Attacks on parachutists
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Attacks on parachutists, as defined by the law of war, occur when pilots, aircrew, and passengers are attacked while descending by parachute from disabled aircraft during wartime. Such parachutists ar
Afghans in Peshawar showing off canopy of downed Soviet jet, 1984.
Airborne forces
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Airborne forces are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units
Attacks on parachutists
…it is made a war crime to attack them in an interstate armed conflict under Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. However, firing on airborne forces who are descending by parachute (i.e. paratroopers) is not prohibited. After World War I, a series of meetings were held at The Hague in 1922–1923…
United States Air Force paratroopers from the 720th Special Tactics Group jumping from a C-130J Hercules aircraft during water rescue training off the Florida panhandle
Queen Elizabeth and Princess Elizabeth talking to paratroopers in preparation of D-Day, 19 May 1944
Paratroopers of the 3rd Parachute Battalion, 1st Airborne Division, inside an RAF Dakota (C-47) during the flight to Arnhem, 17 September 1944
Dwight D. Eisenhower speaks with American paratroopers of the 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division on the evening of 5 June 1944.