1st Airlanding Light Regiment The 1st Airlanding Light Regiment was an airborne forces unit of the Royal Artillery during the Second World War . The regiment was raised in 1943 , by the expansion of an existing airborne artillery battery . Attached to the 1st Airborne Division in 1943 , the regiment served in Operation Slapstick — part of the Allied invasion of Italy — and then , when the division was withdrawn , it stayed behind to support other Eighth Army divisions in the Italian Campaign until the end of the year . In 1944 the regiment rejoined the 1st Airborne Division in England and , in September 1944 , took part in Operation Market Garden , which was the airborne assault in the Netherlands . During the battle of Arnhem that followed the regiment was one of the divisional units that formed a defensive ring around Oosterbeek . Reformed after Arnhem , the regiment never fought in another battle , they did however take part in Operation Doomsday the repatriation of the German occupation army in Norway in May 1945 . After this the regiment returned to England and was disbanded in December 1945 . Formation . 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 corps of 5 , 000 parachute troops . In September 1941 the 1st Parachute Brigade began forming , comprising three parachute infantry battalions . In keeping with British Army practice at the same time as the brigade ' s infantry battalions were forming , airborne supporting arms were formed including men from the Royal Artillery . The origins of the 1st Airlanding Light Regiment can be traced to the formation of the 458th Independent Light Battery , Royal Artillery in February 1941 . At the time , the battery was commanded by Major Pat Lloyd and , equipped with the First World War vintage 3 . 7 inch Mountain Howitzer , served on the North - West Frontier in India . The 3 . 7 inch Howitzer could fire a shell and weighed . In 1941 , the British airborne forces were being raised and needed an artillery formation , so the battery was renamed the 1st Airlanding Light Battery and it was converted into an airborne unit . Assigned to the 1st Airborne Division , the battery moved to the airborne forces depot at Bulford Garrison in April 1942 . The battery spent the next eleven months training for their new role . In February 1943 , however , it was expanded to a full regiment commanded by Lieutenant - Colonel R . W . McLeod . The regiment now consisted of three batteries , each of two troop s , with four guns per troop , or twenty - four guns in the regiment . At the same time their 3 . 7 inch Howitzers were replaced by the newer American 75 mm Pack Howitzer . The 75 mm Howitzer could be broken down into six components . It fired a shell a maximum of and weighed . Being the only field artillery unit in the division , one battery of eight guns could be expected to support each of the division ' s three brigades . At this time the only way airborne forces could transport artillery guns and their towing vehicles by air was by using gliders . In the regiment ' s case this was normally the Airspeed Horsa , piloted by two men from the Glider Pilot Regiment . With a wingspan of and a length of , the Horsa had a maximum load capacity of — space for two pilots , a maximum of twenty - eight troops or two jeeps , one jeep , an artillery gun and a half ton trailer or one jeep with up to two trailers . One disadvantage of being transported by the Horsa glider , was that only three artillerymen and the two pilots could be carried with the gun . Operations . Italy . The regiment left England for North Africa on 16 May 1943 , arriving at Oran in Algeria on 26 May . The 1st Airborne Division as a whole did not take part in the Allied invasion of Sicily . However the 1st Parachute and 1st Airlanding Brigade s took part in brigade sized operations Ladbroke and Fustian , without any artillery support from the regiment . While in Sicily Lieutenant - Colonel Crawfurd , the Division ' s Commander Royal Artillery ( DCRA ) , was killed . He was replaced by Lieutenant - Colonel McLeod and the second in command , Major W . F . K " Sheriff " Thompson , was given command of the regiment . In September 1943 , they were involved in Operation Slapstick , part of the Allied invasion of Italy . The division in North Africa boarded the ships of the Royal Navy ' s 12th Cruiser Squadron at Bizerta on 8 September 1943 . At 15 : 00 on 9 September , the flotilla reached the port of Taranto on the heel of Italy . The landings were unopposed and the troops were soon disembarked . In Italy the regiment not only supported the 1st Airborne Division , but also fired in support of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division at Campobasso . The 1st Airborne Division was withdrawn back to England leaving the regiment behind . In October they supported the 5th Infantry Division at Rionero and then Isernia in November . After this , they supported the 2nd New Zealand Division during three unsuccessful attacks on Orsogna . Next they fired in support of the independent 2nd Parachute Brigade and the 78th Infantry Division from mid - December 1943 to January 1944 , at Casoli , Gessopalena and Roccascalegna . The regiment was then withdrawn and sent to rejoin the 1st Airborne Division in Boston , England . England . In England the regiment trained for operations in North - West Europe under the supervision of I Airborne Corps . Although they were not scheduled to take part in the Normandy landings , Operation Wastage was a contingency plan drawn up whereby all of the 1st Airborne Division would be parachuted in to support any of the five invasion beaches if delays were experienced . In early September the regiment prepared for Operation Comet during which the 1st Airborne Division ' s three brigades were to land in the Netherlands and capture three river crossings . The first of these was the bridge over the River Waal at Nijmegen , the second the bridge over the River Maas at Grave and finally 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 . Landings by the 1st Allied Airborne Army ' s three divisions began in the Netherlands on 17 September 1944 . Although the allocation of aircraft for each division was roughly similar , the 101st Airborne Division landing at Nijmegen would use only one lift . The 82nd Airborne Division at Grave required two lifts while the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem would need three lifts . Whereas the two American divisions delivered at least three quarters of their infantry in their first lift , the 1st Airborne ' s similar drop used only half its capacity for infantry and the remainder to deliver vehicles and artillery . The 1st Airborne Division had the required airlift capacity to deliver all three parachute brigades with their glider - borne anti - tank weapons or two of the parachute brigades and the airlanding brigade on day one . Instead however , the vast majority of the division ' s vehicles and heavy equipment , plus the 1st Parachute Brigade , most of the 1st Airlanding Brigade and divisional troops were to be on the first lift , with the rest to follow over the next two days . Following the first lift , the airlanding brigade would remain at the landing grounds to defend them for the following day ' s lifts , while the parachute brigade set out alone to capture the bridges and ferry crossing on the River Rhine . On 17 September 1944 , the first day of the operation , fifty - seven gliders carried the regimental headquarters and the 1st and 3rd Batteries to Arnhem . The 2nd Battery and the remaining men of the regimental headquarters were on the second day ' s lift . With only three of the regiment ' s men travelling in the gliders , the two pilots stayed with the guns as drivers and to provide local protection , until the rest of the regiment assembled . Immediately after landing the 3rd Battery set up their gun line to the east of landing zone ' Z ' . Meanwhile , the 1st Battery set up between the 3rd and the village of Wolfheze . Both were on call to support the 1st Parachute Brigade in their advance to the bridges , and the 1st Airlanding Brigade defending the landing zones . In the morning of the second day , 19 September , in order to support the paratroopers in Arnhem , the guns had to move to a new position beside the church in Oosterbeek . The batteries were set up on the slight high ground that existed to the north - east and north - west of the church . At the Arnhem road bridge , the 2nd Parachute Battalion and some supporting units , were under attack by the reconnaissance battalion of the 9th SS Panzer Division , which was attempting to force a crossing . The regiment ' s guns were called into action and caused significant damage to the un - armoured vehicles , armoured cars and half - track s . Later they targeted German mortars firing at the 1st Parachute Battalion trying to fight through to the bridge in Arnhem . Their guns were also called upon to break up German attacks on the landing zones , still defended by the 1st Airlanding Brigade , which were in danger of being overrun . When the thirty - three gliders of the 2nd Battery that were on the second lift , arrived from around 15 : 00 , one of their guns was damaged on landing and had to be left behind . By that afternoon , the attempt to fight through to the 2nd Parachute Battalion at the Arnhem bridge had failed and the remnants of four battalions involved started arriving at the regiment ' s position . On 20 September the division had been forced into a perimeter around Oosterbeek . The regiment was provided with local protection by five flights of the Glider Pilot Regiment . A group made up from the remnants of the 1st Parachute Brigade known as " Lonsdale Force " was to their right . While on the left was ' D ' Company , 1st Battalion Border Regiment . All that morning the Germans using tanks , self propelled artillery and infantry attempted to break through the British line and reach the regiment ' s guns from the east . On 21 September , the fifth day of the operation , the Germans again attacked from the east and got within of the guns . Engaged in hand - to - hand fighting , infantry support was requested and the guns were firing at point blank range . German artillery attacked the gun line killing and wounding a number of men . Amongst the wounded was the commanding officer , Lieutenant - Colonel Thompson . One of the men defending the guns was Major Robert Cain who was part of Lonsdale force . Cain was wounded disabling a Tiger tank , after which he brought one of the regiment ' s guns forward to finish it off . Cain was later awarded a Victoria Cross , for this and other actions during the battle . By the end of the days fighting the regiment ' s stock of ammunition was running out . By 22 September , XXX Corps had advanced close enough to Arnhem for their artillery to participate in the battle . But it was the 1st Airlanding Regiment ' s guns that broke up a German attack on the glider pilots positions just after 07 : 00 that morning . The following days took on the same pattern until the night of 25 / 26 September , when the remnants of the 1st Airborne Division were withdrawn south of the River Rhine . The gunners fired their remaining ammunition and then disabled the guns , so they could not be used by the Germans . Of the regiment ' s 372 men who went to Arnhem , 136 were evacuated , 200 were reported missing and thirty - eight were killed . Norway . After Arnhem the regiment and division was brought back up to strength , but the war ended before they were ready for further operations . Then in May 1945 , the 1st Airborne Division was sent to Norway to disarm and repatriate the German occupation army . Code named Operation Doomsday for their part the 1st Air Landing Light Regiment were sent to Stavanger . In June some men left to join the 53rd ( Worcester Yeomanry ) Airlanding Light Regiment , part of the 6th Airborne Division . The rest of the regiment returned to England in August and was disbanded on 1 December 1945 .