Publisher's Synopsis
The word "paratrooper" conjures up images of dare-devil courage. During World War II both sides used these small, highly trained bands of soldiers and, post-1945, they have been deployed in operations from Malaya, Borneo and Indochina to Radfan, Suez, the Falklands and Grenada. In August 1990, the Americans initially sent an airborne division to the Gulf to act as an immediate psychological check pending the arrival of stronger forces.;This book looks at the history of parachute regiments - who they are, how they are recruited, their individual track records and how necessary they are today. It details paratroop history up to 1991, describes the organization and composition of all the world's airborne units, training methods, principal types of parachute, glider and transport aircraft. Bruce Quarrie is the author of "Hitler's Teutonic Knights", "Hitler's Samurai" and "Weapons of the Waffen-SS".
