Military Model Scene

Title: Combat Divers
Author: Michael G. Welham
Publisher: Osprey
ISBN: 978-1-4728-5600-5

An illustrated history of Special Forces divers from Osprey Publishing, a book written by a former Royal Marine Commando, so some first hand experience behind him. A 304-page hardback book giving both some history and some insight into the largely hidden world of the Special Forces diver, from WW2 to the present day.
At the outset of the book we hear how it was the Italian use of their 'chariots' and the gear worn by their crews which started things off, prompting the Royal Navy to copy their lead. What follows is a very readable account of this hidden world of Special Forces, perhaps brought into focus a little thanks to recent 'mysterious' failures in undersea gas pipelines in the Baltic and Internet cables north of Scotland. Divers may want to infiltrate enemy held anchorages to plant mines and demolition devices on enemy vessels, they may simply want to carry out covert reconnaissance missions, or clear enemy mines in preparation for a more conventional assault. There are a host of potential operations they may carry out. The 19 chapters take us through so much which I think will fascinate many readers. There are historical stories, such as the involvement of the X-Craft in guiding the assault ships into the Normandy landing beaches in 1944 and other events up to very recent times. There is coverage of all the various nations which operate this type of special forces units. Not only the Royal Navy with the SBS, the US Seals and the Russian Spetznaz but many other countries as well. There is even one chapter devoted to female divers doing this work, a factor which perhaps we wouldn't have considered happening in the days of WW2. Modern technology provides precise navigation devices these days, while submarines can carry divers and their equipment closer to their target anywhere in the world, in covert mission pods. As well as closed circuit breathing systems (so no giveaway bubbles like an open circuit scuba gear) there are propulsion units to (memories of the movie 'Thunderball' for some maybe) get them over longer ranges to their target, and at speed. Examples include the Subskimmer, the JFD Carrier Seal and others. With sections on new underwater weapons, capable of firing underwater, not just when they get out of the water. As ever these days there seem to be plenty of remotely operated vehicles, both submersibles and even tracked crawlers. There is coverage of the training these divers have to go through, and the various options which they have to get to their target, by helo, fixed wing aircraft, submarine and still the simple canoe. Sometimes not just used against enemy states, but against terrorists and pirates, as done by Dutch special forces.
In the closing pages of the book it does consider the operation of Ukrainian divers in the sinking of the Russian landing ship Saratov, while in the port of Berdyansk, in the Sea of Azov. While there is lot in the book, it does leave one wondering just what else is out there that the various nations who use them do not want us to know, and how technology is changing what is possible all the time, and will continue to do so. It quite naturally remains a very secretive world but this highly illustrated book gives us perhaps the best look at this hidden world which I can imagine we could expect to see in the public domain.
Thanks to Osprey for the review copy.

Robin