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Navy Ncdu Teams
The Teams
On the beach invasions of Normandy, one of the marines commented, “Jesus, we don’t
even have control of the beach yet and already the tourist are here!”. This is the normal
response that the men of UDT get, during WWII in the pacific campaign. They would
paint themselves with steaks of blue and white. They were the first ones on the beach
and the last ones to leave. They carried no weapons except for a combat knife used for
cutting, and crimping the fuses of their explosives. Some say that you would have to be
“half nuts and half fish” to join the UDT. But, besides being courageous and saving the
lives of many a thankful marine(although they will not admit it) the UDT did something
historical that NO HISTORY BOOK for that matter has cared to mention. They
launched the United States into a whole new type of warfare, consisting of underwater
commando’s who could rise up out of the water and devastate an enemy, and disappear
just as fast, or slip onto an enemy held beach, undetected, and bring back almost any type
of information you needed. The latter probably saved hundred’s upon thousand’s of
marines lives alone. My report will show you the mysterious, and secret world of the
UDT.
The first Naval Combat Demolition Unit started with thirteen volunteers who were near
the end of their basic training in the Dynamiting and Demolition School at Camp Perry,
Virginia. They were sent to the Naval Amphibious Training Base at Solomon Island,
Maryland, in Chesapeake Bay where they were joined by other enlisted demolition men
and eight officers. Lieutenant Fred Wise from the Sea Bees (Construction Battalions) was
designated Officer in Charge.
They were given a quick, intensive course in blowing channels through sandbars with
explosive hose, and in working from rubber boats to place explosive charges on
underwater obstacles which had been modeled by Army engineers. Then they sailed for
the assault on Sicily. Twenty-one men under LT Wise debarked from three attack cargo
ships off Scoglitti, Sicily, on the morning of July 10, 1943 and waited patiently for orders
that never came. The landing waves either found enough water over the sandbars or used
alternative beaches. For the next two days the demolition units did useful work salvaging
stranded boats, buoying channels through the sandbars, and surveying the beaches. Then
they shipped back to the States.
Most of this first group stayed in the Naval Combat Demolition Units as instructors,
proceeding to the Naval Amphibious Training Base in Fort Pierce, Florida for the tougher
training which was just getting underway in accordance with a directive from Admiral J.
King, who was both Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, and Chief of Naval Operation. His
directive was in two parts: providing men for 'a present urgent requirement' of the
Amphibious Forces, Atlantic Fleet; and starting experimental work and training for
permanent Naval Demolition Units for assignment to other amphibious forces. (Above
info from Naked Warriors by CDR Francis Fane.)
Another result of that directive was a telegram sent the same night to Lieutenant
Commander Draper L. Kauffman, founder and head of the Navy Bomb Disposal School,
recalling him to Washington. LT Kauffman was giving the responsibility for launching
the Navy's underwater demolition. Lieutenant Draper L. Kauffman was a remarkable man
and uniquely qualified for the job. After graduating from the Naval Academy, his poor
eyesight precluded his being commissioned. Frustrated but determined to join the war
effort, he donned a French uniform and became a driver in the American Volunteers
Ambulance Corps. He was captured by the Germans and spent time in a prison camp but
was freed with a handful of other American drivers. Undaunted, Kauffman volunteered
for mine disposal with the British Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. His skill and bravery
disarming bombs for the British won the attention of U.S. Navy where he was at last
commissioned in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1941.
In June of 1943 at Fort Pierce, Florida, the first class arrived and assembled for training.
The personnel were drawn from three sources, primarily because it was reasonably
expected that men from the Construction Battalions, the Bomb Disposal School and the
Mine Disposal School would already be familiar with explosives and basic demolitions.
The site was chosen because it offered natural swimming beaches and desirable
temperatures for year round swimming. Too, it was at a base where demolitions could be
carried out and problems could be worked out with the rest of the Amphibious Forces
that were already in training at the base.
However, conditions were not as desirable there as they appeared. In the first place there
was no training program set up; no one had any idea as to what the mission might be. No
one had the slightest knowledge of what sort of obstacles might be encountered, what
pattern they might follow or the best method of destroying them, nor the conditions under
which demolition personnel might be called on to work. No provision had been made for
the construction of obstacles, supplying of explosives, housing for the men or training
facilities for the unit. Clothing, obstacles, training, program, facilities and explosives
were therefore non-existant, yet the men were there and training did go on. Until steps
could be taken to get all of these problems settled, the first class spent from eight to
twelve hours per day in physical training and rubber boat drill and primacord knot tying.
The heat, sand-flies and mosquitoes, food and living conditions were intolerable.
From this first class came four of the Naval Combat Demolition Units that were the
beginning of the demolition force of the Atlantic Theatre. A Naval Combat Demolition
Unit was arbitrarily set as one officer and five men, primarily because it was determined
in training that the demolition personnel would work as a rubber boat crew and that the
number six would be the maximum number of men that could be carried in one boat.
Each six-man NCDU was given a number starting with NCDU-1. To encourage unit
rivalry, each was given a nickname - Kaine's Killers, Heidemen's Hurricanes, Jeter's
Mosquitoes. Training and facilities at Fort Pierce improved by leaps and bounds and
consequently the later units which were sent out were very well trained.
In preparation for the Allied assaults at OMAHA Beach and UTAH Beach, the Naval
Combat Demolition Units trained in ship salvage, rocket disposal, mine recognition, and
the assault demolition practices of the British. Of particular concern was demolition of
the obstacle Element C, or Belgian Gate. Large numbers of this three ton welded steel
obstacle had been discovered along the entire coast of France. Inasmuch as this was an
entirely new obstacle to the Naval Combat Demolition Units, considerable time had to be
spent in the determination of the best methods for its destruction.
In June 1944 Naval Combat Demolition Units embarked for the coast of France and the
planned assaults on the beaches of OMAHA and UTAH. History has recorded well the
assaults on these infamous beaches. The Naval Combat Demolition Units were
instrumental in clearing the beaches, making way for the landings of personnel and
equipment. On OMAHA beach the method of clearance on the assault phase was
accomplished by the use of the two-pound Hagansen pack. Each man was carrying about
twenty of these two-pound charges, safety fuse and detonator assemblies, and continued
working until the rising tide prevented further clearance. Post assault clearance, i.e. after
the tide receded, was accomplished with tank dozers, caterpillar tractors, and salvage
explosives. On UTAH beach all obstacles were high and dry on arrival. The intensity of
the enemy gunfire was not as severe as that of OMAHA beach nor were the obstacles so
thickly patterned. The timing and the execution of the operational plans were much better
which accounts for better results. The essential difference in the actual demolition
operations was in the fact that electric firing was used instead of safety fuse, giving a
much better control in removal of the obstacles.
Casualties on the OMAHA beach for Demolition personnel were 31 killed and 60
wounded, a casualty rate of 52 per cent. Casualties for the Demolition personnel on
UTAH beach were 6 dead and 11 wounded. All casualties were the result of enemy
action and no casualties resulted from improper handling of the explosives.
The OMAHA unit received one of only three Presidential Unit Citations awarded to the
Navy for the Normandy landings and the UTAH demolition units received the only Navy
Unit Commendation awarded for the Normandy landing. Navy Crosses were awarded to
Ens. William R. Freeman, Gunner's Mate Robert W. Bass, Gunner's Mate John H. Line,
Chief Jerry N. Markham, Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Loran E. Barbour, LTJG William
M. Jenkins, and Ens. Lawrence S. Karnowski. There were also a number of Silver Stars
and Bronze Stars to others who were especially outstanding in a day of widespread
heroism.
The NCDU regrouped and Lieutenant Commander Herbert Peterson, in charge of Naval
Combat Demolition Force U, with ten veteran UTAH units, embarked in a
Mediterranean-bound convoy for Salerno. Here they trained for the upcoming invasion of
Southern France. As these combat demolitioneers proved once again the need for and the
success of underwater demolition, the newly organized Underwater Demolition Teams,
UDT, were proving their worth in Saipan. Many NCDU men stayed in demolition and
got to the Pacific in time for the occupation of Japan, but the end of World War II
brought the end of Naval Combat Demolition Units. Many NCDU men brought their
experience and expertise to the Underwater Demolition Teams.
Word Count: 1603
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