22nd SPECIAL
AIR SERVICE REGIMENT
SABRE
SQUADRONS
By
Ryan Wulfsohn
Copyright
2000 Special Operations.Com
The
four " Sabre " or combat squadrons are the
operational element of 22SAS. A squadron is the largest
force which will normally conduct a single operation,
though squadron-strength operations are less common
than those of troop or patrol size, or combinations
thereof. However operations of smaller size will usually
report back to a squadron headquarters. The squadron
HQ could run the forward mounting base or it could
directly command troops in the field, as happened
on occasion in the Falklands and Gulf Wars. If more
than one squadron is " in-theatre" a regimental
tactical headquarters will be deployed to take command.
Sometimes even if a squadron or less is involved,
the CO of the regiment will be present. Squadron commanders
are usually the highest-ranking SAS members to take
part in actual operations.
A
full-strength squadron would have six officers and
seventy-eight other ranks, divided into a headquarters
and four troops. The Officer Commanding (OC) is a
major, with a captain as his Second In Command (2IC)
and operations officer. Also in the HQ are the Squadron
Sergeant Major (SSM), a warrant officer class 2, the
Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant (SQMS), a staff sergeant,
and a few clerks, storemen and armourers. On operations
a troop from 264 (SAS) Signal Squadron will be attached-
these men are responsible for both forward and rearward
communications i.e. to higher headquarters and operators
in the field. Each of the operational troops, whether
it specializes in mountain warfare, boating and diving,
free-fall parachuting or vehicles, is authorised a
captain and fifteen other ranks, further split into
four 4-man patrols. In practice a squadron is almost
never up to strength. Because of the shortage of "
badged " officers the SSM, who will have ten
to fifteen years of SAS experience, will often act
as 2IC. Many troops do not have officers and in these
cases a staff sergeant, otherwise the troop 2IC, will
be in command. A troop may only have about twelve
operators.
Sabre
squadrons rotate between different types of duty in
peacetime, usually every six months. These include
squadron training in the UK or overseas, especially
in the United States, Middle East and Brunei; team
tasks, in which a squadron will send training teams
to friendly countries; " strip alert " duty,
ready for deployment anywhere in the world on very
short notice; and counter-terrorist duty, during which
a squadron will come under the direction of the regiment's
Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) Wing. There is
also the commitment to provide a troop for duty in
Northern Ireland, as part of the Intelligence &
Security Group, which also includes the former 14
Intelligence Company, now apparently known as the
Army Surveillance Unit. Of course the key to much
of the SAS's success is flexibility and SAS operators
will be found in other places too. Some men may be
detached for further training, for example on one
of the heavy weapons courses conducted by the Infantry
Training Centre, Warminster. Others will be on exchange
duty with allied special forces, especially those
of the US, Australia and New Zealand.
Active
A
Squadron
Troops:
1(Boat), 2(Air), 3(Mobility), 4(Mountain)
Formed:
from local British Army volunteers in Malaya, 1950
Active
service: Malaya 1950-58; Oman, Jan-Feb 1959; first
squadron in Borneo, Jan-April 1963; first squadron
in Aden/Radfan, April-May 1964; thereafter served
in Aden, like other squadrons, for a few weeks at
a time during retraining during Borneo tours; Borneo
June-Oct 1964 and May-Oct 1965; Oman 1970-76, on four-month
tours as part of British Army Training Team (BATT);
Northern Ireland since 1976; Gulf 1990-91, provided
two half-squadron motorised raiding groups for work
behind Iraqi lines.
B
Squadron
Troops:
6(Boat), 7(Air), 8(Mobility), 9(Mountain)
Formed:
from volunteers from 21SAS and other ex-SAS reservists
who agreed to return to regular service for three
years, Malaya 1950.
Active
service: Malaya 1950-59; disbanded 1959; reformed
for service in Borneo, 1963; Borneo Nov 1964-Feb 1965
and Nov 1965-Feb 1966; Aden at various times, including
providing teams for undercover work in the city itself;
Radfan 1966; Oman(Musandam Peninsula) 1970, including
first operational free-fall jump by 22SAS; Oman(Dhofar)
1970-76; Battle of Mirbat, 18 July 1972; like other
squadrons did several four-month tours; Prince's Gate,
London, 5 May 1980 (Operation Nimrod); Falklands War
1982- proposed operations at Port Stanley and on Argentine
mainland cancelled; Gulf 1991, provided three road
watch patrols, including Bravo Two Zero; also provided
reinforcements to A and D Squadrons.
D
Squadron
Troops:
16(Air), 17(Boat), 18(Mobility), 19(Mountain)
Formed:
Malaya, 1951
Active
service: Malaya 1951-58; Oman(Jebel Akhdar) Nov 1958-Feb
1959; Borneo April-Aug 1963, Dec 1963-April 1964,
Feb-May 1965, July-Sept 1966; Aden at various times
in between Borneo tours; Northern Ireland as a rifle
company, Sept-Nov 1969; Oman 1971-76, four-month tours;
provided first troop for patrol/ambush work in Northern
Ireland, Jan 1976; Falklands War 1982- formed a squadron-strength
strike force; part of task force to retake South Georgia
(Operation Paraquat), late April; Pebble Island raid
(Operation Prelim), 13 May; Darwin/Goose Green raid
on night of main landings, 21 May; seizure of Mount
Kent area, 24 May-1 June; later relieved some G Squadron
patrols; two troops on raid on seaward side of Wireless
Ridge, 13/14 June; Gulf 1990-91, operated as a motorised
raiding force behind Iraqi lines, Feb-April, troops
coming together for certain operations.
G
Squadron
Troops:
21(Mobility), 22(Mountain), 23(Boat), 24(Air)
Formed:
from a troop-sized cadre from the Guards Independent
Parachute Company, Jan 1967.
Active
service: Oman 1970-76, including the Battle of Mirbat,
one of the few times when two SAS squadrons were present
in Dhofar; Northern Ireland from 1976; Falklands War
1982, ten 4-man patrols inserted on East and West
Falkland from 10 May; one troop on Wireless Ridge
raid; Gulf 1990, first squadron deployed, but later
returned to UK to take over CRW duties.
Note:
although originally meant to be a Guards squadron,
it is rare for over half of the men to be volunteers
from the Household Cavalry and the five regiments
of Foot Guards, however most of the officers have
been from these units.
Defunct
C
Squadron
Formed:
from100 Rhodesian soldiers, originally known as Far East Volunteer Unit, Southern Rhodesia,1950
Active
service: Malaya 1951-53; disbanded on return to Southern
Rhodesia; reformed 1961 and participated in several
exercises in the Middle East, 1962-63; became C Squadron,
Rhodesian SAS Regiment in 1964; formal links with
Britain cut after Unilateral Declaration of Independence
by Rhodesia, 1965; participated in the Zimbabwe/Rhodesia
civil war, 1966-1980, especially external operations
in Zambia and Mozambique; expanded to become 1st
SAS Regiment in 1978; disbanded 1980.
Independent
Parachute Squadron
Troops:
11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Formed:
from volunteers from all three battalions of the Parachute
Regiment, UK, 1955
Active
service: Malaya 1955-57; disbanded 1957.
Other
units operating in SAS role
No.1
(Guards) Independent Company, The Parachute Regiment
In
existence from 1948 to 1977, the Guards Independent
Company usually formed the pathfinder/reconnaissance
unit of 16 Parachute Brigade. In early 1964 it was
reorganised on SAS lines and after a period of training
at Hereford and in Brunei, was deployed in the long-range
patrol role on the Malaysian/Indonesian border. Later
the company returned to its original form, taking
the place of the Parachute Squadron, Royal Armoured
Corps, which served with 16 Para Brigade during the
Guards' absence.
Active
service: Borneo May-Oct 1964, June-Oct 1965.
Gurkha
Independent Parachute Company
This
unit, formed from volunteers from all five regiments
of Gurkha Rifles as well as the Queen's Gurkha Signals,
was raised in 1963, with the original role of airfield
seizure for 17th (Gurkha) Infantry Division.
However with the shortage of SAS troops during the
" Confrontation " with Indonesia, its role
was changed. Like the Guards Company the Gurkhas were
retrained by SAS instructors and deployed under the
command of 22SAS. The company was disbanded in 1971,
when British forces were withdrawn from Malaysia.
Active
service: Borneo Oct 1964-April 1965, Sept 1965-April
1966.
C(Independent)
Company, 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
Following
the success of the Guards and Gurkhas in Borneo, it
was decided in October 1964 that volunteers from 2
Para would also do a tour in the long range patrol
role. Like the others they were split into 4-man patrols,
four of those making up a platoon(four platoons in
the company), and given about three months training
in SAS techniques. Later the company returned to its
parent battalion, as did 3 Para's patrol company (see
below).
Active
service: Borneo March-July 1965; Radfan 1966.
D(Patrol)
Company, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
Active
service: Borneo March-July 1966.
Australia
and New Zealand
Squadrons
of the Australian and New Zealand SAS have at various
times operated under the command of 22SAS. The original
NZSAS Squadron served in Malaya from November 1955
to November 1957, spending about 17 months on operations.
1st Ranger Squadron NZSAS sent half-squadron
groups on four-month tours to Borneo in 1965. 1 Squadron
of the Australian SAS Regiment (SASR) was in Borneo
March-Aug 1965 and was followed by 2 Squadron in Feb-July
1966.
