Operation named with a star * are French from
S.A.S
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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 -Parties*- 18 French Parachute teams
of 4ème 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)
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
- September 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 - August 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)
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)
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 Rambouillet, 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)
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 from 3 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)
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)
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)
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)
Keystone - Jeep-mounted squadron from 2
SAS tasked with interrupting enemy movements south of Ijsselmeer, Holland.
(April 1943)
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)
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.
-no codename-
Two groups from 2 SAS ('Thistledown' and 'Driftwood') ordered to cut
rail communications north of Rome and along the Italian east coast.(January
1944)
Marigold - Joint SAS/SBS operation landed
by submarine to snatch a prisoner on the island of Sardinia. (30 May
1943)
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)
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.
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)
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)
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)
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)
Rupert - 58 men from 2 SAS tasked with
conducting sabotage operations against railway lines near Verdun in
eastern France. (July-Sept. 1944)
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)
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)
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)
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.
Revisited, completed and updated jan 2003
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