Special Boat Service
| Special Boat Service | |
|---|---|
| Official badge and motto of the SBS Emblem and Motto of the SBS | |
| Active | 1941- |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Marines |
| Type | Naval Special Forces |
| Role | Special operations/Maritime Counter Terrorism |
| Size | One Regiment |
| Part of | UK Special Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Poole |
| Motto(s) | By strength and guile |
| Commanders | |
| Captain-General | HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (Captain-General, Royal Marines) |
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the British Royal Navy's special forces unit. The service's motto is "By Strength and Guile". It forms part of the United Kingdom Special Forces, alongside the Special Air Service (SAS), Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR), and Special Forces Support Group (SFSG).
The SBS is an independent unit of the Royal Marines and is based with 1 Assault Group Royal Marines and the British Army's 148 Commando Forward Observation Battery in Royal Marines Poole, in Poole, Dorset.
Role
The roles of the Special Boat Service are predominantly focused on, but not restricted to, the littoral and riverine domains, including:
- Coastal reconnaissance
- Covert beach reconnaissance (Hydrographic survey) in advance of amphibious assault
- Covert assault route preparation in advance of amphibious assault
- Recovery or protection of ships and oil installations subject to hostile state or non-state (terrorist) action.
- Maritime Counter-Terrorism
- Support to Police and customs
- Reconnaissance and target indication in the deep battlespace
- Assault on verified targets
- Personal protection of VIPs
Units of the SBS may be allocated to 3 Commando Brigade, by the Directorate of Special Forces, as the special forces element of that formation.
Organisation
The SBS is thought to have a complement of around 100 "Swimmer Canoeists" at any one time. These are split into four operational squadrons and the training wing which conducts selection and continuation training.
- C and X squadrons rotate through three specialist roles.
- M squadron is the Maritime Counter-Terrorism and shipboard operations unit. Within M-Squadron is the Black Group, the counter-terrorism team that uses helicopter-borne assaults.
- Z squadron takes care of small watercraft and minisub insertions.
Personnel have previously been required to return to the main Commando force after the first three year tour, potentially returning again after a short period, it is thought that this requirement has been relaxed with some personnel remaining with the service as required.[citation needed]
Selection
To be eligible for SBS selection, a candidate must have at least two years regular service. Formerly candidates were from the Royal Marines or the Royal Navy, but now volunteers are taken from any arm of the services. In order to qualify as a Swimmer Canoeist, Candidates must first undergo Special Forces Selection with the SAS before continuing to SBS selection.
There is also an SBS Reserve (SBS(R)), and candidates must have previous military experience or have served at least two years in the Royal Marines Reserve before attending a Specialist course and gaining the specialist qualification of swimmer canoeist. SBS(R) provides individual reservists to serve with the regular SBS rather than forming independent teams.
Training
Qualification as an SBS Swimmer Canoeist involves an extensive training course, building on the skills gained during SF Selection at Hereford. Training includes:
- Diving both closed and open circuit - candidates swim underwater for miles in poor visibility completing complex navigational tasks and employment exercises
- Parachuting static line
- Demolition
- Infiltration of ships, in harbour and whilst under way, and oil platforms
- Canoeing - Use of the Klepper canoe during selection is extensive
- Further survival training in the wilds of Scotland
- Beach reconnaissance including photography
- Maritime Counter-Terrorism activities
Those who pass the selection course qualify as a Swimmer Canoeist (SC3) and are then probationers, advancement to Corporal and Sergeant are predicated on qualification as an SC2 and SC1 respectively. Advancement to Sergeant also requires completion of the Senior Command Course at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, mandatory for all Royal Marines at this stage.
On qualification Marines of the SBS wear the branch badge on the left cuff of lovat green and blue uniform jackets, the letters SC over a wreath, Officers wear no branch designators. On qualification as an advanced parachutist, personnel are awarded the SBS variant of special forces parachute wings, worn on the shoulder of the right sleeve. Marines continue to wear the commandos green beret.
Former members
SBS veterans include:-
- Politician Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrat political party.
- Earl Jellicoe. Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords, 1970-1973.
- Eric Newby, MC CBE, travel writer.
- Duncan Falconer, Bestselling Author of several novels.
History
- See British commando frogmen for a fuller list of their WWII operations.
- 1941: The Special Boat Section was formed from the Folbot Troop of HQ Layforce in the Middle East and was sometimes known as '1 SBS'.
- 1942: The personnel were subsumed within 1 Special Air Service Regiment and formed part of 'D' Squadron, subsequently retitled Special Boat Squadron; as such they adopted the cap badge and beret of the SAS.
- 1943: A second Special Boat Section was re-raised in the United Kingdom for service with the Special Service Brigade (subsequently re-titled Commando Brigade) as '2 SBS'. As a Commando formation personnel of 2 SBS wore the Commando Green beret. The Special Boat Squadron of 1 SAS became an independently operating squadron and was subsequently expanded to regimental status as the Special Boat Service continuing to wear their parent regiment cap badge and beret.
- 1946; The SBS, whether of Commando or SAS parentage, were disbanded in 1946. The functional title SBS was adopted by the Royal Marines. It became part of the School of Combined Operations under the command of Blondie Hasler.[1]
- 1951: Another two squadrons were formed from British troops in West Germany.
- Two volunteer squadrons were later added. Their first missions were in Palestine (ordnance removal) and in Haifa (limpet mine removal from ships).
- 1950–1953: In the Korean War the SBS were in action along the North Korean coast. They gathered intelligence and destroyed railways and installations. The SBS operated first from submarines, and later from islands off Wonsan, behind enemy lines. They used two-man canoes and motorised inflatable boats.
- 1952: SBS teams were held at combat readiness in Egypt in case Gamal Abdal Nasser's coup turned more violent than it did.
- 1956: The SBS were alerted during the Suez Crisis, but did not see action.
- 1959 September: The SBS were alerted during a coup against king Idris I of Libya, but did not see action. Similar situations followed.
- 1961: SBS teams carried out reconnaissance missions during the Indonesian Confrontation.
- 1961: The SBS primarily gathered intelligence and trained other special forces during the Vietnam War.
- 1961: Iraq threatened to invade Kuwait for the first time, so the SBS put a detachment at Bahrain.
- later: The SBS was stationed in Gibraltar, where they gathered intelligence in case Franco's Spain decided to invade.
- The SBS were involved in anti-drug operations in the Caribbean.
- 1972: The SAS and SBS came into the spotlight for a moment during their involvement with a bomb threat (which later proved to be a hoax) onboard the Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth II, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
- 1977: The SBS changed its name to Special Boat Squadron.
- 1979: 5 SBS became part of the Comacchio Company, which protected North Sea oil rigs.
- 1980: SBS members played a part in the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege.
- 1982 March-June: In the Falklands War, 2 SBS took part in the liberation of South Georgia and 6 SBS reconnoitered in East Falkland. Their only losses were to friendly fire from the SAS.
- 1987: The SBS became part of the UK Special Forces group alongside the Special Air Service and 14 Intelligence Company.
- 1987: The SBS changed its name to Special Boat Service and was brought under the command of the Director of Special Forces.
- 1991: During the Gulf War, the SBS made raids on the Kuwaiti coast to draw Iraqi troops away from the land attack. The liberation of the British embassy in Kuwait was one of their most high-profile operations.
- 1999 or later: The SBS were involved in operations in East Timor.
- 2000: The SBS were involved in the assasination of Zeljko (Arkan) Raznatovic.
- 2001 October: The SBS took part in the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, where they secured Bagram Airbase.
- 2003: The SBS took part in the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
- 2005 March 14: The commanding officer of the SBS, Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Van Der Horst[2], was killed in a training accident in Norway.
- 2006 June 27: Captain David Patten PARA and Sergeant Paul Bartlett, Royal Marines, were killed and another serviceman seriously injured in a Taliban ambush in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan[3]. It was reported by some sources that the ambushed vehicle was part of an SBS patrol and further sources reported that it was a special forces patrol[4].
Throughout the Cold War, the SBS was organised to perform a "conventional " special forces role for the 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines. However, in recent decades the SBS's role has become more and more devoted to counter-terrorist operations.
References
- ^ James Paul & Martin Spirit (2000). "The Special Boat Service" (Web). Britain's Small Wars Site Index.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Sky News, SBS Chief Killed on Exercise in Norway. Retrieved 05 October 2006.
- ^ Captain David Patten And Sergeant Paul Bartlett Killed In Afghanistan On 27 June 2006.
- ^ Killed NI soldier 'was due home' On the trail of Taliban: As two SBS soldiers die in Afghanistan, we visit British troops charged with keeping the peace ... and fighting a resolute enemy.