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19-813: Minentaucher is the German term for mine clearance divers . The Minentaucherkompanie is a specialist unit within the German Navy responsible for underwater and Land tasks including removing or salvaging underwater munitions such as mines and for servicing underwater drones . It is part of the Sea Battalion and is based in Eckernförde . The mine clearance diver company consists of soldiers at its headquarters in Eckenförde and those assigned to various German navy vessels. It primarily operates in German territorial waters such as

38-726: 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 , 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,

57-435: A bailout; the main cylinders are on the back. For a short dive the set could be used without the back cylinders, using only the front cylinders; this made the set very light and compact and suitable for getting through small holes. Even with the back cylinders the diver is much more compact and streamlined and agile than most recreational open circuit scuba . The front and the back of the harness can unclip from each other at

76-611: Is currently equipped with the Stealth EOD M for diving, as well as the LAR VII for shallow water operations. Clearance diver 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 to clear ports and harbours in

95-570: The Baltic Sea , clearing naval mines and other hazards. It also supports search and recovery operations involving sunken ships, submarines and airplanes. In autumn 1985 the unit saw its first overseas engagement, clearing freshly laid mines in the Suez Canal . It has since served in several parts of the world as a part of NATO military deployments and exercises. Members of the company have also deployed with German special Forces on various Missions. The Unit

114-487: The Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus (DSEA), no wetsuit or swimfins . On 17 December 1942, six Italian divers (of Decima Flottiglia MAS ) on three manned torpedoes attacked Gibraltar harbour. A British patrol boat killed the crew of one with a depth charge . Their bodies were recovered and their swimfins later used by Gibraltar's guard divers ( Sydney Knowles and Commander Lionel Crabb ). This

133-580: The Mediterranean and Northern Europe of unexploded ordnance and shipwrecks and booby traps laid by the Germans . The first units were Royal Navy 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 Navies used

152-593: The CDBA. There is a British armed forces manual about the SCBA, dated 1984 as if the SCBA was still in use then, showing separate eyes-and-nose mask and strapped-in mouthpiece and no canvas pouch, and separate sport-type weight belt with buckle-shaped weights all at the back. The design of the Swimmer Canoeists Breathing Apparatus likely changed down the years. The LOSE (Lightweight Oxygen Swimmers Equipment),

171-441: The diver could pull a line which opened the weight pouch to jettison these weights. It is intended to be used with a fullface mask with one breathing tube. At first (during World War II and after) a mask with an oval or circular flat window (as seen in images at this link ) was used; later the mask with the newer type of rectangular window mostly flat but folded back at the sides was used. The front cylinders were intended as

190-417: 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

209-401: The front, leaving the diver's lower front uncluttered for climbing in and out of small boats. The SCBA gave 90 minutes dive duration with no reserve. In mixture ( nitrox or heliox ) mode it was called SCMBA . An old photograph seems to show the cylinders (and perhaps also the weights) in a tied or laced canvas casing rather than held on with metal clamps, and a rectangular fullface mask as with

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228-434: The heavy surface-supplied standard diving dress before changing to lighter self-contained rebreather equipment. 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. Additionally, intense training in diving is needed, as well as training in bomb disposal. The scope of activity for a clearance diver varies depending on

247-456: The rebreather has a single "pendulum" breathing tube , the diver must breathe deeply to avoid carbon dioxide build-up. The counterlung is eight litres. As with all rebreathers, the diver should breathe continuously to keep the gas flowing over the absorbent. Dives on the unit are limited to 90 minutes. Instead of a weight belt there is a weight pouch at the back, full of lead ball weights 38 mm (1.5 in) in diameter. In an emergency,

266-412: The shoulders. There is no automatic gas control: so safe use of the set relied entirely on training. British "frogman's" sets used the same shape of counterlung as the CDBA but different cylinders. One type was the "Swimmer Canoeists Breathing Apparatus" ( SCBA ), which had oxygen cylinders on the back, vertically for better streamlining in swimming, the oxygen connections thinner, and no cylinders on

285-513: 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. Clearance divers possess the skills of both expert divers and bomb disposal groups. There tend to be relatively few clearance divers on any given naval ship. Royal Navy divers are officially called Clearance Divers. During WWII divers used

304-744: The two Fleet Diving Groups (FDG). 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 and Indian Ocean providing an underwater force protection (UWFP) element. See Operation Kipion . From 2022 Royal Navy Divers will come under the Diving & Threat Exploitation Group (DTXG) based in Portsmouth , Plymouth and Faslane . It comprises: Siebe Gorman CDBA The British Royal Navy used it for many years. It

323-448: 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 for bailout . In its basic mode it was an oxygen rebreather; but some of the cylinders could be replaced by diluent cylinders for nitrox mode (which the Navy called "mixture"), and then the set was sometimes called CDMBA. The Royal Navy

342-614: Was the first known British use of swimfins. In November 1944, following surrender of Italian forces an Italian frogman brought two Decima Flottiglia issue oxygen rebreathers and a two-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 rebreather and aqualung . Training to become

361-483: Was using nitrox from 1944, but did not reveal its nitrox techniques, and in the 1960s and afterwards civilian divers had to retread the same ground and develop nitrox diving independently. In later years it was called DSSCCD from "Diving Set, Self-Contained, Clearance Diver". The CDBA was very popular with the clearance divers . It is comfortable since there is no cylinder on the middle of the back, no bulky buoyancy compensator , and it requires very little weight. As

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