The Portuguese Paratroopers ( pt, Tropas Paraquedistas) are an elite infantry assault force, representing the bulk of the

airborne forces Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. They were created in 1956 as part of the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

, being transferred to the

Portuguese Army The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...

in 1993. Presently, most of the Paratroopers are part of the

Portuguese Rapid Reaction Brigade , image = , caption = , motto = pt, Se fizeram por armas tão svbidos , themesong = , colors = , march ...

which comprises all 3 special forces troops. The Portuguese Paratroopers were usually nicknamed "Paras" or "Green Berets" (''Boinas Verdes'').

Organization

Until 2006, the Portuguese Paratroopers formed an autonomous command within the Army, the Airborne Troops Command (''Comandos de Tropas Aerotransportadas'') or CTA. All parachute units and most of the Paratroopers were under that command. The CTA was also responsible for the selection of the future Paratroopers and for their training. The main operational formation of the CTA was the Independent Airborne Brigade (''Brigada Aerotransportada Independente'') or BAI. The CTA was created in 1993, when the Paratroopers were transferred to the Army, succeeding the Parachute Troops Command (''Comando de Tropas Paraquedistas''), that had the same functions within the Air Force. The CTA was extinct in the Army reorganization of 2006, at the same time the BAI being transformed in the Rapid Reaction Brigade or BrigRR. Since then, the Paratroopers do not form a collective corps, constituting only a speciality of the Army. They serve mainly in the following units of the BrigRR (that now also includes non-parachute units): *

School of Parachute Troops The Regimento de Paraquedistas (formerly: Escola de Tropas Pára-Quedistas - Parachute Troops School), based in Tancos, Portugal, is a unit of the Portuguese Army and serves as the instruction center for recruitment and training of the Portugues ...

(including the Air-Land Support Battalion and its Pathfinders Company); * 1st Parachute Infantry Battalion / 15th Infantry Regiment; * 2nd Parachute Infantry Battalion / 10th Infantry Regiment;

History

The Parachute Rifle Battalion

The first Portuguese Paratroopers were a group of 12 Timorese soldiers trained in Australia in 1942, to participate in the fight against the Japanese forces that were occupying Portuguese Timor. Some of them were launched in the rearguard of the Japanese forces. After the successful use of airborne forces in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, other armed forces began to examine the possibility of forming parachute

Troops A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

for special missions. In 1955, the Portuguese Defense Minister approved a request for funds for airborne paratroop training. Two Portuguese Army captains went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to take the French parachute course at the ''École des Troupes Aéroportées''. After the

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

was created as an independent

service branch Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the unifi ...

, it was decided that the Paratroopers would be part of the Air Force, much like the German organizational structure during World War II. The Parachute Rifle Battalion (''Batalhão de Caçadores Páraquedistas'') or BCP was formed in 1956. The Paratroopers were issued unique

green beret The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...

s and

camo Camo is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Santo Stefano Belbo in the Province of Cuneo, in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about 60 km northeast of Cuneo. The municipality of Camo was abolished on 31 De ...

uniforms, being the first Portuguese military unit to wear these items of uniform. The Paratroopers initially jumped using the venerable German tri-motored

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German Aeros ...

aircraft. The BCP was provisionally installed in the Carregueira Military Camp, near

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

, but soon it was moved to

Tancos Tancos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the municipality of Vila Nova da Barquinha. The population in 2011 was 243, In 1961, conflict erupted in the African colonies, which soon evolved into a series of guerrilla campaigns against Portuguese rule. The Paratroopers were then required to fight in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. The BCP was enlarged to become a

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

, as the ''Regimento de Caçadores Paraquedistas'' or RCP. It included an operational battalion (11th Paratroopers Rifles or BCP 11) and a training battalion. By this time, the men were armed with the modern 7,62mm ArmaLite

AR-10 The ArmaLite AR-10 is a 7.62×51mm NATO battle rifle designed by Eugene Stoner in the late 1950s and manufactured by ArmaLite (then a division of the Fairchild Aircraft Corporation). When first introduced in 1956, the AR-10 used an innovative co ...

battle rifle A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge. The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to better differentiate the intermediate cartridge, intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the S ...

, a weapon previously not seen in Western military forces.Afonso, Aniceto and Gomes, Carlos de Matos, ''Guerra Colonial'' (2000), pp. 183-184 The paratroopers liked the accuracy and mobility of the AR-10, but supplies were embargoed after initial deliveries were completed in 1960, and paratroopers were later issued the collapsible-stock variant of the m/961 ( G3) rifle. To fight the various separatist guerrilla movements, additional Paratroopers battalions were created in the Portuguese African territories of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. Due to

Portuguese Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 1 July , equipment = , equipment_label ...

control over airborne units, the Paratroopers rifles battalions (BCP) numbers reflected their subordination to the several regional Air Force commands. So, the 1st Air Region (

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

air command) commanded the BCP 11 based in European Portugal and the BCP 12 based in Portuguese Guinea, 2nd Air Region (

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

air command) commanded the BCP 21 based in Angola and the 3rd Air Region (

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

air command) commanded the BCP 31 and BCP 32 both based in Mozambique. In the War, the Portuguese Paratroopers suffered the following casualties: * BCP 12: 56 dead (3

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

, 6

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

s and 47

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

). * BCP 21: 47 dead (5 officers, 9 sergeants and 33 soldiers) * BCP 31: 39 dead (2 officers, 6 sergeants and 31 soldiers) * BCP 32: 18 dead (2 sergeants and 16 soldiers) A total of 160 Portuguese paratroopers were killed in action. On April 25, 1974, a military coup led by left-wing members of the Portuguese Army ended the authoritarian government regime in Portugal, and the country moved towards fully democratic elections. Shortly afterwards, peace negotiations with the various African colonies resulted in an end to the African wars, followed by the independence of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. Military reforms were instituted in Portugal in 1975, resulting in a reorganization of airborne forces.

The Parachute Troops Corps

In 1975, the Parachute Troops Corps (''Corpo de Tropas Paraquedistas'') or CTP is created within the Portuguese Air Force, to centralize the control of all its parachute units, under the command of a general officer. On the 5 July 1975, to the CTP is given an organization consisting of a dual structure: fixed and dynamic. The so-called fixed structure would include fix bases designed to train and support the Parachute Troops. Within this structure, the following bases are created: * No 1 Parachute Troops Operational Base (''Base Operacional de Tropas Paraquedistas n.º 1'') or BOTP 1, at Monsanto (Lisbon) * No 2 Parachute Troops Operational Base or BOPT 2, at São Jacinto (Aveiro) * Parachute Troops School Base (''Base Escola de Tropas Paraquedistas'') or BETP at Tancos. A third operational base (BOTP 3) located within the

Beja Airbase Beja Air Base ( pt, Base Aérea de Beja; ), officially designated as Air Base No. 11 ( pt, Base Aérea Nº 11, BA11) is one of the most important military airbases in Portugal, northwest of Beja, north of Algarve. It is used by the Portuguese ...

area was planned, but it was never activated. As part of this, the RCP was disbanded and transformed in the BETP within the CTP. The dynamic structure of the CTP would consist of its operational parachute units, the great majority of them being concentrated in the new Paratroopers Light Brigade (''Brigada Ligeira de Páraquedistas'') or BriParas. The BriParas organization included the following units: * Paratroopers Battalion 11 (''Batalhão de Paraquedistas n.º 11'') or BP 11, at BOTP 1 (Monsanto) * Paratroopers Battalion 21 or BP 21, at BOTP 2 (São Jacinto) * Paratroopers Battalion 31 or BP 31, at BETP (Tancos) * Air-Land Operational Group, at BETP (Tancos) * Service Support Operational Group, at BOTP 2 (São Jacinto) * Anti-Tank Company, at BOTP 1 (Monsanto) * Signals Company, at BOTP 1 (Monsanto) * Heavy Mortar Company, at BOTP 2 (São Jacinto) The CTP was responsible for changing the Paratroopers from a

counter-guerrilla Counter-Guerrilla ( tr, Kontrgerilla) is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to ere ...

force to a conventional airborne force capable of fighting in a possible

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

war.

Army integration

In 1993, further changes in the organization of airborne forces took place when the Defense Minister decided that the entire corps should leave the Portuguese Air Force and become part of the

. This meant also that the Army Commandos Regiment would be disbanded and the

commandos Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

that had taken the parachute course would be part of the new airborne brigade which was named ''Brigada Aerotransportada Independente'' (Independent Airborne Brigade) or BAI. The BETP then changed its name again to ''Escola de Tropas Aerotransportadas'' (Airborne Troops School) or ''ETAT'', the Parachute Troops Corps changed to the ''Comando de Tropas Aerotransportadas'' (Airborne Troops Command) and all three Paratrooper battalions changed to Airborne infantry battalions (; BIAT). This new Army Airborne Brigade meant to be larger and more powerful than the previous Air Force Paratroopers Light Brigade. As part of its strengthening, the new brigade received 105 mm guns (replacing the heavy mortars as its main artillery) and wheeled armored vehicles. In territorial terms, the BOTP 1 was closed (still under the Air Force) and BOTP 2 changed its name to São Jacinto Military Area. The units of the brigade that were not at Tancos (Airborne Support Battalion) or São Jacinto (2nd BIAT) were now garrisoned at Army barracks (Regiments) like the 15th Infantry Regiment at

Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a city and a municipality in the Santarém district of Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an a ...

(1st BIAT), 3rd Infantry Regiment at Beja (3rd BIAT), 4th Artillery Regiment at Leiria (''Grupo de Artilharia de Campanha'' – Field Artillery Battalion), 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Estremoz (''Esquadrão de Reconhecimento Aerotransportado'' – Armoured Recon Squadron) and others. The BAI structure was: * 1st Airborne Infantry Battalion, at the 15th Infantry Regiment * 2nd Airborne Infantry Battalion, at the São Jacinto Military Area * 3rd Airborne Infantry Battalion, at the 3rd Infantry Regiment * Anti-Tank Company, at the São Jacinto Military Area * Air-Land Support Battalion, at the ETAT * Field Artillery Battalion, at the 4th Artillery Regiment * Signals Company, at the Tancos Military Airfield * Engineering Company, at the Engineering Practical School * Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, at the 3rd Cavalry Regiment * Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery, at the 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment * Service Support Battalion, at the 15th Infantry Regiment It was envisaged that all BAI be fully staffed by paratrooper qualified personnel, including its combat support and service support units. However, due to various difficulties, this objective was never fully achieved. Moreover, it was never possible to maintain the 3rd BIAT continuously active, this unit being inactive much of the time. In November 2007, a Paratrooper was killed in a vehicle accident in Afghanistan.

Rapid Reaction Brigade

The last reorganization of the Army though, changed the ''ETAT'' designation again to ''ETP – Escola de Tropas Paraquedistas'' (School of Parachute Troops) with the ''BAI'' being renamed and reorganized as ''BRR – Brigada de Reacção Rápida ''. The Airborne Troops Command was disbanded. Currently, airborne forces are under direct control of regular army commands, such as Land Forces Operational Command (operational units) or the Instruction Command (ETP – Paratrooper School). The Elite Forces brigade is no longer a full deployable brigade, but rather an organizational structure that controls all the special trained army units. The 3rd Airborne Infantry Battalion and Anti-Tank Company were disbanded and the other two BIAT were renamed Paratrooper Infantry Battalions (BIParas), the São Jacinto Military Area was renamed 10th Infantry Regiment, the Airborne Artillery Group and the Services and Support Battalion were transferred to the Intervention Brigade and their no longer Airborne capable and the Engineering Company and the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battery were reduced to platoon size. This new Rapid Reaction Brigade joined all remaining Paratrooper units together with Army Special Operations and the reborn battalion-size Army Comandos unit. Finally a newly formed unit has joined BRR: UALE (Army Light Aviation Unit), which is waiting to be equipped with NH-90 TTH and a still-to-be-chosen light utility helicopter, possibly the

Eurocopter EC-135 The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with ...

or the

AgustaWestland AW109 The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to ...

. BRR forces include: * 15th Infantry Regiment: 1st BIPara * 10th Infantry Regiment: 2nd BIPara * ETP: Aeroterrestrial Battalion * Commandos Troop Center: Commando Battalion * Special Operations Troop Center: Special Operations Forces * Army Light Aviation Unit: Army Helicopter Group, Signals Company * 3rd Cavalry Regiment: Recon Squadron * Engineering Practical School: Engineering Platoon * 1st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment: Air Defence Platoon

Candidate selection and training

General conditions

* A volunteer * A Portuguese citizen * At least 18 years old and 24 at the most for enlisted ranks * Psycho-physically and physically fit * Minimum height is 1.60m for males and 1.56m for females * Clean criminal registry * Minimum school grade required is the 9th for enlisted, 12th for NCOs and a college degree to officers

Admission tests

* Medical exams * Sensorial exams * Psychiatric and physical exams * Biographic questionnaire * Psychological interview * Physical tests

Training courses in the ETP

* Basic Instruction. * Complementary Instruction. ** Pathfinder Auxiliary Course. ** Parachute Maintenance Course. ** Air Supply Operator Course. ** Trainer of Military dogs.

Qualification Courses

* Parachute Course. * Airborne Basic Course. * Airborne Operations Course. * Parachute Instructor Course. * Free Fall Course. * Operational Free Fall Course. * Free Fall Instructor Course. * Manual Jump Master Course. * Pathfinder Course. * Air Supply Instructor Course. * Air Supply Inspector Course. * Airborne Equipment Tecnic Course. * Airborne Equipment and Parachutes Maintenance Course. * Complementary Paratrooper Course (officers and sergeants). * Complementary Paratrooper Course (soldiers).

Equipment

Infantry equipment * Glock 17 Gen 5 *

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...

* FN SCAR L * FN SCAR H * FN Minimi Mk3 * Browning M2HB * Carl Gustav M3 *

MILAN Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

FIM-92 Stinger The FIM-92 Stinger is an American man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile (SAM). It can be adapted to fire from a wide variety of ground vehicles, and from helicopters as the Air-to- ...

Heckler & Koch GMG The GMG (''Granatmaschinengewehr'' or "grenade machine gun") is an automatic grenade launcher developed by Heckler & Koch for the German Army. It is also often referred to as GMW or GraMaWa (''Granatmaschinenwaffe''). Design details The GMG f ...

Mk 19 grenade launcher The Mk 19 grenade launcher (pronounced Mark 19) is an American 40 mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher that was first developed during the Vietnam War. Overview The Mk 19 is a belt-fed, blowback-operated, air-cooled, crew-serve ...

Armoured vehicles * URO VAMTAC ST5

References

External links

Promotional video

Portuguese Paratroopers website

Paratroopers jumping in Real Thaw 11 exercise

Paratroopers in Air Assault at Real Thaw 11 exercise
{{Military of Portugal Military units and formations of Portugal Portuguese Army Military of Portugal

Organization

History

The Parachute Rifle Battalion

The Parachute Troops Corps

Army integration

Rapid Reaction Brigade

Candidate selection and training

General conditions

Admission tests

Training courses in the ETP

Qualification Courses

Equipment

See also

References

External links