List of SAS operations

Last updated

The following is a list of known Special Air Service (SAS) operations.

Contents

Second World War Operations

The Special Air Service began life in July 1941, the brainchild of Lieutenant David Stirling of No. 8 (Guards) Commando. His idea was for small teams of parachute trained soldiers to operate behind enemy lines to gain intelligence, destroy enemy aircraft and attack their supply and reinforcement routes. The SAS carried out this role until the end of the war serving in a number of theatres and campaigns.

By the end of the Second World War on 8 May 1945, the SAS had suffered 330 casualties, but had killed or wounded 7,733 and captured 23,000 of their enemies. [1]

North Africa

The SAS used purpose-outfitted jeeps in North Africa missions Special Air Service in North Africa E 21337.jpg
The SAS used purpose-outfitted jeeps in North Africa missions
SAS prepared jeep, 2007 Santa Fe Event in Roermond, the Netherlands Willys MB.jpeg
SAS prepared jeep, 2007 Santa Fé Event in Roermond, the Netherlands

Mediterranean

Northwest Europe

A specially outfitted jeep of 1 SAS near Geilenkirchen in Germany during Operation Clipper. The SAS were involved at this time in clearing snipers in the 43rd Wessex Division area. An SAS jeep manned by Sergeant Schofield and Trooper Jeavons of 1st SAS near Geilenkirchen, Germany, 18 November 1944. B11921.jpg
A specially outfitted jeep of 1 SAS near Geilenkirchen in Germany during Operation Clipper. The SAS were involved at this time in clearing snipers in the 43rd Wessex Division area.

The below operations were overseen by the brigade formation known as Special Air Service Troops:

Known Postwar Operations

Immediately following the conclusion of the Second World War the SAS was disbanded; however the continued necessity for a commando unit was recognised and they were reformed again in 1947. [3] In 1950 an SAS squadron trained to be deployed in the Korean War, however they were eventually transferred to Southeast Asia to serve in the ongoing Malayan Emergency.

The SAS continued to serve successfully in a variety of theatres and roles throughout the Cold War, and following the September 11 attacks the SAS deployed in the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, it has continued its diverse selection of roles to the present day.

1950s–1970s – the Cold War

Men of 22 SAS in Malaya. 22SASMalayaNov1957crop.jpg
Men of 22 SAS in Malaya.

Malayan Emergency

Jebel Akhdar War

Indonesian Confrontation

Aden Emergency

Lufthansa Flight 181

1980s–1990s

Iranian Embassy Siege

Falklands War

The Troubles

Persian Gulf War

Bosnian War

Japanese embassy hostage crisis

Sierra Leone Civil War

2000s–2010s – The War on Terror

War in Afghanistan

Iraq War

Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa

Libyan Civil War

Military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

See also

Citations

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  2. "Derry | Operations & Codenames of WWII".
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  87. "Cargo bomb plot: SAS hunting al-Qaeda in Yemen". The Telegraph. 2 November 2010.
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  92. Harding, Thomas (19 January 2012). "Libya: SAS leads hunt for Gaddafi". The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  93. "US troops land on Iraq's Mt Sinjar to plan for Yazidi evacuation". The Guardian. 13 August 2014.
  94. "SAS sent in to Iraq as US troops land on Mount Sinjar". The Telegraph. 13 August 2014.
  95. "More British troops set for Iraq training". The Telegraph. 12 October 2014.
  96. "British special forces join fighters on Isil front line". The Telegraph. 30 September 2014.
  97. "SAS Call in Air Strikes at Kobane".
  98. "SAS wage secret war against ISIS in Syria as forces step up attack operations". Daily Mirror . 4 July 2015.
  99. "SAS 'took part in Abu Sayyaf Isil raid in Syria'". The Telegraph. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  100. "Ukraine war: Leak shows Western special forces on the ground". BBC News. 11 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.

Bibliography