41 recruits start training at Catterick barracks.
Only 27 of the original 40 recruits - all known as ‘Joe’ to remove their civilian identities - remain as the platoon reaches a third of the way through its training course.
The third and final episode provides a vivid insight into how Paras need to be ready to fight at all times, their perspectives on being first into conflict - and how they face up to the prospect of death either during a battle, or in making dangerous parachute jumps. It also includes the stories of the recruits trying their hardest to get in.