The World's First SWAT Team
W. E. Fairbairn and the Shanghai Municipal Police Reserve Unit
2012
First Published
3.82
Average Rating
216
Number of Pages
In turbulent Shanghai in the years between the World Wars, the International Settlement was a mercantile powerhouse that faced unrest from Communist labor unions, criminal gangs, spies, political agitators, armed kidnappers and assassins. Adjoining the Settlement were the French Concession and the Chinese city, both hotbeds of intrigue and crime themselves. Called the most sinful in the world, the Settlement relied on its police: the Shanghai Municipal Police, one of the most advanced forces in the world. After an incident in 1926 when the police fired upon demonstrators, which resulted in unrest and strikes, W. E. Fairbairn was charged with forming a specialized unit to deal with riots and armed encounters. The resulting Reserve Unit became the prototype for future SWAT teams, as it developed tactics for using snipers in barricade and hostage incidents, techniques for use of the submachine gun during raids, hostage rescue tactics, aggressive riot-dispersal tactics and various other tactical innovations. Out of the experiences of the unit came many of the techniques later taught by W. E. Fairbairn, E. A. Sykes, Pat O'Neill and others to the Commandos, Rangers, SOE, OSS, 1st Special Service Force and other Second World War elite units. Those same techniques still resonate today with special forces and police tactical units.
Avg Rating
3.82
Number of Ratings
38
5 STARS
21%
4 STARS
53%
3 STARS
16%
2 STARS
8%
1 STARS
3%
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Author
Leroy Thompson
Author · 11 books
Leroy Thompson has trained and advised military and police special operations units around the world, focusing especially on the tactical use of firearms. He has previously had 38 books published. He has also appeared as a weapons expert on documentaries for Discovery, National Geographic and the BBC. Leroy Thompson served in Vietnam with the U.S. Air Force and was a police officer for several years after leaving the military.
