16th Parachute Brigade (United Kingdom)

The 16th Parachute Brigade was an airborne forces brigade of the British Army.

It can trace its formation to February 1948, when the 2nd Parachute Brigade left the 6th Airborne Division and moved to Germany, becoming part of the British Army of the Rhine.[1] The 6th Airborne Division was disbanded soon afterwards, leaving the 2nd Parachute Brigade as the only brigade-sized airborne formation in the British Army. In June the 5th (Scottish) Parachute Battalion was renumbered the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, the 4th/6th Parachute Battalion became the 1st Battalion, and the 7th (Light Infantry) Parachute Battalion became the 3rd Battalion. Finally, in July 1948, the brigade was renumbered the 16th Parachute Brigade Group, taking the "1" and "6" from the two wartime divisions, the 1st and 6th.[2]

Notes

  1. Watson and Rinaldi, p.3
  2. Ferguson, p.34

References

  • Ferguson, Gregory (1984). The Paras 1940–84, Volume 1 of Elite series. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-573-1.
  • Wilson, Dare (2008). With the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine 1945–1948. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-84415-771-6.
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