Navy Divers Search for Limpet Mines

 For some time now we at this website have been aware that Naval diving experts were involved in the search for Limpet mines and other explosives on the hulls of shipping about to enter the Canal.  In early 1953 I happened to visit HMS ‘Glasgow’ when it was anchored in the Great Bitter Lake just off Fayid, and whilst on board got friendly with a Naval rating, and I did hear him mention this fact about the divers.  I believe the subject come up when I said they were lucky not to go ashore except at Malta after their patrol of the Canal was finished.  I assumed at the time there were no Naval personnel on shore and they spent their time on boad patrolling the Canal, and then return to Malta.  He said something about Naval Divers who were on a ship stationed in the Canal permanently just north of where we were.  I didn't take much notice of this at the time, but since then I heard it mentioned again, or have read it somewhere, that there were Naval Divers employed in searching the hulls of ships for explosives.  The problem was, after 50 years how could we find someone who was involved in this sort of work.  I discussed this subject with Richard and we both had the feeling this type of work was certainly carried out, but our main problem was finding someone who was actually involved. It so happens we eventually found Bill Dannatt who was in the Navy at that time, and was involved with this sort of work during his time in the Canal Zone.  Below is a report sent by him on these Naval Divers who were anchored in the Great Bitter Lake, checking ships as they went through the Canal.  Bill also states there were similar units doing the same work in Port Said and Port Suez.
We thank Bill for submitting this article.
Aye, Jock Marrs and Dick Woolley.

My memory fails a bit after all these years and remembering names never was my strong point, but I will outline some of what I recall.  My boat, HMSM ‘Trenchant' was being refitted in Malta when I was called to what some of us believed was a ‘defence of Malta’ exercise so did not take all of the kit we were supposed to, as we expected to be back at Fort St Angelo the following day. We learned later that we were on our way to the Suez Canal. It was around the time of the Coronation.

We understood that all of the available SW Divers were being drafted to the Suez Canal, as there was a perceived threat of Limpet mines being used to sink ships and block the waterway. We were told we would be going to ‘bottom search’ vessels going through the Canal, but this changed when we got there.  Before leaving Port Said for the Bitter Lakes we were armed with the Naval version of the Sten gun, which was the Lanchester. There were no incidents however during this passage.

I was stationed with six or seven other SW Divers on the ‘Fort Duquesne’ under the charge of someone who was termed a frogman, (An SW Diver trained with explosives,) whose job it was to render harmless anything we might find.  The ‘Duquesne’ had English Officers and a Maltese crew and must have been an Auxiliary of some sort. The members of our group were from different sources, ( I think I was the only submariner in the group.)  The ‘Duquesne’ was anchored in the Bitter Lakes and was bottom searched twice daily. Due to illness, ailments etc. the team was reduced to three or four of us doing the diving and the others acting as tenders. (I think the rate at the time was 1 penny/minute while dived), which seemed OK then.

We took it in turns to collect perishable supplies from a large Army camp and went there one occasion where I was able to sample their canteen beer; I was also able to go into Ismailia.  Two naval personnel boarded an army truck with two soldiers (one the driver), then we had to wait for a Bren gun carrier escort to take us down the road by the Sweetwater Canal, so it was a bit of a performance. I think the Army had quietened things down a week or two before and fortunately all was quiet, but there was a definite air of threat.  Another day, after a ride past some pitiful little villages, going to an air base and munitions store, we were treated by the RAF to a flight over the desert and were most impressed.

The equipment we had at first was not really suitable to swim in, they were old Salvus sets designed more for underwater repair work, but we soon had what was termed UBA Sets that were much better. Our frogman taught us the rudiments of swimming to speed up the bottom searching. SW Divers then were trained mainly for finding things on the bottom and doing underwater repairs. Looking back, I wonder why we had to search a ship anchored in the Bitter Lakes where really it was not likely to block anything, but at the time you got on with what you were told to do. There was a diving team at Port Said, because that was where our better diving gear came from and I am sure there was another at Suez, our little lot never made contact with them, but we did hear that one of the divers, I believe at Port Said, had been killed, by an accident and not ‘enemy’ action.

Our frogman’s party piece was to throw his breathing gear over the side, dive over and put it on underwater. Where we were anchored it was possible to stand on the bottom and put your hands under the keel, it would have made a good photo!  During my time in Suez I was taught to sail in the Fort Duquesne’s dingy by a chap called Ling, whose father was a Thames bargee. He has the distinction of being the only name I can remember at present.

Bill Dannatt.  November 2003.



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