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A clearance diver was originally a specialist naval diver who used explosives underwater to remove obstructions to make harbours and shipping channels safe to navigate, but the term "clearance diver" was later used to include other naval underwater work. Units of clearance divers were first formed during and after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
to clear ports and harbours in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
and Northern Europe of unexploded ordnance and shipwrecks and booby traps laid by the Germans. In some navies, including the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
, work divers, which includes ship's divers, must have a lifeline and a line tender when reasonably practicable.


History

The first units were
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
Mine and Bomb Disposal Units. 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. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
Navies used the heavy surface-supplied
standard diving dress Standard diving dress, also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, deep sea diving suit or heavy gear, is a type of diving suit that was formerly used for all relatively deep underwater work that required more than breath-hold duration, which ...
before changing to lighter self-contained rebreather equipment.


Training

Admission to clearance diver training requires the candidate to pass medical and physical fitness screening and to be a member of the relevant military force.


Scope of activity

The scope of activity for a clearance diver varies depending on the specific armed force in which they are a member, but historically the most defining competence is skills in underwater demolition using explosives. The closely associated skills in explosive ordnance disposal are also generally implied by the designation.


Nations with clearance diving groups


Africa

* Egypt * South Africa


Asia


Europe

* Denmark: '' Søværnets Minørtjeneste'' (EOD clearance diving unit) * Estonia: ''EOD Tuukrigrupp'' (EOD clearance diver unit) * France: The French Navy clearance divers are known as ''plongeurs démineurs''. The French Army also has clearance divers named ''plongeurs de combat du génie'' that operate in freshwater environments. Although they are trained in demolition and explosives clearance, they also survey river banks and possible crossing areas. * Germany: '' Minentaucher'' is Germany's clearance diver force * Ireland (Republic of): Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS) * Norway: '' Minedykkerkommandoen'' Norway's naval work divers and clearance diver force. * Portugal: the Sappers Divers Group, which also serve as combat divers unit. * Sweden: '' Röjdykare'', Swedish Navy EOD division


United Kingdom

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
naval work divers are officially called Clearance Divers. During
WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
divers used the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus (DSEA), no
wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. It ...
or
swimfins Swimfins, swim fins, diving fins, or flippers are finlike accessories worn on the feet, legs or hands and made from rubber, plastic, carbon fiber or combinations of these materials, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities s ...
. On 17 December 1942, six Italian divers on three
manned torpedo Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes are a type of diver propulsion vehicle on which the diver rides, generally in a seated position behind a fairing. They were used as secret naval weapons in World War II. The basic concept is still in use. ...
es attacked
Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...
harbour. A British patrol boat killed the crew of one with a depth charge. Their bodies were recovered and their
swimfin Swimfins, swim fins, diving fins, or flippers are finlike accessories worn on the feet, legs or hands and made from rubber, plastic, carbon fiber or combinations of these materials, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities ...
s later used by Gibraltar's guard divers ( Sydney Knowles and Commander Lionel Crabb). This was the first known British use of
swimfin Swimfins, swim fins, diving fins, or flippers are finlike accessories worn on the feet, legs or hands and made from rubber, plastic, carbon fiber or combinations of these materials, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities ...
s. In November 1944, following surrender of Italian forces an Italian frogman brought two Decima Flottiglia issue oxygen
rebreather A rebreather is a breathing apparatus that absorbs the carbon dioxide of a user's breathing, exhaled breath to permit the rebreathing (recycling) of the substantially unused oxygen content, and unused inert content when present, of each breath. ...
s and a 2-piece frogman's drysuit to Livorno, for the Allies to use. This equipment proved better than the Davis Apparatus and lasted longer on a dive. After the war and until the 1990s divers used the
Siebe Gorman Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salvage projects. The company advertised itself as 'Submarine Engineers'. It was founded by Au ...
rebreather and aqualung. Training to become a Clearance Diver takes around 7 months. Before trainees are accepted onto a course, they must pass a week-long diving aptitude selection, held at the Defence Diving School, on
Horsea Island Horsea Island was an island located off the northern shore of Portsmouth Harbour, England; gradually subsumed by reclamation, it is now connected to the mainland. Horsea falls within the city of Portsmouth and was wholly owned by the Ministr ...
, Portsmouth. This selection involves passing the Divers Physical Fitness Test (DPFT), tests of physical and mental endurance and surface swimming. The candidates are also introduced to the Royal Navy's Swimmers Air Breathing Apparatus and dive in Horsea lake, including night dives. Historically, the failure rate has been high due to the physical and psychological pressures of military diving, so there is a three-day Pre Entry Diving Acquaint (PEDA), which allows prospective candidates to undergo physical and mental tests to give them a better idea of what to expect of the training. The diving branch is formed of teams, that serve aboard mine hunters, perform domestic bomb, mine and IED disposal and the two Fleet Diving Groups (FDG). * Expeditionary Diving Group (EDG) comes under
3 Commando Brigade 3 Commando Brigade (3 Cdo Bde), previously called the 3rd Special Service Brigade, is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces. It is composed of the Royal Marine Commandos, alongside commando qualified sailors, soldiers and airmen from ...
specialising in Very Shallow Water (VSW) beach reconnaissance operations, working alongside UK Special Forces (UKSF). New members are trained in parachuting, maritime counter-terrorism (MCT) tactics and swimmer delivery vehicle (SDV) operations. * Tactical Diving Group (TDG) is the deep-water warfare unit who specialise in sea mine disposal. Members cross-train with EDG. Clearance divers have been involved in every major British conflict since their inception and have most recently deployed teams to Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. They have units operating in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...
and
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
providing an underwater force protection (UWFP) element. See ''
Operation Kipion Operation Kipion is a long-standing maritime presence by the United Kingdom in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean to promote enduring peace and stability in the region, and ensure the safe flow of oil and trade. A permanent presence of 4 minesw ...
''. From 2022 Royal Navy Divers will come under the Diving & Threat Exploitation Group (DTXG) based in
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, Plymouth and Faslane. It comprises: * A Squadron (formerly Tactical Diving Group) Special operations squadron - Horsea Island, Portsmouth. * B Squadron (formerly Southern Diving Group) Homeland Defence and IWMAR diving to SURFLOT, geographically distributed between Horsea Island, Portsmouth and HMNB Devonport * C Squadron (formerly Northern Diving Group) Homeland Defence and IWMAR diving to SUBFLOT, located in HMNB Clyde. * D Squadron (formerly Expeditionary Diving Group) MTG, LRG / JEF(M) facing, located at Horsea Island, Portsmouth. * E Squadron (Explosive exploitation) Horsea Island, Portsmouth, with options to disperse force elements to HMNB Clyde and Devonport.


North America

* Canada: Canadian armed forces divers * US: **
Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII fun ...
- US Navy, 1943–1967 **
Navy EOD United States Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians render safe all types of ordnance, including improvised, chemical, biological, and nuclear. They perform land and underwater location, identification, render-safe, and recovery (or dispo ...
, 1941–Present. In 1941 Draper Kauffman established the U.S. Naval Mine School at Naval Gun Factory in Washington, D.C., and subsequently the Bomb Disposal School was established. In 1943 Kauffman selected men from the EOD school to create the Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDU) teams that would take part in the landing at Normandy. The first U.S. casualty in mine disposal was in 1942, when Ensign John M. Howard was killed when he attempted to dismantle a booby-trapped German magnetic submarine-laid moored mine. About 20 trained bomb and mine disposal personnel, were killed in action during WWII. ** US Navy
Underwater Construction Teams Underwater Construction Teams (UCT) are the United States Navy Seabees' underwater construction units numbered 1 and 2 that were created in 1974. A team is composed of divers qualified in both underwater construction and underwater demolition ...
, 1960’s - Present


Oceania

* Australia: The Royal Australian Navy Clearance Diving Branch divers serve as combat divers on tactical operations using oxygen rebreathers, mine counter-measures, and underwater battle damage repair. Work may include underwater searches and salvage, and neutralising explosive devices. Clearance diver qualification is recognised for civilian equivalences with accreditation through the Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme (ADAS) . * New Zealand: The
Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; mi, Te Taua Moana o Aotearoa, , Sea Warriors of New Zealand) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of nine ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act ...
Operational Diving Team (ODT) are clearance divers and also serve as combat diversNew Zealand Navy Divers
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See also

* * * * *


References

{{Underwater diving Armed forces diving Royal Navy specialisms