The Navy Frogmen - 1957 Underwater Demolition Team - video Dailymotion

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The Navy Frogmen - 1957 Underwater Demolition Team

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00:00The story of the United States Navy's frogmen is a story of adventure, of brave men against

00:28the enemy, and against the sea.

00:32The work they did in the Pacific in World War II, and later in the waters of Korea against

00:38the Communists, stamped the underwater demolition team sailors as giants of physical strength

00:44and towers of moral and physical courage.

00:47But the average frogman is not a giant.

00:52What is it then that makes a UDT man?

00:55Watch.

00:56We'll show you.

00:57It starts like this.

01:00This is so solid day, just one day in the week affectionately called Hell Week.

01:06This week is as rough as it looks and nerve-wracking as when this happens.

01:22Hell Week is designed to see how much you are willing to take to become a frogman.

01:27And we of the UDT want to know if you have what it takes to become one of us.

01:33Some decided they didn't want to become frogmen after all.

01:38The rest of us, the rest of us developed the attitude that being a frogman was worth paying any price for.

01:43At Chow, you looked around to see who was left.

01:47Your buddies are there and still smiling.

01:52You knew then that this was the kind of an outfit that would stick together.

01:57And together, you weathered basic.

02:00Hell Week, so solid day.

02:03What's next on the agenda?

02:04The training tower at New London, Connecticut and psychological underwater training.

02:10A hundred and ten feet of water set on its end.

02:15They said you were going to swim in it.

02:18All of it.

02:21It may not be part of the course, but the first psychological reaction comes when cold hands meet a warm back.

02:29First stop, the pressure chamber.

02:32Here you check out on your ability to withstand pressure.

02:36They take you down and bring you up, then down again.

02:42Before you're finished, you feel like a pneumatic yo-yo.

02:46You take the elevator to the top of the tank and you get the ungarbled word on how not to drown.

02:54The instructor was telling you that if you came up too fast and didn't let out enough air, your lungs would burst.

03:02If you let out too much air, you'd sink.

03:06Then, you were doing it.

03:08And the instructor's voice haunted you.

03:11Okay, boys.

03:12Back arch.

03:14Remember those bubbles.

03:16Follow those bubbles.

03:18Okay?

03:19Blow it all out.

03:21You made the next one from 50 feet.

03:31In the lock at 50 feet, you had taken in air under eight atmospheres of pressure.

03:37And you blew.

03:39And blew.

03:41And you stalled out.

03:43You never had anything take so long in your life.

03:48You thought you'd never come up.

03:51But you did.

03:53And one by one, your buddies qualified.

03:57Then you are introduced to the tools of your trade.

04:17First, the Pirelli Lung, an oxygen closed circuit rebreather type.

04:23With this outfit, no telltale bubbles to disclose your position.

04:27They tell you not to go below 30 feet with this rig, and they mean it.

04:33Some learned it the hard way.

04:39He recovered, but he got washed out.

04:43The Aqua Lung, an open circuit type, was next.

04:47With this gear, you could get the key from the lock of Davy Jones' locker.

04:52It would go as deep as you could go.

04:55And with it, you met many the tank mascot.

05:03The next few days, you felt like a bar of soap in a hand laundry.

05:07Clean, but well used.

05:11You felt you really knew your stuff when you could swim to the bottom, ditch your Aqua Lung,

05:16and come back up.

05:17In fact, you were feeling more comfortable underwater than on top.

05:23Now, you were ready for bigger things.

05:26Advanced operational training at St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

05:32This is where the weeks and months of previous training pay off for those of us who are still left.

05:40Here is where you become a real UDT man.

05:46You make the short, shallow swim first to get used to following a compass course underwater and sticking with your buddies.

06:05The next week, you swim with the Pirelli.

06:07The next week, with the Aqua Lung.

06:11You swim in pairs, and your location is always marked on the surface with a buoy.

06:17You get to know your buddy on these swims.

06:20The two of you start to think as one.

06:23Every motion that is made is known by the two of you.

06:27Here in this world of curtailed life, in the silent world of dancing coral and playful fish,

06:33it's a mighty good feeling to know your buddy will be there with you.

06:37And you know that the vigil is maintained.

06:48Watching, waiting, expecting, praying that trouble never comes.

06:56But if it does come, help is only seconds away.

07:00report to each other.

07:11For sure.

07:12To be discussion.

07:15What else are you waiting for?

07:23There are some mornings when they get you up before the sun comes up, and you do a few

07:35simple exercises.

07:36Just to keep those muscles stretched out and in shape, you do a couple hundred of these,

07:45and a few of these, and you might have to march a few miles before breakfast.

07:51But you sure do eat, and there's no need to worry about getting fat.

07:59You may put on weight, but when this training is over, it won't be your middle where the

08:04uniform gets tight.

08:07You train, then train some more.

08:13You improve on the methods taught before.

08:18You practice, then practice some more.

08:35The old is worked on until it becomes letter-perfect.

08:42Then you learn the new.

08:47A miss now means only more practice.

09:01But in combat, you can't afford to miss.

09:05Unlike horseshoes, the close ones don't count.

09:11Same thing about being a frogman, you not only swim underwater, you also get to ride under

09:18it.

09:20Getting into a submarine this way isn't too easy, but to a UDT man, the hard way comes later.

09:30Once we are underway, we are briefed on our mission.

09:34We get our compass course, the depth of the swim, the objective, and most important, where

09:41the submarine will be for pick-up.

09:48So I'm going to run and run.

09:57An unknown person will be for pick-up.

10:08But in combat, you know, it's a super-to-do.

10:13Silently, cautiously, we begin to lock out from the submarine.

10:43You set the compass on court.

11:13Then recheck your setting again.

11:19Everything checks out and you're on your way.

11:32You keep that hand out in front of you, using it like a submarine's diving plane to keep you level or to make you go up or down.

11:40Your hand also helps when you swim at night or in murky water.

11:46At least your head won't be the first thing to come in contact with an obstacle.

11:53You swim slowly on the way back.

12:01Can't afford to waste too much air with too fast a pace.

12:05You check your compass, watch, depth gauge.

12:09Let's see.

12:11Left the beach 15 minutes ago, 35 feet, reading 98 degrees on course.

12:17Should be sighting the submarine soon.

12:21You don't salute the colors as you pass, but you know below the soft undersea flutter of your flag.

12:28This is home.

12:30You get in as fast as you can.

12:34Not much air left and the men behind have the same problems and are in the same boat.

12:39Or should I say, they want to be in the same boat.

12:42A last minute check of equipment is made.

13:08The place, inside the submarine.

13:11The time, another training day.

13:14Perhaps night would be a better word.

13:17A maximum security swim at night.

13:21The swim will be made at a shallow depth, so Pirelli lungs are in order.

13:38At night, nature supplies a soft, glowing light to illuminate nearby objects in her underwater world.

13:50The dim light gives you some comfort, yet makes objects look strange and mystifying.

13:56You check your course and shove off.

14:24You keep your eyes glued to your compass, both going out and coming in.

14:30It can be a long swim if you miss your pickup point.

14:35The grim view apart.

14:47The week's progress, and so does our training.

15:11We know what to do in the event our equipment develops trouble.

15:15We get training and handling trouble from another source also, some may call it judo.

15:44You train hard, you play hard, even the timid become bold.

15:51Liberty, yes, Liberty, one of the events looked forward to by everyone, and a UDT man is no

16:10exception.

16:11Here at St. Thomas, you stop to buy some fruit in the market square, have a stroll down Main

16:17Street, take a few pictures of an old fort built in 1671.

16:25You pay a visit to Bluebeard Castle.

16:32Then you rest and look out over the Atlantic from Drake's Beach.

16:36It says that Drake used to look for pirate ships from here.

16:40But to a UDT man, the best liberty is spent underwater.

16:45From probing the mysterious depths of the seas, he lessens the mysteries.

16:50He becomes a creature of the seas.

16:53He learns skills that are not in the training course, but skills that will make him a better

16:59physical damage.

17:00You look up UDT man.

17:06You look up UDT man.

26:31Yes, as we said before, within 100 feet of the target, you're qualified.

26:48A scorekeeper has kept a log to give an accurate rating to each frogman.

26:53Final scores are tallied and we head for hull.

27:02After becoming qualified, further training is afforded by assignment to one of the units

27:07operating in conjunction with the fleet.

27:10Here, in simulated or realistic combat conditions, the frogman becomes even more specialized

27:16as a UDT man.

27:18Under these conditions, newer and better methods are worked out every day.

27:24Planting charges on the beach is but one of the frogman's specialties.

27:29Whether working in pairs or working as a part of the complete team, the frogmen work silently,

27:35swiftly, to clear the way for the amphibious landings to follow.

27:53The story of the United States Navy's frogmen is a story of adventure.

27:59of brave men, of proud men, the men of the underwater demolition teams.

28:17The End

The Navy Frogmen - 1957 Underwater Demolition Team

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