44th Airborne Division (India)

44th Indian Airborne Division
Active	1944–1947
Country	India
Branch	British Indian Army
Type	Airborne forces
Size	Division
Engagements	World War II Battle of Elephant Point
Insignia
Identification symbol	Winged Pegasus on a Scarlet background with India underneath

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. (However, most of its subordinate formations and units had already seen action before the division formed).

History

Creation

The division's creation was a protracted affair. The division was first converted from the 9th Airborne Division (itself built around the core of the disbanded 44th Indian Armoured Division), at Secunderabad in India, on 15 April 1944.

Within a fortnight, the division HQ and such supporting units as had been allocated were used to form the 21st Indian Infantry Division, as an emergency measure during the Japanese invasion of India (which was codenamed Operation U-Go, and which resulted in the battles of Imphal and Kohima). By 15 July, the crisis was clearly over, and the airborne division's formation was resumed.

Formation

On 15 September 1944, the existing 50th Indian Parachute Brigade was allocated to the division. Later in the year, it was decreed that the Chindit formations were to be broken up and some of them were to be converted to airborne formations. The 14th British Airlanding Brigade became part of the division on 1 November 1944, and the Indian 77th Indian Parachute Brigade on 1 March 1945.

The conversion of 77th Brigade to a parachute formation was accompanied by the creation of the Indian Parachute Regiment which absorbed the existing Indian and Gurkha parachute battalions, and the formation of two British battalions of the Parachute Regiment around the cadre of troops which had already fought as Glider infantry during the Chindit campaign; 15th (King's) Battalion, Parachute Regiment from 1st Battalion King's Regiment (Liverpool), and 16th (Staffords) Battalion, Parachute Regiment from 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment.

Operation Dracula

Main article: Battle of Elephant Point

The division was still in the midst of formation, reorganisation and training when it was called upon to provide a parachute force to take part in Operation Dracula. This was an amphibious operation intended to capture Rangoon, the capital and principal port of Burma, which was reinstated at short notice after being earlier cancelled.

A composite Gurkha parachute battalion was formed from the two Gurkha battalions of the Indian Parachute Regiment, and landed behind Japanese coastal defences at the mouth of the Rangoon river on 1 May 1945. During the Battle of Elephant Point they cleared Japanese rearguards from the defences, but the main Japanese garrison had evacuated Rangoon several days previously. The subsequent landings from the sea were unopposed.

Later Operations

The division was preparing to take part in the projected invasions of Malaya and Singapore when the war ended unexpectedly. The division provided small airborne parties which landed in Japanese-occupied territories ahead of the main Allied forces, locating camps containing Allied prisoners of war and interned civilians, and delivering emergency relief supplies.

The division was then redesignated the 2nd Indian Airborne Division, and was retained until the Partition of India, when it was disbanded on 14/15 August 1947. One parachute brigade and some divisional units went to Pakistan and the other two brigades and the remaining units went to India.

Order of Battle, as of 1 May 1945

General Officer Commanding - Major General Earnest Edward Down.

Commander, Royal Artillery - Brigadier Reginald John Kirton.

14th British Airlanding Brigade - Brigadier Francis William Gibb

2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment)

4th Battalion, 6th Rajputana Rifles

6th Battalion, 16th Punjab Regiment

50th Indian Parachute Brigade - Brigadier Edward Galbraith Woods

16th (Staffords) Battalion, Parachute Regiment

1st Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment

3rd Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment

77th Indian Parachute Brigade - Brigadier Claude John Wilkinson

15th (King's) Battalion, Parachute Regiment

2nd Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment

4th Battalion, Indian Parachute Regiment

Divisional Units

123rd Light / Airborne Regiment, Royal Artillery.

159th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

23rd Light Anti-Aircraft / Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery

External links

• 44 Airborne Division at Orders of Battle.com