SBS – Silent Warriors

by Saul David

First published 2021

Amazon

4.6(826)

SBS – Silent Warriors traces the wartime development of Britain’s maritime special operations forces from improvised reconnaissance teams in 1940 to units operating across the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Channel and Far East. Early volunteers used canoes, small boats and minimal weapons to survey beaches, land agents and attack ships and coastal installations behind enemy lines.

Written with access to SBS Association archives and the cooperation of the modern service, the book reconstructs missions including the reconnaissance of Rhodes and Operation Frankton against shipping in Bordeaux. David shows how small teams combined navigation, endurance and surprise while facing execution if captured. Their intelligence gathering, sabotage and support for larger invasions helped establish the methods and traditions of later maritime special forces.