Two SBS operators in a klepper Canoe.

An elite section of the Royal Marines.

One of the commando forces created by the British military in World War II, the Special Boat Service has undergone a number of unit designation changes since 1945, but has remained one of the best special forces and counterterrorist units in existence. They are not as well-known as the Royal Army’s Special Air Service (SAS), and they are content to keep it that way in order to enhance their mystique and their ability to undertake lower-profile missions.

Although many commando-type units were formed during World War II, many were disbanded at the end of the war since governments and military planners assumed there would be no need for them in an age of atomic weapons. The Tactical Investigation Committee at the War Office in London decided, however, to create a small sea-borne force for coastal reconnaissance, infiltration, and sabotage. During the war, the units had been known by a variety of names and given a variety of missions: the Special Boat Section (later a part of the SAS), Special Boat Service, Special Boat Squadron, Boom Patrol Detachment (for raids on shipping), Pilotage Parties (beach reconnaissance), Landing Craft Obstruction Clearance Units, Sea Reconnaissance Unit, etc. Members who remained in the service after the war and had experience in these units were gathered into the Combined Operations Beach and Boats Section, or COBBS, and stationed at Eastney, Portsmouth. They were under the direction of the Royal Marines, with whom they undertook their first mission in 1948 under the designation Small Raids Wing. They operated in Haifa harbor in Palestine as the state of Israel was being created, where they were assigned to discover and remove mines placed by the Israelis.

Members of this unit came to be known as swimmer-canoeists, and “SC” remains their designation. They soon found them- selves in a number of diverse locations, still with a variety of tasks. Some of them were stationed with the British Army of the Rhine during the Berlin crisis of 1948–1949, where they were assigned to be the last troops out in case of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. They would stay behind, responsible for both gathering intelligence and destroying bridges, especially across the Rhine. Other members were with No. 41 Commando that served in Korea, attacking coastal installations and railways near the coast. Like other units of the Royal Marines and their commando forces, the SCs served throughout the 1950s in the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Malaya.

In 1958, consisting of six sections, the organization was once again given a new title, the Special Boat Company. At this time, they adopted their motto, “Not by Strength, by Guile,” as well as their unofficial unit crest made up of crossed paddles, surmounted by a frog and parachute wings. A detachment became permanently stationed in Bahrain in 1961, when Iraq threatened an invasion. Another went to Singapore that same year with 3 Commando Brigade, whence they engaged in conflicts with Indonesia over Brunei in December 1962, where they supplied patrols and engaged in some cross-border reconnaissance into Malaysian-controlled Borneo. Others were stationed in Aden in 1967 as the British were withdrawing from the country, but were back in Oman in the early 1970s fighting communist-backed guerrillas trying to topple the pro-British sultan. It was in 1972 that they began their counterterrorist operations with an at-sea parachute drop into the North Atlantic to investigate the report of explosives aboard the Queen Elizabeth II. They also began to patrol in Ireland to intercept gun-runners and engaged in some narcotics-trafficking investigations in the Caribbean.

In 1975 the organization named changed again to the Special Boat Squadron (SBS). It began more intensive counterterror (CT) training when assigned to protect North Sea oil drilling platforms as part of the Royal Marines Commando Company. Also during the 1970s, the SBS found themselves on a number of training missions, helping establish the Iranian Special Boat Service, the Australian Commando companies, and the Malaysian Special Service Regiment. They also engaged in a number of cooperative exercises with similar units from other countries in NATO and began training in Norway for combat in arctic and mountain terrains.

The Argentine invasion of the Falklands Islands in 1982 brought out the SBS along with every other aspect of the British military. SBS units arrived in the Falklands three weeks before the fleet, where they established observation posts and reconnoitered the beaches for the best landing sites. They were on-site to guide the commandos and paratroopers when they came ashore at San Carlo Bay and also acted as spotters for naval artillery. Once the main forces landed, SBS units operated behind Argentine lines, being inserted by helicopter, submarine, or in small boats from the Royal Navy ships. After the war, the SBS became more involved in CT operations. Along with Commando Company, they began security operations for nuclear material production and transportation. In this role, an SBS team entered the Dounrey nuclear plant in Scotland in 1997 as a test of the facility’s security. The SBS had the place under its control before the company police had any idea the plant was targeted—not a pleasant prospect in the modern world’s problems with terrorism. In 1987 the Special Boat Squadron finally came to be called by its present title, the Special Boat Service. The UK Special Forces Group was established that year, under the overall command of the Director of the SAS with a Royal Marine colonel as his deputy. The SBS, which prior to this time had numbered about 150 men, was expanded. It currently contains four squadrons, one of which (M Squadron) is specifically assigned to maritime counter- terrorism operations.

Writings by SBS veterans claim that they have the most difficult entrance and training standards of any unit in NATO, or perhaps the entire world. Before applying, they have to have gone through Royal Marine training, then through commando training, and then (after three years as a commando) they can apply for SBS membership. As commandos, they would have had extra training in at least one specialty, such as demolition, sniping, languages, etc. The SBS training begins with a two-week aptitude test including combat fitness, swimming, canoe trials, and scuba diving. If they pass through this section, they proceed to the selection course. This includes three weeks of land navigation marches with full gear, two weeks of pre-jungle training, six weeks of jungle training in Brunei, one week of signals training, and one week of weapons training. They must then undergo the Army Combat Survival Instructor Course: two weeks of evasion, survival, escape, and extremely harsh training in techniques for resisting interrogation. Those who have survived thus far then go on to demolition training, observation post training, and a course in close- quarter battle. For eight weeks after that, they undergo specialized training and (for those not already qualified) parachute school. Another eight weeks follow of boating and diving training for underwater navigation and demolition. At this point, one becomes a Swimmer Canoeist Third Class. Even more courses are required for promotion to SC Second and First Class, which gives one the rank of corporal and sergeant, respectively. When one is not on an operational mission, an SC is training with new weapons, signals, counterterrorism tactics, underwater Swimmer Delivery Vehicle “driving,” or learning a foreign language.

Since the 1987 reorganization, the Special Boat Service has been involved in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where they engaged in a deep-penetration mission to destroy communication links between Baghdad and SCUD missile launchers. They went into Bosnia with NATO forces in 1995 and served in East Timor during the rebel uprisings that same year. In 2000, the SBS was part of a contingent that deployed to Sierra Leone to protect and evacuate British citizens during a civil war. During the coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003, SBS units were involved in the initial landings at Al Faw peninsula to seize key oil facilities, while others were air-dropped into northern Iraq, around Mosul, for reconnaissance and sabotage missions.

References: Ladd, James, SBS: The Invisible Raiders (London: Arms and Armour, 1983); Parker, John, SBS: The Inside Story of the Special Boat Service (London: Headline, 1997)