Undersea Warrior Commander Crabb's Story

By: Marshall Pugh

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis: Undersea Warrior, first published in 1956 as Frogman, is the account of the war-time and post-war adventures of decorated British Commander Lionel Kenneth Crabb, a pioneer in the use of early scuba equipment and its use to locate and remove enemy mines, rescue trapped submariners, and other vital war activities. Author Marshall Pugh and Crabb worked together for many months to produce this fast-paced book of Crabb's exploits and to provide some background on a revered English national hero.From their base in Gibraltar, and with little more than home-made equipment, Crabb led a group of men ‒ The Under Water Working Party ‒ and battled frogmen of the Italian Navy whose mission was to destroy allied shipping by use of underwater mines. Crabb’s task was to remove the mines, a difficult and extremely dangerous task carried out underwater. Following the war, Crabb was involved in rescue attempts of trapped seamen aboard the H.M. Submarines Truculent and Affray. Later, while on a secret mission in Portsmouth, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances while diving near a Soviet warship (briefly touched-upon in Undersea Warrior); his fate remains a mystery today despite a number of theories being proposed ranging from being shot by the Soviets, to his capture and defection. One likely cause of Crabb's death was due to failure of his equipment and Crabb's declining health at the time of his ill-fated dive. Included are 9 pages of illustrations.