It is generally accepted that the impetus for the creation of German parachute units was the Kyiv maneuvers of the Red Army in September 1935. For the first time, the possibilities of mass actions of the parachute forces were demonstrated to foreign observers. Was it really so? In the spring of 1935, the Hermann Goering regiment began to form in Germany, which became the first airborne unit. For several years, the German army and air force escaped from the captivity of Versailles restrictions and began to build modern combat units. In September 1938, the 7th Air Division was formed, and already in April 1940 the debut of German paratroopers in Denmark and Norway took place and they started talking about them in Europe. The first successes of paratroopers contributed to the growth of airborne units in Germany.