky blue , which

4050-647: The command of Major General Kobzar', Chief of the Combat Training Department of the Airborne Forces HQ. The task of the brigade in the massive exercise was to land with helicopters on the riverside of the River Dnieper and secure a beachhead for the forcing of the river by the main forces. This was executed successfully and the lessons learned were used for the formation of regular air assault brigades. A General Staff Directive from May 22, 1968, ordered

4131-811: The division was awarded the Red Banner of the Airborne Troops. On 4 May 1985, for success in military training and in connection with the 40th anniversary of the Victory in World War II, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . In 1988–1989, elements of the division took part in the Black January events in Baku . In 1993–1996, personnel from the 108th Regiment served on peacekeeping missions in Abkhazia to deal with

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4212-733: The divisional commander, Major General Dmitrii Aristarkhovich Drichkin, set up his headquarters in the village of Erlauf , Austria, some 60 miles west of Vienna and 50 miles east of Linz. Anxious to meet the Allies, he sent out scouts. At midnight, he met Major General Stanley Eric Reinhart , commander of the U.S. 65th Infantry Division . For the duration of their presence on the Danube river, both commanders continued to cooperate in an unusually effective manner. Twenty years later, public affairs officer Captain John J. Pullen described their first cordial encounter for

4293-409: The early hours with the rising of the star , sometimes even until noon, until they are reduced to a few stripes on the horizon, where the cyan is more intense. In the afternoon, it is the opposite and the pure celeste and similar gradations could be widely visible between the sun and horizon when the star is high, but starting to go down, that is especially in the early afternoon hours. Instead, in

4374-561: The elite nature of airborne-trained units, the Stavka held the 9th Guards Army out of defensive actions, using it only for exploitation during offensives. From 1944 the airborne divisions were reconstituted as Guards Rifle Divisions. During the invasion of Manchuria and the South Sakhalin Operation , airborne units were used to seize airfields and city centers in advance of the land forces, and to ferry fuel to those units that had outrun their supply lines. The HQ 9th Guards Army

4455-492: The extensive airborne activity during the winter campaign of 1941–42, [the] airborne forces underwent another major reorganization the following summer. Responding to events in southern Russia, where German troops had opened a major offensive that would culminate in the Stalingrad battles, the ten airborne corps, as part of the Stavka strategic reserves, deployed southward. Furthermore, the Stavka converted all ten airborne corps into guards rifle divisions to bolster Soviet forces in

4536-408: The first desperate days of Operation Barbarossa , in the vicinity of Kyiv, Odessa , and the Kerch peninsula. The two significant airborne operations of the war were the Vyazma operation of February–March 1942, involving 4th Airborne Corps , and the Dnepr/Kyiv operation of September 1943, involving a temporary corps formation consisting of 1st, 3rd, and 5th Airborne Brigades. Glantz wrote: "After

4617-646: The following force structure in 1989 (Military Detachment number ( в/ч ) given in brackets): Directorate of the Commander of the Airborne Troops ( Управление командующего ВДВ )(25953), Moscow , RSFSR As a high readiness and long range main operational reserve of the General Staff the Airborne Troops could rely on the support of the whole Military Transport Aviation and Aeroflot aircraft mobilized for military service. The Airborne Troops also had their own organic aviation assets, but these had very limited airlift capabilities ( Antonov An-2s and Mil Mi-8s ) and were used for parachute training and liaison flights between

4698-435: The formation of the first brigades. They were under the Soviet Ground Forces and by August 1970 the first two active brigades were: These brigades had organic aviation units and had the following structure: Each aviation base consisted of an airfield support battalion and a signals and radio-technical support battalion. The brigade was tasked with executing tactical heliborne landings up to 100 km behind enemy lines. In

4779-399: The horizon when the sun is near to the zenith, always with discrete or good conditions of visibility. In the afternoon, always with good conditions, these three type of celeste, together with softer and less bright shades of celeste, are visible at straight angle from north to south, until around sunset . In reality, it can be difficult to observe the pure celeste , being the color of

4860-502: The landing of Antonov An-8 , An-12 , An-22 , and Il-76 aircraft, tested a number of new parachute systems ( D-5 and D-6 ), all generations of BMD , and 2S9 Nona artillery systems. In 1956, the division was involved in "Operation Whirlwind", the suppression of the Hungarian revolution . On 3 November 1956, the 108th Parachute Regiment landed at the Tököl airbase in Il-12 and Li-2 aircraft, capturing and disabling six antiaircraft batteries, then positioning themselves to defend

4941-404: The last remaining Reserve of the Supreme High Command ( Резерв главного командования ( РГК )). In 1989 a Soviet Air-Landing Division ( Воздушно-десантная дивизия ( вдд )) was organized into a division headquarters, three Parachute Landing Regiments (sing. Парашютно-десантный полк ( пдп )) and various combat and service support units. V. I. Shaykin's historic study of the Airborne Forces lists

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5022-556: The majority of their officers came from the higher schools of the Ground Forces. The brigades carried the uniform of the motor rifle branch. In 1973 the landing assault brigades received a new table of organization: The new air assault brigades were deemed successful and by the end of the 1970s several more brigades were formed under the military districts. In addition several separate landing assault battalions were formed as assets of combined arms and tank armies. In 1983 these forces started receiving parachute training and this put them under

5103-427: The moment the unconditional surrender of Germany became effective. As part of a postwar military reorganization at the end of June 1945, the first formation of the 7th Guards Airborne Division was retitled as the 115th Guards Rifle Division. The 22nd Guards Tank Division was activated on 4 June 1957 in Novomoskovsk (Cherkasskoye), Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, from the 115th Guards Rifle Division. The baptism of fire of

5184-407: The next other types of sky blue ; this is not surprising due to the best diffusion of the blue because of the Raylegh scattering . Bleu celeste ("sky blue") is a rarely occurring tincture in heraldry (not being one of the seven main colours or metals or the three "staynard colours"). This tincture is sometimes also called ciel or simply celeste . It is depicted in a lighter shade than

5265-428: The number of divisions dropped to eight. There were also independent regiments and battalions. However, even by the 1980s only two divisions were capable of being deployed for combat operations in the first wave against NATO using Air Force Military Transport Aviation and Aeroflot aircraft. Airborne Forces Commander-in-Chief Vasily Margelov had the idea to introduce the Telnyashka blue-and-white striped shirt as

5346-423: The operational breakthrough in offensive operations. Each corps consisted of a corps HQ, two tank brigades, two mechanised brigades, a landing assault regiment of two battalions and support units and a helicopter regiment (organized into an HQ, a Mi-24 attack squadron, a Mi-8 assault squadron and a Mi-26 heavy transport squadron of 20 aircraft each). The combat and service support units were similar to those found in

5427-404: The optimization of solar light, hours of daylight and meteorological factors . Being the gradation of near-perfectly sunny and clear sky, the color of an ideal sky, it is difficult to see pure celeste, especially during the coldest or most unstable seasons; instead, generically the sky shows the color of the other conventional celeste with 100% of blue, recalling a light zenithal blue and

5508-452: The range of shades of the more traditional tincture azure , which is the standard blue used in heraldry. The Italian Misplaced Pages cites Il dizionario dei colori: nomi e valori in quadricromia by S.Fantetti and C.Petracchi and describes multiple variants of celeste as shown below, plus details as defined in the infobox above. Displayed at right is the web colour light sky blue . It is close in shade to baby blue . Displayed at right

5589-401: The same year, it was announced that the 56th Guards Air Assault Brigade would also be re-deployed to Crimea where it would reform as a regiment and perhaps further augment the strength of the 7th Division. This plan to integrate the regiment into the 7th division was reportedly later confirmed by the Russian defence ministry. In that same month, and in the context of the Russia-Ukraine crisis,

5670-404: The second formation division's predecessor regiment took place in 1945, fighting around Lake Balaton ( Hungary ) under the 37th Guards Rifle Corps , 9th Guards Army , 3rd Ukrainian Front . On 26 April 1945, the 322nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 103rd Guards Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Kutuzov , second class, for exemplary performance. In commemoration, the division's official day

5751-412: The separate 115th military-transport aviation squadron. The rest of the personnel of the division were reassigned to fill out other incomplete airborne units and formations and to the newly formed air assault brigades. Based on the division's 351st Guards Parachute Regiment, the 56th Guards Separate Air Assault Brigade was formed in Azadbash, ( Chirchiq district) Tashkent Oblast , Uzbek SSR . Meanwhile,

5832-665: The south. Nine of these divisions participated in the battles around Stalingrad, and one took part in the defense of the northern Caucasus region." The Stavka still foresaw the necessity of conducting actual airborne operations later during the war. To have such a force, the Stavka created eight new airborne corps ( 1st , 4th , 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th) in the fall of 1942. Beginning in December 1942, these corps became ten guards airborne divisions (numbered 1st , 2nd , 3rd , 4th , 5th (formed from 9th Airborne Corps (2nd formation)), 6th , 7th , 8th , 9th , 10th , two formed from

5913-593: The training oversight of the Airborne Troops. The rapid expansion of the landing assault troops led to the disbanding of one airborne division in 1979. This was the 105th Guards Venskaya , awarded the Order of the Red Banner Airborne Landing Division ( 105-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная Венская Краснознаменная дивизия ) with HQ in Fergana in the Fergana Valley , Uzbekistan SSR and command of

5994-607: The unit was known as the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany . During this time, it had participated in concerts in the cities of East Germany , Czechoslovakia , and Poland . It gained its current status in 1994. The Song and Dance Ensemble also contains the Blue Berets musical group. Sky blue This is an accepted version of this page Sky blue refers to

6075-403: The various units. Around the time of the strategic Exercise Dnepr-67 ( ru:Днепр (учения) ) came the organization of the first Soviet air assault formation. Shortly before it the 51st Guards Parachute-Landing Regiment ( 51-й гв. пдп ) was transformed into the 1st Separate Air Assault Brigade ( 1-я отдельная Воздушно-штурмовая бригада ( 1-я овшбр )) and this experimental formation was put under

6156-482: Was at 3000 meters without clearance, with the loss of all aboard. The division was involved in many major exercises and maneuvers, such as "Shield-76", "Neman", "West-81" ( Exercise Zapad-81 ), "West-84" and "Watch-86", in the latter three exercises dropping airborne combat vehicles with crews, and receiving the Minister of Defence of the USSR Pennant "for courage and military prowess" during West-81. In 1971 and 1972,

6237-541: Was established on 15 October 1948 on the basis of the 322nd Guards Air Landing Regiment of the 103rd Guards Airborne Division at Polotsk in the Belorussian Military District , becoming part of the 8th Guards Airborne Corps . The division was relocated to the cities of Kaunas and Marijampole , Lithuanian SSR . Personnel from these bases took part in actions against Lithuanian partisans . Units in this premier division of airborne troops have mastered

6318-640: Was formed in September 1948 based on 322nd Guards Rifle Regiment which fought in Eastern Europe in World War II . In October 1948 the division was relocated to Kaunas , Lithuania . During the Cold War period, the division served in the suppression of the Hungarian and Czech revolutions . In August 1993, the division was relocated to Novorossisk , Russia . It took part in various counter-insurgency operations in

6399-472: Was likely to be reformed so that the Far East had an airborne presence. The division was not listed in V.I. Feskov et al.'s The Soviet Army during the period of the Cold War, (2004) and the division at Belogorsk, the 98th Guards Airborne Svirskaya Red Banner Order of Kutuzov Division moved to Bolgrad in Ukraine in late 1969. The 103rd Guards Airborne Division , 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment and

6480-498: Was made by poet Bulat Okudzhava , written for the feature film Belorussian Station by Andrei Smirnov (1970). It was later adapted by Alfred Schnittke to be performed as a march to be played at the Moscow Victory Day Parade on Victory Day (9 May) . On Airborne Forces Day in many Russian cities, it is customary to turn off the fountains and hold veteran reunions near those fountains. The Combined Military Band of

6561-561: Was redesignated Headquarters Airborne Forces in June 1946 after the war ended. The units of the army were removed from the order of battle of the Air Forces of the USSR and assigned directly to the Ministry of the Armed Forces of the USSR. In 1946 the force consisted of five corps (the 8th and 15th had been added) and ten divisions: In the summer of 1948, five more Guards Airborne Divisions were created. The 7th (Lithuania, 8th Airborne Corps),

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