Airborne Forces in the Far East
(Click on the pictures for a large-size version.)
Often an overlooked aspect of World War II history is the Far East Theater. The British and Indian Army forces fighting the Japanese in India and Burma fought the longest continuous campaign of the war and defeated the largest Japanese field army in WWII. The British and Indian Armies had a long history of fighting alongside one another, and often British and Indian army battalions would be “brigaded” together to form a “Indian” brigade where the majority of the troops were Indian with a battalion or two of British Army troops.
Most people are familiar with the British Airborne “red devils” which fought in some of the most famous battles in the European conflict. The British Airborne Forces in the Far East also fought in two decisive battles. The first was the battle of Sangshak, which was part of the larger battle of Kohima. The second battle was the only Airborne Operation in the Far East, the taking of Elephant Point in support of the assault on Rangoon.
Recommended reading for the Burma theatre are: Burma, The Longest War, by Louis Allen, and Quartered Safe Out Here, by George MacDonald Fraser. For more information on uniforms in Burma: Khaki Drill & Jungle Green, by Martin J. Brayley and Richard Ingram.Early & Mid-War Uniforms
The uniform worn by Airborne Forces in the Far East was typical of the troops serving in India or Burma. Early in the war standard “KD” or khaki drill uniforms would have been worn. This was a uniform developed and in use before the start of World War II. It consisted of KD trousers or KD shorts, an “aertex” shirt, and a “bush” jacket. This uniform was found to be unsuitable for the jungle warfare the British Army found itself in, with little or no camouflage advantages, and the wearing of shorts made troops more susceptable to mosquito-borne malaria. After the fall of Burma the British and Indian Armies used a stop-gap measure of dyeing the KD uniforms a dark green color, and stopped issuing shorts for wear in the jungle.
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| Khaki aertex battledress blouse. This garment was produced alongside the jungle green version. It was intended for use in the Mediterranean theater and for garrison use in India. These jackets were produced in India for use by Indian and British troops. The markings on the inside of the garment are a hallmark of Indian pattern garments, they indicate manufacture, date, size and government acceptance. | |
Mid & Late-War Uniforms
It was not until 1943 that a suitable purpose made “Jungle Green” battledress uniform was developed. This suit consisted of a pair of battledress trousers and battledress jacket, both made of jungle green drill fabric. The trousers had large expandable pockets on the thigh and right hip and a bandage pocket on the front right hip. The jacket was also developed out of jungle green breathable aertex fabric. This was patterned after the standard wool battledress jacket in use by the British Army in Europe.
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| (Jungle green aertex battledress blouse. This garment was the standard combat garment for the campaign in Burma. These jackets were produced in India for use by Indian and British troops. They were intended to be worn with the jungle green cotton battledress trousers.) | |
To supplement these two items jungle green aertex shirts and bush jackets were also produced. These items were intended more for “walking-out" purposes instead of combat wear. Alongside the jungle green uniform a khaki uniform was produced in the same pattern for use in India, the Mediterranean, and other non-jungle climates. All of these items were typically “theater-made” in India. They feature rather crude ink stamp markings as to size and date. They also have-hand made wooden style buttons. The construction of these Indian-made items was overall crude but functional.
 (Jungle green aertex bush jacket as worn in India and Burma.) |
 (Jungle Green Battledress Blouse Markings) |
The Airborne Forces in the Far East did wear the maroon beret, the hallmark of the British Airborne, but this was most likely saved for walking-out or barracks wear. The universal headgear for the Far East Theater was the famous “bush” or “slouch” hat first used by the Australian Forces. This hat became well known as the mark of those in the “Forgotten” war of the British 14th Army in Burma.
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| (Airborne forces beret, including a closeup showing the cap badge of the Indian Airborne Parachute units.) | |
Insignia
The Insignia used by the Airborne Forces in the Far East was similar to that of the regular British Airborne Forces. A set of “pegasus” divisional insignia was worn on each shoulder of the bush jacket or battledress jacket. The Indian airborne forces insignia featured an “INDIA” printed just bellow the pegasus to differentiate it from the typical pegasus insignia. The “AIRBORNE” arm-of-service strip was not worn. In addition, the parachute brevet wings were worn on the right shoulder. Typically the wings made in India were manufactured on a dark blue background, but specimens have been seen on other base materials. These wings were the same basic design as those worn by all British Airborne Forces, however, theater-made versions tended to be embroidered differently than those made in Great Britain. Photo: Jungle green aertex bush jacket showing the shoulder insignia and jump wing worn by the Indian 50th Indian Parachute Brigade and later the Indian 44th Airborne Division.
The cap badge for the Indian parachute battalions was the same as that worn by British parachute battalions in Europe, with the addition of a small “INDIA” superimposed on the cap badge. It is assumed that those units that were not parachute battalions wore the cap badge of their regiment or arm-of-service. An unofficial practice was to back these badges with a maroon flash if worn on the bush hat.
Typically, cloth insignia worn on the uniform was attached by press-studs or quick stitches so it was easily removable for laundering. It was also typical for combat uniforms in the Far East to be devoid of any insignia at all. Some units in the Far East made use of epaulet slip-ons worn on the shoulder epaulets of the bush jacket, shirt, or aertex BD jacket. These would have been made in either KD or JG for the respective uniforms. Although Airborne specific slip-ons have not been seen, other units and regimental slip-on specimens have been noted; some examples are “SIKH”, or “BORDER”. It is possible that slip-ons were made for some of the airborne units serving in the Far East. Brass shoulder titles have also been seen for the 151st Parachute Battalion, being a simple “151” made out of brass affixed to the shoulder epaulet.Equipment
Any combat soldier serving in the Far East was issued with a set of Pattern 37 web gear and equipment. Typically this would have consisted of web belt, web braces, basic pouches, water bottle, entrenching tool, bayonet, small pack, and anklets or puttees. These items were most likely “theater-made” in India along with the rest of his kit. All of these items were produced in a khaki color. It was not until 1944 that these same items were manufactured in jungle green, eliminating the need to dye the webbing for use in the jungle. Blanco was not used in the Far East, as it was not practical in the wet humid climate.
As noted in the uniform section, most of this Indian-made equipment was manufactured rather crudely but was still functional. A unique feature of Indian-made webbing is having a stamped date on the brass buckles. This can often be found on the basic pouches, water bottle carriers, small packs, etc. Indian-made basic pouches usually were made with a “star” pattern brass snap rather than the smooth snap found on British-made examples. Indian-made water bottle carriers are unique in having a buckle and strap closure instead of the snap closure found on British made examples. The Indian pattern bayonet is also a different pattern than the British-made type.
Along with webbing most all of the kit needed by the British soldier was made in India, some samples of these items are shown. Almost every infantryman in Burma carried the “Khukri” made famous by the Gurkha troops as it made a good utility knife/machete for the jungle conditions. The Khukri and the bush hat became the mark of the jungle fighter.Order of Battle
The 50th (Indian) Parachute Brigade was raised in October of 1941. This was the first Indian Army Airborne unit formed. The headquarters and parachute training school were at Willingdon Airport, Delhi. Commanded by Brig. W.H.G. Gough, MC 1941-1943, Brig. M.R.J. Hope-Thompson, MC 1943-1945.
The Brigade consisted of:
Formed in 1944 under the command of Maj. General Down, the 44th (Indian) Airborne Division consisted of the following:
50th (Indian) Parachute Brigade (see above) consisted of the following units when it became part of the 44th Indian Airborne Division: