Soviet Airborne Forces

Soviet Airborne Forces
Vozdushno-desantnye voyska SSSR
Воздушно-десантные войска СССР
Shoulder patch of the Soviet Airborne Forces, 1969–1991
Active4 September 1941 – 14 February 1992
Country Soviet Union (1941–1991)
 Commonwealth of Independent States (1991–1992)
Branch Soviet Armed Forces
TypeAirborne forces
RoleLight infantry
Airborne infantry
Airmobile infantry
Peacekeeping
SizeJanuary 1990 – 53,874
August 1991 – 77,036
Nickname(s)Войска дяди Васи
(Uncle Vasya's Troops)
Motto(s)Никто, кроме нас!
(Nobody, but us!)
EngagementsBattle of Lake Khasan
Battles of Khalkhin Gol
World War II
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
Soviet–Afghan War
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Gen. Vasily Margelov
Insignia
Flag of the Airborne Forces

The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from Vozdushno-desantnye voyska SSSR, Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed before the Second World War, the force undertook two significant airborne operations and a number of smaller jumps during the war and for many years after 1945 was the largest airborne force in the world.[1] The force was split after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, with the core becoming the Russian Airborne Forces, losing divisions to Belarus and Ukraine.

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.[2]

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.[3]

  1. ^ p.386, Isby
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-08-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "A look into the modern Russian Airborne Forces | the Vineyard of the Saker". Archived from the original on 2019-01-17. Retrieved 2019-01-17.