No. 30 Commando


No. 30 Commando, from 1943–1946 known as 30 Assault Unit, was a British Commando unit during the Second World War, originally formed to gather intelligence.

History

Formation

According to some accounts, the unit was reportedly deployed for the first time during the Dieppe Raid in August 1942, in an unsuccessful attempt to capture an Enigma machine and related materiel.
In September 1942, its formation was officially authorised, under the auspices of the Director of Naval Intelligence. Known initially as the Special Intelligence Unit, it comprised 33 Troop, 34 Troop, 35 Troop and 36 Troop. One of the key figures involved in its organisation was Commander Ian Fleming. It was tasked to move ahead of advancing Allied forces, or to undertake covert infiltrations into enemy territory by land, sea or air, to capture much needed intelligence, in the form of codes, documents, equipment or personnel. They often worked closely with the Intelligence Corps' Field Security sections. Individual troops were present in all operational theatres and usually operated independently, gathering information from captured facilities.

North Africa and Mediterranean

The unit took part in the Operation Torch landings, landing to the west of Algiers at Sidi Ferruch on 8 November. They had been provided with detailed maps and photographs of the area and on the outskirts of the city locating the Italian naval headquarters. By the following day all the battle orders for the German and Italian fleets, current code books and other documents had been sent back to London.
Renamed 30 Commando and also known as the Special Engineering Unit, for most of 1943, the unit, or parts of it, operated in the Greek Islands, Norway, Sicily and Corsica. 34 Troop operated mainly in the Italian and Balkan campaigns. Its missions have reportedly remained subject to official secrecy regulations. Perhaps the best-known member was Johnny Ramensky, a Lithuanian-Scottish safe-cracker. These units were normally inserted by parachute behind enemy lines.

North West Europe

In November 1943, the unit returned to Britain to prepare for the Allied invasion of France. It was re-designated 30 Assault Unit in December, and re-organised into HQ Troop; A, B and X Troops; a mobile RN signals unit and a RN medical unit.
30AU took part in D-Day and the subsequent Normandy Campaign. One detachment, code-named Pikeforce, landed on Juno Beach. Its major task on D-Day was the capture of a radar station at Douvres-la-Delivrande, north of Caen. Led by Squadron Leader David Nutting, a detachment code-named Woolforce, landed at Utah Beach on D-Day plus 4, tasked with examining suspected German V-1 missile sites. 30AU also took part in the capture of Cherbourg. They launched an assault on Octeville – a suburb to the south west of port. This was the location of the Kriegsmarine naval intelligence HQ known as Villa Maurice which the Commandos captured along with 20 officers and 500 men.
During 30 July AU made their headquarters at Carteret where captured material was studied and the force increased in men and vehicles. In August it advanced with the US 3rd Army in the breakout of Normandy. 30 AU took part in the capture of Rennes, Brest and Nantes however captured documents were not of great value there. Their biggest operation however was in the Liberation of Paris – codenamed Woolforce II. Moving with speed in various scout and armoured cars and having avoided road blocks or major resistance Woolforce II entered via the Porte d'Orléans having followed the 2nd Free French armoured division. Avoiding joyous crowds 30AU crossed Pont Mirabeau and quickly cleared intelligence targets and blew open every safe box they could find. After a brief gunfight, they captured the former headquarters of Admiral Karl Dönitz, the Château de la Muette 'liberating' 30 tonnes of documents. In addition they seized the factory and underground torpedo warehouses at Houilles and Saint-Cloud. They managed to secure the acoustic torpedoes – the T5 and the experimental T10 as well as extensive technical documentation. When the Germans under Dietrich von Choltitz announced the capitulation nearly 700 Germans surrendered to 30AU.
Meanwhile 30AU also conducted lesser operations in cooperation with French intelligence officers in the Toulon and Strasbourg area after they had been liberated. In September 1944, 30AU took part in the capture of Channel coast ports, often using armed jeeps. The operations carried out by 30AU in the liberation of France and Belgium provided a wealth of intelligence particularly in communications within the German military and within the German Navy. For example, how RAF Coastal Command could best deal with U-Boats in attacks via the air.
Some 30AU missions in Germany during early 1945 reportedly remain subject to official secrecy. The unit is known to have targeted military scientists, sometimes far behind enemy lines.
According to some sources, the secrecy surrounding 30AU was such that significant German figures, captured behind the lines by field teams from 30AU, were officially reported to have "surrendered" to Allied infantry.

Pacific

A 30AU detachment was sent to the Pacific theatre in mid-1945, although the Japanese surrender precluded actual operations. Immediately after the war, however, 30AU was reportedly active in Singapore, Indochina and Hong Kong.

Post war

30 Assault Unit was officially disbanded in 1946, however in 2010 the Royal Marines formed 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group which carries on the history of 30 Assault Unit.
In 2013, 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group were granted the freedom of Littlehampton, West Sussex, in honour of the original unit being based in the town during the Second World War.

In fiction