The Infantry of the British Army comprises 49 infantry battalions, from 19 regiments. Of these, 33 battalions are part of the Regular army and the remaining 16 a part of the Army Reserve. The British Army's Infantry takes on a variety of roles, including armoured, mechanised, air assault and light.
The Parachute Regiment, colloquially known as the Paras, is the airborne and elite infantry regiment of the British Army. The first battalion is part of the Special Forces Support Group under the operational command of the Director Special Forces. The other battalions are the parachute infantry component of the British Army's rapid response formation, 16 Air Assault Brigade. The Paras, along with the Guards, are the only line infantry regiment of the British Army that has not been amalgamated with another unit since the end of the Second World War.
Major General John Dutton Frost, was an airborne officer of the British Army, best known for being the leader of the small group of British airborne troops that actually arrived at Arnhem bridge during the Battle of Arnhem in Operation Market Garden, in the Second World War. He was one of the first to join the newly formed Parachute Regiment and served with distinction in many wartime airborne operations, such as in North Africa and Sicily and Italy, until his injury and subsequent capture at Arnhem. He retired from the army in 1968 to become a beef cattle farmer in West Sussex.
The Parachute Regiment is an airborne and special forces regiment of the Indian Army. It was raised in 1945 as part of the British Indian Army but was disbanded after World War II and was re-raised in 1952 as part of the Indian Army. Currently it consists of fifteen Special Forces, two Territorial Army and one Rashtriya Rifles battalions.
16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team, known simply as 16 Air Assault Brigade from 1999 – 2021, is a formation of the British Army predominantly based in Colchester, Essex. It makes up the Air Assault Task Force, a battlegroup held at high readiness, and is the only brigade in the British Army focused on operating via parachute, helicopter and air-landing.
The 2nd Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade formed by the British Army during the Second World War.
44th Parachute Brigade was a British Army Territorial Army parachute brigade, active from c.1950 to 1978.
The 44th Indian Airborne Division was an airborne forces division of the Indian Army during World War II, created in 1944. It provided a parachute battalion for one minor airborne operation, but the war ended before the complete formation could take part..
The 1st Battalion, Parachute Regiment, is a special forces battalion of the British Army's Parachute Regiment. Along with various other regiments and corps from across the British Armed Forces, it is part of Special Forces Support Group.
The Second Battalion, Parachute Regiment, is a formation of the Parachute Regiment, part of the British Army, and subordinate unit within 16th Air Assault Brigade.
The 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, is a battalion sized formation of the British Army's Parachute Regiment and is a subordinate unit within 16 Air Assault Brigade.
131 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers is an Army Reserve unit and part of 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers. It provides engineering support to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines and is the largest Army Reserve Commando unit. The squadron has deployed worldwide to provide combat engineer support to 3 Cdo Bde RM, often deploying in small sub-units. 131 was first raised in 1947 as an airborne engineer regiment, and reached a strength of over 1,000 trained parachute engineers by the early 1960s. Between 1 April 1978 and 1 October 2015, the unit was an independent Commando squadron under operational command of HQ 3 Cdo Bde RM. On 2 October 2015, it formally became the third squadron of 24 Commando Engineer Regiment.
The 17th Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, which was raised by the British Army during the Second World War.
The 15th Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, originally raised as 15th (King's) Parachute Battalion by the British Army in World War II.
The 16th (Staffords) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, raised by the British Army in World War II.
The 13th (Lancashire) Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, raised by the British Army during the Second World War. The battalion was formed in May 1943 by the conversion of the 2/4th Battalion, South Lancashire Regiment to parachute duties and was assigned to the 5th Parachute Brigade in the 6th Airborne Division.
The 6th Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment raised by the British Army during the Second World War.
The 16th Parachute Brigade was an airborne infantry brigade of the British Army.
The 16th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Territorial Army. It was first commanded by Major-General Roy Urquhart, and had its divisional headquarters in London.
The Antrim Fortress Royal Engineers was a coast defence unit of the UK's Territorial Army formed in Northern Ireland in the late 1930s. During World War II it was converted to a parachute role and dropped into Normandy on D Day and across the Rhine during Operation Varsity. Its successors continue in the Army Reserve today.
United Kingdom 
British Army 
Parachute Regiment 
16 Air Assault Brigade 
