The 15th (Scottish Volunteer) Parachute Battalion was an

airborne Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

of the Parachute Regiment, originally raised as 15th (King's) Parachute Battalion by the

British Army in World War II At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with those of its enem ...

. The 15th Parachute Battalion was formed in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

during 1945 from the 1st Battalion the

King's Regiment (Liverpool) The King's Regiment (Liverpool) was one of the oldest line infantry regiments of the British Army, having been formed in 1685 and numbered as the 8th (The King's) Regiment of Foot in 1751. Unlike most British Army infantry regiments, which we ...

. Prior to this the 1st Battalion King's had been part of the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

special force and taken part in the second Chindit expedition,

Operation Thursday The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate forme ...

, of 1944. It was assigned to the 77th Chindit Brigade, taking part in the

Battle of Mogaung The Battle of Mogaung was a series of engagements that was fought in the Burma Campaign of World War II between 6 and 26 June 1944 at the Burmese town of Mogaung. In brutal fighting, the 77th 'Chindit' Brigade under Brigadier Michael Calvert, l ...

in June 1944. It then became part of the 44th Indian Airborne Division. The war ended before the battalion was committed to any combat but a number of officers and sergeants parachuted into

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Prisoner of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

Camps in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

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and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

to provide aid to the prisoners. After the war, the battalion was reconverted to standard

line infantry Line infantry was the type of infantry that composed the basis of European land armies from the late 17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Turenne and Monte ...

as the 1st King's Regiment (Liverpool). During the Royal Indian Navy mutiny of February 1946,

HMIS Hindustan HMIS ''Hindustan'' (L80) was a (also known as ''Hastings'' class) sloop which served in the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) during World War II. Her pennant number was changed to U80 in 1940. ''Hindustan'' was transferred to Pakistan in 1948 after t ...

was berthed at

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

, and occupied by mutineers. When ordered to debark the mutineers refused, but finally surrendered after a brief firefight with the 15th (King's) Parachute Battalion, supported by four

75mm pack howitzer The 75mm Pack Howitzer M1 (redesignated the M116 in 1962) was a pack howitzer artillery piece used by the United States. Designed to be moved across difficult terrain, gun and carriage could be broken down into several pieces to be carried by p ...

s of C Troop, 159 Parachute Light Regiment, Royal Artillery.

Territorial Army

The battalion was reformed by the Territorial Army in 1947 as the 15th (Scottish) Parachute Battalion (TA). In 1967 it was re-designated 15 PARA (SV) and came under command of the

44th Parachute Brigade 44th Parachute Brigade was a British Army Territorial Army parachute brigade, active from c.1950 to 1978. History Formation From 1950-1956 it was one of the brigades of 16th Airborne Division. From 1956 the division was reduced to the 44th Indep ...

. In June 1974, Warrant Officer Class 2 John Gordon McRae, became the first territorial to be awarded the

Queen's Gallantry Medal The Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM) is a United Kingdom decoration awarded for exemplary acts of bravery where the services were not so outstanding as to merit the George Medal, but above the level required for the Queen's Commendation for Braver ...

. During a practice parachute jump from a

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

the parachute of one of his men failed to open. The man crashed through McRae’s rigging and as he did so McRae managed to keep a hold of him and they both descended safely on the one parachute. During September 1974 the battalion suffered the highest loss of TA soldiers during a major

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

exercise. Dropped off course six men landed in the

Kiel canal The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the N ...

and drowned. Defence cuts in April 1993, resulted in the amalgamation of the three remaining TA parachute battalions. The battalion numbered

4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment The 4th Battalion, Parachute Regiment (4 PARA), is an Army Reserve unit of the British Army. Now recruiting across the United Kingdom originally the Battalion covered the North of England, with its headquarters located in Pudsey, West Yorkshire. ...

, retains a rifle company (15th (Scottish initially, now re-designated A Company) based in Scotland. Sehestedt, Schottenstein NIK 2474.JPG Sehestedt, Schottenstein NIK 2476.JPG

Notes

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 British Parachute Regiment Battalions Airborne units and formations of the United Kingdom Military units and formations in Burma in World War II