Soviet Airborne Forces

Summary

The Soviet Airborne Forces, or VDV, was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed before the Second World War, the VDV 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. 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.