1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment  The 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment () is the oldest and among the most decorated airborne regiments of the French Army. Established in the French Army in 1943 and formerly part of the French Air Force since 1937, the chasseur distinguished its Regimental Colors during the campaigns of the Liberation of Paris, the First Indochina War in 1947, 1950, 1953, 1954 and the Algerian War. This elite regiment is part of the 11th Parachute Brigade. The 1st Parachute Chasseur Regiment is the only French parachute regiment that traces its roots to the French Air Force, hence the representation of a golden Hawk on the rank insignia and that of uniforms and which originally referred to the 601st Airborne Infantry Group and 602nd Airborne Infantry Group respectively (601e G.I.A, 602e G.I.A). In 1935, the Russians successfully parachuted airborne contingents with various equipment and supporting materials. France, aware of such an operational system put in motion, dispatched three officers to the Soviet Union, Captain Frédéric Geille (prime paratrooper and fighter pilot ()), Captain Durieux and Captain Charley Durrieu, to familiarize with and train on the parachute techniques adopted by the Soviet Union. On September 12, 1935 by the French Air Minister, Général Denain, decreed the creation of a parachute training center in Avignon-Pujaut and accordingly on October 3, 1936, French Air Minister Pierre Cot signed a decree which stipulated that Combat Air Brigades can include Air Infantry Units. On April 1, 1937, two Airborne Infantry Groups were created, the 601st at Reims and the 602nd at Baraki near Algiers. The Airborne Groups conducted their infantry training respectively at the 95th Infantry Regiment () (originally the Graubünden 9th Swiss Regiment in service of France) in Bourges and the 4th Zouaves Regiment () in Tunisia. In 1939, the 601st Airborne Infantry Group joined the 602nd at Baraki and conducted joint military airborne parachute maneuvers at Boghar, Algeria using the Potez 650. With the outbreak of World War II on September 1, 1939, both the 601st and 602nd returned to France. In April 1940, an Air Marching Infantry Company was formed, under the command of Captain Sauvagnac, which served in the Niederbronn-les-Bains region of Alsace.