22nd SAS

What is the 22nd SAS?

The 22nd SAS, commonly known as the “Special Air Services,” is the British Special Forces regiment within the UK Army. They perform many duties today, although the exact scope of those duties is not known. In the past, they were a commando force which operated chiefly behind enemy lines during World War II and its aftermath. The 22nd sas is only one of the three regiments in the Special Air Services, which also includes two reserve units, the 21st and 23rd Special Air Services, respectively.


History of the 22nd SAS

The British Special Air Services were first formed in 1941 as the brain-child of Archibald Stirling, a Scotsman who had served in several other commando-style units up to that date. After the disbanding of “Layforce,” a commando unit run by Robert Laycock, Stirling sought to create his own regiment of this type, because he held to the belief that it was a very effective way of fighting in the modern, mechanized style of warfare.

According to stories about his life, Stirling did not think he would have a chance of convincing anybody with his idea if he went through the normal chain of command, so he crept into the Middle East Cairo headquarters in an attempt to go straight to the top and pitch the need for a special forces unit directly to the Commander-in-Chief of the armies at that time, General Claude Auchinleck. Although he was unable to meet with General Auchinleck, he did find a different General, who then convinced the Commander-in-Chief that Stirling's idea was a good one.

The earliest missions of the 22nd SAS ended in disaster, with most of the men involved dying behind enemy lines. This was because of the method used at that time, which consisted of parachuting in and then causing havoc. Stirling abandoned this method in favour of a desert approach orientation, because the unit that had saved the few of his men who survived had used it. After switching to this type of infiltration, the SAS's campaigns in the African Theatre of World War II were wildly successful, destroying hundreds of aircraft and generally ruining the Axis powers' logistical plans on the ground.

Although by the war's end the SAS had been expanded to include additional regiments from the UK and several from other countries, such as France and Belgium, after World War II was over the British War Office officially disbanded the service in November of 1946. However, when the Malayan Emergency began in 1948, the Special Air Services were rapidly reinstated, and members were sent to train in jungle tactics for the resolution of that conflict.

Since that time, Special Air Services operations have been much more secretive, and they have taken place in such diverse theatres as the Gulf War, the Falkland War, Northern Ireland, Indonesia, and even a prison raid against rebellious prison inmates on at least one occasion.