WW2 Indian Paratroopers Group Photo

[Spitace41]

Hi all. I came across this photo with some other ww2 era photographs and thought that it may be of interest. I am wondering if anyone with a knowledge of slouch hat flashes can hazard a guess as to what they denote in this photograph. Is there any way of telling what unit these paras belonged to? The info on the web is somewhat sketchy on Indian paras. Cheers.

PS. Sorry about quality of the image. The original is quite a small photo so my scanner had a little trouble getting the sharpness of it. If you enlarge it it is better.

[Jerry B]

A great pic James. I don't recognise the flash, sorry.

[wizardman]

I believe them to be a standard British slouch patch

[Spitace41]

I believe them to be a standard British slouch patch

Yes, it does appear to be similar to that. But what do you mean by standard? I thought the flashes were different depending on the unit? Cheers.

[Jerry B]

That is the RAF flash.

[Jerry B]

If you look closely at the original it appears to have a central pale section, then a darker section either side bisected by a thinner pale section, not the same as that show by the wizard.

[wizardman]

Only one of the men with a Slouch hat has Airborne wings.I was thinking standard RAF issue,especially with ground crew..Gurkhas had the unit slouch hats, but im not aware of Indian RAF unit insignia on slouch hats.Anyway here are some other Indian Para pics,courtesy of : Bharat-Rakshak.com - The Consortium of Indian Military and Defence Websites :

[Adrian Stevenson]

Cracking photo! Thanks for sharing it.