List of defunct special forces units

Australia

Canada

Croatia

Ethiopia
  • 103rd Commando Division - 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 : 10th Arditi Regiment (3 bns, plus 1 combined parachutist bn)
  • Navy : Decima Flottiglia MAS
  • Air Force : A.D.R.A. 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)
      • Division Schwedt Kampfgruppe/Sperrverband Skorzeny (31 January 1945 – 3 March 1945)
    • SS-Jagdverband Nordwest
    • SS-Jagdverband Ost
    • SS-Jagdverband Südost
    • SS-Jagdverband Südwest

 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
The Civil War
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Other

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

Frogmen Team (LDNN)

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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