German commando frogmen

This article is about Germany's commando frogmen.
For other nations' commando frogmen, and information about frogmen in general, see Frogman.

Germany during WWII

1942 onwards: The amateur diver von Wurzian tested breathing apparatuses for the German army.
1943: Admiral Karl Dönitz orders vice-admiral H. Heyes to create a special unit. One gives him the name of Kleinkampf Mittel Verband but it is more known under the name of Force K. Its first men, including von Wurzian, were trained by Italian Decima Flottiglia MAS men, who already had good experience. (The German SS also had a frogman section.)

The Germans developed these craft:-

- The "lentil". It is a fast silent boat carrying 300 kg of explosive The pilot directs it and then jumps in the sea and is collected by another boat.
- A "chariot" copied from that of the British who copied it from the Italian maiale. The Italians never transmitted to the Germans the plans of their maiale.
- The "Neger" (German for "negro"), a single-seat torpedo sailing awash at 4 knots. Its pilot leaves it before precipitating it on the objective.
- It is however in the creation of pocket submarines (one-seater and two-seater) that the Germans will show themselves most astute.
1944 June: Three German frogman units called MEK = Marine Einsatzkommando become active. Each unit had one officer and 22 men. But they were not ready for D-Day.
1944 June 23: German naval frogmen blow up two bridges on the Orne river, using two torpedoes of 800 kg.
1944 July: There were several attacks by German Neger craft in the English Channel, setting off from Villers sur Mer. On July 8, these attacks badly damaged the cruiser ORP Dragon (which was the scuttled on July 20), and sunk the destroyer HMS Isis. 12 attack boats were used in attacks in the mouth of the Orne river.
1944 September 16: By this time the Allies had taken Antwerp. 2 teams of 5 German frogmen left Rotterdam on two attack boats, to attack Antwerp docks. When they were stopped by defence nets, the teams continued by swimming, each towing a torpedo with a ton of explosive. One team placed its torpedo on the main canal lock in Antwerp. The lock was out of use for 3 months.
1944, night of September 28-29: By now the Allies had taken intact a road bridge at Nijmegen and a railway bridge at Moerdijk, and had immediately installed a strong anti-aircraft defence there. 3 groups of 4 German frogmen set off from 10 km upstream from the bridges. They were to place explosives under the bridges and then to continue with the river current 24 km further to return to their lines. The railway bridge was blown up. The road bridge was only slightly damaged because the mine had been badly placed. Of the 12 men, 3 were killed, 7 were captured, and 2 returned to their lines.
1944 December: German frogman operations in the Vistula river.
After Italy changed sides, the German frogman unit MEK71 based in Jugoslavia made numerous attacks against liberated Italy, using two-man canoes.
1945 February : German frogmen operations in the Oder river.
WWII frogman operations planned or considered but not carried out:
- Plan to attack the underwater oil pipeline PLUTO.
- Plan to block the Suez Canal by sinking boats in it.

Germany after WWII

This section was translated from de:Kampfschwimmer (Bundeswehr); refer back there in case of query about the translation.

Germany's postwar commando frogman force are called the Kampfschwimmer ("Combat Swimmers") or Official Usage Group 3402. They are the only special-purpose force of the German navy. See also Minentaucher.

History

The Kampfschwimmer were set up particularly because Germany joined NATO and there was felt to be risk of war with the Soviet Union. A unit was needed which could help to secure the Baltic Sea exits through the Danish Straits. On 1 August 1958, Group 3402, as these commando frogmen were called by the navy, was set up. It consisted of men without a Nazi past, who had served in WWII in the small combat forces and the naval employment commands.

As the achievements of these units in WWII was not in terms of tons of sunk shipping, they were not thought of much by the public. Today hardly anything is well known by the public about Germany's commando frogmen, because of this and because of official secrecy.

The first Kampfschwimmer were trained first with the Nageurs de combat in France. France had developed the role of the commando frogmen further in the Indochina war, to the modern single fighter.

The Kampfschwimmer should carry out their tasks both in the water and ashore, like German commando frogmen did in WWII. But now a new dimension was added: Air. This three-role concept of the Frenchmen became the basis of the commando frogmen of the German navy.

On 1 April 1964 the Kampfschwimmer appeared for the first time as an independent body. In the following years they extended their tasks, but lacked money. Thus e.g. they had to buy their own drysuit undersuits.

Roles

Unlike other nations' commando frogmen units, the Kampfschwimmer are not known so far for any spectacular operations.

In the Gulf War in 1991 the whole company was used for security missions on the German ships involved in the Persian Gulf.

As a boarding party they were involved in embargo control against the remainder of Yugoslavia in the Adriatic Sea.

According to rumours they were involved in Operation Enduring Freedom in the horn of Africa as a boarding party.

Organisation

Since 1974 the Kampfschwimmer have been stationed in the naval base at Eckernförde near Kiel. In October 1994 they were subordinated to the Flotilla of Mine Warfare. In Eckernförde a combat frogman group was set up, it consists of a mine clearance diver company and a commando frogmen company. Allegedly the weapon diver group has 250 men. The commando frogmen company had, according to strength and equipment records, 3 groups, each with 16 men. Of it, approximately 30 men are actively operational.

In 2001 the Waffentauchergruppe ("Armed Diver Group") became the Bataillon Spezialisierter Kräfte ("Specialised Forces Battalion").

By a transformation in 2003 the de:Spezialisierten Einsatzkräfte Marine ("Specialised Task Forces of the Navy" (SEK M) was formed. The SEK M was divided further into the Combat Swimmer Company, a mine clearance diver company, and two naval companies for special employments (e.g. to board ships), a training inspection group, and further support elements.

Conditions for entry

These minimum requirements must be fulfilled by all candidates, to become certified for training:

Applicants must be Germans in the sense of the article 116 Grundgesetz (constitution).
They must be at least 17 years old and less than 25 years old.
They possess a Realschulabschluss school qualification, or equivalent, or
They were successfully educated at a high school or equivalent, with favorable exam passes.
1000m swimming under 23 minutes
Run 5000m in under 24 minutes
30m distance swim underwater without equipment
Stay underwater without breathing for at least 60 seconds
Sport test with at least 20 points; at least 3 points for each exercise
Must be an active soldier who has served at least 6 months. After training, one must commit oneself for 4 years.
Diving fitness is examined by the Schiffahrtsmedizinischen Institut (naval medical institute) of the navy.
Parachute jump fitness is examined by the same institute.

Training

During the training, it is less about the physical load than the psychological load, which causes many applicants to give up. The physical achievement can be trained, but overcoming the fear is the most important goal of the training. The training includes among other things swimming, diving, navigation, close combat, weapons handling, and parachuting. In the special conclusion exercise their ability and hardness are equally demanded, before they join the circle of the commando frogmen. In further training sections they are trained as team leaders or specialists.

Introductory training

First there are four weeks of introductory training. In this time the applicants are pushed hard physically and psychologically by fixed exercises. All exercises have the goal to take away the fear of water and to make the applicant feel safe in the water. One of the exercises is called gefesseltes Schwimmen (= the bound swimming). The applicant is put on the starting block in the full combat suit, with his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied together, and then put in the swimming pool. He must stay for 30 seconds alone clearly; afterwards a safety diver pulls him back up.

In the so-called "hate week" the trainees are kept short of sleep. Between the night exercises, there are night runs. Meanwhile the normal routine of the day continues: swimming, diving, and push-ups.

East Germany

The People's Navy of the GDR (East Germany) had a commando frogman force, which was stationed in Kühlungsborn. They trained at Prora on Rügen.

External links

http://www.sondereinheiten.de/kampfschwimmer/index.php (in German)
http://www.marine.de Seiten der Marine (in German).
Book: Probst, Wilhelm: Kampfschwimmer der Bundesmarine. Innenansichten einer Elitetruppe, October 2001, ISBN 3-613-02148-X