NON-SOVIET WARSAW PACT SPECIAL-PURPOSE AIRBORNE FORCES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: NGA Records (Formerly NIMA)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82T00709R000201010001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 1, 2010
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 1, 1982
• Content Type: REPORT

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NON-SOVIET WARSAW PACT SPECIAL-PURPOSE AIRBORNE FORCES (S)
INTRODUCTION
1. (S/WN) This report discusses non-Soviet Warsaw Pact (NSWP) Special-Purpose Airborne Forces
and lists the imagery signatures used to identify these special-purpose forces (SPF). It also lists and
discusses known NSWP units and their locations (Figure 1 and Table 1). Collateral information has been
used to obtain unit missions and designators and to support imagery-derived information.
2. (S/WN) This report includes seven annotated photographs, one map, and one table.
DISCUSSION
3. All non-Soviet Warsaw Pact countries have specialized airborne units that are
to attack, paralyze, and disrupt military/civilian targets in the enemy's (North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
tion) rear areas. Warsaw Pact (WP) ground forces have established SPFs because of the following reasons:'
- the Soviet's and the WP countries' success in partisan warfare during World War II;
- the WP countries' belief that battles must be fought in the enemy's rear areas as well as in
the forward edge of the battle area;
- the WP countries' belief that the next war will be fought in Western Europe and using
Soviet and/or other WP partisans is not feasible; and
- the WP countries' belief that there is a need to organize and control a partisan movement
that can operate covertly against the enemy's rear areas.
4. The missions for the SPF units include:
- eliminating the enemy's nuclear weapons and storage areas;
- destroying or paralyzing the enemy's command and control network and supply and
traffic installations;
- disrupting the enemy's supply and troop movements;
- conducting pathfinder activities;
- assassinating and/or kidnapping the enemy's political and military leaders;
- employing terrorist activities; and
- building up and supporting indoctrination and possibly commanding partisan activities.'
5. SPF units are divided into teams. The number of men on each team (depend-
ing on its mission) can vary from two to 12. The method of deployment of these teams depends on the
particular scenario in which they are to operate and on the most expedient, available transportation.1,2
The teams, however, are often deployed by air or sea since all the members are parachute qualified and
many are scuba qualified.
Poland
8. (S/WN) The Polish People's Army (PPA) has a reconnaissance-sabotage (recon-sabo) battalion at
Dziwnow (Figure 3) and two recon-sabo companies (one at Bydgoszcz and one at Boleslawiec).4 Evidence
indicates that the recon-sabo battalion at Dziwnow is subordinate to the 6th Airborne Division.2 This
division, which is headquartered in Krakow, has missions similar to those of the recon-sabo units.'
Czechoslovakia
9. (S/WN) The 22nd Airborne Regiment at Prostejov6 (Figure 4) is subordinate to the MND~
Hungary
10. (S/WN) The 37th Airborne Reconnaissance Battalion in Szolnok is subordinate to the MND.8.9
In addition, each division has a reconnaissance battalion with an airborne reconnaissance company
WNINTEL
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(Figures 5 and 6). This company has the mission of conducting recon-sabo operations behind enemy
lines.8,10 NPIC has identified the 37th Airborne Battalion and four airborne reconnaissance companies
within the Hungarian Army.
Romania
Bulgaria
12. (S/WN) NPIC has identified a Bulgarian airborne regiment at Plovdiv (Figure 8) and small Bulear
ian airborne units at Pleven and Musachevo.
Table 1.
NSWP Airborne Units
This table in its entirety is classified SECRET/WNINTEL
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6th Airborne Division/Ministry of
National Defense
10th Airborne Battalion
16th Airborne Battalion
18th Airborne Battalion
Unid Airborne Battalion
1st Recon-Sabo Battalion
62nd Recon-Sabo Company/Silesian
Military District
Unid Recon-Sabo Company/Pomeranian
Military District
22nd Airborne Regt/Ministry of
National Defense
37th Airborne Reconnaissance Battalion/
Ministry of National Defense
Unid Airborne Company
Unid Airborne Company/42nd Reconnaissance
Battalion/8th Motorized Rifle Division
Unid Airborne Company/Unid Reconnaissance
Battalion/1 1 th Tank Division
Unid Airborne Company/Unid Reconnaissance
Battalion/9th Motorized Rifle Division
161st Parachute Regt/Ministry of
National Defense
Unid Airborne Regt/Ministry of
National Defense
Unid Airborne Unit
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Krakow
Oswiecim Army Bks W Bank Sole R
Krakow Army Bks 004
Bielsko Biala Army Bks Komandosy 001
Niepolomice Abn Bks 001
Dziwnow Army Bks 002
Boleslawiec Army Bks S 001/002
Bydgoszcz 001/004/PMD 4th Sig Regt
Prostejov Army Bks 002
Szolnok Army Bks Gabor Aron 003
Vezsprem Airfield
Szombathely Army Bks 009
Gyor Army Bks Dobi Istvan 025
Lenti Army Bks Zaida 001
Buzau Army Bks 006
F-- I
Plovdiv Army Bks 002 and 013
Musachevo Army Bks 001
Pleven Army Bks South 001
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GEN MAR
B MOCRA
REPURMC
(East Gemany)
0
MND-HEADQUARTERS, POLISH 6TH
AIRBORNE DIVISION
MILITARY UNIT
AIRBORNE UNIT
AIRBORNE RECON UNIT
DIVISION
REGIMENT
BATTALION
AIRBORNE INFANTRY UNIT FICOMPANY
MND - Ministry of National Defense
SMD - Silesian Military District
PMD - Pomeranian Military District
0 100
NAUTICAL MILES
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(S/WN) All applicable satellite imagery acquired from I Iwas used in 25X1
the preparation of this report.
DOCUMENTS
1. Dept of the Army. ATCPD-1100-082-78, Warsaw Pact Unconventional Warfare Options Against NATO (U),
Aug 78 (SECRE
2. DOD. IR 2 218 4521 81, Independent Diversionary Battalion Dziwnow (C), 27 Jul 81 (CONFIDENTIAL)
3. DIA. DDB 1100-17-81, Ground Force Organizational Guide-East Europe, Volume I (U), Mar 81 (SECRET)
4. DIA. DIN 302-7A, Poland: Special-Purpose Troops (U), 30 Oct 81 (SECRET)
5. DIA. DIN 219-5A, Poland: Polish Airborne Training (U), 7 Aug 81 (SECRET)
6. CIA. FIRK-311/01417-74 Alerts and Field Exercises of the 22nd Airborne Regiment in Prostejov, 21 May 74
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(CONFIDENTIAL
7. DOD. IR 2 218 0298 81, Prostejov U/I Airborne Regiment (U), 7 Jul 81 (CONFIDENTIAL)
8. DOD. IR 2 218 5162 80, Basic Abn Org (U), 10 Jun 80 (CONFIDENTIAL)
9. USAREUR. MIHB-OB-HU, USAREUR Military Intelligence Handbook Hungary Part Two-Order of Battle (U),
Mar 78 (SECRET)
10. DIA. DDB 1100-17-81, Ground Force Organization Guide-East Europe Volume II (U), Sep 81 (SECRET)
11. DIA. DDB-1100-RO-79, Ground Order of Battle: Romania (U), Jul 79 (SECRET)
12. USAREUR. MIHB-OB-RO, Military Intelligence Handbook: Romania (U) Part Two-Order of Battle, 30 Aug 76
(CONFIDENTIAL)
13. DOD. IR 2 218 2374 76, Musachevo, Airborne Units of the Bulgarian Army (BVA) and Unidentified Buildings
in the Area of the Objective (U), 27 Feb 76 (CONFIDENTIAL)
(S) Comments and queries regarding this report are welcome. They may be directed to
Warsaw Pact Forces Division, Imagery Exploitation Group, NPIC
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