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Wikipedia / United Kingdom Commando Force

The United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called 3 Commando Brigade, is the special operations capable commando formation of the Royal Marines. It is composed of Royal Marine Commandos and commando qualified personnel from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.

The brigade was formed 1 September 1943 at Dorchester with personnel from 102 RM Brigade, during the Second World War, with a mixture of Army Commando and Royal Marine Commando units, and was deployed to the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II to conduct operations against the invading forces of Imperial Japan, such as the Burma Campaign. After the Second World War, the Army Commandos were disbanded and the brigade became a Royal Marine formation. In the 2020s, the United Kingdom Commando Force has again become a mixed formation with the addition of commando-qualified soldiers from the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers to provide support for the Royal Marine Commandos. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been involved in a number of engagements such as the Suez Crisis, Falklands War, Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan.

History

Second World War

Between September and November 1943, in Scotland, 102nd Brigade, Royal Marines Division, was detached from the division, to form the independent 3rd Special Service Brigade – a joint British Army-Royal Marines formation. The founding commander was Brigadier Wilfrid Nonweiler and it was composed of the following units:

Nos. 1 and 5 Commandos had already earned battle honours as units in, respectively, the North African and Madagascar campaigns. Because "Commando", at the time, implied a company/battalion-sized unit, the name "Special Service" was instead used for British commando brigades. (However, the term "Commando Brigade" was often used informally, because "Special Service" was unpopular and had a superficial similarity to the name of the notorious German Schutzstaffel (SS).) The brigade was later officially renamed 3rd Commando Brigade.

On 10 November 1943, elements of the brigade embarked at Gourock, bound for India. It was intended that the brigade would be used in operations against Japanese forces in the South-East Asia theatre, such as the Burma campaign. However, the limited shipping capacity available at the time meant that the relocation was prolonged and the components of the brigade were not reunited until late 1944. LtCol. Peter Young was transferred from the Normandy campaign to become second-in-command of 3rd Commando Brigade. Young succeeded Nonweiler as commander of the brigade.

During January 1945, the brigade was involved in the campaign to recapture Arakan, including the battles of Myebon peninsula and Kangaw. The brigade was then withdrawn to India to prepare for Operation Zipper, a proposed amphibious operation to recapture the Malayan peninsula. The atomic bombs against Japan precipitated an earlier surrender of Japan than expected. The 3rd Commando Brigade moved to secure Hong Kong – a British crown colony that was under Japanese occupation in 1941–45. During 1946, British Army personnel and units within the 3rd Commando Brigade were demobilised or transferred elsewhere and it became a Royal Marine formation.

Post Second World War

3 Commando Brigade's most high-profile operation after the war was the Suez Crisis, when it took part in the amphibious assault against Egyptian targets. During Operation Musketeer, units of the brigade made a helicopter-borne assault.

1971 saw the withdrawal of British forces from the Far East and Persian Gulf. The brigade returned to the UK with other British units. It moved to Stonehouse Barracks in Plymouth, where it remains to this day.

Operation Corporate

The brigade's next large operation was in 1982. Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, and 3 Commando Brigade, reinforced by 2 Para and 3 Para, was one of the two main British land formations that took part in operations to recapture the islands (the other was 5th Infantry Brigade). The brigade landed at San Carlos Water and marched across East Falkland to Stanley. Argentine units were defeated in several sharp engagements, and their forces surrendered on 14 June.

Gulf War

In the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf War, the brigade was deployed on a non-combat task in northern Iraq. The Iraqi Kurds had suffered immensely during the war and in its aftermath, and the brigade was used due to its rapid deployment ability. It provided humanitarian aid to the Kurds and saved many from starvation.

21st century

The brigade has been involved in major campaigns, including Operation Veritas in Afghanistan, 2001 and 2002, and Operation Telic during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Iraq saw heavy fighting occur in the early stages of the campaign, as the brigade made its first amphibious assault in over 20 years by landing on the Al-Faw peninsula in south-east Iraq. In 2006, the brigade returned to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick, replacing 16 Air Assault Brigade, and intense fighting occurred.

In 2022, 3 Commando Brigade was rebranded to the United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), a process that started in 2020 and completed in 2024.

Falklands War order of battle

The order of battle was as follows: Commander: Brigadier JHA Thompson

29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery (Lt Col MJ Holroyd Smith)

2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Lt Col H Jones VC) — Blue Beach 2 - Goose Green & Darwin - Wireless Ridge. (†18)

  • 29th Field Battery RA

43 (Lloyds) Air Defence Battery

3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Lt Col HWR Pike) — Green Beach - Teal Inlet - Mount Longdon. (†21)

SBS (Maj Jonathan Thomson) 67 men　(†1)

  • 2nd, 3rd and 6th Sections

22 SAS (Lt Col HM Rose) 107 men (†19)

  • D and G Squadrons

  • 1 Tactical Air Control Party

  • 2 Tactical Air Control Party

  • 3 Tactical Air Control Party

  • maintenance group

  • Rear link detachment, 30 Signal Regiment (†3)

Elements of 17 Port Regiment Royal Corps of Transport.

  • 3 x Mexeflote detachments.

  • 5 x Landing ship logistics detachments.

  • 2 x FV 4018 Centurion BARV　

  • 3 x Surgical support teams

  • Postal courier communications unit detachment of 2 PC Regiment RE, 20 PC Sqn RE (tasked 3 CDO Bde support) & 21 PC Sqn RE (tasked 5 Airborne Bde support)

  • Detachment 47 Air Despatch Squadron RCT.

59 Independent Commando Squadron Royal Engineers (Maj Roderick Macdonald). (†3)

  • 2 Troop 9 Parachute Squadron Royal Engineers (Capt Robbie Burns)

Detachment 49 EOD Squadron, 33 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers (†1)

  • 2 man bomb disposal team

  • Y Troop Royal Marines (electronic warfare)

  • Commando Forces Band (stretcher-bearers)

- Replaced by Lt Col David Chaundler

Current organisation

The UK Commando Force contains Royal Marines, Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force personnel. When operating as part of the combined United Kingdom / Netherlands Landing Force, the 1st Marine Combat Group of the Dutch Korps Mariniers is also attached to the brigade.

The subordinate units are:

Headquarters, UK Commando Force, at RM StonehouseRM Stonehouse

Commander, UK Commando Force is Brigadier Jamie M. Norman

Headquarters, 40 Commando40 Commando, at RM Norton ManorRM Norton Manor

  • Command Company

  • Logistics Company

  • Information Warfare Company

  • Alpha Company (A Coy)

  • Bravo Company (B Coy)

  • Charlie Company (C Coy)

Headquarters, 42 Commando42 Commando, at RM BickleighRM Bickleigh

  • Command Company

  • Logistics Company

  • Juliet Company (J Coy)

  • Kilo Company (K Coy)

  • Lima Company (L Coy)

  • Mike Company (M Coy)

Headquarters, 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines43 Commando (Fleet Protection Group), at HMNB ClydeHMNB Clyde

  • Headquarters Squadron

  • Oscar Squadron (O Sqn)

  • Papa Squadron (P Sqn)

  • Romeo Squadron (R Sqn)

Headquarters, 45 Commando45 Commando, at RM CondorRM Condor

  • Command Company

  • Logistics Company

  • Whisky Company (W Coy)

  • X-Ray Company (X Coy)

  • Yankee Company (Y Coy)

  • Zulu Company (Z Coy)

Headquarters, 47 Commando (Raiding Group) Royal Marines47 Commando (Raiding Group), at RM TamarRM Tamar

Headquarters, 48 Commando Support Group48 Commando Support Group, at RM ChivenorRM Chivenor

  • Headquarters Squadron

  • Equipment Support Squadron

Logistic Support Squadron

Headquarters, 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group30 Commando Information Exploitation (IX) Group, at RM StonehouseRM Stonehouse

Headquarters Squadron

Yankee Squadron (Y Sqn)

  • Air Defence Troop

  • Communications Squadron

Logistics Squadron

Headquarters, 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers24 Commando Regiment, Royal Engineers, at RM Chivenor

Source:

56 Commando Headquarters and Support Squadron

  • Commando Diving Team

  • 54 Commando Squadron

  • 59 Commando Squadron

  • 131 Commando Squadron (Army Reserves)

  • 24 Cdo REME Workshop

Headquarters, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery29 Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery, at Royal Citadel, PlymouthRoyal Citadel, Plymouth

Source:

  • 7 (Sphinx) Battery, at RM Condor.

  • 8 (Alma) Commando Battery

  • 79 (Kirkee) Commando Battery

  • 23 (Gibraltar 1779–1783) Commando Battery

  • 148 (Meiktila) Battery, at RM Poole

  • 29 Cdo REME Workshop, at the Royal Citadel, RM Condor, RM Poole

Amphibious Task Group

Formerly known as the Amphibious Ready Group, the Amphibious Task Group (ATG) is a mobile, balanced amphibious warfare force, based on a Commando Group and its supporting assets, that can be kept at high readiness to deploy into an area of operations. The ATG was normally based around specialist amphibious ships, such as the former , the only helicopter carrier in the British fleet until she was decommissioned and sold to Brazil in 2018. Ocean was designed and built to accommodate an embarked commando and its associated stores and equipment. The strategy of the ATG is to wait "beyond the horizon" and then deploy swiftly as directed by HM Government. The whole amphibious force is intended to be self-sustaining and capable of operating without host-nation support. The concept was successfully tested in operations in Sierra Leone.

Since the disposal of both HMS Ocean and, in 2024/25, the Albion class assault ships, British amphibious forces are reliant on deployment from the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and from amphibious warfare vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Aircraft of the Commando Helicopter Force can be accommodated on these vessels.

Commando Helicopter Force

The Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) forms part of the Fleet Air Arm. It comprises three helicopter squadrons and is commanded by Joint Aviation Command (JAC).

CHF is neither under the permanent control of Headquarters Commando Forces nor that of the Commandant General Royal Marines, but rather is allocated to support Commando units as required by JAC. It uses both Merlin HC4/4A medium-lift and Wildcat AH1 light transport/reconnaissance helicopters to provide aviation support to Commando Forces.

Commanders

Commanders have included:

Battle honours

The following Battle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.

See also

References

Citations

Sources