The battalion saw combat on D-Day in Operation Tonga on 6 June 1944, the Battle of the Bulge in December and the River Rhine crossing in March 1945.

After the war ended in Europe, the battalion, with the 5th Parachute Brigade, was sent to the Far East to undertake operations against the Japanese Empire.

Problems in Java resulted in the battalion being sent to Batavia (Jakarta) to control the unrest, until relieved by a Dutch force.

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.

So badly scattered were they that, by 03:00, Lieutenant Colonel Pine-Coffin in command had only around forty percent of the battalion at the forming up point, although men continued to appear throughout the day.

The first German assault on the bridges came between 05:00 and 07:00 and consisted of isolated and often uncoordinated attacks by tanks, armoured cars and infantry, which grew in intensity throughout the day.

On the 29th of that month, they attacked the tip of the German thrust and the 3rd Parachute Brigade was given responsibility for the Rochefort sector, which they took after meeting stiff resistance.

Thereafter, it returned to the 6th Airborne Division in Palestine and was incorporated into the 17th Parachute Battalion in July 1946 while retaining its name.