539 Raiding Squadron (539 RS) is 3 Commando Brigade's integral operational amphibious movement capability, delivering them on to land from water and patrolling waterways. It forms part of 47 Commando (Raiding Group) Royal Marines. The Squadron are based in the new Royal Marines Tamar complex at the northern end of

HMNB Devonport His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Roy ...

History

Royal Marine Hovercraft on Patrol in Iraq MOD 45142903

539 ASRM was formed on 2 April 1984 and commissioned as operational on 24 July 1984. This was in direct response to lessons learned during the Falklands Conflict in 1982. More recent operations include

Operation Telic Operation Telic (Op TELIC) was the codename under which all of the United Kingdom's military operations in Iraq were conducted between the start of the invasion of Iraq on 19 March 2003 and the withdrawal of the last remaining British forces on ...

. 539 ASRM supported

3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen f ...

as it took the Al-Faw Peninsula, carrying out numerous operations such as several landings and the clearing of various waterways. 539 ASRM continued to operate in Iraq, performing security patrols of Iraq's southern ports and water networks until the end of Operation Telic. In July 2011 a landing craft from RFA ''Cardigan Bay'' landed two Vikings and Royal Marines of 539 Assault Squadron in

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

. They penetrated several miles of insecure territory to meet up with an important clan chief and take him back to ''Cardigan Bay'' for a meeting with MI6 and

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

officials. This was part of Exercise Somaliland Cougar, an operation to train Somali coastguards in anti-piracy techniques and to establish relationships with tribal leaders. As of 2017, the Squadron consisted of over 100 personnel and was equipped with a variety of

Landing Craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. Pr ...

including

Rigid Raider The Rigid Raider (RRC) is a series of fast raiding and assault craft made by RTK Marine, a subsidiary of Halmatic, part of BAE Systems Surface Ships. They are primarily in service with two branches of the British Armed Forces: The Royal Navy (inc ...

s and Landing Craft Vehicle/Personnel. 539 Assault Squadron was named after the famous 539 Assault Flotilla which landed on Gold Beach during the

Invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

. On 5 November 2019 the unit was renamed 539 Raiding Squadron and is a Squadron within 47 Commando (Raiding Group) Royal Marines.

References

External links

539 Assault Squadron539ASRM - The Genesis of a Unique Squadron
{{DEFAULTSORT:539 Assault Squadron Rm Royal Marine formations and units Military units and formations established in 1984