British Airborne Troops, 1940–1945

85 Pages·1975·56.31 MB·English

by  Barry Gregory

BBARRRYITGRIESGOHRY
Intr~~~~~:~~
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Air Transport
Military Operations
Unit Histories
AIRBORNE·
TROOPS
Macdonald Illustrated
WarStudies
$7.95
TheAuthor, BarryGregory, made hisfirst
parachutejumpwith theairbornegunners in
1951.Hewas alsocommissioned inthe British
Special AirService Regiment(Artists Rifles)
Withinaweekofthe repatriation ofBritain's and was associatedwith airborneforcesfor
armyfrom Dunkirk in May1940,Winston overten years. Hehasworked as a
Churchill raised Commandogroupstotake publisher's executive in London andforfour
thewarpiecemealtotheenemy-held years in Nigeria.
coastlineofEurope. Influenced bythe swift
seizureofHollandbyGerman
Fallschirmjager, the Prime Ministerordered
thatatleastonegroupshould beairborne.
NO.2Commandowasconsequently
assignedto RAFRingwaytojumpoutof
converted Whitleybombers.
TheCommandosformedthe nucleusofa
parachuteand gliderbattalionthatgrewas
thewarprogressedtotwoairbornedivisions
plusan independentparachute brigade.
Each divisioncomprisedtwo parachute
brigades and oneair-landing (glider)
brigade. Afurtherdivision wasformed as
partofthe IndianArmy.
Thissystematicallyarranged bookdeals
comprehensivelywith thetraining, insignia,
organisation, weapons, equipment, air
transport, militaryoperationsand unit
historiesofBritish airborneforces. Military
operationstellsthe whole war-time story
fromthe ill-fated raid ontheTragino
aqueductin southern Italyin February1941
tothe Rhine-crossing andtheclosing stages
ofthe recapture ofBurma in 1945. Reference
isalso madetotheSpecial AirService
Regimentand Alliedunitsundercommandof
1st,6th and Indian Airborne Divisions.
Successorfailure? Neitherpronouncement
would becompletelytrue. AfterCreteeven
Hitlerrefusedtoexpose hisardent
paratroopersagaintothe hazardsof
airborneassault. Infinancial termsthe
figure of£500millionspentontheatom
Jacketdesign byMikeJarvis
bombhasbeensaidtoprovideonlyamodest
Painting by MikeCodd
assessmentofthecostofmounting British
parachuteand glideroperationsduringthe Photograph onthebackofthejacket
war. Whateverthetruesumming-up maybe 10th (Sussex) Bn The Parachute Regimentat
the narrativeand photographs inthisbook Ramat David in Palestine in May1943. Captain
aretestimonytothecourage, selfless Lionel Queripel ischeckingthatthe release box of
dedication and good humourofBritish the parachute harnessofone ofhis men issafely
AirborneTroops 1940-45. closed. InSeptember1944this officerwas
posthumouslyawarded the VictoriaCross at
Arnhem. (Photograph Imperial WarMuseum.)
ISBN 0-385-04247-7
Printed in England
L'

BRITISH AIRBORNE TROOPS
BRITISH AIRBORNE TROOPS 1940-45
Barry Gregory
DOUBLEDAY & COMPANY, INC.
Garden City, New York
Contents
7 Introduction and Acknowledgements
9 Parachute Commando
23 Training and Organisation
55 Insignia, Clothing, Weapons, Equipment and Air Transport
73 Military Operations - The Red Devils
111 Military Operations - A Bridge Too Far!
J50 Appendices - The Special Air Service Regiment
J52 The Chindits
J54 Order ofBattle, 1st and 6th Airborne Divisions
J58 44th Indian Airborne Division
159 Battle Honour ofthe Parachute Regiment
J60 Select Bibliography
Printed in Great Britain
Copyright © 1974 Barry Gregory
First published in Great Britain in 1974 by
Macdonald and Jane's, London
ISBN 0-385-04247-7
Library ofCongress Catalog Card Number 74-9157
All Rights Reserved
Layout and make-up: Michael Jarvis
Maps: Peter Sarson and Tony Bryan
Introduction
Major-General 'Boy'
Browning and
Win ton hurchill in
1943.
After the fall of France in June 1940, the British people stood alone,
protected only by the Royal Navy; the moat of the Channel, an army
(most devoid of guns, and fifty-nine fighter squadrons of the Royal Air
Iorce. Winston Churchill's apparent motive at that time in suggesting the
Immediate formation of'acorpsofat least 5,000parachutetroops' had the
Irue Churchillian style but many Service planners were less enthusiastic
about the project. Military policy which conceived of taking the war on
land to the enemy had the appearance of a welcome but impractical
stureofdefiance. Churchill, however, had then held the reins ofsupreme
ommand for only a month but he had alreadyjolted the national mood
lor passive resistance with more than one defiant gesture. His memoranda
10 the Joint Chiefs ofStaffhad indeed discussed several new military con
\;Cpts more clearly grasped in a context ofthe offensive.
In April and May the Germans had convincingly demonstrated the
fTectiveness of parachute, air-transported and gliderborne troops in
orway, Denmark and the Low Countries. The conquest of Holland by
(Il'ner%berst KurtStudent'sLuft/andekorpsdidmorepriortothe Battle of
Britain to convince the British nation of the threat of invasion than did
Ih military disaster in France. But in spite of the parachute scare that
undoubtedly prevailed in Britain throughout the summer of 1940, it is
doubtful ifeven the Prime Minister hadmade more than a cursory evalua
tIOn ofthe true potential ofairborne forces. Churchill was more likely to
have beenoftheopinionthatifGermantroopscouldjumpoutofaeroplanes
thcn the British Army should learnto do so as well!
fhe Central Landing School was thus formed at RAF Ringway near
anchesterand RAFandArmystaffswere recruitedto organiseparachute
trainingand evolvethelogisticsofairborneassault. Themanythousands of
Britishsoldierswho have learned to parachutesafelysince thoseearlydays
II Ringway must all feel a special sense of gratitude for the courage and
r sourcefulness ofthe pioneerjumping instructors as well as ofthe pupil
ho participated in their experiments. Many a cliche has been coined in
rmy language about the noble art ofparachuting. 'Dicing with death' is
perhaps the most familiar expression that comes to mind. The motto of
o. 1Parachute Training School - 'Knowledge dispels fear' - commend
it elf, however, to more serious attention. This axiomprovides a powerful
incentive to the intelligent studentofdangerous pursuits and in the case of
parachuting loses nothing in integrity for not being absolutely true.
Ifat first a parachute battalion was thought to be a bit of a stunt the
circus days were over after the Luft/andekorps invasion of Crete in May
1941. Before the battle was over Winston Churchill spoke again about
airborne matters. ' ... Weoughtto havean Airborne Divi ionon the Ger
man model, with any improvements whichmightsuggest themselves from
experience.' Thereafter events moved more swiftly in the development of
British airborne forces.
7
6
The scopeofthi short,illustrated bookisintendedto trace thedevelop 1. Parachute
mentoftheairbornemethodin Britainand to relatethe trainingand battle
narrativesofIstand6thAirborne Divisions. Illustrated books ofthis kind Commando
tend to be written to a rigid publisher's briefthat pecifies the number of
words and illustrations that the author is allowed to supply. Withso much
exciting material at my disposal the problem has inevitably been to know
how best to award the priorities and to satisfy my conscience that the
omissionsarejustified.
Anairbornedivisioncomprisedmanyelement :theParachuteRegiment,
the glider pilots and gliderborne infantry and the essential support and
serviceunits. Myaimhas beentodescribe howan airbornedivisionworked
and what 1st and 6th Airborne achieved during the Second World War.
I believe that in the past many of the authors who have written so well
about British airborne forces have neglected the work of the Parachute
TrainingSchoolandthetremendousinfluencethattheexemplarystandards
set by the jumping instructors continued to exert on pflrachute troops
throughout their careers. I think, too, that the role of the Glider Pilot
Regiment and the exploits of the six County battalions that flew in the
gliders hasbeenoverlooked.I hope thatinthefollowingpagesIhavestruck
a proper balance between the training background and the respective
contributions ofall airborne units in training and in battle.
The relegation ofthe Special Air Service Regiment, General Wingate's
Second Chindit Operations and 44th Indian Airborne Division to the
appendices is by no means intended as an asses ment oftheir importance.
The SAS properly belongs to the theme ofBriti h airborne troops but the
Regiment's links with theairbornedivisions were tenuou .Although early
in 1944 the SAS Brigade was placed under the command of General
Browning's Airborne Corps, the arrangement was largely a matter of
administrative convenience. The SAS story is a worthy subject for tudy
in its own right. The Chindits paradoxically had no connection with the
airbornedivisions andshouldreally beasses ed in thecontextofthe warin
Burma. The development of44th Indian Airborne Division was overtaken
byevents. Ifthe war had gone onlonger, thi fine division wouldcertainly
have had an importantjob to do in the Far East.
Above all, I hope that the book conveys the essential spirit and good
humour ofBritish Airborne Troops.
Acknowledgements
1shouldliketo thankBrianL. Davisforadviceonuniformdetailandhelp On 10th May 1940after a belated revolt in government circles Winston Early day at RAF
withcollectingairbornein ignia. Iamal 0 grateful to MarionAndrews for Churchillwas popularlyacclaimedasBritain's PrimeMinister. In theearly Ringway. Britain's
typingthemanuscript. hours of that day two German Army Groups had launched full-scale first paratroopers on
parade with their
The information given in Appendix 3 is ba ed on the relevant sections offensives into the Low Countries and France. Within hours von Bock' despatchers. Each
of the official Orders of Battle of the Briti h Army compiled for the Army Group B had secured vital objectives in Belgium and Holland. ection orstick of
Cabinet Office, Historical Section, by H. F. Joslenandpublished in 1960 Further south von Rundstedt's Army Group A stationed between the ten men represents
by Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Meuse and the Moselle successfully exploited a weak link in the Allied one planeload. The
original Whitley
Unless otherwise stated the photographs in thi book are Crown Copy defensive system in the difficult terrain ofthe Ardenne fore t. Ascreen of
carrieraircraft can
right and reproduced by kind permission of the Imperial War Museum. Belgian troops was brushed asideand the German Panzer column moved be een in the
Finally I must thank my many friends from parachuting days who e swiftlyinto France. Before nightfall the fate ofBritain's Continental allies background.
example in times pa t has been the source of my inspiration in recent had been sealed and the withdrawal ofthe Briti h Army from France wa
months. Adunum omnes. imminent.
BARRY GREGORY
8 9
Few supremos in history can have been faced with such daunting pros
'Leopard' battalions. The officers and men should be lightly armed with
pects on theirfirst day in office. When Holland urrendered on 14thMay,
automatic weapons and grenades and supplied with motor-cycles and
three-quarters of Germany's total armoured strength was driving acro s
armoured car. In addition to their role as special raiding forces the men
France to the Engli h Channel. Allied participation in the month-old
were to be ready for lightning action on the home beaches in the event of
Norwegian campaign was now doomed and Briti h and French forces
an invasion.
wereevacuatedduring4th-8thJune. On27thMayand priorto the Belgian
The 'striking companie ' or Commandos as they were soon called ~l~t
capitulation the Briti h Expeditionary Force in France fell back on a
withless resistance from the Service planners than had atfirst been antICI
shallow perimeter based on canal and river lines near Dunkirk.
pated. The Army's principal aim ofcour e in 1940 wa .to train.infantry
During the next seven days 233,039 British troops as well a 112,546
oldiers and tank crews; few battalion commander enjoyed losmg theIr
Allied troops were lifted from the beache ofDunkirk by British, Dutch,
tmen to the new Commandos. Butviewed incold perspectiveatamore
Belgian and French ships. Dunkirk was indeed a great deliverance for
nior level, the volunteer co ts the Army no more to ~cquire than the
Britain but Churchill wa prompt to remind the nation that wars are not
reluctant conscript and the rigorous training ofself- ufficlent Commando
won byevacuations; certainly not byevacuations in whichthe army leave.
units was no great strain on available resources. Ten Commando gro.ups
its guns, its tanks and it vehicles behind.
with an original establi hment of 500 men each were accordmgly raIsed
On 6th June the Prime Minister sent a challenging memorandum to
from the Regular Army and Royal Marines.
GeneralLord Ismay, whose militaryfunction it was to conveythe instruc
On 22nd June the Prime Minister brought up the business ofparachute
tions of the War Cabinet to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Churchill wrote:
troops again with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in a communication tabbed
'The passive resistance war, in which we have acquitted ourselves so well,
A TION THIS DAY. 'We ought to have a corps of at lea t 5,000 parachute
must come to an end. I look to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to propose me
troops ...Ihearthatsomethingis beingdonealreadyto form suchacorps
measures for a vigorous, enterprising and ceaseless offensive against the
but only, I believe, on a very small scale. Advantage must be. taken ofthe
whole German occupied coastline.'
ummer to train these force, who can none the less play theH' part mean
The FrenchArmi tice was not concluded until 22nd June but the Prime
while as shock troops in home defence.'
Minister already had vi ions of launching 'butcher and bolt' raids on
The chief resistance to the 'parachute' commando idea came under-
enemy-held territory. Hi memorandumincludeddemand for thedevelop
tandably from the Royal Ajr Force. Earlier in the mont~ a conference
ment of tank landing craft, intelligence and espionage ystems,' triking
urgentlyconvened at the Air Ministry had agreed to establIsha ~arachute
companies' and 'parachute troops on a scale equal to five thou and'.
training centre. But the RAF simpl~ could not spare enough ~Irc,raft.t?
Churchill' in tructions were received by the Service planners with
mount an effective airborne operatIOn. Manchester CorporatIOn CIvIl
scepticism. Theideaoftakingthe war to the enemyonlandinEurope was
irportat Ringway wa ch~sen as the.homeoft~enew ~nit. R~F Ringway
thought to be impractical and the formation ofparachute units moreover
wa to be a combined servIces establIshment WIth the tItle of The Central
logistically unsound. The Prime Minister's memorandum could not be
nding School', and the RAF and Army were to work together on the
ignored, however, and action followed in many directions.
The tank landing craft and amphibious vessels that emerged from the t fT. .. I
o. 2Commando wasas igned to Ringway forparachutetramlnga ong
drawingboardsasaresultofChurchill'sdirectivearethesubjectofanother
with six obsolete Whitley bombers. Pilot Officer Louis Strange DSO, MC,
story. The various needs for information from within the Axis homelands
DFC a former 1914-18 fighter ace and sometime Lieutenant-Colonel in the
and occupied territories wereanswered by the establishmentofthe Special r~y,
was to be in charge ofparachuting at the new chool. The RAF's
Operations Executive (SOE). This c1ande tine military organisation was
battle commitment, however, was not scheduled to exceed the supply of
to spread it network of intelligence and subversion throughout Europe,
enough converted Whitley to drop a total of 720 fully-armed men and
the Mediterranean theatre and South East Asia. What of the 'striking
62,000 Ibs ofequipment. . .
companies' and parachute troops?
On 9thApril the remarkable German seabornemva IOn ofNorway was
Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Clarke had already thought of an idea for
accelerated bytheseizureofOsloand StavangerbyLuftwaffeparatr?opers
raising irregular units to strike at an enemy whose forces now stretched
and airborne infantry. The swift occupation ofOslo was made pOSSIble ?y
out from Narvik to the Pyrenees. Clarke was Military Assistant to the
the air-landing in Junkers transport planes ofthe 1stand 2~d CompanIes
Chief of the Imperial General Staff, General Sir John Dill. On 5th June
drawn from 1st Bn Fal/schirmjiiger-Regiment 1 followed mto Fornebu
Clarke told Dill about his plan. On the following day Dill told the Prime
airport by the 324th Infantry Regiment. The 3rd Company from the ~ame
Minister, who was obviously apprised ofClarke's ideas when on the same
battalion ofFJR I made a successful drop at Stavanger and was a I ted
day he wrote to Ismay. Two days later Dudley Clarke was ordered to
in the capture of the town by air-transported troop from the 193rd
mounta raid across the Channel at the earliestpossible opportunity.
Infantry Regiment.
Winston Churchill's enthusiasm for Clarke's modus operandi induced
Meanwhile in Denmark in the early hours of the same day the 4th
the former to suggestto the C-in-C Home Forces that 10,000men should
Company (I t Bn FJR I) was dropped at Aalborg on Jutland and ~t both
immediately be drawn from existing units to form 'Storm Troop' or
ends ofthe 3,500metre-long Vordingborg bridge that connects the Islands
10 JJ
\ • _.., •• ••.• luUH.' •••10_ h.
---"'".... UL_
of Falster and Zeeland. The capture of the bridge enabled motorised Group Captain L. G. Harvey was in command at Ringway where the
infantry disembarking at the ferry-port ofGedser to advance immediately organisation was renamed the Central Landing Establishment and
on Copenhagen. expanded by the inclu ion of a glider section. Major John Rock of the
ThelandingofGerman troops byairinto battledid notentirelytake the Royal Engineer was the senior Army taff officer in charge of Army
Allies bysurprise.Theexistencesince 1936oftheparachutetrainingschool development and Wing Commander Sir igel orman was his opposite
at Stendal was well known. In September 1939 Genera/oberst Kurt number on the Air side. Louis Strange, soon a squadron leader, was
Student's airborne corps comprised Fliegerdivision 7as a parachute force re ponsible for the actual training ofthe parachutist.
and the 22nd Division as a predominantly air-landed force. The corps The German paratrooper presented an awesome example to airborne
was equipped witha formidable fleet Ofobsolete Ju 52 bombers converted I nners in Britain as well as to the C-in-C Home Forces. Thousands of
to the transport role and fifty DFS-230 glider. quare milesofthe United Kingdom werecoveredwithobstaclestoprevent
On 10th May Student's Lujt/andekorps truck in strength as the spear the landing of transport planes and gliders and with a view to impaling
head ofvon Bock' Army Group Badvancing into Belgium and Holland. parachutists. Suchintelligenceas was received in Britainafter the devastat
Before first light, Assault Group Koch took to the air above Cologne in Ing events of April and May was unfortunately so false and distorted by
Ju 52s alongside Oberleutnant Witzig's party of gliderborne parachute rumour and propaganda as to be meaningle .
engineers. The de tination ofthe Fallschirmjiiger wa the Belgian fortres~ The Fallschirmjdger, who worea steel helmet, along, grey, green, brown
of Eban-Emael and nearby bridges on the Albert Canal between Maas nd black combat mock, baggy trousers and special jump boots, usually
tricht and Liege. Whilst Hauptmann Koch's parachutists attacked the rried a 9-mm Schmeisser sub-machine-gun (MP 38). Student's burly
bridges at Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Canne, seven ofthe eleven DFS harlequins were aggres ive but well disciplined and fought in a strictly
230 gliders that had slipped their tow ropes before crossing the Dutch military manner. A booklet circulating in Britain as late as 1941 stated
panhandle north-west of Aachen landed on top of the sleeping fortress. nevertheless that the German 'ParachuteCorps' leaptintoaction disguised
Witzig's party offifty-five engineers succeeded in destroying two l20-mm interaliosas parsons, butchers' boysand nuns. The Home Guard (LDV)
cannons and nine 75-mm guns. When the exits ofthe fortress were blown rai ed in May 1940asare~ultoftheparachute care- wereadvised thatthe
in or covered by the fire ofthe engineers the 700-strong Belgian garrison ky invader were fitted out with boots with spring devices. Marksmen
was trapped. Next morning, IIth May, the Fallschirmjiiger were relieved were informed that the parachutist was at hi mo t vulnerable when
and the area was secured for the advance ofthe main ground forces. caught 'on the bounce' on first makingcontact with the ground.
The invasion ofHolland was preceded byheavyair raids onTheHague, The idea ofairborne force was by no means new. In the First World
Rotterdam and further southasfar as the southbankofthe Maasestuary. War the difficulty of swiftly communicating indirect target references to
In the early morning 475 Ju 52s crossed the Dutch frontier covered by a the guns led to the introduction of the Army observation balloon. The
thick fighter creen. In the north in the area ofThe Hague a battalion of captive balloon wascontrolled by windlass and cable from a mobile truck.
paratroopers and ix infantry battalions from the 22nd Division were upported by 37,500 cubic feet of hydrogen contained in a gas bag made
dropped and air-landed at locations at Valkenburg, Ypenburg and f rubberi ed cloth, two officers slung in the look-out basket could, on a
Ockenburg. A further parachute drop was made at Delft. In the south hne day, comfortably ob erve activity on the ground from an altitude of
four battalions from FJR 1and FJR 2 ofFliegerdivision 7were deployed up to 5,000 feet over a radius often mile or more.
at Rotterdam (Waalhaven), Dordrecht and Moerdijk. As the para The operational life ofthe captive balloon used widely by the opposing
chutists seized the Maas crossing after their descents at Dordrecht and rmies was reckoned to be fifteen days; and German airmen rated balloon
Moerdijk, a heavy contingent of infantry supported by Fallschirmjiiger bu ting as being worth I~ planes per balloon for the record. But for the
were flown into the Waalhaven airport on the out kirts of Rotterdam. parachute, casualties among balloon spotters would have been enormous.
The briefcampaign in Holland was over four days later. he British airborne gunners used the 'Guardian Angel' type or the
In July a separate British Combined Operations Command under the attached-type Spencer 'chute packed into a container hung on the side of
Joint Chiefs of Staff was formed to study and implement Commando the basket. The Spencer harness was not adjustable and many ofthe men
warfare. Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes of Zeebrugge fame was made their own from rope. When a balloon was seton fire the time margin
shortly appointed Director ofCombined Operations. The development of for escape was negligible. No small amount of nerve was necessary, how
parachuting techniques and an operational airborne unit was to be the ever, to make the effort and escapees w re often unmercifully strafed in
responsibility ofthe Central Landing School. The RAF was to be respon mid-air by the attacking plane.
sible for the air side of the development and training, the Army for the In March 1916a loneaircraftofthe Royal aval Air Service took offin
military subjects. The operational employment ofthe trained cadre was to Mesopotamia in re ponse to a request from Major-General Townshend
be initiated by the War Office, but the actual planningand carrying out of and flew to the besieged Britishgarrison at Kut-al-Amara. There the naval
such operations devolved upon the Director ofCombined Operations. pilot dropped a millstone weighing 70 lbs. This was the first time in the
A German paratrooper's helmet and odd items of equipment con history of British Service flying that an attempt was made to upply
veyed from Rotterdam were studied with interest by senior officers. ground forces by air. During the following month a R AS detachment
12 13
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