Editing Platoon (section)

==United Kingdom==
Platoons have been used by England (and subsequently the United Kingdom) since the 16th century. On 1 October 1913, General Sir [[Ivor Maxse]] introduced a scheme to reorganize the army. The regular battalions of the [[British Army]] were reorganized from the previous eight companies to a four-company structure, with each company having four platoons as separate units, each commanded by a lieutenant or second lieutenant with a platoon sergeant as his deputy. Each platoon was divided into four sections, each commanded by a corporal.<ref>p.25 Gudmundsson, Bruce ''The British Expeditionary Force 1914-15'' Osprey Publishing, 10/12/2005</ref> Because of a shortage of officers, the rank of [[warrant officer (United Kingdom)|warrant officer class III]] ([[platoon sergeant major]]) was introduced in 1938 for experienced non-commissioned officers who were given command of platoons. This was abolished in 1940, with most existing PSMs being commissioned.

In the modern British Army, an infantry platoon consists of three sections of eight men, plus a [[signaller]] (radio operator), a platoon sergeant (sergeant) and the platoon commander (second lieutenant or lieutenant). This may also include a [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] man operating a [[L9A1 51 mm light mortar|light mortar]] (full strength of 27 men and one officer); this may not be the case for all British infantry units, however, since the 51&nbsp;mm mortars are not always part of a platoon's ''[[Table of Organization and Equipment]]'', post-Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.janes.com/article/29502/british-army-infantry-to-revert-to-81-mm-mortar |title=British Army infantry to revert to 81 mm mortar|first=Rupert|last=Pengelley|date=2013-11-04|website=IHS Jane's 360|access-date=2016-12-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131108074457/http://www.janes.com/article/29502/british-army-infantry-to-revert-to-81-mm-mortar |archive-date=2013-11-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Under [[Army 2020]], a platoon in the Heavy Protected Mobility Regiments consist of around 30 soldiers in four [[Mastiff PPV]]/[[Future Rapid Effect System|FRES UV]] vehicles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/229240244/UK-Army-Combat-Capability-for-the-Future|title=UK Army Combat Capability for the Future|date=July 2013|publisher=Solomon|access-date=2017-09-10|via=[[Scribd]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427200747/https://www.scribd.com/doc/229240244/UK-Army-Combat-Capability-for-the-Future |archive-date=2015-04-27 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Each section is commanded by a corporal (lance sergeant in the [[Foot Guards]]), with a lance corporal as second-in-command and six riflemen, divided into two four-man [[fireteam#National variations|fireteams]]. Support weapons platoons (such as mortar or [[Anti-tank warfare|anti-tank]] platoons) are generally larger and are commanded by a [[Captain (land)|captain]] with a [[colour sergeant]] or [[warrant officer class 2]] as second-in-command.