Iron woman of the Paras makes history: Captain Hannah Knapton becomes the first ever female to earn a coveted maroon beret after passing the elite force’s exhaustive entry tests – including carrying a 35lbs backpack 10 miles in under 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Para’s first female officer Capt Hannah Knapton earned maroon beret after tests
- She is now qualified to lead platoon of 30 Parachute Regiment members
The Paras’ first ever female officer earned her coveted maroon beret after passing the regiment’s exhaustive entry tests yesterday.
Captain Hannah Knapton made history when she successfully completed P Company – the toughest selection course outside UK Special Forces.
The tests included endurance marches, log races against the clock and milling, an explosive contest similar to boxing.
Capt Knapton – who previously played football for England Under-17s girls – is now qualified to lead a platoon of 30 highly-skilled members of the Parachute Regiment into battle.
For decades, women were barred from attempting to join infantry regiments as it was assumed they could not meet the required physical standards.
Coveted: The Paras’ first ever female officer Captain Hannah Knapton gets her maroon beret
Endurance: During Capt Knapton during brutal trial tests
But in 2016 the then-prime minister David Cameron opened the doors to female recruits. And in 2021 the Mail revealed how the Paras had chosen Capt Knapton – then a trainee at Sandhurst – to become a junior officer.
Capt Knapton’s selection was conditional on her passing P Company, which only one woman had managed before her – Captain Rosie Wild of the Royal Horse Artillery.
The brutal P Company involves a ten-mile march carrying a 35lbs backpack in under one hour and 50 minutes.
It also includes an aerial assault course and milling, a boxing contest in which soldiers lose points for blocking punches.
In a double achievement for women in the military, a female nursing officer passed the same P Company course. Captain Claire Caiger is now qualified to serve as an advanced medic attached to airborne units.
Last night an Army source said: ‘Glass ceilings are being well and truly shattered.’
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