Rhodesian Special Air Service
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The Rhodesian Special Air Service or Rhodesian SAS was a Rhodesian
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
unit. It comprised: *C Squadron,
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
Regiment (Malayan Emergency (1951–1953) *"C" Squadron (Rhodesian)
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
(1961–1978) *1 (Rhodesian)
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
Regiment (1978–1980) C Squadron,
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
Regiment was formed during the
Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War was a guerrilla war fought in British Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) and the military forces o ...
by volunteers from
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
. It was disbanded in 1953 and became the nucleus of "C" Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service, operational from 1961. In June 1978 "C" Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service became 1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment until
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
became
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
in 1980.


Formation

During the
Malayan campaign The Malayan campaign, referred to by Japanese sources as the , was a military campaign fought by Allied and Axis forces in Malaya, from 8 December 1941 – 15 February 1942 during the Second World War. It was dominated by land battles between ...
(1951–1953), a group of men from
Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...
volunteered to go to Malaya and were initially known as "The Far East Volunteer Group" later to become the Malayan Scouts. While in Malaya, they became "C" Squadron (Malayan Scouts) of the already formed "A", "B" Squadron of the British SAS. When "C" Squadron concluded their tour of duty they came back to Southern Rhodesia and the unit was disbanded.


Re-formation in Rhodesia

The formation of the Rhodesian SAS goes back to November 1959 when it was decided in the Federal Assembly to form a Parachute Evaluation Detachment to examine the practicalities of military parachuting and parachute training in the
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...
, with a view to the possible formation of an airborne unit. This was announced by the then Federal Minister of Defence John Moore Caldicott, but it was Sir
Roy Welensky Sir Roland "Roy" Welensky, (''né'' Raphael Welensky; 20 January 1907 – 5 December 1991) was a Northern Rhodesian politician and the second and last Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Born in Salisbury, Southern Rh ...
who was the reported driving force behind the reforming of what was to become the SAS. In 1960 a detachment of
RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
arrived under Squadron Leader E. Minter to conduct the training of the Parachute Evaluation Detachment (PED). By March 1960, the PED was complete and those on the course were presented their wings by the said Minister of Defence. The "experiment" was a complete success and in July decided to form a regular European Special Air Services Squadron. In late 1960, No 1 Training Unit was formed, and once assembled and trained they would form the nucleus of what was to become: 1
Rhodesian Light Infantry The 1st Battalion, Rhodesian Light Infantry (1RLI), commonly The Rhodesian Light Infantry (RLI), was a regiment formed in 1961 at Brady Barracks (Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia) as a light infantry unit within the army of the Federation of Rhodesi ...
(RLI) and "C" Squadron SAS. In early 1961 six volunteers from the Air Force were sent to
RAF Abingdon Royal Air Force Abingdon or more simply RAF Abingdon was a Royal Air Force station near Abingdon, Oxfordshire. It is now known as Dalton Barracks and is used by the Royal Logistic Corps. History The airfield was opened in 1932, initially as ...
in England for parachute instructor training and a further group of volunteer officers and NCOs to complete a selection course with the SAS in Britain. On their return, they called for volunteers from No. 1 Training Unit and in August 1961 the first of many selection courses was run in the Matopos just outside Bulawayo. No 1 basic training course completed their training in November and were presented their wings by Sir Malcolm Barrow, CBE, MP and then Deputy Prime Minister. In late 1961 the SAS were moved to Ndola Barracks,
Ndola Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia and third in terms of size and population, with a population of 475,194 (''2010 census provisional''), after the capital, Lusaka, and Kitwe, and the second largest in terms of infrastructure development aft ...
in Northern Rhodesia along with the Selous Scouts Armoured Car Regiment. By July the following year, No 9 basic course received their wings from the Federal Prime Minister himself, Sir Roy Welensky, KCMG, MP. In August 1962, the Unit had sufficient men to become operational and became known as "C" Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service. With the breakup of the Federation at the end of 1963, the Squadron was virtually destroyed by many taking the " golden handshake" and some remaining in Northern Rhodesia which included all the officers and the OC at that time. Only 38 NCOs and men remained to serve in Southern Rhodesia. The Unit was relocated to Cranborne Barracks in
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
. The initial years after the break-up found the unit having difficulty in attracting recruits. This was largely due to the high standards required of an SAS soldier and also due to the "ill feeling" between the SAS and the RLI (from where most of the recruits should have been selected). Nevertheless, both the SAS and the RLI played crucial roles in the domestic counter-insurgency effort during the
Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also called the Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Liberation, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the unrecognised country of Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe-Rhodesia). The conflict pitted three for ...
. The SAS and the
Selous Scouts The Selous Scouts was a special forces unit of the Rhodesian Army that operated during the Rhodesian Bush War from 1973 until the reconstitution of the country as Zimbabwe in 1980. It was mainly responsible for infiltrating the black majority ...
, were the principal special forces units used in external operations. In terms of some of the most important of the external operations, the SAS and RLI both participated in
Operation Dingo Operation Dingo was a major raid conducted by the Rhodesian Security Forces against the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) headquarters at Chimoio and a smaller camp at Tembue in Mozambique from 23 to 25 November 1977. Backgrou ...
, in November 1977, which was one of the most successful operations conducted during the war, where more than 3,000 ZANLA fighters were killed and 5,000 wounded. The numbers of men in the SAS went up to approximately 250 when in June 1978 "C" Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service became 1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment. The unit moved to their new barracks called Kabrit in 1979 and continued to serve with outstanding success and distinction until it was disbanded with the transition to black majority rule on 31 December 1980 as Rhodesia became
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
. "D" Squadron was the "cover" name given to the South African Special Forces, Alpha Group from 1 Reconnaissance Commando (1 RC) & Bravo Group from 5 RC who worked alongside "C" Squadron SAS in the South-East corner of Rhodesia and Gaza Province, of Mozambique both separately and jointly from late 1977 – June 1978. SA personnel were also deployed with Rhodesian SAS on Op Splinter on Lake Kariba, in 1978.


See also

*
Peter McAleese Peter McAleese (born 7 September 1942) is a Scottish former soldier and mercenary. He served in the British Army's Parachute Regiment and Special Air Service (SAS), the Rhodesian Special Air Service and British South Africa Police, and South A ...
* Fireforce *
Long Range Desert Group )Gross, O'Carroll and Chiarvetto 2009, p.20 , patron = , motto = ''Non Vi Sed Arte'' (Latin: ''Not by Strength, but by Guile'') (unofficial) , colours = , colours_label ...
* Special forces of Rhodesia


References


External links


Rhodesian and South African Military History
An extensive collection of histories and analysis of Rhodesian and South African military operations, to the early 1980s {{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodesian Special Air Service Military units and formations established in 1951 Military units and formations disestablished in 1980
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
Special Air Service
Special Air Service The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
Army reconnaissance units and formations 1951 establishments in Southern Rhodesia