![]() ![]() The company, together with the rest of the division, remained in Normandy, acting as standard line infantry, until the 6th Airborne Division advanced to the River Seine in August, returning to England in September but was sent to Belgium in December, due to the German Ardennes offensive, again fighting as standard infantrymen. The 22nd Independent Parachute Company were the lead elements of the 6th Airborne Division's drop into Normandy as part of Operation Tonga in the early hours of D-Day, 6 June 1944. Paratroopers of the 22nd Independent Parachute Company with their toy mascot 'Pegasus' at RAF Harwell, Berkshire, preparing for Operation Tonga the initial airborne element of Overlord, 5 June 1944 It was then attached to the 6th Airborne Division serving in Mandate Palestine where it was still serving in September 1946, when it was disbanded. Towards the end of the war the 21st Independent Parachute Company went with the 1st Airborne Division as part of Operation Doomsday to disarm the German forces in Norway between May and October 1945. ![]() The company did not see any further action in the war. After marking the DZs and LZs the company was trapped with the rest of the division in the Oosterbeek Perimeter, suffering heavy casualties in what is now known as the Battle of Arnhem. Held in reserve and unused for the Allied Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy, the company took part in Operation Market Garden, landing at the Dutch town of Arnhem on the night of 17 September 1944. The company, with most of the rest of the 1st Airborne Division, after fighting briefly in the early stages of the Italian Campaign, returned to the United Kingdom in December 1943, but left an independent platoon behind in Italy to work with the 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade Group. They then took part in Operation Slapstick, part of the Allied invasion of Italy, landing by sea at Taranto on 9 September. ![]() Paratroopers of 3 Platoon, 21st Independent Parachute Company, assemble at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire in preparation for Operation Market Garden, September 1944.ĭuring the Allied invasion of Sicily (codenamed 'Operation Husky') the 21st Independent Parachute Company parachuted ahead of the main force during Operation Fustian to capture the Primosole Bridge on the night of 13/14 July 1943. The 22nd Independent Parachute Company was raised in May 1943 and was part of the 6th Airborne Division, under the command of Major General Richard "Windy" Gale. The 21st Independent Parachute Company was formed in June 1942 and became part of the 1st Airborne Division, then commanded by Major General Frederick "Boy" Browning, considered to be the father of the British Army's airborne forces. The units were formed into two companies to work with the two British airborne divisions created during the war, the 1st and 6th. Their tasks were to mark the drop zones (DZ) or landing zones (LZ), set up radio beacons as a guide for the aircraft carrying the main force and to clear and protect the area as the main force arrived. Pathfinders first appeared in World War II, and continue to serve an important role in today's modern armed forces, providing commanders with the option of flexibly employing air assets.ĭuring the Second World War small groups of parachute soldiers were formed into pathfinder units, to parachute ahead of the main force. In military organizations, a pathfinder is a specialized soldier inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander. One version of the patch worn on the uniforms of American pathfinders who served during World War II JSTOR ( November 2020) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Pathfinder" military – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification. ![]()
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