As far as my knowledge goes, there was a Commonwealth commando unit called Z Force, which among others, made an antishipping raid on Singapore Harbor. Can anyone help me get deeper on the subject, including if this (these) operations had anything to do with the Royal Marines raid and the use of SOE´s Sleeping Beauty?
Z Force carried out two famous raids on Singapore Harbour. Operation Jawick (September 1943) and Operation Rimau (1944) both raids were commanded by Major Ivan Lyon of the Gordon Highlanders. Lyon was killed during Rimau. The Sleeping Beauty was used in the Rimau raid: BBC - History - British Special Operations Executive (SOE): Tools and Gadgets Gallery Some info here:BBC - WW2 People's War - The Jaywick Operation and here: Z Special Unit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Regards Hugh
RIMAU was when the commandos got caught on their way out, hunted down from island to island, and the captured survivors eventually executed a few days before the war´s end?
Yes that is correct. The 10 who were captured were beheaded by the Japs a month before the end of the war. MINDEF - History - 1944 - Operation Rimau (Volume 8 Issue 10) Regards Hugh
So was 'Z Force' named in memory of 'Force Z'? Welcome to the website of the Force Z Survivors Association
There was also an earlier "Z Force", fighting in the Middle East in the 1920s-- It is most famous for having some of the earliest UK airplane ambulances deployed (DH-9s). Doc
RAF "Z" Force was a relatively successful effort at "air policing" which took place in British Somaliland in 1920. It was an attempt to put down an uprising by Mohammed Ahmed Ibn Seyyid Abdullah, called the "Mad Mullah", who was originally based in Sudan. Doc
Z Special Unit Z Special Unit was a top secret unit formed in 1942 as a special operations group to gather intelligence and carry out sabotage right at the heart of the enemy. Its members were sworn to secrecy about their operations, and were highly trained as silent and effective killers. More here halfway down the page: Two Events of 1943 Also: Z Special Unit (sometimes called Z Force), WW2
I have photos of the graves of those executed and the other KIA from Op RIMAU that are buried at Kranji if anyone is interested.
The NAA has made a lot of documents available online about both raids. JAYWICK. RIMAU. Interestingly, Major Ivan Lyon, as he was at the time, who had received an immediate DSO for JAYWICK, was recommended by the Australian Prime Minister, John Curtin, in August 1944, to have this upgraded to a VC. Not sure what the decision process was, but he didn’t receive the higher award. This letter was evidently acted upon however with respect to Lieutenant Robert Page whose immediate MC was upgraded to a DSO. Both awards were gazetted LG 37730 17/9/1946.
Looking for something else I found this official Australian Navy document, which includes Jaywick - which I knew little about. As the title indicates the document has a wider remit! Link, Jaywick is on pgs. 144-152: https://www.navy.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/PIAMA25.pdf