Soviet 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 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.