Editing No. 3 Commando (section)

===Formation and early raids===
Formed in [[Plymouth]] in late June 1940 following the [[Dunkirk evacuation]], under the command of Lieutenant Colonel [[John Durnford-Slater]], No. 3 Commando was the first British unit to use the title of "Commando".<ref>Durnford-Slater 2002, p. 12.</ref><ref>Chappell 1996, p. 52 & 57.</ref><ref group="Note">No. 3 Commando is considered to be the first Commando unit raised, as at the time No. 1 and No. 2 Commando did not exist as the intention was to raise them as airborne units later, while other Commando units were raised shortly after. Durnford-Slater 2002, p. 12; Saunders 1959, pp. 22–23.</ref> By 5 July 1940 they had been fully raised<ref name=Durnford15>Durnford-Slater 2002, p. 15.</ref> and a little more than a week later they carried out one of the first Commando raids of the war. This raid, known as [[Operation Ambassador]], which had been hastily organised at the behest of the British prime minister, [[Winston Churchill]], was probing raid on the German-occupied island of [[Guernsey]].<ref>Chappell 1996, p. 45.</ref><ref name="Saunders 1959, pp. 21–22">Saunders 1959, pp. 21–22.</ref> As a result of a number of mishaps and hurried planning, the raid proved to be unsuccessful.<ref name="Saunders 1959, pp. 21–22"/><ref>Laffin 1999, p. 13.</ref>

[[File:No. 3 Commando ski training 22 March 1942.jpg|thumb|left|No. 3 Commando ski training in Scotland]]

In October 1940, as part of a reorganisation of the Commando formations, the unit was amalgamated with [[No. 8 (Guards) Commando]] into a single special service battalion known as the 4th Special Service Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel [[Robert Laycock]].<ref>Durnford-Slater 2002, pp. ix–x.</ref> As a part of this organisation, the unit's name was changed to 'A' Special Service Company.<ref name=Durnfordix>Durnford-Slater 2002, p. ix.</ref> At the end of 1940, the special service battalions were reorganised into a headquarters and two Commandos and the name of the unit reverted to No. 3 Commando. In January 1941 the special service battalions were broken up, the Commandos were delinked and raised back to full battalion-sized units themselves.<ref name=Chappell7/><ref>Durnford-Slater 2002, p. x.</ref>

In March 1941, 250 officers and men from No. 3 Commando took part in the first large-scale Commando raid, which was launched on four ports in the [[Lofoten Islands]] in Norway.<ref>Chappell 1996, p. 12.</ref> The raid, codenamed [[Operation Claymore]], proved to be a considerable success, resulting in the capture of a number of wheels of the German [[Enigma machine|Enigma encoding machine]] which helped the Allies to decode German radio traffic later in the war, as well as the destruction of a considerable amount of petrol and oil and the capture of several hundred Germans.<ref>Chappell 1996, pp. 12–13.</ref>