List of defunct special forces units

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Australia[]

Canada[]

Croatia[]

Ethiopia[]

  • - Derg government, active 1988-89[1]

Empire of Japan[]

Japanese Special Attack Units
Imperial Japanese Army Air Service
Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service
Imperial Japanese Army Air Force

Germany[]

German Democratic Republic[]

Greece[]

Fiji[]

Indonesia[]

Ireland[]

Israel[]

Kingdom of Italy[]

  • Army : (3 bns, plus 1 combined parachutist bn)
  • Navy : Decima Flottiglia MAS
  • Air Force : Arditi Distruttori Regia Aeronautica (2 bns)

Nazi Germany[]

Division "Brandenburg" Vehicle Insignia
Abwehr- units later reassigned to Wehrmacht after expanding to divisional size
  • Brandenburg Lehr und Bau Battalion zbV 800 – December 1939
    • 1. Company - Baltic/ Russian
    • 2. Company - English/ North and South Africa
    • 3. Company - Sudeten German/ Balkans
    • 4. Company - Volkdeutshe/ Eastern ethnic German
    • Motorcycle platoon
    • Parachute platoon
  • Brandenburg Lehr-Regiment zbV 800 – 1941–1943
    • 1st Battalion, at Brandenburg
    • 2nd Battalion at Baden
    • 3rd Battalion at Baden
    • Intelligence Battalion
    • Coastal Raiding Company
    • Sonderverbrand 287 - Arab volunteers with brandenburg volunteer core
    • Sonderverbrand 288 - All German
Wehrmacht from 1943- 1945

HQ staff at Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg

  • Verband 801, based in Brandenburg an der Havel
    • I. Battalion
    • II. Battalion
    • III. Battalion
  • Verband 802 (Mountain), base in Admont, Steiermark
    • I. Gebirgsjäger Battalion
    • II. Gebirgsjäger Battalion
    • III. Gebirgsjäger Battalion
  • Verband 803, based in Düren, North Rhine-Westphalia
    • I. Battalion
    • II. Battalion
    • III. Battalion
    • 13. Legionärs Company
  • Verband 804 (Legionärs), based in Langenargen, Bodensee
    • I. Legionärs Battalion
    • II. Legionärs Battalion
    • III. Legionärs Bataillon
  • Verband 805, based in Brandenburg an der Havel
  • Intelligence Detachment 800
    • 5X Company
  • Intelligence Support Detachment 800
    • 4X Company
  • Coastal Rangers Detachment 800, based at Langenargen, Bodensee
    • 4X Company (1, 2, 3 and 4)
  • Signals Detachment 800
    • 3X Company (1, 2 and 3)
  • Training Unit, Gut „Quenzsee“ (or „Quenzgut“), based near Brandenburg
Kriegsmarine
  • Lehrkommandos 200, 250, 300, 350, and 700
Luftwaffe
Waffen-SS
  • Sonderlehrgang z.b.V. „Oranienburg“ (18 April 1943 – 16 June 1943)
  • Sonderverband z. b. V. "Friedenthal" (16 June 1943 – 17 April 1944)
  • 502nd SS Jäger Battalion (17 April 1944 – 10 November 1944)
  • 500th SS Jäger Battalion
  • 600th SS Jäger Battalion
  • SS-Jagdverband
    • SS-Jagdverband Mitte
      • 150th SS Panzer Brigade (November 1944 - 25–28 December 1944)
      • Kampfgruppe/Sperrverband Skorzeny (31 January 1945 – 3 March 1945)

Netherlands[]

Poland[]

Second Polish Republic

Polish government-in-exile

Polish Underground State

Polish People's Republic

  • 1st Assault Battalion[4]

Portugal[]

See also: Portuguese irregular forces in the Overseas War

República Filipina[]

Rhodesia[]

Serbia[]

See also: Special forces of Serbia

South Africa[]

Syria[]

Turkey[]

United Kingdom[]

British Army
Royal Air Force
Royal Marines
  • Royal Marine Detachment 385 (Small Operations Group)
  • Sea Reconnaissance Unit (SRU)
  • Royal Marine Demolition Unit
Royal Navy
  • Royal Navy Commandos - 22 units each consisting of 10 officers and 65 ratings
Combined Operations
Directorate of Military Intelligence
Other

United States[]

Main article: Former United States special operations units
The Civil War
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Other
  • 1st Battalion, 245th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne)
  • 5th Force Reconnaissance Company
  • 6th Special Forces Group
  • 8th Special Forces Group
  • 11th Special Forces Group
  • 12th Special Forces Group
  • 55th Special Operations Squadron
  • 129th Air Commando Group
  • 129th Special Operations Aviation Company (SOAC)
  • 437th Combat Control Squadron
  • 617th Special Operations Aviation Detachment
  • 745th Special Operations Squadron
  • 1730th Pararescue Squadron
  • Army Aviation Support Element (AASE), US Special Operations Command
  • Blue Light
  • Detachment A (DET A, 39th SFOD)
  • HAL-3 "Sea Wolves"
  • HAL-4 "Red Wolves"
  • HAL-5 "Blue Hawks"
  • Marine Corps Special Operations Command Detachment One (MCSOCOM-Det 1) (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
  • Red Cell
  • SEASPRAY
  • Special Forces Groups Aviation Detachments
  • Special Warfare Aviation Detachments (SWAD)
    • 22d Aviation Detachment (Special Forces)
    • 23d SWAD (Surveillance)
    • 281st Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter)(Airmobile Light)
  • Special Boat Unit 11 (SBU 11)
  • Special Boat Unit 13 (SBU 13)
  • Special Boat Unit 24 (SBU 24)
  • Special Boat Unit 26 (SBU 26)
  • Special Operations Reconnaissance
  • Task Force 5 (forerunner of Task Force 11)
  • Task Force 11 (Operation Enduring Freedom)
  • Task Force 20 and Task Force 121 (Operation Iraqi Freedom)
  • Task Force 98
  • Task Force 157 (Covert USN Intelligence unit)
  • Task Force Bayonet (Operation Just Cause)
  • Task Force Ranger (Operation Gothic Serpent)
  • Underwater Demolitions Teams (UDT)
  • US Army Special Operations Agency
  • US Army Special Operations Division
  • USAF Special Operations Combat Control Team (SOCCT)
  • US Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Assist Team (DIAT)
  • Yellow Fruit
  • Naval Interdiction Forces ((Rose Units))

Republic of Vietnam[]

South Vietnamese Rangers At its peak there were 22 ARVN Ranger Battalions organized in 10 Groups.

  • 1st Ranger Group - Da Nang (I Corps/CTZ)
  • 2nd Ranger Group - Pleiku (II Corps/CTZ)
  • 3rd Ranger Group - Biên Hòa (III Corps/CTZ)
  • 4th Ranger Group - Chi Long (initially in the 44 Tactical Zone and later the IV Corps)
  • 5th Ranger Group - Biên Hòa (III Corps/CTZ)
  • 6th Ranger Group - Biên Hòa (III Corps/CTZ)
  • 7th Ranger Group - Saigon, attached to Airborne Division
  • 8th Ranger Group - Formed in 1974-75
  • 9th Ranger Group - Formed in 1974-75
  • 81st Ranger Group (Airborne) - Biên Hòa[6]

Additionally, during the Vietnamization of the CIDG and MIKE Forces, former CIDG units were namely given Ranger status and organized into groups mostly of 3 battalions each, but they were largely local forces without any special forces capabilities.

  • 21st Ranger Group
  • 22nd Ranger Group
  • 23rd Ranger Group
  • 24th Ranger Group
  • 25th Ranger Group
  • 31st Ranger Group
  • 32nd Ranger Group
  • 33rd Ranger Group
  • 41st Ranger Border Defense Group - Chi Long HQ
  • 42nd Ranger Border Defense Group - Chi Long HQ

South Vietnamese Special Forces (LLDB), later reformed as South Vietnamese Special Mission Service

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ John Young (ed)., 'Peasant Revolt in Ethiopia: The Tigray People's Liberation Front, 1975-91,' Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0521026067, 164.
  2. ^ Fijian coup colonel took part in SAS blunder. Retrieved on September 19, 2008.
  3. ^ "Komandosi Polskich Sił Zbrojnych". Interia (in Polish). 23 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Jednostka Wojskowa Komandosow". SpecialOperations.com. December 13, 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  5. ^ Popski's Private Army, Vladimir Peniakoff, Nelson Doubleday publisjing
  6. ^ Previously 81st Ranger Battalion (Airborne). Officially upgraded to Groups status, but actually just an overstrength single battalion with 6 rifle companies.
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