11th Parachute Battalion (United Kingdom)

11th Parachute Battalion
Cap badge of the Parachute Regiment
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Airborne forces
Size	Battalion
Part of	4th Parachute Brigade
Nickname(s)	Red Devils
Motto(s)	Utrinque Paratus (Latin for "Ready for Anything")
Engagements	Battle of Kos Battle of Arnhem
Commanders
Notable commanders	Lieutenant Colonel George Lea Major Richard Lonsdale DSO MC
Insignia
The emblem of the Second World War British Airborne Forces, Bellerophon riding the flying horse Pegasus

The 11th Parachute Battalion was an airborne infantry battalion of the Parachute Regiment, raised by the British Army in World War II.

The battalion was formed in the Middle East and was assigned to the 4th Parachute Brigade, 1st Airborne Division. As it was still training it was left behind when the rest of the brigade took part in the invasion of Italy. One company later parachuted onto the island of Kos taking prisoner the large Italian garrison. The battalion rejoined the rest of the division in England. The only battle in which the battalion participated was the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944. The battalion sustained very heavy casualties and was disbanded following the battle and the men were used as replacements elsewhere.

After the Second World War a reserve 11th Battalion was formed by the Territorial Army in 1947, but it was disbanded nine years later.

Impressed by the success of German airborne operations, during the Battle of France, the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, directed the War Office to investigate the possibility of creating a corps of 5,000 parachute troops. On 22 June 1940, No. 2 Commando was turned over to parachute duties and on 21 November, re-designated the 11th Special Air Service Battalion, with a parachute and glider wing, and later became the 1st Parachute Battalion. It was these men who took part in the first British airborne operation, Operation Colossus, on 10 February 1941. The success of the raid prompted the War Office to expand the existing airborne force, setting up the Airborne Forces Depot and Battle School in Derbyshire in April 1942, and creating the Parachute Regiment as well as converting a number of infantry battalions into airborne battalions in August 1942.