List of SAS operations
Encyclopedia
World War II Operations
- ColossusOperation ColossusOperation Colossus was the codename given to the first airborne operation undertaken by the British military, which occurred on 10 February 1941 during World War II...
February 1941 first airborne raid, raid on Tragino aqueduct in Italy by 'X' Troop, No. 1 Special Air Service Battalion origin of the term 'SAS' (but not the organisation). - Operation Squatter 16/17 November 1941 raid on forward Axis airfields in North Africa
- Operation Green Room
- Operation BigamyOperation BigamyOperation Bigamy was a raid during the Second World War by the Special Air Service in September 1942. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel David Stirling and supported by the Long Range Desert Group. The force were to destroy the harbour and storage facilities at Benghazi and raid the airfield...
September 1942, raid on the Port of BenghaziPort of BenghaziThe Port of Benghazi is a major seaport in the city of Benghazi, Libya, on the Mediterranean Sea coast within the Gulf of Sidra.-History:A natural seaport, it was founded as Euesperides by the ancient Greeks of Cyrenaica in the 6th Century BC. After passing it to the Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy III,...
Shown as Snowdrop in all publications which follow uncritically the initial editions of William Boyd Kennedy ShawBill Kennedy ShawMajor William Boyd Kennedy Shaw OBE was a British desert explorer, botanist, archaeologist and founding member of the Long Range Desert Group during World War II...
's book Long Range Desert GroupLong Range Desert GroupThe Long Range Desert Group was a reconnaissance and raiding unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The commander of the German Afrika Corps, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, admitted that the LRDG "caused us more damage than any other British unit of equal strength".Originally called...
which used this appellation for the first time as War OfficeWar OfficeThe War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
security policy would not permit him to use real operational code names on first publication. - Operation Palmyra
- ChestnutOperation ChestnutDuring World War II, Operation Chestnut was a failed British raid by 2 Special Air Service, conducted in support of the Allied invasion of Sicily....
July 1943 raids supporting SicilySicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
invasion. - NarcissusOperation NarcissusDuring World War II, Operation Narcissus was a raid by forty members of the Special Air Service on a lighthouse on the southeast coast of Sicily. The team landed on 10 July 1943 with the mission of capturing the lighthouse and the surrounding high ground....
July 1943, capture of lighthouse in Sicily. - Begonia/JonquilOperation BegoniaDuring World War II, Operation Begonia was the airborne counterpart to the amphibious Operation Jonquil, conducted by British SAS and Eighth Army Airborne between Ancona and Pescara, Italy, from 2 to 6 October, 1943. Total operational force comprised 61 men.The object was to locate escaped POWs in...
October 1943, rescue of POWs in Italy. - CandytuftOperation CandytuftDuring World War II, Operation Candytuft was a British raid by 2nd Special Air Service launched on 27 October 1943.-Description:Inserted by boat on Italy’s east coast between Ancona and Pescara, the troopers were to destroy railway bridges and disrupt rear areas. The raid was conducted by No. 3...
October 1943 raid on railroad targets in Italy. - Maple Driftwood 1944, raid of railroad targets in Italy
- BaobabOperation BaobabDuring World War II, Operation Baobab was a commando raid against an Italian railroad target by a small Special Air Service team.The raiders were landed on 30 January 1944. They destroyed the critical bridge between Pesaro and Fano to support the Shingle landings at Anzio on 22 January....
January 1944, raid on rail targets serving AnzioAnzioAnzio is a city and comune on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome.Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - Operation TitanicOperation TitanicOperation Titanic was the codename for an operation carried out on 5-6 June 1944 by the Royal Air Force and the Special Air Service in support of the Normandy landings during the Second World War...
June 6 1944 - NelsonOperation NelsonDuring World War II, Operation Nelson was a planned Special Air Service operation scheduled for June, 1944 in the vicinity of the Orléans Gap. The operation was never executed....
Planned June 1944, operation in the Orleans Gap. - SamwestOperation SamwestDuring World War II, Operation Samwest was a large raid conducted by 116 Free French paratroops of the 4th Special Air Service Regiment. Their objective was to hinder movement of German troops from west Brittany to the Normandy beaches via ambush and sabotage attempts.The first phase of the...
6 June 1944, 4th SAS Battalion (Free French) dropped in Côtes-du-Nord (Brittany) - Operation Grog /Grog 4 SAS in conjunction with Operations Dingson and Samwest June 5 1944
- DingsonOperation DingsonOperation Dingson was an operation in the Second World War, conducted by about 178 Free French paratroops of the 4th Special Air Service , commanded by Colonel Pierre-Louis Bourgoin, who jumped into German occupied France near Vannes, Morbihan, Southern Brittany, in Plumelec, on the night of 5...
6 June 1944, 4th SAS Battalion (Free French) dropped to Morbihan (Brittany) - Operation BulbasketOperation BulbasketOperation Bulbasket was an ill-fated operation by 'B' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service, behind German lines in German occupied France, between June and August 1944...
2nd SAS failed operation 6th of June 1944 - CooneyOperation CooneyOn 7 June 1944, 297 Squadron took part in Operation Cooney by providing 2 of the 9 aircraft of 38 Group that were used to deploy elements of the 4th Free French Parachute Battalion or 2eme RCP also known as 4th SAS....
8 June 1944, 18 teams of the 4th SAS Battalion (58 Free French) dropped to Brittany to break communications ways. - HoundsworthOperation HoundsworthOperation Houndsworth was the codename for a British Special Air Service operation during the Second World War. The operation carried out by 'A' Squadron, 1st Special Air Service between 6 June and 6 September 1944, was centred around Dijon in the Burgundy region of France...
June 1944 - LostOperation LostDuring World War II, Operation Lost was a reactive seven-man Special Air Service operation inserted into Brittany alongside Operation Dingson on 22-23 June 1944...
23 June - July 1944, British and Free French operation in BrittanyBrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain... - Swan 1944
- Gain 1944 (Originally issued as *Cain but corrupted in transmission and the latter adopted)
- DefoeOperation DefoeDuring 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....
July 1944, patrols in NormandyNormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. - Barker 1944 (Originally issued as *Barkers as it is named for a famous London department store, but subsequently truncated)
- Derry 1944
- GaffOperation GaffDuring World War II, Operation Gaff was a six-man patrol of Special Air Service commandos, who parachuted into Nazi-occupied France on 18 July, 1944, with the aim of severely injuring or killing Field Marshal Erwin Rommel....
July 1944, attempt to kill or capture Erwin RommelErwin RommelErwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
. - DunhillOperation DunhillDuring World War II, Operation Dunhill was a Special Air Service operation which began on 3 August 1944. Five teams, totalling 59 men, were to disrupt German activity in advance of Operation Cobra the American breakout from Normandy....
August 1944, raid in support of the breakout from the Normandy beachheadOperation CobraOperation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the First United States Army seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy Campaign of World War II...
. - LoytonOperation LoytonOperation Loyton was the codename given to an ill-fated Special Air Service mission in the Vosges department of France during the Second World War....
August 1944, operations near the Belfort GapBelfort GapThe Belfort Gap is a plateau located between the northern end of the Jura Mountains and the southernmost part of the Vosges mountains. Its altitude varies between 345 meters at its lowest and a little more than 400 meters in the area of the watershed between the catchment areas of the Rhine and...
. - Haggard (Part of a series of randomly allocated cryptonyms derived from famous writers)
- NewtonOperation NewtonDuring World War II, Operation Newton was a jeep-mounted patrol by 57 French members of the Special Air Service who operated in the Champagne-Burgundy area from 19 August to 11 September 1944....
August 1944, attacks on GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
rear areas. - NoahOperation Noah (World War II)During World War II, Operation Noah was a reconnaissance patrol by 41 Belgian members of the Special Air Service who operated in the Ardennes from 16 August to 13 September 1944, at which point they were relieved by the advancing Americans....
August 1944, attack on retreating Germans in BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. - CanuckOperation CanuckOperation Canuck was an operation of World War II conducted by the Canadian Captain Buck McDonald and a small team of Special Air Service troopers in January, 1945....
January 1945 operation in Northern Italy. - Cold Comfort (subsequently Zombie )Operation Cold ComfortDuring World War II, Operation Cold Comfort was a failed SAS raid that began with a parachute drop north of Verona on February 17, 1945.The 12 man ski team under Capt. Littlejohn, and their equipment were widely scattered in the drop, and thereafter found themselves among hostile locals of...
February 1945 failed SAS raid on railroad targets near VeronaVeronaVerona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. - Brake (Part of a series of operations named after parts of aircraft)
- TombolaOperation TombolaDuring World War II, Operation Tombola was a major Special Air Service raid on German rear areas in Italy.Fifty men parachuted on Cusna Mountain area between 4th and 24th March 1945, under command of Major Roy Farran...
March 1945, major operation around BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,... - ArchwayOperation ArchwayOperation Archway was the codename for one of the largest and most diverse operations carried out by the Special Air Service during the Second World War....
March 1945, reconnaissance in support of the crossing of the Rhine. - AmherstOperation AmherstOperation Amherst was a Free French SAS attack designed to capture intact Dutch canals, bridges and airfields during world war II.-The battle:...
In the night of 7 April 1945, more than 700 Free French SAS of the 3rd and 4th SAS were dropped in the Netherlands between Hoogeveen and Groningen. - KeystoneOperation KeystoneDuring World War II, Operation Keystone was a Special Air Service patrol consisting of a number of jeep-mounted and airborne teams that operated south of IJsselmeer in the central Netherlands in early April, 1945....
April 1945, operation near IJsselmeerIJsselmeerIJsselmeer is a shallow artificial lake of 1100 km² in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m. The IJsselmeer is the largest lake in Western Europe....
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Known Post-War Operations
| Operation | Date | Country | Notes |
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| Claret Operation Claret Claret was the code name given to operations conducted from about July 1964 until July 1966 from East Malaysia across the border in Indonesian Kalimantan during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation. They were instigated by the Director of Borneo Operations Major General Walter Walker with the... |
June 1964 | Series of high risk deniable cross-border patrols into Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... . |
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| Operation Storm | 1970 - 1977 | ||
| Fire Magic | 13 October 1977 | Highjack of Lufthansa Flight 181 Lufthansa Flight 181 Lufthansa Flight 181 was a Lufthansa Boeing 737-230 Adv aircraft named Landshut that was hijacked on October 13, 1977 by four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine... . Supplemented German GSG9 commando operation. |
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| Nimrod | 30 April - 5 May 1980 | Rescue of hostages in the Iranian embassy siege Iranian Embassy Siege The Iranian Embassy siege took place from 30 April to 5 May 1980, after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington, London. The gunmen took 26 people hostage—mostly embassy staff, but several visitors and a police officer, who had been guarding the embassy, were also... in London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... . |
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| Folklore | |||
| Keyhole Operation Keyhole During Operation Corporate in the 1982 Falklands War, Operation Keyhole was a British special operation on Thule Island on the South Sandwich Islands. The Operation took place from 19-20 June 1982. 10 prisoners were evacuated to the tanker OLMEDA, accompanied by HMS YARMOUTH. They departed for... |
19 - 20 June 1982 | Operations on South Georgia South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote and inhospitable collection of islands, consisting of South Georgia and a chain of smaller islands, known as the South Sandwich... Island. |
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| Pebble Island Raid Raid on Pebble Island The Raid on Pebble Island took place on 14-15 May 1982 during the Falklands War. Pebble Island is part of the Falkland Islands.-Background:Immediately after the Argentines had seized the Falkland Islands they established a small airbase on Pebble Island using the local airstrip on which were based... |
14 - 15 May 1982 | Attack on Argentinian Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... -held airbase in the Falklands. |
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| Flavius Operation Flavius Operation Flavius was the name given to an operation by a Special Air Service team in Gibraltar on 6 March 1988 tasked to prevent a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb attack... |
6 March 1988 | Operation in Gibraltar Gibraltar Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region... against the IRA. |
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| Granby Operation Granby Operation Granby was the name given to the British military operations during the Gulf War. 53,462 troops were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations was £2.434 billion of which at least £2.049 billion was paid for by other nations such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia; £200... |
January 1991 | Included the well documented Bravo Two Zero Bravo Two Zero Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man British Army SAS patrol, deployed into Iraq during the First Gulf War in January 1991. According to one patrol member's account, the patrol were given the task of "gathering intelligence;..... patrol. |
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| Barras Operation Barras Operation Barras was the name given to a hostage rescue operation by the British Special Air Service, Special Boat Service, and Parachute Regiment in Sierra Leone on 10 September 2000... |
September 2000 | Rescue of 6 captured Royal Irish Rangers Royal Irish Rangers The Royal Irish Rangers was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army.-Creation:... in Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4... . |
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| Trent | November 2001 | Attack on an Al Qaeda opium plant and command centre. | |
| Condor Operation Condor (Afghanistan) Operation Condor was the name of a major British-led operation in southeastern Afghanistan. The operation began on 17 May 2002 when a patrol of the Australian Special Air Service was ambushed. The British 45 Commando then flew in to destroy the guerilla force that had exposed itself. It followed... |
May 2002 | ||
| Marlborough Operation Marlborough Operation Marlborough was the code name of a mission carried out by a British-American Special Air Service sniper team from Task Force Black, along with US Tier One Special Operations units such as Delta Force, in Baghdad, Iraq in July 2005. The team consisted of a 16-man SAS group, including 4... |
July 2005 | ||
| Moshtarak | March 2010 | A part of a U.S. United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... -led operation in Helmand Province Helmand Province Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation.... , operating with Navy SEALs United States Navy SEALs The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their... striking against and capturing Taliban leaders. |
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| NATO in Libya 2011 military intervention in Libya On 19 March 2011, a multi-state coalition began a military intervention in Libya to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, which was taken in response to events during the 2011 Libyan civil war... |
March 2011 |  Libya/ Libya |
An operation to contact the Libyan rebel and opposition Leaders of Colonel Gaddafi Muammar Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a... . The mission was a failure after the team was captured and held prisoner for 72 hours by Libyan rebels. new information has appeared which say that the mission and the prisoners were SBS SBS -Banking:* Swiss Bank Corporation, previously one of the major Swiss banks, now merged into UBS* SBS Bank, a building society in the Southland region of New Zealand that is now registered as a bank* Skipton Building Society* Scarborough Building Society... & not SAS SAS - Special forces :* Special Air Service, a special forces unit of the British Army* Australian Special Air Service Regiment * New Zealand Special Air Service * Rhodesian Special Air Service... members. |