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From an e-mail by Tom Colville, the Welfrieghter midget sub guru in GB.
"I was glancing through a new book in a bookshop, a month or so back. It was about special forces boat teams . In this book were several pictures, and a schematic diagram of the " underwater glider" that is currently in use by SEALS and RM special boats teams. It is basically a Rigid inflatable boat that can submerge. The crew of three are all divers and approach the target on the surface at up to 45 knots then the buoyancy in neutralised and the hull submerges to create a platform that can transport the divers even closer to the target. I will have to get a copy of the book to learn more about this. But it looks very " James Bond". Apparently it was used extensively for recce work in the gulf."
Two unrelated navigating thru customs stories from an electronics guru friend:
1. My former boss at ____________ once mentioned that he had been involved in underwater acoustics tests for the USN at Seneca Lake in NY, and also that _____________ had some involvement with classified underwater testing. He also described an amusing anecdote: he had boarded a sub at Groton, CT, sailed in the Atlantic making measurements, and then he disembarked via small boat in Bermuda, carrying a locked and sealed metal box full of data tapes. He was stopped by a customs and immigration agent at whatever airport he was leaving from. The agent asked, "What are the contents of the box?". My boss answered, "Sorry, I can't tell you." The agent frowned and then asked, "How did you get to Bermuda?" "Via submarine," my boss replied. Somehow, they let him board the airplane.
2. In the mid-1970s, the same individual also took a vacation trip to Sweden, where he stocked up on Swedish seasonings and other cooking ingredients, returning home with a variety of white and leafy green substances packed in plastic bags in his luggage. Customs never bothered to look-- if they had, my former boss would probably still be explaining himself today.
"I was glancing through a new book in a bookshop, a month or so back. It was about special forces boat teams . In this book were several pictures, and a schematic diagram of the " underwater glider" that is currently in use by SEALS and RM special boats teams. It is basically a Rigid inflatable boat that can submerge. The crew of three are all divers and approach the target on the surface at up to 45 knots then the buoyancy in neutralised and the hull submerges to create a platform that can transport the divers even closer to the target. I will have to get a copy of the book to learn more about this. But it looks very " James Bond". Apparently it was used extensively for recce work in the gulf."
Two unrelated navigating thru customs stories from an electronics guru friend:
1. My former boss at ____________ once mentioned that he had been involved in underwater acoustics tests for the USN at Seneca Lake in NY, and also that _____________ had some involvement with classified underwater testing. He also described an amusing anecdote: he had boarded a sub at Groton, CT, sailed in the Atlantic making measurements, and then he disembarked via small boat in Bermuda, carrying a locked and sealed metal box full of data tapes. He was stopped by a customs and immigration agent at whatever airport he was leaving from. The agent asked, "What are the contents of the box?". My boss answered, "Sorry, I can't tell you." The agent frowned and then asked, "How did you get to Bermuda?" "Via submarine," my boss replied. Somehow, they let him board the airplane.
2. In the mid-1970s, the same individual also took a vacation trip to Sweden, where he stocked up on Swedish seasonings and other cooking ingredients, returning home with a variety of white and leafy green substances packed in plastic bags in his luggage. Customs never bothered to look-- if they had, my former boss would probably still be explaining himself today.