These are 6 of Best Navy Special Forces
in the world
Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine
also called the Kampfschwimmer ,
abbreviated KSM,
are an elite special forces unit of the Germany Navy,
specializing in commando and amphibious warfare operations.
They are the only special-purpose force of the German Navy.
The Kampfschwimmer were set up
when Germany joined NATO in 1955.
They serve a similar role to Americas top tier [DEVGRU] unit.
They are frequently asked to conduct operations with their counter parts,
such as Americas DEVGRU,
the French Hubert commandos
and Polands JW GROM
The Kampfschwimmer were set up
particularly because Germany joined NATO
and there was felt to be risk of war with the Soviet Union.
A unit was needed which could help to secure
the Baltic Sea exits through the Danish Straits.
On 1 August 1958,
Group 3402,
as these commando frogmen were called by the navy,
was set up.
The Kampfschwimmer should carry out
their tasks both in the water and ashore,
like German commando frogmen did in World War II.
But now a new dimension was added:
airborne operations.
This three-role concept of the French became
the basis of the commando frogmen of the German navy.
In the Gulf War,
KSM completed various operations that are
classified by German Intelligence and such.
The KSM has decreased ten times in size as in the 1990s
they had estimation of 3,500-4,000 troops.
The unit was also deployed by German Government
in several operations and assignments such as
operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001
along with other allied countries,
operation Ocean Shield in 2009,
and also active from 1994 to 1996 during
the NATO arms embargo against former Yugoslavia
Shayetet 13 is a unit of the Israeli Navy
and one of the primary sayeret or reconnaissance units
of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions,
counter-terrorism,
sabotage,
maritime intelligence gathering,
maritime hostage rescue and boarding.
They are trained for sea,
air and land actions.
The unit has taken part in almost all of Israel's major wars,
as well as other actions.
The unit is one of the most secretive in the Israeli military.
The details of many missions and identities
of active operatives are kept highly classified.
The unit is respected as among the best of the world's special forces,
and is compared to the US Navy SEALs
and Britain's Special Boat Service.
Unlike many other Israeli Special Forces Units
which take men only for their 36-month mandatory service,
volunteers for Shayetet 13 must agree to service
at least four and a half years
(18 months over and above the normal commitment).
Shayetet 13 is a veteran Israeli special forces unit.
It was formed in 1949 by Yohai Ben-Nun
with men drawn from the ranks of the Palyam,
the naval branch of the Palmach,
the elite fighting force of the Haganah ancestor of the Israel Defense Forces.
Upon its foundation,
the existence of Shayetet 13 was a state secret,
and its members wore general Israeli Navy insignia
rather than their own unique one
During the mid-1980s,
Shayetet 13 played an active part in Operation Moses,
which brought thousands of Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
After the Mossad had established a diving resort
on the Sudanese coast to serve a conduit for Jews fleeing Ethiopia,
Shayetet 13 operatives would arrive on dinghies at night
to ferry the refugees to an Israel Navy boat waiting offshore
Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori
COMSUBIN
is the Italian Navy's special operations unit was founded in 1959.
Italy was the first nation to use frogmen and human torpedoes.
The Royal Italian Navy's Naval Assault Divisions
are considered to be the precursor of modern Naval Special Forces.
The COMSUBIN is the primal component
for non-conventional warfare of the Italian Navy.
COMSUBIN is currently based in three detachments
near the Gulf of La Spezia in the Liguria region of north-west Italy.
In keeping with its traditions,
the command has long been known for its acquisition
and use of unconventional weapons and small arms,
such as the Armalite AR-10.
The COMSUBIN is also called "Teseo Tesei",
in memory of the famous war hero.
Forged by an extremely hard training,
the "subacquei" (divers) and "incursori" (raiders)
forming the COMSUBIN are a formidable corp of offence and defence.
To obtain the maximum damage for the enemy
wasting the least amount of equipment and material,
this has always been the guiding principle
for the raiders of the Italian Navy.
Beginning from the First World War,
the standard-bearers of the naval assault units
gained fame by performing some spectacular actions.
COMSUBIN have been deployed to several operations and missions
such as deployed in Adriatic Sea for inspecting merchant navy ships
due to UN embargo against the former Yugoslavia republics,
in Persian Gulf for inspecting merchant navy ships
due to UN embargo against Iran,
evacuating Westerners from missionary outposts
during the bitter civil war in Rwanda in 1994-1995,
and operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001
The Commandos Marine
are the Special Operation Forces of the French Navy.
The Commandos Marine are nicknamed Bérets Verts or Green Berets.
They operate under the Naval Riflemen and Special Operations Forces Command
(FORFUSCO)
and form part of the French Special Operations Command.
The Commandos Marine were formed in 1942
during World War II in the United Kingdom
and were modeled on the British Commandos who were founded in 1940.
They were formed from Free French volunteers from different services,
mainly from Navy Fusiliers Marins (Naval Infantry),
other navy specialties and even from the army.
Their personnel are distributed between seven Commando Units,
named after former commando officers killed in action
and are dedicated maritime counter-terrorist units,
which are,
Commando Jaubert,
Commando de Montfort,
Commando de Penfentenyo,
Commando Trépel,
Commando Hubert,
Commando Kieffer
and Commando Ponchardier.
Since the 1950s,
the combat swimmer unit of the French Navy
have been formed as Commando Hubert,
also known as French commando frogmen,
the only Commandos Marine unit having combat swimmers.
They are publicly known to be a Special Mission Unit
supporting counter terrorism along with GIGN .
They have been deployed in various operation around the world,
such as Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1992,
Operation Allied Force Yugoslavia in 1999,
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2001,
and the latest operation known that Commando Hubert
conducted hostage rescue operation in Burkina Faso
in May 2019.
The Special Boat Service
(SBS)
is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy.
The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War
when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940.
After several name changes,
the unit was renamed as the Special Boat Service in 1987.
The Special Boat Service is the maritime special forces unit
of the United Kingdom Special Forces
and is described as the sister unit of the British Army 22nd
Special Air Service Regiment (SAS),
with both under the operational control of the Director Special Forces.
The principal roles of the SBS are Special reconnaissance,
including information reporting and target acquisition,
Offensive Action,
including the direction of air strikes,
artillery and naval gunfire,
designation for precision guided munitions,
use of integral weapons and demolitions,
Support and Influence (SI),
including overseas training tasks.
The SBS also provide immediate response Military
Counter Terrorism and Maritime Counter Terrorism teams.
Most of the operations conducted by the SBS are highly classified,
and are rarely commented on by the British government
or the Ministry of Defence,
owing to their sensitive nature.
On 21 December 2018,
SBS personnel resolved a situation by storming the tanker Grande Tema
where four stowaways hijacked the ship,
demanding to enter the UK.
On 25 October 2020,
an oil tanker south-east of the Isle of Wight,
suspected to have been hijacked by Nigerian stowaways
was stormed by the Special Boat Service.
Seven people,
believed to be Nigerians seeking UK asylum
were handed over to Hampshire Police
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams,
commonly known as Navy SEALs,
are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force
and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command.
Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting
small-unit special operation missions in maritime,
jungle,
urban,
arctic,
mountainous and desert environments.
SEALs are typically ordered to capture or to eliminate high level targets,
or to gather intelligence behind enemy lines.
From its predecessors,
the Underwater Demolition Teams to its current form,
the SEALs have influenced the training and formation of several foreign units,
such as UDT Seals South Korea,
UOT Philippine and SSGN Pakistan.
Due to their reputation as being one of
America's premier special operations forces,
SEALs (particularly operators from DEVGRU)
will often do exchanges with allied SOFs
On 12 April 2009,
in response to a hostage taking incident
off the coast of Somalia by Somalian pirates,
three Navy SEALs from DEVGRU simultaneously engaged and killed
the three pirates who were closely holding the hostage,
Captain Richard Phillips,
of the freighter ship Maersk Alabama.
The pirates and their hostage were being towed in a lifeboat
approximately 100 yards behind USS Bainbridge
when each of the pirates were killed by a different
DEVGRU sniper with a single shot to the head.
In the early morning of 2 May 2011 local time,
a team of Navy SEALs from DEVGRU supported by
Special Activities Division officers on the ground,
killed Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan
about 35 miles from Islamabad in a CIA operation.
President Barack Obama later confirmed the death of bin Laden,
but did not directly mention the involvement of DEVGRU,
saying only that a "small team" of Americans undertook
the operation to bring down bin Laden.
The unprecedented media coverage raised
the public profile of the SEAL community,
particularly the counter-terrorism specialists
commonly known as SEAL Team 6 or Devgru.