Who was the founder of the SAS and?

Question

where did the idea of the SAS come from.

Answer 1

IN LATE 1941, the British and their Allies fighting in the Western Desert of North Africa were struggling to survive. Faced by the dashing Erwin Rommel in command of the deadly Afrika Corps, the British were in danger of being driven back to the Suez Canal. The situation was a desperate one, but soon the Germans and their Italian allies would be on the receiving end of one of the most dangerous and effective units of the desert war. The unit was called the Special Air Service and its founder and first commander was David Stirling.

Stirling, the son of a general, was born on 15 November 1915 at his family’s ancestral home at Doune, Stirlingshire. He grew up to be a keen sportsman and mountaineer. When war broke out in 1939, Stirling joined the Scots Guards, but he wanted more danger and excitement than was to be found in the regular army. He volunteered and was accepted into No.8 Commando, which soon found itself headed for Egypt. Combined with other units under the title "Layforce", the commandos looked forward to plenty of action, but after only a few months, unconvinced superiors disbanded the group.
Stirling, undaunted by events, decided that parachute warfare was the way ahead and undertook training. Lack of experience and the fact that Stirling was too tall and heavy to jump safely resulted in a near-crippling accident. However, the time spent recovering enabled him to clarify in his mind the new unit he wanted – small groups of highly trained men making hit-and-run attacks behind enemy lines on sensitive targets such as airfields, fuel depots and ammunition dumps.

As soon as he was able to move around on crutches, the restless Stirling set off to get backing for his idea from the generals in charge of the Allied forces in North Africa. Rather than going through normal channels, Stirling simply went to army headquarters, climbed a wall and entered an office, where he found himself face-to-face with the deputy commander of the Middle East, Gen Neil Ritchie. Intrigued by the young officer's unorthodox methods, Gen Ritchie listened to, and eventually accepted, the basis of Stirling’s plan. He recommended the idea to his superior, Gen Claude Auchinleck, and the SAS was born.

The first operation for Stirling's fledgling unit (properly known by its cover name of "L" Detachment of the Special Air Service Brigade) was a parachute raid on German airfields. The attack was a disaster. High winds and freezing weather conditions contributed to the loss of 44 out of 66 men that jumped. Stirling decided that in future he would drive to targets, transported first by the expert reconnaissance force Long Range Desert Group, but later in their own heavily armed jeeps. The revitalised SAS set off for its return engagement. This time there would be no mistake.

Until the end of the desert conflict, the SAS roamed behind enemy lines causing chaos and destruction to German and Italian airfields, supply depots and outposts. Aircraft were vital to success in the desert and they were targeted frequently. One of the SAS's legendary officers, Blair "Paddy" Mayne was even credited with having destroyed more enemy aircraft than any fighter ace on the Allied side. As for Stirling, his luck ran out in January 1943 when he was discovered sheltering in a cave by the enemy. Unsurprisingly, he proved to be an extremely tricky prisoner and eventually ended up in Germany's notorious prisoner-of-war camp, Colditz Castle.
For the rest of the war, the SAS took part in raids and operations behind German lines. In Italy, France and elsewhere, they helped resistance groups and attacked enemy forces whenever and wherever they found them. The success of the SAS and other commando-style units infuriated Adolf Hitler. He drafted an order that condemned any SAS soldier to death upon capture. Luckily for Stirling, his captors never carried out the order, but many of his men were shot after being taken prisoner.

At the end of the war, the regular SAS was disbanded. However, the 1948 Malayan Crisis soon saw a need for special behind-the-lines units to combat the communist guerrilla forces, and so the regiment was resurrected and soon found itself back in action. To this day, the SAS has developed a reputation second to none for its tough training, fighting skills and tenacity – more then living up to its motto of "Who Dares Wins".

Stirling came out of German captivity in 1945, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and Order of the British Empire for his wartime services and became involved in various business ventures where his experience and numerous contacts in the world of special forces soldiering proved invaluable. The SAS named their base in Hereford – Stirling Lines - in his honour. In 1990 Stirling was knighted and he died later the same year.

Answer 2

Colonel Sir David Stirling, OBE, DSO (November 15, 1915 - November 4, 1990) was a Scottish laird, keen mountaineer, World War II British Army officer, and the founder of the Special Air Service.

The SAS was formed in 1941 with British and French volontaries to conduct raids behind German lines or Rommel in North Africa, and today serves as a model for similar units fielded by other countries.

Answer 3

Paddy to his friends helped Stirling set up the SAS. regrettably (and is often the case) the two have been like chalk and cheese and fought like cats over maximum issues. They have been whether completely unswerving to a minimum of one yet another and desperate to tutor the brass what the recent SAS ought to do. A visionary guy so oftentimes misunderstood.

Answer 4

The SAS was formed in 1941 with British and French volontaries to conduct raids behind German lines

Answer 5

Col.David Sterling had the idea that small groups of soldiers behind enemy lines could perform various types of "special"missions. About the same time the US and Canada also started the Special Service Force SSF in Italy in wich history shown both kicked serious ***.

Answer 6

It cannot be said there was a single founder as you have to remember there were the forerunners to the Corp such as the commandos. However it was formed in 1941 to handle such matters as we have seen them involved in and very successfully I might say.

Answer 7

founder was david stirling...........the idea was used in ww2 to hit the enemy hard in small groups in the desert