Page "Paratrooper" Paragraph 69

Enthusiasts within the British armed forces were inspired in the creation of airborne forces ( including the Parachute Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, and the Glider Pilot Regiment ) by the example of the German Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger, which had a major role in the invasions of Norway, and the Low Countries, particularly the attack on Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium, and a pivotal, but costly role in the invasion of Crete.

From the perspective of others, however, the proposed airborne units had a key weakness: they required exactly the same resources as the new strategic bomber capability, another high priority, and would also compete with the badly stretched strategic air lift capability, essential to Churchill's strategy in the Far East.

It took the continued reintervention of Churchill to ensure that sufficient aircraft were devoted to the airborne project to make it viable.