Formation
On 23 April 1943, the British War Office gave permission to raise a second airborne division, the 6th Airborne. The division comprised the 3rd and 5th Parachute Brigades and the 6th Airlanding Brigade, giving it two parachute and one airlanding brigades, which became the standard British complement for an airborne division. In May Brigadier Hugh Kindersley was appointed as the airlanding brigade's first commanding officer. Under his command he had two experienced battalions transferred from the 1st Airlanding Brigade: the 2nd Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (2nd OBLI) and the 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles (1st RUR). They were joined by a unit newly transferred to airborne forces, the 12th Battalion Devonshire Regiment (12th Devons), as the brigade's third infantry battalion. Other units assigned around the same time were the 53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry) Airlanding Light Regiment Royal Artillery, the 249th (Airborne) Field Company Royal Engineers and the 195th (Airlanding) Field Ambulance Royal Army Medical Corps.
The airlanding brigade was an important part of the airborne division, its strength being almost equal to that of the two parachute brigades combined. In particular, its infantry battalions were the "most heavily armed in the British Army." Each airlanding battalion had an establishment of 1034 men, serving in four rifle companies, a support and a headquarters company. A rifle company was sub-divided into four platoons, the support company into six: two anti-tank platoons with four 6 pounder guns in each, two mortar platoons with twelve 3 inch mortars between them, and two Vickers machine gun platoons with four guns in each platoon. The headquarters company had signals, assault pioneer, transport and administration platoons.
Air transport for the brigade was normally the Airspeed Horsa glider, piloted by two soldiers from the Glider Pilot Regiment. With a wingspan of 88 feet (27 m) and a length of 67 feet (20 m), the Horsa had a maximum load capacity of 15,750 pounds (7,140 kg)—space for two pilots, and a maximum of either 28 troops or two jeeps, one jeep and a 6 pounder gun, or one jeep with a trailer. It required 62 Horsas and one General Aircraft Hamilcar glider to transport an airlanding battalion into action. The Hamilcar carried the battalion's two Universal Carriers, which were used to support the mortar and machine-gun platoons.
At the end of the war in 1945, the Devonshire battalion, formed during the war, was disbanded, and replaced by the regular army 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Brigadier Roger Bower was also appointed to command the brigade for service in Palestine. The 6th Airlanding Brigade had always been an integral part of the 6th Airborne Division, but when the 1st Airborne Division was disbanded, and its 1st Parachute Brigade was assigned to the 6th Airborne Division, the 6th Airlanding Brigade became surplus to the division's requirements. On 15 April 1946, the brigade ceased being part of the British airborne forces, and was renumbered the 31st Independent Infantry Brigade.
Read more about this topic: 6th Airlanding Brigade (United Kingdom)
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