Special Air Service facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Special Air Service |
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|---|---|
| Active | 1 July 1941– 8 October 1945 1 January 1947– present |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | British Army |
| Type | Special Forces |
| Role | Special operations Counter Terrorism |
| Size | Corps of three units (overall 500 active soldiers) 21 S.A.S 22 S.A.S 23 S.A.S |
| Part of | United Kingdom Special Forces |
| Garrison/HQ | Regimental headquarters: Hereford 21 S.A.S: London 22 S.A.S: Credenhill 23 S.A.S: Birmingham |
| Nickname(s) | The Regiment |
| Motto(s) | Who Dares Wins |
| Colors | Pompadour blue |
| March | Quick: Marche des Parachutistes Belges Slow: Lili Marlene |
| Engagements | Second World War Malayan Emergency Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation Dhofar Rebellion Aden Emergency Northern Irish Troubles Falklands War Gulf War NATO intervention in Bosnia Operation Barras War In Afghanistan Iraq War Operation Ellamy |
| Commanders | |
| Colonel-Commandant | General Charles Guthrie |
| Notable commanders |
Colonel David Stirling Lieutenant-Colonel Paddy Mayne Brigadier Mike Calvert Major-General Anthony Deane-Drummond General Peter de la Billière General Michael Rose Lieutenant-General Cedric Delves |
The S.A.S. or Special Air Service, is a Special Operations Organisation of the British Army. It was founded in 1941 to attack behind the German line of defence in North Africa, in World War II. They are one of the best schooled unites in the world, what makes them very valuable. There are about 500 active SAS soldiers.
The SAS is a very secret organisation, its members often do not tell anyone except close family that they are in it. The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) rarely speaks of the SAS and mission details are never released until after a set amount of time.
The Badge of the organisation is a knife with wings. It shows the motto: Who Dares Wins.
Current SAS roles include:
- Gathering intelligence behind enemy lines.
- Destroying targets far behind enemy lines.
- Protecting The Royal Family, and important government members.
- Training special forces of other nations.
- Performing counter-terrorism operations.
The SAS is thought of all over the world as one of the best, if not the best Special Operations organisations. This is mainly because of the intense training they are put through. The hardest part of this is intense interrogation (questioning while under torture) which the trainees must go through.
The SAS is respected worldwide and used to train many other Special Forces Units. Several special operations units are modeled after the SAS. For example, the U.S. Army's Delta Force was founded due in large part to Charles Beckwith, a U.S. Army special operations officer, serving as an exchange officer with the SAS. He felt that the U.S. Army was vulnerable in not having a unit comparable to the SAS.
Other pages
Images for kids
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SAS patrol in North Africa during WWII (1943)
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21 SAS soldier after a night parachute drop exercise in Denmark (1955)
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Pen y Fan 2,907 feet (886 m) above sea level, the location for the Fan Dance
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SAS pattern parachute wings
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Ascension at Hereford Cathedral
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See also
In Spanish: Servicio Aéreo Especial para niños
