The battalion was formed in India from the 1st Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment in January 1945, with the 2nd Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment already having an air landing role in North West Europe.

The South Staffords had previously been part of the Chindits special force and took part in the second Chindit expedition in 1944, Operation Thursday.

The battalion was then assigned to the 77th Indian Parachute Brigade, attached to the 44th Indian Airborne Division. The war ended before the battalion was committed to action but a number of men parachuted into Japanese Prisoner of War camps to aid the prisoners.

The battalion was disbanded in 1946.