First SEALs (23 page)

The Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU) was a revolutionary closed-circuit breathing device that allowed divers to swim more than a mile underwater without coming up for air. Unique for the time, it eliminated the telltale bubbles that could give away the presence of an underwater combat swimmer.

The components of the LARU. The earliest versions of the rebreather were constructed from an old World War I gas mask and a common bicycle pump. The innovative device evolved over time, and America's combat swimmers used components of the pioneering device well into the 1980s.

A leading man in Hollywood films both before and after the war, Sterling Hayden, also known as John Hamilton, was a Marine who served in the OSS alongside Jack Taylor, conducting missions in the Adriatic. His film credits include Gen. Jack D. Ripper in
Dr. Strangelove
and Captain McCluskey in
The Godfather. (Columbia Pictures)

An expert sailor and unsung hero of the war, Lieutenant Ward Ellen, USNR, helped shape the Maritime Unit. He captained OSS boats on numerous missions until a shipboard explosion left him severely wounded.

A curious photo of one of the vessels considered for use in training missions by the OSS. Lacking sufficient funds but not ideas or initiative, the Maritime Unit deployed two rotting cabin cruisers that played the role of submarines in training exercises in the Potomac near the covert facility known as “Area D.”

The OSS and Dr. Lambertsen not only developed a precursor to SCUBA (the LARU), they also created a variety of other diving and special operations gear for combat swimming, including a novel inflatable two-man surfboard with a silent, battery-operated motor that stealthily propelled teams to their targets.

The two-man surfboard carries swimmers equipped with a rebreather during a training exercise in Helford, England. The OSS worked closely with the British in planning highly dangerous missions in German-occupied France.

A two-man rubberized kayak invented by the OSS. The handling of these small craft required highly specialized training, which was provided by the OSS Maritime Unit. Operatives used these lightweight craft on intelligence-gathering missions in the Pacific.

The “Sleeping Beauty” or Motorized Submersible Canoe was a craft developed by the UK's SOE for underwater use. The 12-foot-long submersible weighed 600 pounds and carried a 24-volt electric motor that could propel it at speeds up to 3.5 knots. Today's SEALs use a modernized version of the same device, which they call a SEAL Delivery Vehicle or SDV.

The Sleeping Beauty in action. Testing by the Maritime Unit proved that the vehicle could be successfully launched from a submerged submarine, allowing combat swimmers to approach targets without ever surfacing.