The Russian commando frogmen (), informally called "commando frogmen" in civilian media, are a Russian Naval Spetsnaz unit under operational subordination to the GRU that specialized in amphibious reconnaissance to prepare for amphibious warfare operations, clandestine operation, defense against swimmer incursions, direct action against important strategic or tactical goals, irregular warfare, ISTAR, maritime counterterrorism and hostage rescue, and naval special warfare. It is the special forces unit of the Russian Naval Infantry and is composed of highly trained and elite marines within the Naval Infantry. By virtue of belonging to the Russian Naval Infantry, frogmen fall under the Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy service arm. The Russian Navy proper does not field any special forces or special operations forces. Russian FSB special forces Alpha Group and Vympel also have frogman units in their respective naval components.
History Pre war and WWII On 22 October 1938, during wargaming between units of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok, a group of Soviet military divers exited a Shchuka-class submarine (hull number 112) through a torpedo tube. They succeeded in infiltrating the naval base, where they completed certain acts of sabotage. These combat divers were equipped with oxygen rebreathers, dry suits, handguns and grenades. This did not lead to a permanent combat diver unit being set up, but it was the beginning of the history of Soviet combat divers.
The Soviet Union started frogman operations during World War II. The first unit of combat divers (or RON team), was formed in Leningrad in 1941. The most prominent of the new recruits was Viktor Leonov, who joined the Soviet Navy in 1937. He was assigned to a submarine training detachment and then transferred to a repair station in the Northern Fleet at Polyarnyy. Leonov had trained in tactical scuba diving, after which he joined 4th Special Volunteer Detachment, where he proved his daring and leadership skills conducting numerous clandestine operations and twice being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Soviet combat divers were quite successful during World War Two. They performed a variety of missions numbering well over 200 operations.Borovikov p.35 These operations consisted of more than just combat operations and demolitions. There were many rescue missions which also included female divers recovering weapons and other military equipment from sunken cargo ships.Borovikov p.75 Other operations also included making minor repairs of ships that were afloat and clearing approaches to wharf facilities at the sites of fords across the Volga river. There were also operations which involved recovering the dead that were present on sunken ships or in the Volga river.Borovikov p.77
In 1953, according to directives of the Main Headquarters of the Naval Forces of the USSR, they started to establish completely secret Detached Naval Reconnaissance Points (OMRPs). In the beginning they were named Naval Reconnaissance Divisions of the Special Intelligence, purposed for high risk special operations.
The mission of the Naval Spetsnaz was to conduct what the Soviets call Special Reconnaissance (Spetsialnaya Razvedka). During the Cold War, each Soviet fleet would have a brigade of "naval assault pioneers" with a wartime strength of up to 1,300 men and capable of deploying about 100 teams. Naval special forces were organized into spetsnaz brigades consisting of five spetsnaz detachments (battalions), a signal company, support units, and a headquarters company containing highly skilled professional soldiers and frogmen responsible for carrying out amphibious reconnaissance, assassinations high-value targets, commando style raids, combat search and rescue, contact with agents behind enemy lines, kidnappings targets useful to military intelligence, long-range penetration, maritime sabotage, special reconnaissance, and underwater demolition. The organization of a naval special purpose brigade reflects its emphasis on sea infiltration, with up to three frogman battalions, one parachute battalion, and a minisubmarine battalion, as well as the signal company, headquarters company, and support elements.
In 1967, the Anti-diversionary forces and means, or 'PDSS', began development in the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. PDSS is a complex of special measures developed by the Soviet Navy to counter possible attacks by frogmen. PDSS includes specially trained units (teams) of the Soviet Navy, frogman and anti-frogman training and special weapons and tactics. According to some historians, Soviet Naval Commanders decided to form PDSS after the Lionel Crabb incident.
Post breakup of the USSR
Most Soviet Naval spetsnaz units were transferred to the newly formed Russian Navy and subsequently downsized. At least one unit, the 17th Naval Special Purpose Brigade, was transferred to the Ukrainian Navy and was reorganized as the 1464th Marine Reconnaissance point. Shortly after, the 1464th MRP was again reorganized as the 7th Special Purpose Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy, after about two-thirds of the unit's personnel swore an oath to Ukraine. In 2003, the unit became the 73rd Naval Special Operations Center.
Russian naval spetsnaz, have been less visible in the wake of the USSR's dissolution. By the end of the 1990s there was only one full-strength naval spetsnaz brigade, at Ocharkov on the Black Sea. However, in 1998 the Russian Navy's commander in chief, Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, reaffirmed that naval special-operations units remain assigned to the Russian Baltic, Northern, Pacific, and Black Sea fleets. Although the admiral provided few specifics on the size and capabilities of the units, he did indicate that they were elite, that they were equipped with special weapons (including small submarines), and that they were comparable to U.S. Navy SEALS or the Israeli Navy's Shayetet 13 counterparts, stating that these units have no special name beyond their "combat swimmer" or "naval spetsnaz" designations.
Units and structure
Naval Special Reconnaissance (OMRP) The first Naval Special Reconnaissance unit, the 42nd OMRP is composed of reconnaissance divers that fall under operational subordination to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). There are currently four OMRPs in Russia, one for each fleet: Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet and Pacific Fleet with each consisting of approximately 120–200 personnel. Naval Special Reconnaissance (OMRP) 42nd Naval Reconnaissance Station (Pacific Fleet) 388th Naval Reconnaissance Station (Black Sea Fleet) - reorganized from the former 431st MRP 420th Naval Reconnaissance Station (Northern Fleet) 561st Naval Reconnaissance Station (Baltic Fleet)
Combat against Underwater Incursion Forces and Devices (PDSS) PDSS are special purpose (spetsnaz) unit of the Russian Naval Infantry, trained to conduct land and sea operations behind enemy lines, and to conduct underwater combat, mining and clearance diving. These units include combat swimmers tasked to protect ships and other fleet assets from enemy frogmen and foreign special forces. The precise composition, activities and location of the unit are strictly classified.
Every PDSS unit has approximately 50–60 combat swimmers. 101st PDSS Detachment – based in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 102nd PDSS Detachment – based in Sevastopol 136th PDSS Detachment – based in Novorossiysk 137th PDSS Detachment – based in Makhachkala 140th PDSS Detachment – based in Vidyayevo 152nd PDSS Detachment – based in Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast 153rd PDSS Detachment – based in Ostrovnoy, Murmansk Oblast 159th PDSS Detachment – based in Razboynik 160th PDSS Detachment – based in Murmansk 269th PDSS Detachment – based in Gadzhiyevo 311th PDSS Detachment – based in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky 313th PDSS Detachment – based in Sputnik 473rd PDSS Detachment – based in Kronstadt
Terminology Reconnaissance diver (, tr: Vodolaz razvedchik) is a Russian term for members of a special purpose unit of the Russian or Soviet Naval Spetsnaz – SpN VMF (). Combat swimmer (, tr: ) is a Russian term meaning members of special purpose anti-sabotage divers' units. The public media and others who do not serve in the Russian and/or Soviet Naval Spetsnaz, sometimes use this term unofficially for meaning. Naval spetsnaz man ( , tr: Morskoy spetsnazovets) is an unofficial Russian term for meaning.
Equipment
Russian frogmen use this equipment among others: IDA Rebreathers: For example, the IDA71. "Piranha" midget submarine, can carry six frogmen and their equipment. 2-man torpedo of the "Siren" type that can be launched through an ordinary submarine's torpedo tube. It is longer than a British or Italian Chariot because it has two warheads. "Triton-1" midget submarine, which can carry two combat divers. "Triton-2" midget submarine, which can carry six combat divers. APS Underwater Assault Rifle. SPP-1 Underwater Pistol. Protei-5 and similar one-man underwater diver-carriers. «PPV» underwater tablet for divers
Known operations World War II
Soviet combat divers were quite successful during World War Two. They performed a variety of missions numbering well over 200 operations. Some of the operations were: 1940–1941 Soviet female diver Dina Guseva performed rescue missions in the Volga river near Bakalda.Borovikov pp.76,77 11 August 1941: RON (рота особого назначения, Rota Osobogo Naznacheniya; Company of Special Designation), a Soviet combat frogman unit, was set up on Goloday Island (which is now called Dekabristov Island), near Leningrad. Its commander was Ivan Vasilyevich Prokhvatilov.Borovikov pp.30,33 August 1941: Two RON frogmen towing a sea mine, demolished a bridge over the river Narva which German forces had reached.Borovikov p.36 September 1941: During the Finnish army's invasion of the area around Lake Ladoga, Finnish forces took an island south of Vyborg, isolating 23 Soviet units who were in Vyborg port. Two RON frogmen swam to the island, laying a guide cable as they went. 50 RON frogmen followed this cable, landed and found that the Finns had removed parts from their guns and abandoned the island, perhaps because they had seen the Soviet preparations. In those early days RON made its own equipment, including adapting army breathing sets for underwater use; they did not use 'fins' until the end of the 1950s. 23 September 1941: 270 German aircraft attacked the Soviet naval base at Kronstadt near Leningrad. The Soviet frogmen sank the transport vessel "Barta" opposite the Peterhof. The ship sat on the seabed but remained partly out of the water. September 1941: Prokhvatilov decided to use the "Barta" wreck as an observation post. They saw that the Germans had built a pier at Staraya Peterhof, and stacked piles of naval mines by it. RON frogmen towed two naval mines to the pier and destroyed it. The Germans did not rebuild it. Early October 1941: start of frogman training in the Soviet Pacific Fleet. 1941–1943, winters: RON men patrol the supply road over the ice of frozen Lake Ladoga. September 1941: Soviet frogmen conducted crossing operations at Nevskaya Dubrovka.Borovikov pp.66,67,68 These crossings involved equipment, weapons, ammunition, and food.Borovikov p.68 People crossed from the right bank to the bridgehead as well. August 1942: Nine Soviet divers conducted an operation unloading a large barge sunk by the Germans with 10,000 machine pistols on board in a little more than a week in the Volga river around Stalingrad.Borovikov p.74 1942: Soviet frogmen clashed with German frogmen at a Tsemes Bay seaport at Novorossiysk.Borovikov p.48 The skirmish resulted in some knife battles underwater.Borovikov p.48,49,50 1942: Approximately 37 Soviet frogmen destroyed a German military outpost on the western shore of the Don River. The outpost numbered as much as a reinforced platoon.Borovikov p.32