This is a list of known parachute jumps into combat zones by troops and units of the United States military. Participation in such jumps is recognized by certain Parachutist Badges.
| List of known U.S. combat parachute jumps[1][2][3][4][5][6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Unit | Operation | Troopers | Country | Dropzone |
| 8 November 1942 | 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB) | Torch | 556 | Algeria | Tafaraoui airfield, La Senia |
| 15 November 1942 | 509th PIB | Torch | 300–350 | Algeria | Youks les Bains |
| 24 December 1942 | 509th PIB, Headquarters Company
Two French paratroopers |
32 | Tunisia | El Djem | |
| 9 July 1943 | 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 3rd Battalion (jumped first).
505th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), including 505th PIR, 456th Parachute Field Artillery (PFA), 307th Engineering Battalion (Engr.), Company B. |
Husky I | 3,406 | Italy | Gela, Sicily |
| 10 July 1943 | 504th RCT, including 504th PIR, 1st & 2nd Btn.; 376th PFA, 307th Engr., Co. A | Husky II | 2,304 | Italy | Gela, Sicily |
| 5 September 1943 | 503th PIR | 1,700 | New Guinea | Nadzab, Markham Valley | |
| 13 September 1943 | 504th RCT, including 504th PIR, 376th PFA, 307th Engr., Co. A | Avalanche | 1,300 | Italy | Paestum, Salerno |
| 14 September 1943 | 505th RCT, including 505th PIR, 456th PFA, 370th Engr., Co. B | Avalanche | 2,105 | Italy | Salerno, Paestum |
| 14 September 1943 | 509th PIB | Avalanche | 640 | Italy | Avellino |
| 6 June 1944 | 82nd Airborne Division (507, 508) 505th RCT, including 505th PIR, 307th Engr. Co. B, 456th PFA.
28 Pathfinders, 504th PIR, (7 returned). |
Overlord, Titanic (Dropping of parachute dummies, "Oscar"). | 6,418 | France | Normandy |
| 6 June 1944 | 101st Airborne Division [326, 377, 501, 502, 506] | Overlord, Titanic (Dropping of parachute dummies, "Oscar"). | 6,638 | France | Normandy |
| 3 July 1944 | 503rd PRCT, 1st Bn. | Table Tennis | 739 | New Guinea | Noemfoor Island |
| 4 July 1944 | 503rd PRCT, 3rd Bn. | Table Tennis | 685 | New Guinea | Noemfoor Island |
| 15 August 1944 | 1st Abn. Task Force (460th PFA, 463rd PFABn.; 509th PIB; 517th PCT; 551st PIB; 596th PCEng. Co.) | Dragoon | 5,607 | France | Cote d' Azur, Riviera |
| 17 September 1944 | 82nd Airborne Division (508), 505th RCT, Includes: 505th PIR, 456th PFA, & Co.B, 307th Engr.; 504th RCT, Includes: 504th PIR, 376th PFA, & Co.A, 307 Engr | Market Garden | 7,250 | Netherlands | Grave & Nijmegen |
| 17 September 1944 | 101st Airborne Division [501, 502, 506] | Market Garden | 6,769 | Netherlands | Eindhoven |
| 29 November 1944; 5 December 1944 | Co.C, 127th Abn.Eng, Bn. Co.C., 1st Pl.., 187th P/GIR 221st AB. Med. Co.; 457th PFA 11th Abn. Div. Hdqt's Group 511th Pcht. Signal Co. 11th Abn. Div. RECON Pl. | Tabletop | 241 | Leyte | Manarawat |
| 3 February 1945 | 511th PIR, 457th FABn. | Shoestring | 1,830 | Philippines | Tagaytay Ridge |
| 16 February 1945 | 503rd PRCT, 462nd PFABn; Co. C, 161st Airborne Engr. Btn. | Topside | 2,050 | Philippines | Corregidor |
| 23 February 1945 | 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment: 1st Btn., Co.B; Hdqt's Co., 1st Btn.; Hdqt's Co., 1st Btn., Light Machine Gun Platoon | Rescue 2,147 internees | 130 | Philippines | Los Banos Prison Camp |
| 24 March 1945 | 17th Airborne Division (507 PIR, 513 PIR, 464 PFA, 466 PFA, 139 AEB, 224 AMC, 155 AAB, 411 AQM, 517 ASC, 680 GFA 681 GFA, 717 AOC & 194 GIR). Also small units: MP's, Division Artillery, Reconnaissance Platoon, & Parachute Maintenance Co. | Varsity | 4,964 | Germany | Wesel |
| 23 June 1945 | 511th PIR | Gypsy | 1,030 | Philippines | Aparri |
| 20 October 1950 | 187th ARCT, 2nd Battalion | DZ Easy | 1,203 | Korea | Sukchon |
| 20 October 1950 | 187th ARCT, 1st, 3rd. Bn's. | DZ William | 1,470 | Korea | Sukchon |
| 21 October 1950 | 187th Airborne Regimental Combat Team (ARCT). | DZ William | 671 | Korea | Sukchon |
| 23 March 1951 | 187th ARCT, 2nd & 3rd Bns; 674th ABN Field Artillery Bn; 2nd & 4th ABN Ranger Cos, and Indian army surgical team. | Tomahawk | 3,486 | Korea | Munsan-Ni |
| 12 February 1962 | FTT-1 White Star SF Team | Nam Beng Valley Campaign vs. Pathet Lao | 12 | Laos | Nam Tha airstrip |
| 2 January 1963 | Joint General Staff reserve ARVN Paratroopers with U.S. MACV "Red Hat" Advisors from Saigon | Ap Bac | 300 South Vietnamese, 2 Americans | South Vietnam | Ap Tan Thoi |
| 22 February 1967 | 173rd Airborne Brigade, 503rd P.I.R., 2nd & 3rd Btl's,; 3/319 Airborne Field Artillery Regiment (AFAR). | Junction City | 845 | Vietnam | Katum |
| 2 April 1967 | 5th Special Force Group (ABN), 1st Special Forces: Detachments, A-503 Mike Force & A-344, Operation Harvest Moon (Includes Montagnards) | Harvest Moon | 356 (includes Montagnards) | Vietnam | Bunard, Phouc Long "Happy Dragon" Province |
| 5 September 1967 | USMC, 1st Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) | Oregon | 10 | Vietnam | South |
| 5 October 1967 | 5th Special Forces Group (ABN): Pathfinder Detachment (12 SF, 37 ARVN Pathfinders), "B" Co II CTZ (Pleiku) Mike Force (50 SF) & 275 LLDB (Includes Montagnards) | Blue Max | 374 | Vietnam | Bu Prang CIDG fighting camp, Quang Duc "Great Virtue" Province |
| 1968–73? | Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG) Airborne Studies Group (SOG 36) | Eldest Son, Italian Green, Pole Bean | North Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia | ||
| 28 November 1970 | Recon Team Florida, CCN, MACV-SOG (High Altitude Low Opening [HALO]) | 3 Americans, one ARVN officer and 2 Montagnards | Laos | NVA road inside Laos | |
| 7 May 1971 | Captain Larry Manes' Recon Team, CCN, MACV-SOG (HALO) | 4 Americans | South Vietnam | Between Ashau Valley and Khe Sanh, NVA trail extension of Laotian Highway 921 | |
| 22 June 1971 | Sergeant Major Billy Waugh's Recon Team, CCN, MACV-SOG (HALO) | 4 Americans | South Vietnam | 60 miles SW of Danang | |
| 22 September 1971 | Captain Jim Storter's Recon Team, CCC, MACV-SOG (HALO) | 4 Americans | South Vietnam | Plei Trap Valley, NW of Pleiku | |
| 11 October 1971 | Sgt. 1st Class Dick Gross' Recon Team, CCC, MACV-SOG (HALO) | 5 Americans | Vietnam | 25 miles, SW of Pleiku in the Ia Drang Valley | |
| 23 October 1983 | Navy SEAL Team and USAF CCT | Urgent Fury | 15 | Grenada | Port Salines |
| 25 October 1983 | 75th Ranger Regiment LRS Detachment; 82nd Abn Div combat controllers (CCT), Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), 12 troopers; 4 troopers, 1st Bn, tactical air control parties (TACP). | Urgent Fury | 16(?) | Grenada | Point Salines |
| 25 October 1983 | Navy SEAL Team | Urgent Fury | 11 | Grenada | Governor's residence |
| 25 October 1983 | 75th Ranger Regiment 1st and 2nd Bns; and two paratroopers (SGT Spain and SPC Richardson from 307th Engineer Bn) | Urgent Fury | 500 | Grenada | Point Salines airfield |
| 20 December 1989 | Unit: 75th Ranger Regiment; 82nd Airborne Division Ready Brigade | Just Cause | 4,000 | Panama | Rio Hato east to Fort Cimarron |
| 20 December 1989 | 75th Ranger Regiment; 82nd Abn Div, 1st Brigade Task Force: 1-504th PIR, 1-505th PIR; 2-504th PIR; 4-325th PIR, Co B and C; A/3-505 PIR; 3-73rd Armor (Abn); 82nd MP Co (Abn), 3 platoons. All joined to form: Task Force Pacific. | Just Cause | 2,176 | Panama | Torrijos-Tocumen Airport |
| 15 January 1991 | Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (HAHO) | Desert Storm | 12 | Iraq | Northwest desert |
| Dec. 1991 | Navy SEAL Team 6 | Raw Deal | Haiti | Navassa Island | |
| 19 October 2001 | 75th Ranger Regiment | Operation Enduring Freedom | 200 | Afghanistan | Objective Rhino[7] |
| 13 November 2001 | 3-75th Ranger Regiment | Operation Enduring Freedom | Afghanistan | In the vicinity of Alimarden Kan-E-Bagat | |
| 25 February 2003 | 2-75th Ranger Regiment; 3-504th PIR | Operation Enduring Freedom | Afghanistan | Near Chahar Borjak, Nimruz Province | |
| 24 March 2003 | 3-75th Ranger Regiment; 24th Special Tactics Squadron | Operation Iraqi Freedom | Iraq | Northwestern desert region of Iraq, Objective Serpent in the vicinity of Al Qaim [6] | |
| 26 March 2003 | 173rd Airborne Brigade, 786th Security Forces Squadron | Operation Northern Delay | 954 | Iraq | Bashur Drop zone [6] |
| 28–29 Mar 2003 | 27th Engineer Battalion; 3-75th Ranger Regiment; 24th Special Tactics Squadron | Operation Iraqi Freedom | Iraq | At H1 Airfield | |
| 3 July 2004 | 75th Ranger Regiment, Regimental Reconnaissance Company Team 3 (HALO) | Operation Enduring Freedom | Afghanistan | Southeastern Region (Tillman Dropzone) [6] | |
| 31 July 2004 | USMC 1st Reconnaissance Battalion (HAHO)[8] | Operation Iraqi Freedom | 6 | Iraq | Near Baghdad |
| 30 May 2007 | ODA 074, 3-10th Special Forces Group (HALO) [4] | Operation Iraqi Freedom | 11 | Iraq | Ninewah Province |
| 11 July 2009 | 75th Ranger Regiment, Regimental Reconnaissance Company, Team 1 [6] | Operation Enduring Freedom | Afghanistan | ||
Notes
edit- ^ United States Combat Jumps, GlobalSecurity.org, last updated 7 May 2011, last accessed 17 February 2013
- ^ Plaster, John L. (1997). SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 295-301. ISBN 0-684-81105-7.
- ^ Units Credited With Assault Landings, General Orders No. 10, Department of the Army, dated 25 September 2006, last accessed 30 April 2017
- ^ a b Hitting the ground with coalition partners; Special Warfare Magazine; Valume 21, Issue 6; dated November–December 2008, last accessed 17 February 2013
- ^ History of Military Operational Parachute Jumps, Special Forces Association, dated 7 March 2013, last accessed 30 April 2017
- ^ a b c d e These are the only 5 combat jumps by US troops that we know about since September 11, Business Insider, by Eric Milzarski from "We Are The Mighty" program, dated 7 October 2019, last accessed 9 July 2020
- ^ Naylor, Sean (1 September 2015). Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command. St. Martin's Press. p. 112.
- ^ "ON THIS DAY: FIRST HIGH-ALTITUDE HIGH-OPENING (HAHO) JUMP IN COMBAT". History of the Marine Corps.