Editing David Stirling (section)

===SAS operations===
Stirling's new special operations unit was, at the outset, short of equipment (particularly tents and related gear) when the unit set up at [[Kibrit Air Base]]. The first operation of the new SAS was to steal from a nearby well-equipped New Zealand regiment various supplies including tents, bedding, tables, chairs and a piano. After at least four trips, they had a well-stocked camp.<ref name="Ben" />{{rp|34–35}}

After a brief period of training, an initial attempt at attacking a German airfield by parachute landing on 16 November 1941 in support of [[Operation Crusader]] proved to be disastrous for the unit. Of the original 55 men, some 34 were killed, wounded or captured far from the target, after being blown off course or landing in the wrong area, during one of the biggest storms to hit the region. Escaping only with the help of the [[Long Range Desert Group]] (LRDG) – who were designated to pick up the unit after the attack – Stirling agreed that approaching by land under the cover of night would be safer and more effective than parachuting. As quickly as possible he organised raids on ports using this simple method, bluffing through checkpoints at night using the language skills of some of his soldiers.<ref name="Ben" />{{rp|51–61,114–115,138}}

Under Stirling's leadership, the [[Lewes bomb]], the first hand-held dual explosive and incendiary device, was invented by [[Jock Lewes]]. American Jeeps, which were able to deal with the harsh desert terrain better than other transport, were cut down, adapted and fitted with [[Vickers K machine gun]]s fore and aft. Stirling also pioneered the use of small groups to escape detection. Finding it difficult to lead from the rear, Stirling often led from the front, his SAS units driving through enemy airfields in the Jeeps to shoot up aircraft and crew.<ref>{{cite book|first=Gavin |last=Mortimer|title=Stirling's Desert Triumph: The SAS Egyptian Airfield Raids 1942|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AECVCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|date=20 April 2015|publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4728-0764-9|page=37}}</ref>

[[File:French sas north africa 1943.jpg|thumb|Members of the '[[1st Airborne Marine Infantry Regiment|French Squadron SAS]]' (1ere Compagnie de Chasseurs Parachutistes) in [[French protectorate of Tunisia|Tunisia]]. 
Previously a company of [[Free France|Free French]] paratroopers, the French SAS squadron were the first of a range of units 'acquired' by Major Stirling as the SAS expanded.]]
The first Jeep-borne airfield raid occurred soon after acquiring the first batch of Jeeps in June 1942, when Stirling's SAS group attacked the Italian-held Bagush airfield along with two other Axis airfields all in the same night. After returning to Cairo, Stirling collected a consignment of more Jeeps for further airfield raids. His biggest success was on the night of 26–27 July 1942 when his SAS squadron, armed with 18 jeeps, [[Raid on Sidi Haneish Airfield|raided the Sidi Haneish]] landing strip and destroyed 37 Axis aircraft  (mostly bombers and heavy transport) for the loss of two men killed. After a drive through the desert, evading enemy patrols and aircraft, Stirling and his men reached the safety of their advance camp at Qaret Tartura on the edge of the [[Qattara Depression]].<ref name="Ben">{{cite book|last1=Macintyre|first1=Ben|title=Rogue Warriors|date=2016|publisher=Crown Publishing Group|location=New York|isbn=978-1-101-90416-9|pages=48–49,143–146,149–154}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)|lieutenant-colonel]] in September 1942.<ref>{{cite book|last=[[Ben Macintyre|Macintyre]]|first=Ben|date=2016|title=SAS Rogue Heroes|publisher=[[Viking Books]]|page=167|isbn=9780241186626}}</ref>

In North Africa, in the 15 months before Stirling's capture, the SAS had destroyed over 250 aircraft on the ground, dozens of supply dumps, wrecked railways and telecommunications, and had put hundreds of enemy vehicles out of action.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1990/11/07/sir-david-stirling-74-dies/176edce1-adf2-4230-9bdc-483b64d04625/|title=Sir David Stirling dies|date=7 November 1990|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=15 October 2023}}</ref> 

Field Marshal [[Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein|Bernard Montgomery]] said ''"The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people."''.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/david-stirling|title=David Stirling: The Phantom Major &#124; National Army Museum|website=www.nam.ac.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/hair-raising-adventures-david-stirling-madman-behind-sas/|title=The hair-raising adventures of David Stirling, the madman behind the SAS|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=31 October 2022|access-date=14 November 2022}}</ref>