Small Scale Raiding Force
Encyclopedia
No. 62 Commando or the Small Scale Raiding Force (SSRF) was a British Commandos
unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The unit was formed around a small group of commandos under the command of the Special Operations Executive
(SOE). They carried out a number of raids before being disbanded in 1943.
the British Prime Minister
. He called for specially trained troops that would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast". At first they were a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory, but by 1943 their role had changed into lightly equipped assault infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings.
The man initially selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral
Sir Roger Keyes himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid
in the First World War. Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Admiral Louis Mountbatten
.
By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered for Commando training, and what became known as the Special Service Brigade
was formed into 12 units called Commandos. Each Commando would number around 450 men commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel
. They were sub divided into Troops of 75 men and further divided into 15 man sections
. Commandos were all volunteers seconded from other British Army regiments and retained their own cap badge
s and remained on their regimental roll for pay. All volunteers went through the six week intensive commando course at Achnacarry
. The course in the Scottish Highlands concentrated on fitness, speed marches, weapons training, map reading, climbing, small boat operations and demolitions both by day and by night.
By 1943 the Commandos had moved away from small raiding operations and had been formed in brigade
s of assault infantry to spearhead future Allied landing operations. Three units were left un-brigaded to carry out smaller scale raids.
(SOE) where they were also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force.
While being under operational control of Combined Operations Headquarters, No. 62 Commando itself was under command Major
Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps. Their first operation, Operation Postmaster
, was in January 1942, when they seized an Italian liner, a German tanker and a yacht from Fernando Po.
The SSRF used HM MTB 344, a Motor Torpedo Boat
colloquially nicknamed The Little Pisser from its outstanding turn of speed. The SSRF carried out a number of cross channel
operations. The SSRF had mixed fortunes in their raids, their next raids Operation Barricade
and Operation Dryad
were complete successes. The following operation, Operation Aquatint
, on 12/13 September 1942 at Sainte-Honorine
on the Normandy coast, resulted in the loss of all the men involved including March-Phillipps. One member of the raid, Captain Graham Hayes MC, managed to reach France and eventually made his way to Spain. He was betrayed by a French double agent and handed to the Germans. After nine months solitary confinement in Fresnes Prison
, he was executed (shot) on the 13th July 1943. With the loss of March-Phillipps, Major Geoffrey Appleyard was given command. On 3/4 October 1942, they carried out a raid of the Channel Island of Sark
Operation Basalt
with men from No. 12 Commando
attached. After the raid, a number of dead and wounded Germans were found tied up, (they had been shot while trying to escape) which is claimed to have resulted in the prisoners captured in the Dieppe raid
being tied up and the Commando Order
ordering the execution of all captured commandos.
In early 1943, No. 62 Commando was disbanded and it members dispersed amongst other formations. A number went to the Middle East
and served in the Special Boat Squadron
, most notably Major Anders Lassen
- the only member of the United Kingdom Special Forces
to have been awarded the Victoria Cross
. Appleyard also went to the Middle East and helped form the 2nd Special Air Service
from a detachment of No. 62 Commando under the command of Bill Stirling, elder brother of David Stirling
. Neither Lassen nor Appleyard survived the war.
s were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.
British Commandos
The British Commandos were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, for a force that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe...
unit of the British Army during the Second World War. The unit was formed around a small group of commandos under the command of the Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE). They carried out a number of raids before being disbanded in 1943.
Background
The commandos were formed in 1940, by the order of Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
the British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
. He called for specially trained troops that would "develop a reign of terror down the enemy coast". At first they were a small force of volunteers who carried out small raids against enemy occupied territory, but by 1943 their role had changed into lightly equipped assault infantry which specialised in spearheading amphibious landings.
The man initially selected as the overall commander of the force was Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Sir Roger Keyes himself a veteran of the landings at Galipoli and the Zeebrugge raid
Zeebrugge Raid
The Zeebrugge Raid, which took place on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the British Royal Navy to neutralize the key Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge...
in the First World War. Keyes resigned in October 1941 and was replaced by Admiral Louis Mountbatten
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
.
By the autumn of 1940 more than 2,000 men had volunteered for Commando training, and what became known as the Special Service Brigade
Special Service Brigade
The Special Service Brigade was a formation of the British Army during the Second World War.It was formed in 1940, after the call for volunteers for Special Service who eventually became the British Commandos.-Background:...
was formed into 12 units called Commandos. Each Commando would number around 450 men commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
. They were sub divided into Troops of 75 men and further divided into 15 man sections
Section (military unit)
A section is a small military unit in some armies. In many armies, it is a squad of seven to twelve soldiers. However in France and armies based on the French model, it is the sub-division of a company .-Australian Army:...
. Commandos were all volunteers seconded from other British Army regiments and retained their own cap badge
Cap badge
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as well as uniformed civilian groups such as the Boy...
s and remained on their regimental roll for pay. All volunteers went through the six week intensive commando course at Achnacarry
Achnacarry
Achnacarry is a small hamlet, private estate, and a castle in the Lochaber region of Highland, Scotland. It occupies a strategic position on an isthmus between Loch Lochy to the east, and Loch Arkaig to the west....
. The course in the Scottish Highlands concentrated on fitness, speed marches, weapons training, map reading, climbing, small boat operations and demolitions both by day and by night.
By 1943 the Commandos had moved away from small raiding operations and had been formed in brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
s of assault infantry to spearhead future Allied landing operations. Three units were left un-brigaded to carry out smaller scale raids.
Operations
No. 62 Commando was formed in 1941, and consisted of a small group of 55 commando-trained personnel working under the Special Operations ExecutiveSpecial Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
(SOE) where they were also known as the Small Scale Raiding Force.
While being under operational control of Combined Operations Headquarters, No. 62 Commando itself was under command Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Gustavus Henry March-Phillipps. Their first operation, Operation Postmaster
Operation Postmaster
Operation Postmaster was a British operation conducted on the Spanish island of Fernando Po, now known as Bioko, off West Africa in the Gulf of Guinea, during the Second World War. The mission was carried out by the Small Scale Raiding Force and the Special Operations Executive in January 1942...
, was in January 1942, when they seized an Italian liner, a German tanker and a yacht from Fernando Po.
The SSRF used HM MTB 344, a Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
colloquially nicknamed The Little Pisser from its outstanding turn of speed. The SSRF carried out a number of cross channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
operations. The SSRF had mixed fortunes in their raids, their next raids Operation Barricade
Operation Barricade
Operation Barricade was a British Commando raid during the Second World War. It was carried out by 11 men of No. 62 Commando over the night of 14/15 August 1942, and had as its objective an anti-aircraft gun and radar site north-west of Pointe de Saire south of Barfleur...
and Operation Dryad
Operation Dryad
Operation Dryad was a raid on the Casquets lighthouse in the Channel islands by British Commandos during the Second World War. The Commandos captured the lighthouse and its occupants and departed leaving no trace that anyone had ever been there.-Background:...
were complete successes. The following operation, Operation Aquatint
Operation Aquatint
Operation Aquatint was the codename for a failed raid by British Commandos on the coast of occupied France during the Second World War. The raid was undertaken in September 1942 on part of what later became Omaha Beach by No...
, on 12/13 September 1942 at Sainte-Honorine
Sainte-Honorine
Sainte-Honorine is part of the name of several communes in France:* Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, in the Yvelines département* Sainte-Honorine-de-Ducy, in the Calvados département...
on the Normandy coast, resulted in the loss of all the men involved including March-Phillipps. One member of the raid, Captain Graham Hayes MC, managed to reach France and eventually made his way to Spain. He was betrayed by a French double agent and handed to the Germans. After nine months solitary confinement in Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison
Fresnes Prison is the second largest prison in France, located in the town of Fresnes, Val-de-Marne South of Paris...
, he was executed (shot) on the 13th July 1943. With the loss of March-Phillipps, Major Geoffrey Appleyard was given command. On 3/4 October 1942, they carried out a raid of the Channel Island of Sark
Sark
Sark is a small island in the Channel Islands in southwestern English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. It is a royal fief, geographically located in the Channel Islands in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population...
Operation Basalt
Operation Basalt
Operation Basalt was a small British raid conducted during World War II on the German occupied British Channel Island of Sark.On the night of 3–4 October 1942 ten men of the Special Operations Executive's Small Scale Raiding Force, and No...
with men from No. 12 Commando
No. 12 Commando
No. 12 Commando was a battalion-sized commando unit of the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in 1940 in Northern Ireland, they carried out a number of small-scale raids in Norway and France between 1941 and 1943 before being disbanded and its personnel dispersed to other commando...
attached. After the raid, a number of dead and wounded Germans were found tied up, (they had been shot while trying to escape) which is claimed to have resulted in the prisoners captured in the Dieppe raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
being tied up and the Commando Order
Commando Order
The Commando Order was issued by Adolf Hitler on 18 October 1942 stating that all Allied commandos encountered by German forces in Europe and Africa should be killed immediately, even if in uniform or if they attempted to surrender...
ordering the execution of all captured commandos.
In early 1943, No. 62 Commando was disbanded and it members dispersed amongst other formations. A number went to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and served in the Special Boat Squadron
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
, most notably Major Anders Lassen
Anders Lassen
Anders Frederik Emil Victor Schau Lassen VC, MC & Two Bars was a Danish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-History:Anders Lassen was the son of Emil Victor Schau...
- the only member of the United Kingdom Special Forces
United Kingdom Special Forces
The United Kingdom Special Forces is a UK Ministry of Defence Directorate which also has the capability to provide a Joint Special Operations Task Force Headquarters...
to have been awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
. Appleyard also went to the Middle East and helped form the 2nd Special Air Service
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
from a detachment of No. 62 Commando under the command of Bill Stirling, elder brother of David Stirling
David Stirling
Colonel Sir Archibald David Stirling, DSO, DFC, OBE was a Scottish laird, mountaineer, World War II British Army officer, and the founder of the Special Air Service.-Life before the war:...
. Neither Lassen nor Appleyard survived the war.
Battle honours
The following Battle honourBattle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags , uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible....
s were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.
- AdriaticDodecanese CampaignThe Dodecanese Campaign of World War II was an attempt by Allied forces, mostly British, to capture the Italian-held Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea following the surrender of Italy in September 1943, and use them as bases against the German-controlled Balkans...
- AlethangyawBurma CampaignThe Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
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- AnzioOperation ShingleOperation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
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- DieppeDieppe RaidThe Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
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- Djebel Choucha
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- Middle East 1941, 1942, 1944
- Monte OrnitoOperation ShingleOperation Shingle , during the Italian Campaign of World War II, was an Allied amphibious landing against Axis forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno, Italy. The operation was commanded by Major General John P. Lucas and was intended to outflank German forces of the Winter Line and enable an...
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- Normandy Landing
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