The 15th (Scottish Volunteer) Parachute Battalion was an airborne

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

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 en ...

. The 15th Parachute Battalion was formed in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

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 when a single battalion was raised as The Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Princess Anne of Denmark's Regiment of Foot. ...

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

Chindits The Chindits, officially known 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. Brigadier Orde Wingate formed the ...

special force and taken part in the second Chindit expedition, Operation Thursday, 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, ...

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 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 war for a ...

Camps in

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

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 list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

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 formed the bulk of most European land armies from the mid-17th century to the mid-19th century. Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus are generally regarded as its pioneers, while Henri de la Tour d ...

as the 1st King's Regiment (Liverpool). During the

Royal Indian Navy mutiny The Royal Indian Navy mutiny was a failed insurrection of Indian naval ratings, soldiers, police personnel and civilians against the British government in India in February 1946. From the initial flashpoint in Bombay (now Mumbai), the revolt s ...

of February 1946, HMIS Hindustan was berthed at

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, 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 Mountain gun, 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 b ...

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 The following events occurred in June 1974: June 1, 1974 (Saturday) *The U.S. medical magazine ''Emergency Medicine'' published "Pop Goes the Cafe Coronary", an informal article by thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich, describing the effective us ...

, Warrant Officer Class 2 John Gordon McRae became the first territorial to be awarded the

Queen's Gallantry Medal The King's Gallantry Medal (KGM), formerly the Queen's Gallantry Medal (QGM), is a United Kingdom decoration awarded for exemplary acts of courage, bravery where the services were not so outstanding as to merit the George Medal, but above the l ...

. 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 Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

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 ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

exercise. Dropped off course, six men landed in the

Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (, until 1948 called in German the ) is a fresh water canal that links the North Sea () to the Baltic Sea (). It runs through the Germany, German states of Germany, state of Schleswig-Holstein, from Brunsbüttel to the Holtenau di ...

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 Yorkshir ...

, 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 Military units and formations in Burma in World War II