The Special Air Service Troops was a brigade sized formation of the

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 ...

, which was founded on 7 January 1944 in the United Kingdom during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The formation was also known as the SAS Brigade. The brigade was a multi-national force of British, French, and Belgian units. On formation, the brigade commanded the 1st and 2nd

regiments, the French

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

and 3rd Parachute Battalions (also known as the 3rd and 4th SAS Regiments), and the Belgian Parachute Company. In March 1944, F Squadron,

GHQ Liaison Regiment GHQ Liaison Regiment (known as Phantom) was a special reconnaissance unit of the British Army first formed in 1939 during the early stages of World War II. The regiment's headquarters were at The Richmond Hill Hotel in Richmond, Surrey (now in Lo ...

was added to the brigade. In 1945, the Belgian parachute company was redesignated as

5th Special Air Service The 5th Special Air Service (5th SAS) was an elite airborne unit during World War II. It consisted entirely of Belgian volunteers. It saw action as part of the SAS Brigade in Normandy, Northern France, Belgium, the Netherlands and (Germany). In ...

. The French units were also redesignated as the 2nd Parachute Chasseur Regiment and the 3rd Parachute Chasseur Regiment (abbreviated as 2 RCP and 3 RCP). The brigade was initially commanded by

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

Roderick McLeod, until 14 March 1945 when Brigadier

Mike Calvert Brigadier James Michael Calvert, (6 March 1913 – 26 November 1998) was a British Army officer who was involved in special operations in Burma during the Second World War. He participated in both Chindit operations and was instrumental in popul ...

took command. The brigade was stationed in the United Kingdom until May 1945, when the brigade headquarters moved to Norway. The brigade headquarters returned to the United Kingdom in June, and remained there for the duration of the war. Until April 1944, the brigade was assigned to Airborne Troops, before being placed under the command of the I Airborne Corps on 17 April. It remained under the command of the corps for the duration of the war. The brigade's units, however, took part in various operations as part of the Northwest Europe Campaign of 1944–1945, which included operations such as

Amherst Amherst may refer to: People * Amherst (surname), including a list of people with the name * Earl Amherst of Arracan in the East Indies, a title in the British Peerage; formerly ''Baron Amherst'' * Baron Amherst of Hackney of the City of London, ...

, Bulbasket, Cooney, Dingson, Houndsworth,

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

, Loyton, Samwest, and

Tombola Tombola or variants may refer to: * Tombola (game), a lottery-type game originating in Italy * Tombola (bingo company), a UK-based online gaming company * ''Tómbola'' (film), 1961 Spanish musical film with child singer and actress Marisol * '' ...

Citations

References

* {{British Commando units of the Second World War Special service brigades of the British Army Special Air Service 1944 establishments in the United Kingdom Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in the 1940s