| 3rd Special Service Brigade 3rd Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade United Kingdom Commando Force | |
|---|---|
 Badge of UKCF | |
| Active | 14 February 1942 – present |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  Royal Marines British Army Royal Navy Royal Air Force |
| Type | Commando |
| Role | Special operations-capable |
| Size | Brigade |
| Garrison/HQ | HQ:Stonehouse Barracks,Plymouth |
| Nickname | The Commandos |
| March | Quick: "Sarie Marais" |
| Engagements |
|
| Commanders | |
| Brigade Commander | Brigadier James Norman |
| Insignia | |
| United Kingdom Commando Force Badge | |
United Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), previously called3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), is the UK'sspecial operations-capable[1] commando formation of theRoyal Marines. It is composed ofRoyal Marine Commandos andcommando qualified personnel from theRoyal Navy,British Army andRoyal Air Force.
The brigade was formed 1 September 1943 at Dorchester with personnel from 102 RM Brigade,[2] during theSecond World War, with a mixture ofArmy Commando andRoyal Marine Commando units, and was deployed to theSouth-East Asian Theatre of World War II to conduct operations against the invading forces ofImperial Japan, such as theBurma Campaign.[3] After the Second World War, the Army Commandos were disbanded and the brigade became a Royal Marine formation. Recently, United Kingdom Commando Force has again become a mixed formation with the addition of commando qualified soldiers from theRoyal Artillery andRoyal Engineers to provide support for theRoyal Marine Commandos. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been involved in a number of engagements such as theSuez Crisis,Falklands War,Gulf War and theWar in Afghanistan.
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:[4][5]
Nos. 1 and 5 Commandos had already earned battle honours as units in, respectively, theNorth African andMadagascar 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 asuperficial similarity to the name of the notorious GermanSchutzstaffel (SS).) The brigade was later officially renamed3rd Commando Brigade.[6]
On 10 November 1943, elements of the brigade embarked atGourock, bound forIndia. It was intended that the brigade would be used in operations againstJapanese forces in theSouth-East Asia theatre, such as theBurma campaign.[7] 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. Lt Col.Peter Young was transferred from theNormandy campaign to becomesecond-in-command of 3rd Commando Brigade. Young succeeded Nonweiler as commander of the brigade.[8]
During January 1945, the brigade was involved in thecampaign to recapture Arakan, including thebattles of Myebon peninsula and Kangaw.[7] The brigade was then withdrawn to India to prepare forOperation Zipper, a proposed amphibious operation to recapture the Malayan peninsula. Theatomic bombs against Japan precipitated an earliersurrender of Japan than expected.[7] The 3rd Commando Brigade moved to secureHong Kong – a Britishcrown colony that was under Japanese occupation in 1941–45.[7] During 1946, British Army personnel and units within the 3rd Commando Brigade were demobilised or transferred elsewhere and it became a Royal Marine formation.[7]
3 Commando Brigade's most high-profile operation after the war was theSuez Crisis, when it took part in theamphibious assault againstEgyptian targets. DuringOperation Musketeer, units of the brigade made ahelicopter-borne assault.[9]
1971 saw the withdrawal of British forces from the Far East andPersian Gulf. The brigade returned to the UK with other British units. It moved toStonehouse Barracks inPlymouth, where it remains to this day.[10]
The brigade's next large operation was in 1982.Argentinainvaded theFalkland Islands, and 3 Commando Brigade, reinforced by2 Para and3 Para, was one of the two main British land formations that took part in operations to recapture the islands (the other was5th Infantry Brigade). The brigade landed atSan Carlos Water and marched acrossEast Falkland toStanley. Argentine units were defeated in several sharp engagements, and their forces surrendered on 14 June.[11]
In the aftermath of the 1991Gulf War, the brigade was deployed on anon-combat task in northernIraq. The IraqiKurds had suffered immensely during the war and in its aftermath, and the brigade was used due to its rapid deployment ability. It providedhumanitarian aid to the Kurds and saved many fromstarvation.[12]
Recently, the brigade has been involved in two major campaigns, includingOperation Veritas inAfghanistan, 2001 and 2002, andOperation Telic during the2003 invasion of Iraq. Iraq, however, saw heavy fighting occur in the early stages of the campaign, as the brigade made its firstamphibious assault in over 20 years by landing on theAl-Faw peninsula in south-east Iraq.[13] In 2006, the brigade returned to Afghanistan onOperation Herrick, replacing16 Air Assault Brigade, where intense fighting occurred.[14]
In 2022, 3 Commando Brigade was rebranded to theUnited Kingdom Commando Force (UKCF), a process that started in 2020 and completed in 2024.[15]
The order of battle was as follows:[16]
Commander:BrigadierJHA Thompson
^1 - Replaced by Lt Col David Chaundler
The UK Commando Force contains Royal Marines,Royal Navy,Army andRoyal Air Force personnel. When operating as part of the combined United Kingdom / Netherlands Landing Force, the 1st Marine Combat Group of the DutchKorps Mariniers is also attached to the brigade.[17]
The subordinate units are:[18]
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Formerly known as the Amphibious Ready Group, the Amphibious Task Group (ATG) is a mobile, balancedamphibious 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 formerHMS Ocean, 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 inSierra Leone.[38]
Since the disposal of both HMSOcean and, in 2024/25, theAlbion class assault ships, British amphibious forces are reliant on deployment from theQueen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and from amphibious warfare vessels of theRoyal Fleet Auxiliary. Aircraft of the Commando Helicopter Force can be accommodated on these vessels.[39]
The Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) forms part of theFleet Air Arm. It comprises three helicopter squadrons and is commanded byJoint Aviation Command (JAC).[40]
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 bothMerlin HC4/4A medium-lift andWildcat AH1 light transport/reconnaissancehelicopters to provide aviation support to Commando Forces.[41]
Commanders have included:[42]
The followingBattle honours were awarded to the British Commandos during the Second World War.[45][46]
821 EOD & Search Squadron is part of 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD&S) and consists of: ... Commando Troop – consists of four EOD & Search teams aligned to the Lead Commando Group
Text was copied from this source, which is available under anOpen Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.Brigadier Rich Cantrill Commander 3 Commando Brigade
