This article: The third Chinook carried half of the enhanced A Company group from 1 PARA to Magbeni. The helicopter hovered low above the landing zone that had been identified by the second SAS observation team and the paras jumped from the rear ramp. The observation team had warned that the ground was wet but had been unable to determine the depth of the water, so the paras were surprised to find themselves jumping into a chest-deep swamp. The majority of the first group immediately waded through the swamp to get to the nearby tree line and from there to the village, but a small party tasked with securing the landing zone had to wait in the swamp for the Chinook to pick up the remaining members of the company group and return to insert them at the landing zone.The returning Chinook, carrying the remainder of the A Company group including second-in-command (2IC) Captain Danny Matthews, came under fire from a heavy machine gun in Magbeni, which was promptly strafed by one of the 657 Squadron Lynx helicopters until it ceased firing. The soldiers in Matthews' helicopter exited and joined the first half of the company group on the ground. As the company group moved forward, an explosion—possibly a mortar fired by the British fire support group—injured seven men, including company commander Major Matthew Lowe, one of the platoon commanders, a signaller, and two of Lowe's headquarters staff. Another signaller radioed in a casualty report, and one of the Chinooks en route to Gberi Bana to extract the Royal Irish (who had just been freed by the SAS) landed on the track through the village. The casualties were loaded onto the helicopter, which then picked up the Royal Irish and flew to RFA Sir Percivale where all 13 men were assessed by medics.The operation continued under the leadership of Matthews, the company 2IC, who had taken command almost immediately after the company commander was wounded. Under his command, each of the platoons assaulted a different cluster of buildings to which they had been assigned during training on... contains an answer for the question: What paras were surprised to find themselves jumping into a chest-deep swamp?, what is it ?


A Company group