The first drop of a body of troops was carried out by the Italians in 1927. The first active engagement of an airborne force, against a bandit army in Central Asia - just fifteen Russian troops dropped from three aircraft - took place in 1929.Yet only eleven years later airborne forces were to change, radically and completely, the way that war on the ground was conducted. Once again a new technology had pushed forward man's ability to conduct war with ever increasing effectiveness. This book tells the complete story in detail never previously accomplished. It covers all aspects of airborne forces, including the aircraft, specialist equipment and systems developed for the safe delivery of airborne troops, vehicles, weapons and other equipment.