A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of airborne forces. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World War II for troop distribution and transportation. Paratroopers are often used in surprise attacks, to seize strategic objectives such as airfields or bridges.
Paratroopers of the armies of Britain, Italy, and the United States during an exercise in Pordenone, Italy, 2019.
U.S. Army paratroopers with the 82nd Airborne Division parachute from a C-130 Hercules aircraft during Operation Toy Drop 2007 at Pope Air Force Base.
Alessandro Tandura
Military exhibition
Parachuting and skydiving is a method of transiting from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes.
Four skydivers with deployed parachutes in Bex, Vaud, Switzerland
Garnerin by Edward Hawke Locker
Tandem in freefall
Reserve parachute (right) in use