Forgotten Heroes

Forgotten Her es Frogmen Throughout the Years

By Avi Heiligman

Militaries for centuries have trained men as swimmers for a variety of operations including sabotage and reconnaissance. Ancient Greek divers were used to carry supplies to besieged sailors during the Peloponnesian War, while others were used to plant underwater obstacles to stop enemy warships. Modern underwater swimmers include remarkable units such as U.S. Navy SEALs and Israeli Shayetet 13. For over a century, frogmen have been essential parts of military powers.

SEALs use the unofficial nickname “frogmen.” Frogmen are people trained in underwater military or police operations and are utilized worldwide. Italian frogmen during World War I sunk an Austro-Hungarian ship in the war’s final days. During World War II, they had a fully functioning frogman unit that sank several Allied ships before their disbandment after Italy surrendered. Several frogmen then joined the Allied cause and went on operations targeting German assets.

The history of American frogmen begins with the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) and the Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDU) which came into existence during World War II. As the U.S. entered the war, an amphibious school was set up in Fort Pierce, Florida, but it took a disaster to get large units operational. After the bloody invasion of Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands in November 1943, American planners included frogmen in future amphibious operations. Planners thought the reefs at Tarawa were deep enough to allow landing craft and boats to float over them without getting stuck. This mistake proved to be deadly as the reefs were much shallower than the aerial photos showed, and the boats were caught on the reefs. Intense Japanese gunfire caught the marines in a deadly firestorm. About 1,000 marines were killed in the threeday operation, with most of the casualties occurring on the beaches and reefs. subsequent waves of soldiers. By the end of the day, their casualties were high, and only some of the approaches were clear.

NDCUs on Utah Beach fared a lot better and cleared most of their obstacles, making way for men and supplies to come ashore.

The Underwater Demolition Teams were personnel taken from NDCUs, Seabees (naval construction battalions), and scout teams. They were trained at Waimanalo, Hawaii, and went through a grueling week of training that became a tradition known as Hell Week. At first, they were trained

With the two explosive boats hitting the Emir Farouk, she sank within five minutes

American frogmen in the form of naval scouts and raiders were present, performing missions during the North African landings in late 1942. NCDUs were trained to clear beach obstacles and were involved in the Normandy and several Pacific amphibious assaults. Sixteen teams were sent into Omaha Beach on D-Day and had the mission to clear wide paths through obstacles on the approaches. Intense fire allowed them to only open five channels, but this was enough to land only in shallow water demolitions and hydrography, the charting of the underwater coastline, and the deep-water demolitions were left to the army. During the pre-landing reconnaissance before the landing on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, two frogmen, wearing only shorts, jumped into the water and swam towards the island. After landing and scouting out the island, they came back with sketches that detailed the enemy defenses. This changed the way the navy trained frogmen, as now they would become combat swimmers due to the success of those two sailors.

The main difference between UDTs and NCDUs were the size of the units, as the UDTs operated in large groups of dozens of men while each NCDU had just six frogmen.

The end of the war signaled the end for most of the teams as they were not needed in huge numbers, and only UDTs remained operational. Still, they trained new members, and kept on adding new skills to their operational abilities. These included learning how to use SCUBA gear, enter and exit submarines, and use the Fulton Skyhook, a long rope attached to the end of a plane or helicopter that would be used in extracting the men from a combat zone.

During the Korean War, the UDTs kept a low profile but contributed greatly towards the war effort. They cleared the way for the amphibious landings and spent much of their time cutting Korean fishing nets. They also experimented and tried new tactics that broadened the scope of their capabilities.

At the beginning of the Vietnam War, some inside the UDTs saw the need for the frogmen to learn how to operate on land. The UDTs would still be around and continue to do their jobs, but some frogmen would join a new team. This was the beginning of the Navy SEALs. By 1983, all remain-

Navy SEALs in Vietnam Members of Israel’s Shayetet 13 Members of a Naval Combat Demolition Unit hit the beach during training

ing UDTs were absorbed by the SEALs.

Israeli frogmen got their start in the naval branch of the pre-state military called the Palyam. In March 1948, many Palyam veterans joined the unit when they were transferred to the Israeli Naval Service.

Yochai Ben-Nun created Shayetet 13 (Flotilla 13) a year later from members who specialized in maritime sabotage. He led the team on an attack of the Egyptian flagship after acquiring small boats that could be outfitted with explosives. These one-man boats could be aimed at a target while the operator leaped into the water to be picked up by a rescue craft. On October 22, the Egyptian flagship, Emir Farouk, and an escorting minesweeper were spotted off the coast of Gaza, and the go-ahead for the mission was given to hit the tanker. It was right before the ceasefire, and the Egyptian sailors aboard were relaxed.

The main Israeli ship was the Moaz and released the five small boats. Two of the boats were to head straight to the target, and Bin-Nun would stand by if a reserve boat was needed. Yaakov Vardi was to attack the minesweeper but in the confusion attacked the Emir Farouk instead. With the two explosive boats hitting the Emir Farouk, she sank within five minutes. Bin-Nun saw the mistake that occurred, and he attacked the minesweeper, which sustained significant damage.

Today, frogmen play an integral role in naval operations. Their range of capabilities extends from surveying underwater coastlines to sabotage. They also survey ships underwater for damage as well as look for missing objects and recovery operations.

Frogmen’s work rarely gets publicized but their professionalism and dedication throughout the past century earned them high grades within the military community.

Avi Heiligman is a weekly contributor to The Jewish Home. He welcomes your comments and suggestions for future columns and can be reached at aviheiligman@gmail.com.

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