Vdv Beret Red Flash

[TUSINESKI]

What does the red flash on vdv berets signify ?, I have one without the red flash.

Its only for guards Units or units with the Order of the red banner citation ?

[willie777]

Do you mean the triangular thing with the paratroop insignia on it like shown below?
[Image: http://sovietairborne.com/Site%20Art/Beret2.jpg]

[TUSINESKI]

exactly, the triangular red thing with the "para" insignia

[willie777]

Nothing special, basically same purpose as a collar tab. Is yours sky blue or royal blue?

[TUSINESKI]

Sky blue. I read that the " red flash " was a simbol of elite of the elite.

I have seen pictures of russian federation troops with the same triangular thing but the color of the russian flag

[willie777]

I meant the insignia. Red may have been a guards unit color. It was probably too expensive to make the st. george ribbon into a cloth flash. In the russian federation guards flashes are metal and like this:
[Image: http://tridentmilitary.com/New-Photos3/rhi34.jpg]
Regular units in russia wore a regular rectangular flag on the beret.

[TUSINESKI]

Ok. thanks for the information.

[OKP]

What does the red flash on vdv berets signify ?, I have one without the red flash.

Its only for guards Units or units with the Order of the red banner citation ?

The red felt triangle is indeed,during the soviet era,for units having the Guards status (VDV,Marine Infantry and even motor rifles).
Often,VDV units not being "Guards" ones-i.e. vdv training units for exemple....- wear the vdv metal DI pinned thru the ventilation hole of the beret.
For units not having the Guards status but being Airborne,a blue felt triangle is used (when the VDV first wore the burgundy beret -very briefly in 67-the blue felt triangle was worn).
Particular case : when the 103rd VDV Guards Division was put under KGB control in 1989 and shifted to the Border Guards,it seems that a blue felt triangle was worn on the green beret (and curiously not a red one as the Division had the Guards status).If anybody has more inormations about it,thanks for helping....

[Nack]

Does that mean that all airborne berets should have a flash?

[Nota Bene]

If I remember correctly the red pennant on Soviet airborne and marine berets was supposed to indicate that the unit was under the Warsaw Pact command.

Alexei