The operation was planned for February 1919 but the war ended before the attack could be seriously planned. 1st Division behind German lines near Metz. Brereton and his superior Brigadier General Billy Mitchell suggested dropping elements of the U.S. Airborne operations are also particularly sensitive to weather conditions, which can be dangerous to both the paratroopers and airlifters, so extensive planning is critical to the success of an airborne operation.Īdvances 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 the ground anywhere in the world within hours for a variety of missions.īenjamin Franklin envisioned the danger of airborne attack in 1784, only a few months after the first manned flight in a hot air balloon:įive 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 the Clouds, might not in many Places do an infinite deal of Mischief, before a Force could be brought together to repel them? Īlthough Winston Churchill proposed the creation of an airborne force to assault behind the German lines in 1917 during the First World War, the first modern operation was envisioned in late 1918. Some infantry fighting vehicles have also been modified for paradropping with infantry to provide heavier firepower.ĭue to their necessary slow descent, paratroopers are 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.
Formations of airborne forces are limited only by the number and size of their transport aircraft a sizeable force can appear "out of the sky" behind enemy lines in merely hours if not minutes, an action known as vertical envelopment.Īirborne forces typically lack enough supplies for prolonged combat, so they are utilized for establishing an airhead to bring in larger forces before carrying out other combat objectives. The main advantage of airborne forces is their ability to be deployed into combat zones without land passage, as long as the airspace is accessible.
Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault.