Clearance Diver
Encyclopedia
Underwater diving
Underwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...
who used explosives underwater
Underwater
Underwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of water where the water exists in a natural feature such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, or river. Three quarters of the planet Earth is covered by water...
to remove obstructions to make harbours and shipping channels safe to navigate, but later the term "clearance diver" was used to include other naval underwater work. Units of clearance divers were first formed during and after the Second World War to clear ports and harbours in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe of unexploded ordnance and shipwrecks and booby trap
Booby trap
A booby trap is a device designed to harm or surprise a person, unknowingly triggered by the presence or actions of the victim. As the word trap implies, they often have some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. However, in other cases the device is placed on busy roads or is...
s laid by the Germans.
Within the Royal Navy there are two distinct types of professional military diver and although the selection process for both is similar the overall training is more extensive for the RN Clearance Diver. The major distinction between the two is the level and depth of training and consequently the role of each. The qualification of Ship's Diver is usually a sub-qualification obtained in addition to the seaman's main trade, where as the RN Clearance Diver is a full time diving specialist (Maj R Cameron-Wilton)
In some navies, including Britain's Royal Navy (RN), work divers, which includes Ship's divers must have a line and a linesman when possible.
History
The first units were Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
Mine and Bomb Disposal Units
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
. They were succeeded by the "Port Clearance Parties" (P Parties). The first operations by P Parties included clearing away the debris of unexploded ammunition left during the Normandy Invasion. Six groups of Clearance Divers including Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
and European allied forces were in operation by 1945.
Naval work diver training is much longer and harder than sport diver training and has much stricter entry requirements.
For a long time navies used the old-type heavy standard diving dress
Standard diving dress
A standard diving dress consists of a metallic diving helmet, an airline or hose from a surface supplied diving air pump, a canvas diving suit, diving knife and boots...
when work needed doing underwater. During and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
some of them started using frogman
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....
-type gear when frogman's kit became available. Later they started often using open-circuit scuba gear for work diving.
Australia
The Royal Australian NavyRoyal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
's Clearance Diving Team
Clearance Diving Team (RAN)
The Clearance Diving Teams of the Royal Australian Navy also act as commando frogmen: they consist of naval personnel who are qualified in diving, demolitions, underwater repairs, and reconnaissance...
s (CDTs) also serve as combat divers
Frogman
A frogman is someone who is trained to scuba diving or swim underwater in a military capacity which can include combat. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver or combatant diver or combat swimmer....
.
North America
- Canada: Canadian armed forces diversCanadian armed forces diversCanadian Forces diving is performed by units of the maritime, land, and air environmental commands , the Experimental Diving and Undersea Group , and Special Operations Forces...
- USA: Underwater Demolition TeamUnderwater Demolition TeamThe Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
- US Navy, 1943 -1967
Mainland Europe
- Estonia: EOD Tuukrigrupp (EOD Clearance Diver UNIT)
- France: France's Clearance Divers are called the Plongeurs Démineurs (link in French).
- Germany: MinentaucherMinentaucherMinentaucher are particularly trained military divers of the German Navy. Their operational areas are:-*Searching, identifying, and removing or salvaging underwater weapons such as mines or explosives in the water....
is Germany's Clearance Diver force. - Lithuania: EOD Diving unit
- Norway: Norway's naval work divers and Clearance Diver force is called MinedykkerkommandoenMinedykkerkommandoenMinedykkerkommandoen is Norway's clearance diver group. It is a branch of the Norwegian naval defenses specializing in explosive ordnance disposal. MDK is subordinate to Minekrigsflotiljen , which is a division of the Norwegian Navy...
, "the mineNaval mineA naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
diver command". - Sweden: SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
has had a clearance diver division since 1952.
United Kingdom
British Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
naval work divers are officially called Clearance Divers.
During WWII
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
they at first often used the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus
Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus
The Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus , was an early type of oxygen rebreather invented in 1910 by Sir Robert Davis, head of Siebe Gorman and Co. Ltd., inspired by the earlier Fleuss system...
and no diving suit, and no swimfins and they swam by breaststroke
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
.
On 1942 December 17 (ref. Decima Flottiglia MAS#1942), 6 Italians on three manned torpedoes attacked Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
harbor. A British patrol boat killed one torpedo's crew (Lt. Visintini and Petty Officer Magro) with a depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
. Their bodies were recovered, and their swimfin
Swimfin
Swimfins, swim fins, fins or flippers are worn on the foot or leg and made from finlike rubber or plastic, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities such as swimming, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, kneeboarding, riverboarding, and various types of underwater diving.Scuba divers use...
s were taken and used by two of Gibraltar's British guard divers (who dived with Davis Escape Sets and (up to here) breaststroke
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
swimming and no fins) (Sydney Knowles
Sydney Knowles
Sydney Knowles, born circa 1920, was a British frogman in and after World War II.He was one of a group of underwater guard divers who checked for limpet mines in Gibraltar harbour during the period of Italian frogman and manned torpedo attacks. They dived with Davis Escape Sets, which until then...
and Commander Lionel Crabb
Lionel Crabb
Lionel "Buster" Crabb OBE, GM was a British Royal Navy frogman and MI6 diver who vanished during a reconnaissance mission around a Soviet cruiser in 1956.-Early life:...
). This was the first known British frogman use of swimfin
Swimfin
Swimfins, swim fins, fins or flippers are worn on the foot or leg and made from finlike rubber or plastic, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities such as swimming, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, kneeboarding, riverboarding, and various types of underwater diving.Scuba divers use...
s, rather than a Sladen suit
Sladen Suit
The Sladen Suit was a heavy type of British divers' drysuit made by Siebe Gorman. It is entered by a wide rubber tube at the umbilicus: this tube is folded and tied off before the diver dives. It was used by British manned torpedo riders and for general underwater work.It was sometimes nicknamed...
and weighted boots riding a Chariot.
In 1944 November in Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
in Italy an Italian frogman called Vago came over and joined the British frogman team and brought them two Decima Flottiglia MAS
Decima Flottiglia MAS
The Decima Flottiglia MAS was an Italian commando frogman unit of the Regia Marina created during the Fascist regime.The acronym MAS also refers to various light torpedo boats used by the Regia Marina during World...
issue oxygen rebreather
Rebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
s, which proved better in use than Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus
Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus
The Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus , was an early type of oxygen rebreather invented in 1910 by Sir Robert Davis, head of Siebe Gorman and Co. Ltd., inspired by the earlier Fleuss system...
es and lasting longer on a dive. He also brought them an Italian light 2-piece frogman's drysuit: before then they dived with their skin exposed.
For many years Clearance Divers used the Siebe Gorman CDBA
Siebe Gorman CDBA
The Clearance Divers Breathing Apparatus is a type of rebreather made by Siebe Gorman in England.The Royal Navy used it for many years. It was for underwater work rather than for combat diving. The main oxygen cylinders are on the diver's back. The oxygen cylinders at the front of the diver are...
rebreather
Rebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
.
In 1982 Clearance Divers were heavily involved in the Falklands War, in which Britain recaptured the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
from Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. They received many awards and medals for their work on mines and disposing of 1000-pound bombs lodged in British warships.
In the 1990s they used a type of automatic mixture rebreather
Rebreather
A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...
which is so heavy that on surfacing after a dive even a very physically fit naval diver preferred to remove the rebreather while still in the water and have it crane
Crane (machine)
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of...
d out separately.
Other combinations of kit used in the past by British Clearance Divers (work divers) were:
- Sladen suitSladen SuitThe Sladen Suit was a heavy type of British divers' drysuit made by Siebe Gorman. It is entered by a wide rubber tube at the umbilicus: this tube is folded and tied off before the diver dives. It was used by British manned torpedo riders and for general underwater work.It was sometimes nicknamed...
and weighted boots and Siebe Gorman SalvusSiebe Gorman SalvusThe Siebe Gorman Salvus is a light oxygen rebreather for industrial use or in shallow diving. Its duration on a filling is 30 to 40 minutes. It was very common in Britain during World War II and for a long time afterwards...
. - Sladen suitSladen SuitThe Sladen Suit was a heavy type of British divers' drysuit made by Siebe Gorman. It is entered by a wide rubber tube at the umbilicus: this tube is folded and tied off before the diver dives. It was used by British manned torpedo riders and for general underwater work.It was sometimes nicknamed...
and weighted boots and aqualungAqua-lungAqua-Lung was the original name of the first open-circuit free-swimming underwater breathing set in reaching worldwide popularity and commercial success...
. According to a 1950s British naval diving manual, this was the only approved way to use the aqualung.