| No. 3 Commando | |
|---|---|
 Commandos take cover during Operation Archery, a raid on the Lofoten Islands | |
| Active | 1940–1946 |
| Disbanded | 4 January 1946 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Type | Commando |
| Role | Special Forces |
| Size | 470–535 men all ranks[1] |
| Part of | 1st Special Service Brigade |
| Engagements | Second World War |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | John Durnford-Slater Peter Young |
| Insignia | |
| Combined Operations Shoulder Patch |  |
No. 3 Commando was a battalion-sized Commando unit raised by the British Army during the Second World War. Formed in July 1940 from volunteers for special service, it was the first such unit to carry the title of "Commando". Shortly afterwards the unit was involved in a largely unsuccessful raid upon the German-occupied Channel Island of Guernsey.
In 1941 they were involved in successful raids on the Lofoten Islands and Vaagso, in Norway, before taking part in the costly Dieppe raid in August 1942, where the unit was tasked with knocking out a German coastal artillery battery on the eastern flank of the main landings, although due to a chance encounter in the Channel with a German convoy, a large majority of the unit failed to make it ashore.
In early 1943, the unit was sent to Gibraltar before moving to North Africa in April from where they were involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily and operations in Italy prior to being withdrawn to Britain to prepare for Operation Overlord. On D-Day they went ashore on 6 June 1944 as part of the 1st Special Service Brigade tasked with linking up with the 6th Airborne Division on the eastern flank of Sword before being withdrawn. Later they took part in the Allied counterattack during the Ardennes Offensive in early 1945 before taking part in the advance into Germany as part of Operation Plunder.
Following the end of the war, No. 3 Commando carried out occupation duties in Germany before it was disbanded on 4 January 1946.
- ^ Durnford-Slater 2003, pp. ix–xvi.