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{{infobox national military
|country            =[[Rhodesia]]
|name               =Rhodesian Security Forces
|native_name        =
|image              =Rhodesian_Army_logo.png
|caption            =Emblem of the Rhodesian Army.
|image2             =
|caption2           =
|founded            =1964
|disbanded          =1980
|branches           ={{plainlist|
*Rhodesian Army
*Rhodesian Air Force
*British South Africa Police
*Ministry of Internal Affairs Guard Force
}}
|headquarters       =[[Salisbury]]
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|history            =[[Second Chimurenga]]
|ranks              =
}}

The '''Rhodesian Security Forces''' were the military forces of the [[Rhodesia]]n government. The forces were disbanded at the attainment of independence in 1980 when the country became Zimbabwe. It was replaced by the [[Zimbabwe Defence Forces]].

The Rhodesian Security Forces consisted of:
*Ground force (the Rhodesian Army), 
*[[Rhodesian Air Force]], 
*[[British South Africa Police]]
*and various personnel affiliated to the [[INTAF|Rhodesian Ministry of Internal Affairs]] (INTAF). 

The Rhodesian Security Forces of 1964–80 traced their history back to the [[British South Africa Company]] armed forces, originally created during [[company rule in Rhodesia|company rule]] in the 1880s and 1890s. These became the armed forces of the British [[self-governing colony]] of [[Southern Rhodesia]] on its formation in 1923, then part of the [[Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland]] military in 1953. After the break-up of the Federation at the end of 1963, the security forces assumed the form they would keep until 1980.

The Rhodesian Security Forces remained loyal to the [[Harare|Salisbury]] government after the [[Unilateral Declaration of Independence]] from Britain on 11 November 1965. Rhodesia's independence was however not recognised by the United Nations and Britain itself. The RSF therefore fought on behalf of the unrecognised government against the guerilla armies of [[Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army]] (ZANLA) and [[Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army]] (ZIPRA) during the war of liberation.

==Background==
The majority of the Southern Rhodesia Volunteers were disbanded in 1920 for reasons of cost, the last companies being disbanded in 1926. The Defence Act of 1927 created a Permanent Force (the Rhodesian Staff Corps) and a Territorial Force as well as national compulsory military training.<ref>Wilson, Graham ''Cap badges of the Rhodesian Security Forces'' ''Sabretache'', June 2000</ref> With the Southern Rhodesia Volunteers disbanded in 1927, the [[Rhodesia Regiment]] was reformed in the same year as part of the nation's Territorial Force. The 1st Battalion was formed in [[Salisbury, Rhodesia|Salisbury]] with a detached "B" company in [[Umtali]] and the 2nd Battalion in [[Bulawayo]] with a detached "B" Company in [[Gwelo]].<ref>p.46 Radford</ref> Between the World Wars, the Permanent Staff Corps of the Rhodesian Army consisted of only 47 men. The [[British South Africa Police]] (BSAP) were trained as both policemen and soldiers until 1954.<ref>[http://abc.gov.au/wa/anzac/allied.htm#ra] {{wayback|url=http://abc.gov.au/wa/anzac/allied.htm#ra |date=20020718064841 |df=y }}</ref>

About 10,000 white Southern Rhodesians (15% of the white population) mustered into the British forces during the [[Second World War]], serving in units such as the [[Long Range Desert Group]], [[No. 237 Squadron RAF]] and the [[Special Air Service]] (SAS). ''Pro rata'' to population, this was the largest contribution of manpower by any territory in the [[British Empire]], even outstripping that of Britain itself.<ref name=galetimeline>{{Harvnb
|Gale
|1973
|pp=88–89}}; {{Harvnb
|Young
|1969
|p=11}}</ref>

Southern Rhodesia's own units, most prominently the [[Rhodesian African Rifles]] (made up of black rank-and-filers and [[warrant officers]], led by white officers; abbreviated RAR) fought in the war's [[East African Campaign (World War II)|East African Campaign]] and [[Burma Campaign|in Burma]].<ref>{{Harvnb
|Binda
|2007
|pp=41–42, 59–77}}</ref> During the war, Southern Rhodesian pilots proportionally earned the highest number of decorations and ace appellations in the Empire. This resulted in the [[Royal Family]] paying an unusual state visit to the colony at the end of the war in thanks to the efforts of the Rhodesian people.{{citation needed|date=June 2012}}

The [[Southern Rhodesia Air Force]] (SRAF) was re-established in 1947 and two years later, Prime Minister [[Godfrey Huggins]] appointed a 32-year-old South African-born Rhodesian Spitfire pilot, [[Ted Jacklin]], as air officer commanding tasked to build an air force in the expectation that British African territories would begin moving towards independence, and air power would be vital for land-locked Southern Rhodesia. The threadbare SRAF bought, borrowed or salvaged a collection of vintage aircraft, including six [[Tiger Moth (plane)|Tiger Moth]]s, six [[North American Harvard]] trainers, an [[Avro Anson]] freighter and a handful of De Havilland Rapide transport aircraft, before purchasing a squadron of 22 Mk. 22 war surplus [[Supermarine Spitfire]] from the [[Royal Air Force]] which were then flown to Southern Rhodesia.<ref>Moss (n.d.); Petter-Bowyer (2003) p. 16</ref>

In April 1951, the defence force of Rhodesia was completely reorganised.<ref>Extracted from 'The Development of Southern Rhodesia's Military System, 1890–1953 by L. H. Gann, M.A., B.LITT., D.PHIL.'</ref> The Permanent Force included the BSAP as well as the [[Southern Rhodesia Staff Corps]] charged with training and administering the Territorial Force. The SRAF consisted of a communication squadron and trained members of the Territorial Force as pilots, particularly for artillery observation. During the [[Malayan Emergency]] of the 1950s, Southern Rhodesia [[Southern Rhodesian military involvement in the Malayan Emergency|contributed]] two units to the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]]'s counter-insurgency campaign: the newly formed [[Rhodesian Special Air Service|Rhodesian SAS]] served a two-year tour of duty in Malaya starting in March 1951,






==References==
<references/>

{{#seo:
|title=About Rhodesian Security Forces - Pindula, Local Knowledge
|titlemode=replace
|keywords=Wikipedia, Rhodesian Security Forces, Rhodesia, Second Chimurenga
|description=
}}

[[Category:Armies]]