Those Who Dared: A Reappraisal of Britain's Special Air Service, 1950-80

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the United Kingdom embarked upon a policy of rapid demobilisation, reducing its armed forces from a wartime high of 5 million in 1945 to just 375,000 by 1963. Yet in these same years it faced conflict in Palestine, Malaya, Korea, Kenya, Cyprus, Oman, Aden, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International history review 2015-05, Vol.37 (3), p.540-564
Main Author: Grob-Fitzgibbon, Benjamin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air force
Armed forces
decolonisation
Decolonization
Egypt
empire
Empires
European history
Foreign policy
Soldiers
special forces
Strategic planning
strategy
United Kingdom
World War II
World War Two
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Summary:In the aftermath of the Second World War, the United Kingdom embarked upon a policy of rapid demobilisation, reducing its armed forces from a wartime high of 5 million in 1945 to just 375,000 by 1963. Yet in these same years it faced conflict in Palestine, Malaya, Korea, Kenya, Cyprus, Oman, Aden, and Egypt, to name just a few trouble spots where British soldiers were sent. To account for the shortfall between the availability of soldiers and the need, the armed forces turned in part to Special Force units, particularly the army's Special Air Service (SAS). As British formal control receded throughout the world, so the SAS became ever more active. In so doing, it played an integral - if often misunderstood - role in contemporary British history. This paper examines the rebirth of the Special Air Service in post-war Britain and re-evaluates its role from 1950-80.
ISSN:0707-5332
1949-6540
DOI:10.1080/07075332.2014.918558