Special Operations.Com

Glossary of International SOF and Counterterrorist Operations

- Code Names -

(Copyright 1998-2000, Special Operations.Com. Do not reprint without permission.)

Contributions or suggestions for missing operations welcome.

For a comprehensive guide to larger U.S. military operations, stop by the FAS website.

For an exhaustive guide to SOF Code Names and Cover Names for the European Theater of Operations in World War Two, stop by the official US Army site (the following list is operations-only from World War Two to present day).

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Operation:

Abel - 82 soldiers of 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) conduct blocking actions and hit-and-run raids in conjunction with Maquis units during the battle for the vital Belfort Gap. (Eastern France, 27 Aug to 22 Sept 1944)

Acid Gambit - The Delta Force/160th SOAR rescue of American citizen Kurt Muse from Carcel Modelo prison in Panama during Operation Just Cause. (1989)

Amherst - 3 and 4 French Parachute Battalions (3 and 4 SAS) inserted to support the Canadian First Army as it advanced into Holland, also tasked with preserving an airfield at Steenwijk and preventing the destruction of important bridges. (April 1945)

Apostle - HQ SAS Brigade, 1 and 2 SAS deployed to disarm the 300,000 German soldiers remaining in Norway at the end of WW2. (May-August 1945)

Archway - 1 and 2 SAS tasked with crossing the Rhine to support the advance of the British 21st Army Group, eventually reached Kiel following numerous engagements with enemy forces. (Germany, March-May 1945)

Assured Response - The evacuation of noncombatant personnel from Liberia by US Navy SEALs and other special operations units. (April 1996)

Baytown - Special Raiding Squadron (later 1 SAS) tasked with the disruption of German lines of communication and the capture of the Italian port of Bagnara. (Southern Italy, Sept. 1943)

Baobab - One of a series of raids conducted by 2 SAS and designed to sever strategic railway lines used to transport German supplies. (Italy, 30 Jan 1944)

Barker - 27 men from 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) jumped into the Saone-et-Loire area, tasked with the disruption of enemy movements and to support the local Maquis. (France, Aug - Sept 1944)

Begonia - Involved detachments from 2 SAS making contact with (for the purposes of evacuation) former British POWs following the surrender of Italy. (Italy, Sept. 1943)

Benson - Six members of Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) jumped into northeastern France to collect intelligence concerning German troop strength and movements. (France, 28 Aug - 01 Sept. 1944)

Bergbang - 41 members of Belgian SAS dropped into the Liege-Aachen-Maastricht region to aid the local resistance and sever German communications east of the Meuse River. (02-12 Sept. 1944)

Blast Furnace - US troops - including SOF personnel - provided logistical support for Bolivian National Police find-and-destroy operations against coca-processing facilities in the Chapare, Beni and Santa Cruz areas. (July 1996)

Brutus - 19 members of the Belgium Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) dropped east of the Meuse River to contact the Belgian Secret Army and another party of 5 SAS. (02 Sept. 1944)

Bulbasket - B Squadron, 1 SAS inserted to the Vienne area to interrupt German troop movements and prevent reinforcements from reaching the Normandy landing area (France, 06 June 1944)

Bunyan - 20 members of Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) inserted to Chartres area, tasked with the harrassment of retreating German forces. (France, August 1944)

Caliban - 26 members of Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) dropped into Bourg Leopold to sever German communications east of the Meuse River. (northeast Belgium, 06-11 September 1944)

Candytuft - Small detachment from 2 SAS tasked with the destruction of a railway line running from Ancona to Pescara. (east Italian coast, October 1943)

Canuck - Team from 2 SAS inserted to disrupt enemy communications between the Italian Riviera and northern Italy. (Italy, early 1945)

Carolina Moon - Specially-trained USAF C-130 crews deliver special weapons to destroy the Thanh Hoa Bridge. (Vietnam, May 1966)

Chaucer - 22 members of Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) jumped into Le Mans, France to conduct harrassment operations against retreating German forces. (July-August 1944)

Chestnut - Two SAS teams (from 2 SAS) inserted into northern Sicily to support the Allied invasion of the island and tasked with the destruction of roads, communications, and railway lines on the northeast coast. (July 1943)

Claret - A series of top secret, cross border missions conducted by the British SAS and Ghurkas in Borneo to effect pre-emptive strikes against guerrilla bases along the border. (Kalimantan, 1960s)

Cockleshell - British special operations canoeist assaults on shipping at Bordeaux, France. (December 1942)

Cold Comfort - 13 members of 3 Squadron, 2 SAS dropped north of Verona and tasked with the destruction of the railway line leading to Brenner Pass. (northern Italy, 17 Feb. 1945)

Cooney - French Parachute Battalion (4 SAS) inserted between St. Malo and Vannes, cuts a number of railway lines before dispersing and joining up with larger commando group. (France, 07 June '44)

Corporate - British armed forces deploy to the Falkland Islands to evict the Argentinian military presence, heavy action seen by the SAS, SBS, and other UK special operations forces. (1982)

Crate 3 - To facilitate a later prisoner swap, Israel's Sayeret Mat'kal kidnaps five Syrian intelligence officers conducting a tour of the Israeli border. (21 June 1972)

Deadstick - The attempt to sieze the bridges over the Orne river and canal on D-Day by an elite British glider unit (Glider Pilot Regiment) and light infantry forces. (5-6 June 1944)

Defoe - 2 SAS reconnaissance of the Argentan area of Normandy. (France, June - August 1944)

Derry - 89 men of 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) parachuted into Finisterre, Brittany and tasked with harrassment operations against German forces and the protection of viaducts at Morlaix and Plougastel. (France, August 1944)

Devon - Special Raiding Squadron (SRS) attack on the Italian town of Termoli. (October 1943)

Dickens - 65 men from 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) parachuted into the Nantes/Saumur area of western France and tasked with gathering intelligence, organizing resistance, and general harrassment of German forces. (July - October 1944)

Dingson - 160 men and 4 jeeps of 4 French Parachute Battalion (4 SAS) parachuted into Vannes area of Brittany to organize local resistance, establish a local base of operations, and harrass enemy forces in the area. (July - October 1944)

Driftwood - Part of Operation Maple; two four man teams from 2 SAS were inserted and assigned to destroy a pair of railway lines (Urbino-Fabriano and Ancona-Rimini). (Italy, 1944)

Dunhill - Five teams from 2 SAS parchuted into eastern Brittany to gather intelligence on enemy troop movements in the area. (northwest France, 3-4 August 1944)

Eagle Claw - U.S. operation to rescue hostages being held in Tehran, Iran involving Delta Force, Army Rangers, USMC and AF personnel, aborted after collision between mission aircraft at desert landing site.

El Dorado Canyon - Retaliatory U.S. bombing of terrorist training facilities in and around Tripoli, Libya. (April 1986)

Fabian - Six month mission by five men from the Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) deployed near Arnhem, Holland to collect intelligence and determine the locations of V2 rocket launch sites. (Sept 1944 - March 1945)

Flavius - 22 SAS operation against a small team of IRA terrorists in Gibraltar. (March 1988)

Franklin - 186 men from 4 French Parachute Battalion (4 SAS) deploy in 31 jeeps to support US VIII Corps during the German Ardennes Offensive. (Belgian Ardennes, December 1944 - January 1945)

Gaff - Seven members of 2 SAS parachuted into Ramouillet, France to kill or capture German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel at his headquarters at La Roche Guyon on the Siene. (25 July 1944)

Gain - D Squadron, 1 SAS parachuted into southwest France to meet up with the Maquis and conduct operations to disrupt enemy communications. (1944)

Galia - 34 men from 3 Squadron, 2 SAS parachuted into northern Italy to meet up with local resistance fighters, gather intelligence, and conduct operations against the enemy. (December 1944 - February 1945)

Ghost Zone - Joint counterdrug operations in the Chapare region of Bolivia involving combined riverine, ground, and especially air interdiction forces, including numerous US SOF units. (early 1990s)

Gift - Israel's Sayeret Mat'kal is deployed to destroy 13 aircraft of Middle East Airlines (owned by the Lebanese government) at Beirut International Airport. (27 Dec. 1968)

Gobbo - see Operation Portia

Golden Pheasant - When the borders of Honduras were threatened, XVIII Airborne Corps launched Operation Golden Pheasant to counter Nicaraguan incursions into Honduras, also involved US Special Forces operational detachments. (1988)

Granby - British military deployment to the Persian Gulf for Desert Storm, included elements of the SAS and SBS. (1990)

Haft - Seven men from 1 SAS conduct reconnaissance and intelligence gathering operations near Le Mans, France. (July - August 1944)

Haggard - 52 men of B Squadron, 1 SAS (reinforced by 3 SAS) assigned to establish a base south of the Loire River between Nevers and Gien and conduct harrassment operations against the Germans.

Hardy - 55 men from 2 SAS (with 12 jeeps) parachuted into eastern France to establish a base on the Plateau de Langres, northwest of Dijon and carry out intelligence and harrassment operations. (July - September 1944)

Harrod - 85 men from3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) tasked with providing support to the right flank of the U.S. Third Army as it moved east to Germany. (August - Sept. 1944)

Hawthorn - Raid on Sardinia by the British Special Boat Section (SBS). (07 July 1943)

Hell - Large operation conducted by the Israeli armed forces, including paratroops and Sayeret Tzanhanim, against heavily fortified terrorist facilities in the Jordanian town of Karameh.

Hood 54-55 - Sayeret Tzanhanim and other Israeli commando units conduct a joint mission targeting Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Black September training facilities near Tripoli. Lebanon. (20-21 Feb. 1973)

Houndsworth - A Squadron, 1 SAS parachutes into eastern France to establish a base for support of the Normandy D-Day landings. (June 1944)

Howard - Conducted by B and C Squadrons, 1 SAS, these units were tasked with providing reconnaissance ahead of the Canadian 4th Armoured Division drive towards northern Germany. (April-May 1945)

Ibrox - 10 men of 2 SAS to destroy a railway bridge near Tronheim (op cancelled). (Norway, March 1945)

Isotope 1 - Hostage rescue mission by Israel's Sayeret Mat'kal involving an assault on a Sabena Belgian Airlines Boeing 707 against terrorists from Black September. (8-9 May 1972)

Ivy Bells - US Navy SEALs working from attack submarines attach and retrieve secret listening devices from a Soviet communication line beneath the Sea of Okhotsk. (1970s-1981)

Jaguar - Two squadrons of SAS with two companies of the Sultan's Armed Forces assault on the Jebel Dhofar, Oman. (October 1971)

Jockworth - 57 men of 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) parachuted into southeast France with orders to disrupt emeny movement and organize local resistance forces. (August - September 1944)

Jonathan - Israel's Sayeret Tzanhanim's retaliatory counterterrorist raid against the Jordanian police fort at a-Rawha on the West Bank. (11 Sept. 1956)

Jonquil - Attempt by four seaborne parties from B Squadron 2 SAS to retreive Allied prisoners of war at a location on the Italian Adriatic coast. (October 1943)

Keeni Meeni - Undercover operations by the SAS carried out in Aden. (mid-1960s)

Keystone - Jeep-mounted squadron from 2 SAS tasked with interrupting enemy movements south of Ijsselmeer, Holland. (April 1943)

Kingpin - Mission to rescue U.S. prisoners of war from the Son Tay prison camp near Hanoi, Vietnam. (November 1970)

Kipling - 107 men and 46 jeeps from C Squadron 1 SAS parachuted into the area west of Auxerre, central France, and tasked with aiding the Allied airborne landings due to take place in the Orleans Gap. (August - Sept. 1944)

Larkswood - Two squadrons from the Belgian Independent Parchute Company (5 SAS) operated as reconnaissance troops for Canadian II Corps and the Polish Armored Division as they advanced into Holland. (April - May 1945)

Laser Strike - Counterdrug operation in Colombia involving numerous international agencies, including US SOF.

Law and Order - Israeli special operations forces attack on the Hizbollah-held village of Maidun near the Israeli border. (04 May 1988)

Lost - Seven men from 4 French Parachute Battalion (4 SAS) parachuted into Brittany, France to meet up with parts of 4 SAS and conduct large scale operations against the enemy in the area. (June - July 1944)

Loyton - 91 men from 2 SAS and a Phantom team parachuted into eastern France to conduct intelligence gathering operations, attack enemy operations, and cooperate with local Maquis resistance fighters. (August - October 1945) Note: Phantom was the name given to F Squadron, GHQ Liason Regiment which was attached as a signal section to the SAS Brigade during WW2.

Magistral - Soviet airborne forces' operation to open the road from Khost to their Kunduz base camp. (Afghanistan, 1987).

Maple - Two groups from 2 SAS ('Thistledown' and 'Driftwood') ordered to cut rail communications north of Rome and along the Italian east coast.(January 1944)

Mania 5 - Raid by Israel's Flotilla 13 on the Egyptian Red Sea coastal radar facility at Ras al-Adabia. (1967)

Mania 6 - Retaliatory assault by Israel's Flotilla 13 and Sayeret Mat'kal against the al-Ahdar, or Green Island, man-made island facility in the middle of the southern approach to the Suez Canal. (19-20 July 1969)

Marigold - Joint SAS/SBS operation landed by submarine to snatch a prisoner on the island of Sardinia. (30 May 1943)

Market Garden - Massive assault by the British 1st Airborne Division (including 1, 2 and 3 Para) to seize bridges at Arnhem, Eindhoven, and Nijmegen. (Holland, Sept. 1944)

Marshall - 32 men of 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) parachuted into the Correza area of France with orders to interfere with enemy troop movements and better organize local resistance operations. (August 1944)

Moses - 47 men of 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) tasked with disrupting enemy communications near Poitiers in southwestern France. (August - October 1944)

Mount Hope III - Joint U.S. Delta Force/160th SOAR operation to steal a Russian-made Hind helicopter from an undisclosed African nation. (1988)

Musketeer - The British 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment along with the French 10th Parachute Divison parachute onto Gamil airfield, Suez to retake the canal after its closure by Egypt's President Nasser, backed up by a simultaneous amphibious assault led by the Royal Marine Commandos (5-6 November 1956).

Narcissus - Team from A Squadron, 2 SAS mission to sieze a lighthouse on the southeast coast of Sicily. (10 July 1943)

Nelson - Code name for a cancelled July 1944 SAS operation in the Orleans Gap, France.

New Technology - Sayeret Golani commandos conduct heliborne assault against the headquarters of the Arab Liberation Front (ALF) in the Nabatiyah Heights. (22 Feb 1981)

Newton - 57 men of 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) tasked with reinforcing existing SAS bases and conducting limited operations against the enemy. (August - Sept. 1944)

Nightgown - Israel's Sayeret Tzanhanim team transported by a single IAF CH-53 helo to destroy a bridge of the Baghdad-Damascus highway, preventing Iraqi tanks from joining the battle of the Golan Heights. (12-13 October, 1973)

Nimrod - British SAS CRW ('Pagoda Troop') assault on the Iranian Embassy in London, rescuing scores of hostages and killing a number of terrorists.

Noah - 41 men from the Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) parachuted into the French Ardennes to gather intel on the enemy presence in the area. (August - Sept. 1944)

Olive Leaves - A retaliatory raid by Israel's Sayeret Tzanhanim against a series of Syrian military fortifications on the eastern bank of the Sea of Galillee. (11 Dec 1955)

Paraquet - British recapture of South Georgia during the Falklands conflict, saw heavy use of SAS and SBS.

Peace for Galilee - Israel's invasion of Lebanon, involved numerous special operations forces, including Sayeret Tzanhanim (06 June 1982)

Pistol - 51 men of 2 SAS dropped into Alsace/Lorraine region of France and tasked with cutting enemy road and rail communications betweem the Rhine River and the Moselle River. (September-October 1944)

Pomegranate - Small team from 2 SAS assigned with destroying German reconnaissance aircraft on the ground at the airfield at San Egidio. (January 1944)

Portia - Seven men from Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) parachuted into the area around Drente to gather intelligence on enemy troop movements and determine the feasibility of the establishment of a covert SAS base. (September 1944 - March 1945)

Powerpack I, II, III, IV - 82d Airborne Division, Special Forces troops, psychological warfare units, signal and transportation elements, arrived in the Dominican Republic to protect American lives and to prevent a possible takeover by Communist elements.

Regent - Large operation involving the entire Belgian Independent Parachute Company (5 SAS) tasked with supporting British armored units in preventing a German breakthrough in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge. (December 1944 - January 1945)

Restore Hope - UN-led humanitarian operation designed to deliver food and supplies to the Somalian people, included heavy involvement from all branches of US SOF, including Delta Force, Army Rangers, 160th SOAR, and AFSOC personnel (especially in the attempted arrest by Task Force Ranger of a Somalia warlord). (1993)

Rice Bowl - see Operation Eagle Claw

Rupert - 58 men from 2 SAS tasked with conducting sabotage operations against railway lines near Verdun in eastern France. (July-Sept. 1944)

Safe Border - The Army is assisting in the peaceful settlement of the border dispute between Peru and Ecuador by providing support personnel, helicopters and US observers to Operation Safe Border, including US Special Forces personnel.

Samson - 24 men from 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS) parachuted into the area west of Limoges, southern France to disrupt enemy road traffic and bolster local resistance forces.

Samwest - 116 men of 4 French Parachute Battalion dropped into northern Brittany to establish a base near St. Brieuc and conduct operations to prevent the movement of German forces from western Brittany to Normandy following D-Day. (June 1944)

Saxifrage - Four parties from 2 SAS landed by torpedo boat and ordered to destroy the railway line between Ancona and Pescara. (Italy, 1943)

Shakespeare - Small detachment of the Belgian Independent Parachute Company dropped west of Paris and tasked with harrassing the retreating German forces. (July - August 1944)

Shock - Heliborne raid by fifteen members of Israel's Sayeret Tzanhanim to destroy an Egyptian powerplant in the Nile Valley. (01 Nov. 1968)

Silver Anvil - Following a coup that overthrew the president of Sierra Leone, a US European Command Joint Special Operations Task Force evacuated over 400 civilians, US and foreign nationals. (May 1992)

Silver Wake - The evacuation of noncombatant personnel from Albania by USMC MEU (SOC) 26. (1997)

Sleepy Lad - Several parties from 2 SAS landed by the Royal Navy on the Italian east coast, tasked with the interdiction of German road and rail communications between Ancona and Pescara. (Italy, December 1943)

Snapdragon - Small operation by 2 SAS on the Italian island of Pantelleria, inserted by submarine. (28 May 1945)

Snelgrove - 28 men of 3 French Parachute Battalion (3 SAS), parachuted into southern France with orders to disrupt enemy troop movements an support local Maquis resistance fighters. (August 1944)

Speedwell - Two seven-man teams from 2 SAS dropped into the Spezia/Genoa area to conduct long term behind the lines sabotage and other operations. (Sept. 1943 - April 1944)

Spenser - 317 men of 4 French Parachute Battalion (4 SAS) mounted on 54 jeeps, infiltrated emeny lines and conducted operations designed to effect major casualties to the retreating German Army. (August - Sept. 1944)

Spoils 1, 2 and 3 - Three successive missions conducted against a shipment of Czech arms to Syria by a 25 man element from the 4th Battalion of Israel's Pal'mach. (02-10 April 1948)

Spring of Youth - Large, coordinated joint operation involving Mossad, Sayeret Tzanhanim, Sayeret Mat'kal, and regular IDF units targeting Black September's leadership and positions in Beirut, Lebanon. (09 April 1973)

Steady State - One of a series of counterdrug operations in the Andean region of South America, involving US Special Forces, USMC personnel, and the CIA. (1991-1994)

Storm - Code name given to a plan devised in 1970 for an upcoming SAS campaign in Oman.

Support Justice - Operation Support Justice was initiated in mid-1991 to provide communication, radar, and intelligence support to Colombian military and law enforcement authorities, including DEA, CIA, and Special Forces personnel. (1991-1992)

Sword - Code name for an armed counterguerrilla sweep by the SAS deep in the Malayan jungle. (January 1954)

Thunderball (later renamed Operation Yonatan) - Israeli special operations personnel from Sayeret Mat'kal, Sayeret Golani and Sayeret Tzanhanim deploy by C-130 to Entebbe Airport in Uganda to effect the rescue of Jewish and Israeli hostages. (3-4 July 1976)

Titanic - Seven men from 1 SAS jumped along with dummy parachutists into an area near Normandy, with the intent being to deceive the Germans into believing a major airborne landing was taking place. (6 June 1944)

Tombola - 50 men from 3 Squadron 2 SAS, local partisans, and 70 escaped Russian soldiers conducted operations against the Germans in the area between Bologna and Spezia. (Italy, March - April 1945)

Trueform - 102 personnel from 1 and 2 SAS and the Belgian Independent Parachute Company jumped onto 12 separate landing zones northwest of Paris with orders to inflict maximum damage to the retreating German forces. (August 1944)

Uphold Democracy - Peacekeeping and humanitarian operation in Haiti, saw extensive deployment of the 160th SOAR, Special Forces, and various US SOF units. (Sept-Oct 1994)

Urgent Fury - U.S. invasion of Grenada involving elements of US Navy SEALs, Special Forces, AFSOC, TF 160, Rangers, and other special operations forces.

Varsity - 22,000 Allied paratroopers dropped on the east bank of the Rhine River to breach the lower Rhine and drive into Germany's industrial heartland. (24 March 1945)

Wallace - 60 men from 2 SAS in 23 jeeps (divided into three groups) landed at Rennes, tasked with strengthening SAS bases in the area, later attacked the German HQ in Chatillon. (1944)

Wash - Part of Operation Samwest

Wolsey - A five man joint SAS/Phantom team parachuted into northeast France and assigned to gather intelligence on enemy positions and movements. Note: Phantom was the name given to F Squadron, GHQ Liason Regiment which was attached as a signal section to the SAS Brigade during WW2. (1944)

Yonaton - see Operation Thunderball

Portions of the above derived from: A-Z of the SAS, by Peter Darman (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1992) ISBN# 0283061669 and Israeli Special Forces, by Samuel M. Katz (Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International, 1993) ISBN# 0879387157.

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