The history and achievements of the British Royal Airborne Service

The Airborne Special Forces Brigade has experienced all the desert battles, and has established a good reputation in Italy and northwest Europe for operating independently behind enemy lines as a small, well-trained group. After the war in Europe ended, the British Army was extremely panicked and wanted to remove its "private army" title, and the Airborne Special Service Brigade was among those units that wanted to be removed. The 5th Airborne Regiment was taken over by the Belgian Army in September 1945, and the 3rd and 4th Airborne Regiments were transferred to the French Army a month later. The command center of the Airborne Brigade and the 1st and 2nd Airborne Brigade were disbanded a week later, indicating that the British Army hoped that the influence of the "Airborne Brigade Concept" would be completely and forever lost.

However, it took more time to develop a good idea, and within a few months they decided to have an airborne SWAT-type character for future European wars. This resulted in the conversion of a TA unit, the "Rifle Masters", into the 21st Airborne Regiment, which comprised the two wartime British Airborne TA regiments (1st and 2nd Regiment), combined and switch their positions.

One of Britain's earliest post-war wars was Operation Emergency in Malaya (1948-1960). Brigadier Cavite, a very famous former Airborne Special Forces Brigade commander, arrived in Malaya in 1951 and established the "Malaya Reconnaissance Team (Airborne Special Service Team)", which was soon expanded to the regiment level size. In 1952, the Malayan Reconnaissance Group was renamed the 22nd Airborne Special Forces Regiment, thus leaving a record of the Airborne Special Forces officially returning to regular combat forces. The reputation of the 22nd Airborne Special Service Regiment in Malaya is no less than that of any force. They stayed deep in the jungle for extremely long periods of time and developed particularly close relationships with the local natives. They also developed the technique of descending from the trees while rappelling down to the jungle floor on a long rope.

The British 22nd Airborne Service Regiment

As the conflict in Malaya began to settle, the 22nd Airborne Service Regiment was sent to the Arabian Peninsula from November to December 1958. Oman, where they carried out a daring attack on the Arab guerrillas in the 2,500-meter-high Aqda Mountains, completely defeating the Arabs on their own turf. After this success and a temporary stop at Malvern, the 22nd Airborne Regiment moved to the UK, reduced to one headquarters and two "Saber" squadrons, stationed at the famous Bradbury Base in Hereford. .

Soon after, the Far East beckoned them again, with the "Battle of Hostility" in Borneo, where a squadron of the 22nd Airborne Special Service Regiment arrived in January 1963. Their success led to more requests for the Airborne Special Forces, and the Third Group was reorganized in mid-1963. This reorganization came at the right time, because the war in Aden broke out. Since 1964 to 1966, the three squadrons of the 22nd Airborne Special Service Regiment have been stationed between the UK, Borneo and Aden in turns. During this period, they were known as "happy" in the country. "Time" is called. After the two wars ended in 1967, the 22nd Airborne Special Service Regiment had a short period of unified strengthening and retraining.

Irish Rebel Army (IRA)

In 1969, the situation in Northern Ireland suddenly became unstable, and the airborne special service team began a long-term confrontation with the Irish Rebel Army. . At the same time, renewed problems in Malaya and Oman also led to the return of airborne special forces to the local station. In a July 1972 battle in Mobaite, Oman, 10 Airborne Special Forces soldiers, plus a handful of local soldiers, defeated 250 dissidents in an impressive engagement. The Airborne Service remained in Oman for many years and there may still be a few members there today. It was first revealed in August 1983 that the Airborne Special Forces were training a similar "special forces" for Sudan's monarch, including parachuting and training to survive in a desert environment for several days with a small amount of food.

The counterguerrilla campaigns of the 1850s, 1960s, and early 1970s had been replaced by counterterrorist operations, and in this new role, the airborne special forces quickly developed an unparalleled set of techniques. . Inspired by the fighting in Northern Ireland against the Irish Revolutionary Army (IRA) and the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), the techniques developed by the Airborne Special Forces were widely circulated in the Western world. This has resulted in the airborne special forces not only being consulted by other governments and special forces, but also directly participating in some "foreign" combat operations. Therefore, in October 1977, two members of the Airborne Special Service team, together with the West German GSG 9 unit, launched a raid to recapture a German passenger plane that had been hijacked in Mogadishu. The members of the Airborne Special Service also participated in the earlier confrontation with the Muslims in the Netherlands. Rugen's terrorists are fighting, and they're taking a trainload of hostages.

However, among these episodes, the most famous was the raid on the Iranian Embassy in London in May 1980. At that time, the tough combat methods of the airborne special forces were all displayed in front of television cameras around the world. Forced by tough British laws, police in the capital directed the operation until the terrorists killed one of the hostages and dumped his body in the street. The police then asked the airborne SWAT team to take over the matter. This team stormed the embassy and used special weapons and tactics to rescue all remaining hostages.

This astonishing success, especially among the world's media hungry for heroes, made the airborne special forces even more famous.

The British ship "Sheffield" hit during the Falklands War

By 1982, the airborne special forces seemed to be finalizing their anti-terrorist role At that time, to everyone's surprise, the Falklands War broke out in Argentina. The 22nd Airborne Special Forces Regiment immediately entered the war and used this opportunity to remind the world that they were the first and first-class professional soldiers, trained specifically for war. They were the first to return to South Georgia, although the first helicopter landing search operation was aborted due to terrible bad weather. The second landing was by inflatable dinghy and most of the people reached the shore. However, one of the damaged boats was quickly blown east by the wind as the soldiers refused to radio for help; luckily they hit a protruding part of the island and were later picked up by a helicopter. rescued. At the same time in Greitwegen, the squadron command center and a D Squadron force used the damaged Argentine submarine "Santa Fe" to rush into and defeat the base fortress. South Georgia quickly returned to British control.

The first soldiers of the 22nd Airborne Special Forces Regiment landed on East Falkland Island on May 1 and stayed there for about 30 days in harsh weather and close to enemy forces. They provided vital intelligence on troop movements and deployments and even marked enemy aircraft and depots for air strikes and naval artillery support. on May 14th. The 22nd Airborne Special Forces team assaulted Cobblestone Island, blew up 11 Argentinian aircraft, and returned to their original role in the North African desert 40 years ago. There were also reports of their activities on the main island of Argentina, although this was never officially recognized by the authorities.

Following the Falklands victory, the 22nd Airborne Regiment continued to receive media attention. The regiment continued its role in the fight against terrorism, which brought them notoriety among IRA supporters. When Guiberalte successfully stopped and killed three IRA members, he was criticized unanimously.

In 1991 the Airborne Special Forces found themselves back in the desert, fighting alongside their U.S. Special Forces counterparts, particularly Delta Force in the search for Iraqi Scud missiles. Airborne SWAT teams attack missile storage facilities and command and control centers in Iraq. Others used hand-held laser designators to indicate important target areas for bombing by Allied laser-guided munitions.