 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2024) |
During World War II, Operation Defoe was a reconnaissance patrol by 21 men of the Special Air Service conducted from 19 July to 23 August to support the British Second Army in the Argentan area of Normandy. [1] [2]
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and special reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations.
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, was a Scottish officer in the British Army and the founder and creator of the Special Air Service (SAS). Under his leadership, the SAS carried out hit-and-run raids behind the Axis lines of the North African campaign. He saw active service during the Second World War until he was captured in January 1943. He spent the rest of the war in captivity, despite making several attempts to escape.
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Royal Navy formed special forces with several name changes—Special Boat Company was adopted in 1951 and re-designated as the Special Boat Squadron in 1974—until on 28 July 1987 when the unit was renamed as the Special Boat Service after assuming responsibility for maritime counter-terrorism. Most of the operations conducted by the SBS are highly classified, and are rarely commented on by the British government or the Ministry of Defence, owing to their sensitive nature.
Major Anders Frederik Emil Victor Schau Lassen, was a Danish military officer who was the only non-Commonwealth recipient of the Victoria Cross during the Second World War. Serving in the British Army, he was posthumously awarded the award for his actions during Operation Roast on 8 April 1945 at Lake Comacchio in Italy in the final weeks of the Italian campaign.
The Lewes bomb was a blast-incendiary field expedient explosive device, manufactured by mixing diesel oil and Nobel 808 plastic explosive. It was created by Lieutenant Jock Lewes, one of the original members of L Detachment SAS in 1941.
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne,, better known as Paddy Mayne, was a British Army officer from Newtownards, capped for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions at rugby union, lawyer, amateur boxer, and a founding member of the Special Air Service (SAS).
Pisticci is a town comune in the province of Matera, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Pisticci is the fourth most populous town in the region and the most populous in the province after Matera. It is known for being the production site of Amaro Lucano, one of the most famous Italian liqueurs.
The SCR-284 was a World War II era combination transmitter and receiver used in vehicles or fixed ground stations.
Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment".
Sidi Haneish Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield complex in Egypt, in the western desert, about 376 km west-northwest of Cairo.
Guy Lenox Prendergast was an English Saharan explorer, and British Army soldier in World War II. He was the commanding officer of the Long Range Desert Group from 1941 to 1943.
Adrian Freiherr von Fölkersam 20 December 1914 – 21 January 1945) was a German Brandenburger and Waffen-SS officer in World War II.
Ernest Thomas "Bob" Lilley M.M., B.E.M. was a British Army soldier. A founding member of the British Special Air Service Regiment, he formerly served with the Coldstream Guards. Lilley was one of the first four men selected by Colonel David Stirling to comprise L Detachment 1st S.A.S. in Middle East Headquarters at Cairo in 1940. He took part in many operations behind enemy lines in Libya against Italian and German forces during World War II.
The Raid on Symi also known as Operation Tenement took place from 13 to 15 July 1944 as part of the Mediterranean Campaign in World War II. The action was a combined operation conducted by two Allied special forces, the British Special Boat Service and the Greek Sacred Band, who raided the German and Italian garrisons at the island of Symi in the Aegean Sea.
Gavin Nicholas Mortimer is a British writer.
Operations Wallace and Hardy I were two British Special Air Service operations during the Second World War that took place from 27 July to 19 September 1944. Initially two sets of operations by 2nd Special Air Service, they were eventually amalgamated into one. Their objective was to disrupt German lines of communication, coordinate the activities of the French Resistance and prevent German reinforcements moving to the Normandy beachheads.
The Raid on Sidi Haneish Airfield was a military operation carried out the night of 26 July 1942. A British Special Air Service unit commanded by Major David Stirling attacked a German-held airfield in Egypt during the Western Desert Campaign of Second World War. Several Luftwaffe aircraft used to ferry supplies to the Axis forces were destroyed or damaged with machine-gun fire and explosives. Axis front line units were diverted to reinforce the garrisons in the rear vulnerable to attack.
SAS: Rogue Heroes is a 2022 British historical drama television series created by Steven Knight, which depicts the origins of the British Army Special Air Service (SAS) during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II. The storyline is a broadly accurate representation of real events, as described by Ben Macintyre in his 2016 book of the same name.
Operation Howard was a British special forces operation by B and C Squadrons, 1st Special Air Service led by Paddy Mayne that took place from 6 to 29 April 1945. It was to provide reconnaissance for the Canadian 4th Armoured Division in its advance towards Oldenburg in north-western Germany. The operation was hampered by German ambushes and boggy ground which the Jeeps found hard going. The operation succeeded in its objective but suffered a number of casualties.
Operation Kipling was a British special forces operation that took place during the Second World War in German-occupied France between 13 August to 26 September 1944. Originally supposed to be part of a larger airborne operation (Transfigure), 'C' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service commanded by Major Tony Marsh, was air dropped in an area near Orléans to disrupt German communications and troop movements. The operation was a success with minimum casualties, and was the last SAS mission to be carried out as part of Operation Overlord.
 | This United Kingdom military article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |