The British airborne forces were soon to be born on 22 June 1940 when Winston Churchill called for the formation of 'a corps of at least five thousand parachute troops, suitably organized and equipped'. From these thoughts the British airborne forces grew from battalion to regimental strength, in which paratroop drops were conducted in Africa, Greece, Italy, and in France on D-Day, Normandy, and continuing on culminating in the largest airborne attack in history with the British First Airborne Division in the battle at Arnhem.

In recent times, the Parachute regiment has often been deployed, but, according to a secret document obtained by the Daily Telegraph, the head of the Army has issued a dire warning that Britain has almost run out of troops to defend the country or fight abroad. The document said that Britain's second back-up unit, called the Airborne Task Force formed around the Parachute Regiment, was unavailable. It was unable to fully deploy "due to shortages in manpower, equipment and stocks". Most of the Paras' vehicles and weapons have stayed in Afghanistan with other units using them in intense battles against the Taliban.

Parachute Regiment officers are deeply concerned that with nearly all their equipment abroad they are unable to train properly for future operations. The Paras also no longer have the ability to parachute as a 600-strong battalion because no RAF planes were available to drop then en-masse. Click here to read the document or go to the URL:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/20/ntroops121.xml

Lean more in Wikipedia

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P Company Becoming a Para

In the following pages, the visitor can learn the role of British airborne forces, its history, traditions, and training. Visits can also be made to the British Airborne Forces Museum and with paratrooper organizations.

Click on the icon below to visit the web site

The official web site of the Parachute Regiment	Army Parachute Training 1940-1945	Pudsey Paras Parachute Rgt (Bradford Branch)
Ex Red Devils Worldwide Great pics and stories	16 Air Assault Brigade	Lothian Branch of the British Airborne Regiment
5th Abn Bde Pathfinders They jump ahead of the main force
Pathfinders reenact the Normandy D-Day jump at the Merville Battery	Pathfinders reenact the WWII jump in the battle for the bridge at Arnhem	Pathfinders reenact Polish Bde jump in the Batttle of Arnhem
Airborne Forces Museum	Operation Ham & Jam	Resource Page for Operation Market Garden

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THE BRITISH PARAS

TRIBUTE TO THE BRITISH PARAS

TRIBUTE TO THE BRITISH PARAS

Good reading for the paratrooper professional

(Anything you order helps maintain this web site)
The guinea-pigs : Britain's first paratroop raid

Ride of the Valkyries (Wagner) uploaded by surrealmod