1st Airborne Division ( United Kingdom ) The 1st Airborne Division was a division of the British airborne forces during the Second World War . The division was formed in 1941 , after British Prime Minister Winston Churchill demanded an airborne force . Its first two missions were raids ; Operations " Biting " , a parachute landing in France , and " Freshman " , a glider mission in Norway . The division was sent to North Africa at the end of 1942 , and during the Allied invasion of Sicily undertook two brigade sized landings . The first , Operation " Ladbroke " , carried out by a glider brigade , and the second , Operation " Fustian " , by a parachute brigade , were far from successful . The division then took part in a mostly diversionary amphibious landing , Operation " Slapstick " , part of the Allied invasion of Italy . In December 1943 , the division returned to England , and prepared for the invasion of North - West Europe . It was not involved in the Normandy landings , being held in reserve . In September 1944 it took part in Operation " Market Garden " . The division landed behind German lines , to capture crossings on the River Rhine , and fought in the Battle of Arnhem . After failing to achieve its objectives , the division was surrounded and took heavy casualties , but held out for nine days before the survivors were evacuated . The 1st Airborne Division never fully recovered from their losses at Arnhem . Just after the end of the war , the depleted formation took part in Operation " Doomsday " in Norway . They were tasked with the disarmament and repatriation of the German occupation army . The division then returned to England and was disbanded in November 1945 . Background . Impressed by the success of German airborne operations during the Battle of France , the British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a force of 5 , 000 parachute troops . As a result , on 22 June 1940 , No . 2 Commando assumed parachute duties , and on 21 November was re - designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion , with a parachute and glider wing . On 21 June 1940 the Central Landing Establishment was formed at Ringway airfield near Manchester . Although tasked primarily with training parachute troops , it was also directed to investigate the use of gliders to transport troops into battle . At the same time , the Ministry of Aircraft Production contracted General Aircraft Ltd to design and produce a glider for this purpose . The result was the General Aircraft Hotspur , which was capable of transporting eight soldiers and was used for both assault and training purposes . The success of the first British airborne raid , Operation " Colossus " , prompted the War Office to expand the airborne force through the creation of the Parachute Regiment , and to develop plans to convert several infantry battalions into parachute and glider battalions . On 31 May 1941 , a joint army and air force memorandum was approved by the Chiefs - of - Staff and Winston Churchill ; it recommended that the British airborne forces should consist of two parachute brigades , one based in England and the other in the Middle East , and that a glider force of 10 , 000 men should be created . Formation history . The existing 11th Special Air Service Battalion was renamed the 1st Parachute Battalion and , together with the newly raised 2nd and 3rd Parachute Battalions , formed the first of the new airborne formations , 1st Parachute Brigade , commanded by Brigadier Richard Nelson Gale . In October 1941 , Frederick Browning was promoted to major - general , named the Commander Parachute and Airborne Troops , and ordered to form a headquarters to develop and train airborne forces . The next unit formed was the 1st Airlanding Brigade on 10 October 1941 , by the conversion of the mountain warfare trained 31st Independent Brigade Group , commanded by Brigadier George F . Hopkinson . The brigade comprised four battalions : the 1st Border Regiment , 2nd South Staffordshire Regiment , 2nd Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry , and the 1st Royal Ulster Rifles . The men who were unsuitable for airborne forces were replaced by volunteers . By the end of the year Browning ' s command had become the headquarters of 1st Airborne Division . 1942 – 1943 . Browning expressed his opinion that the force must not be sacrificed in " penny packets " , and urged the formation of a third brigade . Permission was finally granted in July 1942 , and the 2nd Parachute Brigade , commanded by Brigadier Ernest Down , was formed . The Brigade was assigned the existing 4th Parachute Battalion , and two new battalions converted from line infantry units , the 5th ( Scottish ) Parachute Battalion and the 6th ( Royal Welch ) Parachute Battalion . The 3rd Parachute Brigade , comprising the 7th , 8th and the 9th Parachute Battalions , was formed in November 1943 , and also assigned to the division . Soon afterwards , the 1st Parachute Brigade left the division , to take part in the Operation Torch landings in North Africa . In April 1943 , the commander of the 1st Airlanding Brigade , Hopkinson , was promoted to major - general and given command of the division . Later that year , the division was deployed to Tunisia , for operations in the Mediterranean theatre . On arrival , it was reinforced by the 1st and 4th Parachute Brigade s . The 4th Parachute Brigade had been formed in the Middle East during 1942 . In addition to the 156th Parachute Battalion , which had been raised from British troops stationed in India , it comprised the 10th and 11th Parachute Battalions , which had been raised from troops based in Egypt and Palestine . The division took part in two brigade sized operations in Sicily , and an amphibious assault at Taranto in Italy . During the fighting in Italy , Major - General Ernest Down became the divisional commander , after his predecessor died of wounds received in the fighting . After service in the Mediterranean , the division returned to England in December 1943 , leaving the 2nd Parachute Brigade behind as an independent formation . 1944 – 1945 . After the division arrived in England , Down was posted to India to oversee the formation of the 44th Indian Airborne Division , and was replaced by Major - General Roy Urquhart . In September 1944 , for Operation " Market Garden " in the Netherlands , the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade was attached to the division . Following " Market Garden " , fewer than 2 , 200 men from the 10 , 000 that were sent to the Netherlands returned to the Allied lines . Having suffered such severe casualties , the 4th Parachute Brigade was disbanded , with its surviving men posted to the 1st Parachute Brigade . The division then went through a period of reorganisation , but had still not fully recovered by the end of the war . Still under strength in May 1945 , it was sent to Norway to disarm the German army of occupation ; returning to Britain in November 1945 where it was disbanded . Operational history . France . Operation " Biting " , also known as the Bruneval Raid , was the codename for a raid by Combined Operations in 1942 . Their objective was a German " Würzburg " radar installation at Bruneval in France . Due to the extensive coastal defences erected by the Germans to protect the array , it was thought a commando raid from the sea would incur heavy losses , and give the garrison sufficient time for the radar equipment to be destroyed . It was therefore decided that an airborne assault followed by sea - borne evacuation would be the ideal way to surprise the garrison and seize the technology intact . On the night of 27 February , ' C ' Company , 2nd Parachute Battalion , under the command of Major John Frost , parachuted into France a few miles from the installation . The force then proceeded to assault the villa in which the radar equipment was kept , killing several members of the German garrison and capturing the installation after a brief fire - fight . A technician that had come with the force partially dismantled the " Würzburg " radar array and removed several key pieces to take back to Britain , the raiding force then retreated to the evacuation beach . The detachment assigned to clear the beach had failed to do so , however , and another brief fire - fight was required to eliminate the Germans guarding the beach . The raiding force was then picked up by a small number of landing craft and transferred to several Motor Gun Boat s which brought them back to Britain . The raid was entirely successful . The airborne troops suffered only a few casualties , and the pieces of the radar they brought back , along with a German radar technician , allowed British scientists to understand German advances in radar and to create counter - measures to neutralise those advances . Norway . Operation " Freshman " was the first British airborne operation conducted using gliders , its target was the Vemork " Norsk Hydro " chemical plant in Norway , which produced heavy water for Nazi Germany . By 1942 the German atomic weapons programme had come close to being able to develop a nuclear reactor , but in order for the reactor to function it would require a great deal of heavy water . The source of this water was the Norsk Hydro plant , which had been occupied in 1940 ; when the British government learned of the German nuclear developments , it was decided that a raid would be launched to destroy the plant and deny the Germans the heavy water . Several tactics were discussed and discarded as impractical , and it was finally decided that a small force from the 1st Airborne Division , comprising 30 sapper s from the Royal Engineers , would land by glider a short distance from the plant , and demolish it with explosives . Two aircraft , each towing one glider , left Scotland on the night of 19 November 1942 . All managed to reach the Norwegian coast , but none were able to reach their objective . The first pair suffered from navigational difficulties and severe weather , which resulted in the tow rope snapping and the first glider crash - landing , with its towing aircraft returning to base ; eight airborne troops were killed outright , four were severely injured and five unhurt . The survivors were captured shortly after the crash . The second pair fared even worse , with both aircraft and glider crashing into a mountain for unknown reasons ; the aircrew and several men were killed outright , and those who survived were taken prisoner . None of the prisoners survived for very long , being either poisoned or executed as a result of Adolf Hitler ' s Commando Order , which stated that all British Commandos personnel were to be killed immediately when captured . Sicily . Operation " Turkey Buzzard " , also known as Operation " Beggar " , was a supply mission to North Africa that took place between March and August 1943 . The mission was undertaken by the division ' s glider pilots and No . 295 Squadron Royal Air Force , as part of the preparations for the Allied invasion of Sicily . The mission involved Halifax bombers towing Horsa gliders from England to Tunisia . The Horsas were needed to complement the smaller American Waco gliders , which did not have the capacity required for the planned operations . During the mission two German Condor patrol aircraft located and shot down a Halifax - and - Horsa combination . Altogether five Horsas and three Halifaxes were lost , but 27 Horsas arrived in Tunisia in time to participate in the invasion of Sicily . Operation " Ladbroke " was a glider assault by the 1st Airlanding Brigade near Syracuse , that began on 9 July 1943 as part of the invasion of Sicily . The brigade were equipped with 144 Waco and six Horsa gliders . Their objective was to land near the town of Syracuse , secure the Ponte Grande Bridge , and ultimately take control of the city itself with its strategically important docks . On the way to Sicily , 65 gliders were released too early by the towing aircraft and crashed into the sea , drowning around 252 men . Of the remainder , only 87 men arrived at the Pont Grande Bridge , which they successfully captured and held beyond the time they were to be relieved . Finally , with their ammunition expended and only 15 soldiers remaining unwounded , they surrendered to the Italian forces . The Italians sought to demolish the bridge after regaining control of it , but were unable to do so because the airborne forces had removed the explosive charges . Other troops from the airlanding brigade , who had landed elsewhere in Sicily , destroyed communications links and captured artillery batteries . Operation " Fustain " , the division ' s second mission in Sicily , was carried out by the 1st Parachute Brigade . Their objective was the Primosole Bridge across the Simeto River . The intention was for the parachute brigade , with glider - borne forces in support , to land on both sides of the river . While one battalion seized the bridge , the other two battalions would establish defensive positions to the north and south . They would then hold the bridge until relieved by the advance of XIII Corps , part of the Eighth Army which had landed on the south eastern coast three days previously . The start of the operation was a disaster . Many of the aircraft carrying the paratroopers from North Africa were shot down , or were damaged and turned back , due to both friendly fire and enemy action . The evasive action taken by the pilots scattered the brigade over a large area , and only the equivalent of two companies of troops were landed in the correct locations . Despite this and the defence by German and Italian forces , the British paratroops captured the bridge . Resisting attacks from the north and south , they held out against increasing odds until nightfall . The relieving force led by the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Infantry Division , which was short of transport , found it hard going to reach the parachute brigade and were still away when they halted for the night . By this time , with casualties mounting and supplies running short , the brigade commander , Brigadier Gerald Lathbury , had relinquished control of the bridge to the Germans . The following day the British units joined forces , and the 9th Battalion , Durham Light Infantry with armour support attempted to recapture the bridge . It was not finally secured until three days after the start of the operation , when another battalion of the Durham Light Infantry , led by the paratroopers , established a bridgehead on the northern bank of the river . Italy . Operation " Slapstick " was an amphibious landing at the Italian port of Taranto , part of the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943 . The mission had been planned at short notice , following an offer by the Italian government to open the ports of Taranto and Brindisi on the heel of Italy to the Allies . The 1st Airborne Division was selected to undertake the mission , but at the time they were located in North Africa . A shortage of transport aircraft meant the division could not land by parachute and glider , and all the landing craft in the area were already allocated to the other landings : Operations " Avalanche " at Salerno on the western coast , and " Baytown " at Calabria . Instead , the division had to be transported across the Mediterranean by ships of the Royal Navy . The landing was unopposed , and the airborne division successfully captured the ports of Taranto , and later Brindisi on the Adriatic coast , in working order . The only German forces in the area were elements of the 1st Parachute Division , which engaged the advancing British in ambushes and at roadblocks during a fighting withdrawal north . By the end of September , the 1st Airborne Division had advanced to Foggia . Reinforcements from two infantry divisions had by then been landed behind them , which allowed the airborne troops to be withdrawn back to Taranto . England . By December 1943 the division had returned to England and begun training for operations in North - West Europe under the supervision of I Airborne Corps . Although the 1st Airborne Division was not scheduled to take part in the Normandy landings , a contingency plan , Operation " Wasteage " , was drawn up whereby the division would be parachuted in to support any of the five invasion beaches if serious delays were experienced . This plan turned out not to be required . While the 6th Airborne Division were still fighting in Normandy , numerous plans to parachute the 1st Airborne Division into France were formulated , all to no avail . In June and July 1944 , the plans included Operation " Reinforcement " , which was a landing to the west of St Sauveur - le - Vicomte to support the American 82nd Airborne Division , and Operation " Wild Oats " to seize Carpiquet airfield in support of the 1st Canadian Army . There was also Operation " Beneficiary " , intended to support the American XX Corps in capturing St Malo , and Operation " Lucky Strike " which had the objective of seizing bridges across the River Seine at Rouen . In Operation " Sword Hilt " , the division was to isolate the port of Brest and destroy the Morlaix viaduct . Operation " Hands Up " was intended to support the American Third Army by seizing the Vannes airfield . By August the division was still waiting to be deployed , but now plans envisioned using them as part of a larger force . Operation " Transfigure " involved the division , the 52nd ( Lowland ) Infantry Division , the American 101st Airborne Division , and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade landing at Rambouillet St Arnoult , to close the gap between Orléans and Paris . Operation " Axehead " , using the same force , was to seize the bridges over the River Seine in support of 21st Army Group . Operation " Boxer " , with the same force , was to seize Boulogne and assault V1 flying bomb sites . Near the end of the month , Operation " Linnet " , with the same units as before , was formulated to seize crossings over the Escaut . Operation " Infatuate " , drawn up in early September , involved the entire I Airborne Corps landing in Belgium to trap the retreating German armies in the Scheldt estuary , as well as aiming to threaten Antwerp . Finally , in September , there was Operation " Comet " , in which the division ' s three brigades were to land in the Netherlands and each capture a river crossing . The first of these was the bridge over the River Waal at Nijmegen , the second the bridge over the River Maas at Grave , and the last was the bridge over the River Rhine at Arnhem . Planning for " Comet " was well advanced when on 10 September the mission was cancelled . Instead , a new operation was proposed with the same objectives as " Comet " but to be carried out by three divisions of the 1st Allied Airborne Army . Arnhem . Operation " Market Garden " was an airborne assault by three divisions in the Netherlands in September 1944 , to secure key bridges and towns along the expected Allied axis of advance . Farthest north , the 1st Airborne Division , supported by the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade , landed at Arnhem to secure bridges across the Nederrijn . Initially expecting a walkover , British XXX Corps planned to reach the British airborne forces within two to three days . The 1st Airborne Division landed some distance from their objectives and were quickly hampered by unexpected resistance – especially from elements of the 9th SS and 10th SS Panzer Division s . Only a small force was able to reach the Arnhem road bridge while the main body of the division was halted on the outskirts of the city . Meanwhile , XXX Corps was unable to advance north as quickly as anticipated and failed to relieve the airborne troops . After four days , the small British force at the bridge was overwhelmed and the rest of the division became trapped in a pocket north of the river – where they could not be sufficiently reinforced by the Poles or XXX Corps when they arrived on the southern bank . After nine days of fighting , the shattered remains of the airborne forces were eventually withdrawn south of the Rhine . The 1st Airborne Division had lost 8 , 000 men during the battle and never saw combat again . Norway post - war . In May 1945 , immediately after the Allied victory in Europe , the 1st Airborne Division was sent to disarm and repatriate the 350 , 000 - strong German occupation army in Norway . The division maintained law and order until the arrival of the remainder of Force 134 , the occupation force . During its time in Norway , the division was tasked with supervising the surrender of the German forces in Norway , as well as preventing the sabotage of important military and civilian facilities . The German Instrument of Surrender was delivered on 8 May to General Franz Böhme , the commander of all German forces stationed in Norway ; the 1st Airborne Division landed near Oslo and Stavanger between 9 and 11 May . Most of the transport aircraft carrying the division landed safely , but one crash caused several fatalities . The division encountered little of the expected German resistance . Operational duties included welcoming back King Haakon , looking after Allied ex - prisoners of war , arresting war criminals and supervising the clearing of minefields . While in Norway , the division was also able to investigate what happened to the airborne troops that had taken part in Operation " Freshman " . The division returned to Britain , and was disbanded on 26 August 1945 .