3rd Special Service Brigade 3rd Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade |
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Cap Badge of the Royal Marines
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Active | 14 February 1942–present |
Country | United Kingdom |
Branch | Royal Marines |
Type |
Marines Commando Light infantry |
Role | Commando/Amphibious Landing Force |
Size | 8 battalions |
Garrison/HQ | HQ - Stonehouse Barracks, Plymouth |
March | Quick - Sarie Marais |
Engagements |
Second World War Operation Musketeer |
Commanders | |
Brigade Commander | Brigadier Jim Morris DSO |
Insignia | |
3 Commando Brigade Formation Badge |
Second World War
Operation Musketeer
Falklands War
Iraq War
3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando Qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen.
The brigade was formed in 1943, during the Second World War, with a mixture of Army commando and Royal Marine commando units and served in the Burma Campaign. After the Second World War, the Army commandos were disbanded and the brigade became a Royal Marine formation. Recently, the brigade has again become a mixed Army and Marine formation with the addition of an Army infantry battalion, artillery regiment and engineer regiment alongside three Royal Marine battalions and support services. Since the end of the Second World War, it has served in the Suez crisis, Falklands War, Gulf War and the War in Afghanistan.
The 3rd Special Service Brigade was formed in 1943 and sailed for the Far East and saw action against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign. On 6 December 1944, the brigade was renamed 3rd Commando Brigade, removing the hated title Special Service and its association with the German SS. In January 1945, the Brigade was involved in the battles to secure the Myebon peninsula and Kangaw.