Editing Special Operations Executive (section)

====138 Squadron and other Special Duties units operations====
No. 138 Squadron's primary mission was the delivery of equipment, and occasionally agents, by parachute. It flew a variety of bomber-type aircraft, often modified with extra fuel tanks and flame-suppressing exhaust shrouds: the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley until November 1942, the [[Handley Page Halifax]] and later the [[Short Stirling]]. The Stirling could carry a very large load (18 containers{{sfn|Boyce|Everett|2003|p=96}}) but the aircraft with the longest range was the Halifax, which when based in Italy could reach drop zones as far away as eastern Poland.{{Sfn|Foot|2004|pp=95, 101–103}}

Stores were usually parachuted in cylindrical containers. The "C" type was {{convert|69|in|cm}} long, and when fully loaded could weigh up to {{convert|224|lb|kg}}. The "H" type was the same size overall but could be broken down into five smaller sections. This made it easier to carry and conceal but it could not be loaded with longer loads such as rifles. Some inert stores such as boots and blankets were "free-dropped" i.e. simply thrown out of the aircraft bundled together without a parachute, often to the hazard of any receiving committee on the ground.{{Sfn|Foot|2004|pp=95–96}}