Special boat service

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Badge of the SBS

The Special Boat Service ( SBS ) is the maritime special unit of the British Armed Forces . As the Special Air Service , the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) and the Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) is the SBS part of the community of the special forces ( Special Forces community ) Great Britain, the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). For many years the motto of the unit was: Not By Strength, By Guile - Not by strength, but by cunning , but has now been replaced by By Strength And Guile - by strength and cunning (see illustration).

assignment

The SBS specializes in operations in and on the water, in landing operations and operations on ships or oil rigs. This includes the liberation of hostages as well as the protection of British ships and port facilities, or the sabotage of opposing facilities.

The skills of the SBS soldiers are not limited to diving and swimming. You will also be trained in parachuting with automatic parachutes and in the MFF as well as in fast roping from helicopters . As triphibian forces, they can also carry out undetected missions on land. This is the basis of operations for all modern marine special units.

The role of the SBS as a gun diver is comparable to that of the combat swimmers of the German Navy or that of the American Navy Seals .

organization

As an association, the SBS is part of the Royal Marines Commandos, which are themselves an integral part of the Royal Navy . It is probably smaller in terms of personnel than the partner unit SAS .

The headquarters is currently Poole Naval Base in Dorset . But there are reports that the SBS into the base Whale Iceland in Portsmouth to move.

The troop was reorganized in 1987 and has been called Special Boat Service ever since. Previously known as the Special Boat Squadron, it had approximately 150 members. There was also - similar to the SAS - a reserve unit , which was run as the SBS (R) . This consisted of about 50 former members of the active SBS . Since the reorganization, the SBS should have more staff. However, there are no exact figures on this as the UK government does not disclose details of its specialized forces. The press estimates that there are between 200 and 300 soldiers currently serving in the SBS .

According to a report by the UK Department of Defense on the structure of the armed forces, there are four squadrons, three active and one reserve unit. The soldiers are deployed in 16-man teams, but can also be active in 8- and 4-man groups or in pairs. The active squadrons are divided according to their specializations:

  • C Squadron - diving and operations with canoes and paddle boats
  • M Squadron - counter-terrorism operations and boarding ships and oil rigs
  • S Squadron - Transport by mini-submarines and motor boats

The M Squadron consists of three groups named:

  • Gold troop
  • Purple Troop
  • Black Troop .

The Black Troop specializes in attacks with and from helicopters.

During the Cold War , the task of the SBS was that of a classic special unit, therefore primarily gathering information and deploying behind enemy lines. However, as with many special forces, this picture has changed over the past few decades. Today, combating and preventing acts of terrorism is one of the main tasks of the SBS . The unit not only performs maritime tasks, but can also be used to protect airports, storm buildings and capture suspicious persons. Since 1971, the SBS has also been regularly involved in counter-terrorism operations in Northern Ireland , which took place as part of the Military Reaction Force (MRF) and later also in cooperation with the 14 Intelligence Company .

Recruitment and training

Previously, only soldiers who had previously served with the Royal Marines for at least two years could apply for service in the SBS . Now, however, any British soldier is free to apply.

Before the actual selection, those interested must survive a two-week course, which is divided into the so-called boat and diving week . In the first week you must:

  • take a general fitness test,
  • Swim 600 meters in 15 minutes,
  • Swim 50 meters in full uniform and with a gun,
  • Dive 25 meters.
  • Prove your skills with the paddle boat and march 5 kilometers with a canoe and backpack and paddle 30 kilometers.

The second week is about doing different dives and demonstrating the basic ability and willingness to dive.

Then they go through the same selection as the applicants for the SAS , the so-called Special Forces Selection . Only after the candidates have qualified in this selection can soldiers begin with the further SBS or SAS selection.

The training section lasts eight weeks. During this time, extensive swimming and canoeing training must be completed. This training is aimed at relieving candidates of fear of the element water.

Furthermore, the training to become an SBS man includes the areas of navigation , hand-to-hand combat , blasting training , exploration of landing beaches (both above and under water, but also on land), handling boats (including a 55-kilometer march by canoe) and penetration into enemy territory using micro-submarines. Survival training in Scotland is part of this course, as is cold water diving, assisted and unsupported diving, and sightless diving. After passing this, the soldiers are members of the SBS with the rank of "Swimmer Canoeist Class 3" (SC3).

In some cases, the training takes place together with the SAS . Above all, the training in anti-terror tactics is completed jointly.

Those who are accepted then wear the special training mark “SC” ( Swimmer Canoeist ) on the left cuff of their uniform. That and the parachute jump badge on the right arm are the only indications of their affiliation with the SBS . They wear the same uniforms and green berets as all Royal Marines. You will be assigned to one of the task forces and begin further training, during which you will become specialists in various areas:

Like the SAS, officers serve in the SBS for a maximum of three years , after which they are transferred back to the Royal Marines Commandos or the Royal Navy .

According to the Department of Defense, only 30 percent of applicants pass all exams. Overall, the training is not only exhausting, but also dangerous. Allegedly, more SBS members have died during training and maneuvers than during operations.

A current example of this assumption is the death of the then commander of the SBS , Lieutenant Colonel Richard Van der Horst, during an exercise in Northern Norway. Van der Horst died on March 14, 2005 after a diving accident. During a NATO exercise , he took a dive in a Swimmer Delivery Vehicle (SDV), a small submarine originally developed for the Navy SEALs . He got into trouble because he was not familiar with the device. He was rescued, but died in hospital a week after being recovered.

equipment

The SBS uses the following weapons:

The following weapons were also used in the past:

history

The SBS was founded in March 1943 and carried out its operations mainly in Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece during the Second World War .

As early as December 7-12, 1942, the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment under Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler carried out the command operation Operation Frankton against ships in the port of Bordeaux , which was occupied by the German Wehrmacht.

However, after critical inquiries from the conservative opposition, this should remain a secret. After the Second World War, it was also used in the Korean War and the Israeli War of Independence . They also spied on the Soviet submarine fleet.

Known missions

  • The shipping company Cunard Line received a bomb threat with a ransom demand in 1971, according to which a bomb had been deposited on the transatlantic liner Queen Elizabeth 2 . In response were - in addition to a EOD - officer (Captain Robert Williams) and a SAS - Sergeant (Sergeant Cliff Oliver) - Two members of the SBS (Lieutenant Richard Clifford and Corporal Tom Jones) over the Atlantic Ocean from a Lockheed C-130 Hercules by parachute discontinued. The crew of Queen Elizabeth 2 under Captain William Law had meanwhile searched the ship and found two suspicious pieces of luggage. These were examined by the EOD / IED specialist and rated as harmless. The bomb threat turned out to be a hoax. During the operation, the ransom was deposited at the requested location, but was never picked up. The blackmailer's identity could never be established.
  • In April 1973, the QE II was booked by a group of Jewish Americans to take to Haifa to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the State of Israel. With regard to the hostage-taking during the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972 , an attack by the terrorist group Black September was considered possible. For this reason a Protection Group of the SBS was embarked undercover as travel agents. The first use of this type for the special forces resulted in several errors. Until then, the members of the SBS had to wear a short military haircut, which was very noticeable at the time - when hair was worn longer in civilian areas. On the other hand, the SBS operated exclusively in uniform until then and was therefore not used to acting in civilian clothes. As a result, the use was revealed by the press. A few years later, on another such mission, two groups were embarked - an open team and a covert team. This operation went undetected.
  • Units of the SBS were used several times in the Falklands War in 1982 . They were of particular importance in the reconquest of South Georgia . Only two SBS members died during the war, both from friendly fire .
  • On February 27, 1991 members of the SBS stormed the British Embassy in Kuwait as part of the Second Gulf War . They were flown in by Sea King helicopters and rappeled off from them. During the operation, the SBS used stun grenades as it was assumed that the embassy was occupied by Iraqi troops. In retrospect, it turned out that the embassy was never manned and that a Kuwaiti caretaker who was present could have unlocked it.
  • On November 23, 1992, two SBS teams boarded the cargo ship Foxtrot Five in an anti-drug operation . The ship was monitored in a joint operation by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), British Customs and Police, and Interpol and its voyage from a Colombian island across the Atlantic to Greenwich near London was tracked. During the unloading on the Thames, two SBS teams in rubber dinghies approached , boarded the ship and caught the drug smugglers in the act. At the same time, armed police advanced from the land and stormed the warehouse on the pier. Five men were arrested during the operation and drugs worth millions were seized. The participation of the SBS would never have been known had it not been for a woman named Dr. Joyce Lowman accidentally snapped a picture at the moment of boarding.
US Delta Force and British Special Boat Service commands at Tora Bora.
  • In the fall of 2001, SBS units were part of the invasion force fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan . Among other things, 100 soldiers from the SBS C Company occupied the Bagram Air Force Base near Kabul in the northeast of the country in November 2001, but without the approval of the main US armed forces. At that time, Bagram was surrounded by strong units of the Taliban and the opposing Northern Alliance who were fighting for sovereignty over the key position. The SBS unit was to serve as the vanguard of an Allied combat group consisting of several thousand men. The British operation found the support of Pashtun leaders in the south of the country. They wanted to prevent the Northern Alliance from controlling Kabul. The Northern Alliance was against what was tolerated by the USA. As a result, the British soldiers in Bagram ultimately fought against the Northern Alliance and the Taliban for a day and night until they were appalled by American units. Their use caused considerable diplomatic resentment between the USA and Great Britain.
  • On September 24, 2007, the SBS liberated two Italian soldiers from the Taliban in Afghanistan . One of the abductees was slightly injured, the other seriously injured. All eight hostage-takers were killed. Access was from the air using Westland Lynx helicopters.
  • In the battle for Kunduz , the SBS supported Afghan special forces trying to recapture the city.

Publicity

The UK Department of Defense does not comment on publications in the press and literature on the specialized forces.

In contrast to the extensively documented SAS , there was no openly accessible information on the SBS for a long time . As a result of the Second Gulf War, there was a flood of publications by former members of the SAS . Only a few members of the SBS followed this example . In 1997, the large number of publications on special forces meant that applicants had to sign a clause - in addition to the Official Secrets Act - before being accepted into the active units , in which they undertook not to write about their work with the special forces.

In 18 hours to eternity ( Juggernaut ) from 1974, the SBS had its only cinematic appearance to date. A first literary glimpse into the tactics and working methods of the SBS was in the novel Des Teufels Alternative ( The Devil's Alternative ) by Frederick Forsyth in 1979 .

literature

  • Mike Ryan, Chris Mann, Alexander Stilwell: Encyclopedia of Special Forces. Tactics, history, strategy, weapons. Pabel-Moewig, Rastatt 2003, ISBN 3-8118-1895-3 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Encyclopedia of Special Forces, p. 162
  2. ^ [1] Special Boat Service, The Guardian, January 20, 2002
  3. ↑ [2] Obituary for Lt. Col. Richard van der Horst
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m sbs weapons. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014 ; accessed on August 26, 2014 (English).
  5. ↑ Jonathan Brown: Special Boat Service: A force never far from the front line of controversy. In: The Independent. March 12, 2012, accessed August 26, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Kathryn Williams: History of the shadowy Special Boat Service (SBS) revealed in a new book. They were the shadowy group of Allied commandos who were controversially described as a “band of murderous, renegade cut-throats” by a British MP during World War II. But as a new book lifts the lid on the early years of the Special Boat Squadron (SBS), Kathryn Williams hears some of the heroic tales of derring-do and guerrilla fighting that helped strike a vital blow against the Nazi war machine. In: Wales Online. September 15, 2013, accessed August 26, 2014 .
  7. ^ Bijl van der, Nick; Hannon, Paul (1995). The Royal Marines 1939-93. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-388-5 .
  8. ↑ Michael Evans: British commandos join raid to rescue soldiers kidnapped by Taleban , The Times . September 25, 2007. 
  9. ^ Mark Nicol: UK special forces kill 200 Taliban insurgents in Northern Afghanistan. In: Daily Mail Online. October 3, 2015, accessed October 23, 2015 .