Osprey Elite 1 : The Paras 1940-1984

On 22 June 1940 Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a memorandum to General Sir Hastings Ismay, head of the Military Wing of the War Cabinet Secretariat stating flatly that 'We should have a corps of at least five thousand parachute troops... Pray let me have a note on the subject'. On the night of 7 February 1941 the first of these units was sent into action. X Troop, commanded by Maj. T. A. G. Pritchard, took off from Mildenhall in Suffolk for an epic flight across occupied France in six Whitley bombers of No. 91 Sqn. RAF. Their target was the Tragino Aqueduct in Italy, and although the mission itself did not go to plan, the effect on Italian morale of this landing in the heart of their country was considerable. It was also a valuable achievement for the parachutists to have proved themselves in action, even on so small a scale, at a time when Britain was reeling from defeat to defeat. Since then, British Airborne Forces have proved themselves in action time and time again, in a variety of different theatres from Europe to the Falklands. Gregor Ferguson details the history, organisation, appearance and equipment of the Paras from 1940-1984 in a text backed by plenty of illustrations including 12 excellent full page colour plates by Kevin Lyles.

Contents

• The Sons of Bellerophon
• European Operations 1941-42
• The Mediterranean 1942-45
• North-West Europe 1943-45
• The Far East 1941-46
• Post-War Service
• The Falklands 1982
• The Plates