At the end of the Sicilian campaign Durnford-Slater took over command of a brigade-sized element consisting of No. 3 and No. 40 (Royal Marine) Commando and the Special Raiding Squadron and as a result Peter Young took over command of the unit. Following this, in late August 1943, after receiving replacements from No. 12 Commando which was in the process of being disbanded, the unit carried out a number of reconnaissance operations across the Strait in preparation for the invasion of Italy.