Crew of the MV Krait during Operation Jaywick, 1943
Active
1942–1946
Country
Australia
Netherlands
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Allegiance
Allied
Type
Special forces
Role
Guerrilla warfare Special operations Special reconnaissance
Part of
SRD, Allied Intelligence Bureau
Engagements
World War II:
Operation Scorpion
Operation Jaywick
Operation Rimau
Operation Binatang
Borneo campaign:
Operation Semut
Operation Agas
Operation Python
Operation Copper
Operation Opossum
Operation Platypus
Military unit
Z Special Unit (/zɛd/) was a joint Allied special forces unit formed during the Second World War to operate behind Japanese lines in South East Asia. Predominantly Australian, Z Special Unit was a specialist reconnaissance and sabotage unit that included British, Dutch, New Zealand, Timorese and Indonesian members, predominantly operating on Borneo and the islands of the former Dutch East Indies.[1]
The unit carried out a total of 81 covert operations in the South West Pacific theatre, with parties inserted by parachute or submarine to provide intelligence and conduct guerrilla warfare.[2] The best known of these missions were Operation Jaywick and Operation Rimau, both of which involved raids on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour; the latter of which resulted in the deaths of 23 commandos either in action or by execution after capture.[1]
Although the unit was disbanded after the war, many of the training techniques and operational procedures employed were later used during the formation of other Australian Army special forces units and they remain a model for guerrilla operations to this day.[3]
also known as "Z Force" ZSpecialUnit, an Australian-British-New Zealand commando unit in the South West Pacific theatre, also known as "Z Force" This disambiguation...
Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military...
gathering units such as ZSpecialUnit part of Special Operations Australia (code name Services Reconnaissance Department SRD) and M SpecialUnit part of...
its counterpart, ZSpecialUnit, which became well known for its direct-action commando-style raids. A notable member of M SpecialUnit was Sergeant Leonard...
protection roles. In addition to these units, the Australians also raised the ZSpecialUnit and M SpecialUnit. M SpecialUnit was largely employed in an intelligence-gathering...
Department (SRD) of the Allied Intelligence Bureau in Melbourne. He joined ZSpecialUnit in October and was transferred to Cairns in Far North Queensland for...
Guinea and Borneo, although other units such as M and ZSpecialUnits performed more clandestine roles. These units were disbanded following the end of...
Jaywick was a special operation undertaken in World War II. In September 1943, 14 commandos and sailors from the Allied ZSpecialUnit raided Japanese...
Base, code name Potshot, was used as a staging base for ZSpecialUnit. ZSpecialUnit was special forces use made up of British, Australian, Dutch, New...
Regiment and the Joint Special Forces Aviation Wing. In British freedom of information law, "special forces" has been defined as "those units of the armed forces...
Liaison Office (FELO) M SpecialUnit Rose Force Royal Australian Navy Beach Commandos Services Reconnaissance Department ZSpecialUnit Bushveldt Carbineers...
wooden-hulled vessel famous for its use during World War II by the ZSpecialUnit (Z Force) of Australia during the raid against Japanese ships anchored...
Australian/Japanese co-production about Operation Jaywick and Operation Rimau by ZSpecialUnit during World War II. The same story inspired the TV mini-series Heroes...
was a series of reconnaissance operations carried out by Australia's ZSpecialUnit in 1945, during the final stages of World War II. This operation was...
The Special Boarding Unit (特別警備隊, Tokubetsukeibitai) is a special forces unit established by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force on March 27, 2001,...
resistance efforts against the Germans. In 1944, he transferred to the ZSpecialUnit, which was based in Melbourne, Australia as part of the Services Reconnaissance...
releasing McLaren back to Australian command. After being transferred to ZSpecialUnit, under the command of the Services Reconnaissance Department, attached...
m), on Ternate island. This island was used by ZSpecialUnit (Z Force), the mainly Australian special operations group active in this area during World...
Australia. Wong Sue served as a member of the commando/special reconnaissance section, ZSpecialUnit, during the Second World War and was decorated with...
Sun Yat-sen University (Zhong Shan University, in Chinese) ZSpecialUnit, a World War II unit This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the...
intelligence-gathering unit of the British Fourteenth Army in Burma ZSpecialUnit, an Australian-British-New Zealand commando unit in the South West Pacific...
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