![]() Later, when the formation was to expand, 14th and 77th Indian Parachute Brigades from the Chindit operations were converted and comprised one airborne battalion each of British, Indian and Gurkha troops. The 2nd/7th Gurkha Battalion was converted en bloc to the airborne role and renamed 154th (Gurkha) Parachute Battalion. ![]() The British battalion was composed of volunteers from the 27 infantry battalions of the British Army in India. 151 British Parachute Battalion moved to Egypt and then to England where it was redesignated 156 Parachute battalion and joined the 4th Parachute Brigade, 1st Airborne Division. In India, the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was raised on 27 October 1941, comprising 151 (British), 152 (Indian) and 153 (Gurkha) Parachute Battalions along with the brigade signals, sapper squadron and 80 Parachute Field Ambulance. By the end of the war, the regiment had raised 17 battalions. With two parachute brigades now in the order of battle, the 1st Airborne Division commanded by Major-General Frederick Arthur Montague Browning was formed. The Army Air Corps was created as the command formation of the Parachute Regiment and the Glider Pilot Regiment. The 2nd Parachute Brigade was then formed from the 4th Battalion, transferred from the 1st Para Brigade, and two of the converted infantry battalions, the 5th Battalion from the 7th Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and 6th Battalion from the 10th Royal Welch Fusiliers. The success of the raid prompted the War Office to expand the existing airborne force, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment as well as converting a number of infantry battalions into airborne battalions in August 1942. The raid was carried out by 'C' Company, 2nd Parachute Battalion, under the command of Major John Frost. The objective was to capture a Würzburg radar on the coast of France. The first operation by the Parachute Regiment was Operation Biting in February 1942. To fill out the brigade, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Parachute Battalions were raised by calling for volunteers from all units in the British Army. In September, the battalion was re-designated the 1st Parachute Battalion and assigned to the 1st Parachute Brigade. It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941. 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and on 21 November, re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with a parachute and glider wing. Impressed by the success of German airborne operations, during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. In the same time period, the regular army battalions have taken part in operations in Suez, Cyprus, Borneo, Aden, Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Kosovo War, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Afghanistan, at times being reinforced by men from the reserve battalion.įormation British parachute troops on exercise in Norwich 23 June 1941. Defence cuts gradually reduced the TA formations to a parachute brigade and then a single reserve battalion. The reserve 16th Airborne Division was formed using the regiment reserve battalions in the Territorial Army. The regiment took part in six major parachute assault operations in North Africa, Italy, Greece, France, the Netherlands and Germany, often landing ahead of all other troops.Īt the end of the Second World War, the regiment was reduced to three regular army battalions first assigned to the 16th Parachute Brigade and later the 5th Airborne Brigade. Another three battalions served with the British Indian Army in India and Burma. In Europe, these battalions formed part of the 1st Airborne Division, the 6th Airborne Division and the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade Group. The Parachute Regiment was formed on 22 June 1940 during the Second World War and eventually raised 17 battalions. The regiment, along with the Guards, are the only line infantry regiments of the British Army that have not been amalgamated with another unit since the end of the Second World War. The other battalions are the parachute infantry component of the British Army's rapid response formation, 16 Air Assault Brigade. The first battalion is part of the Special Forces Support Group under the operational command of the Director Special Forces. The Parachute Regiment, colloquially known as The PARA's, is an airborne infantry regiment of the British Army. uk /who-we-are /corps-regiments-and-units /infantry /parachute-regiment / 1st Battalion - United Kingdom Special Forces
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