(ordnance) Destruction or fragmentation of underwater obstacles by use of explosive charges placed by diver personnel; primarily employed as a short-range emergency measure to accomplish a military objective with promptness and economy of material.
Underwater demolition
| Sci-Tech Dictionary: underwater demolition |
(¦ən·dər¦wöd·ər ′dem·ə′lish·ən)
| 5min Related Video: Underwater demolition |
| Sci-Tech Encyclopedia: Underwater demolition |
The controlled use of explosives to achieve specific underwater work requiring cutting, fragmenting, perforating, or pounding.
In addition to wreck removal and channel widening and deepening uses, a wide range of commercial applications has been developed for underwater demolition. In the offshore oil and gas industries, charges may be placed and fired well below the ocean floor to open fissures in the rock, cut off steel pipe, open trenches, and remove old structures. The military uses underwater demolition to remove obstacles to amphibious assault.
Special charge shapes and sizes allow very precise work to be done with explosives. While charges for military purposes are usually placed by divers, explosives used commercially can also be placed by crewed submersibles or remote-operated vehicles. See also Diving; Explosive; Ship salvage.
| US Military Dictionary: underwater demolition |
The destruction or neutralization of underwater obstacles. This is normally accomplished by underwater demolition teams.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
| Military Dictionary: underwater demolition |
(DOD, NATO) The destruction or neutralization of underwater obstacles; this is normally accomplished by underwater demolition teams.
| Wikipedia: Underwater demolition |
Underwater demolition refers to the deliberate destruction or neutralization of man-made or natural underwater obstacles, both for military and civilian purposes.
Contents |
History
John G. Foster
Shortly after the American Civil War, Brevet Maj. Gen. John G. Foster, a West Point trained engineer, became one of the first acknowledged experts in underwater demolition. In 1869, he wrote a definitive treatise on the topic and became widely recognized as the authority on underwater demolition. Many of his theories and techniques were still in practice during the Spanish-American War and World War I.
Christian J. Lambertsen
In 1940, Christian J. Lambertsen demonstrated his semi-closed circuit rebreather, the Lambertsen Amphibious Respiratory Unit (LARU), for the U.S. Navy in connection with his proposal for the formation of military teams of underwater swimmers.[1][2]
Major Lambertsen served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps from 1944 to 1946 where he did a detached service in underwater operations with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). After joining OSS, he was vital in establishing the first cadres of U.S. military operational combat swimmers during late World War II.
His responsibilities included training and developing methods of combining self-contained diving and swimmer delivery for the OSS "Operational Swimmer Group".[3][4] Following World War II, he trained U.S. forces in methods for submerged operations, including composite fleet submarine / operational swimmers activity.[5]
Draper L. Kauffman
In June 1943, Draper L. Kauffman organized the first U.S. Navy Demolition Teams. The original purpose of these teams was to map and record conditions in amphibious landing zones and to demolish obstacles in water which would prevent vehicles from landing during invasions.[6] Underwater demolition specialists may still be referred to as underwater demolition teams.
Research
Research into diver safety related to underwater blast continues at the US Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Lambertsen, CJ (1941). "A diving apparatus for life saving work". Journal of the American Medical Association 116: 1387–1389.
- ^ Larson, HE and the Committee on Undersea Warfare (1959). "A history of self-contained diving and underwater swimming". National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council Report Publication 469.
- ^ Vann RD (2004). "Lambertsen and O2: beginnings of operational physiology". Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine 31 (1): 21–31. PMID 15233157. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3987. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ Butler FK (2004). "Closed-circuit oxygen diving in the U.S. Navy". Undersea Hyperbaric Medicine 31 (1): 3–20. PMID 15233156. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3986. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ Lambertsen, C.J. (1947). "Problems of shallow water diving. Report based on experiences of operational swimmers of the Office of Strategic Services". Occupational Medicine 3: 230–245. doi:.
- ^
- ^ Cudahy, E and Parvin, S (2001). "The Effects of Underwater Blast on Divers.". US Naval Submarine Medical Research Lab Technical Report NSMRL-1218. http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7518. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Learn More
 | underwater demolition team (ordnance) |
| covering fire |
| SEAL |
 | The sims 2 - what and where is the demolition button? Read answer... |
| How do you charge for demolition of a bathroom? Read answer... |
| How do you become a demolition derby driver? Read answer... |
Help us answer these
 | What is demolition virus? |
| What is a smokestack demolition? |
| How to do demolition as a career? |
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
 |
 | Sci-Tech Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
|
| Sci-Tech Encyclopedia. McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. Copyright © 2005 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| US Military Dictionary. The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. Copyright © 2001, 2002 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
 |
| Military Dictionary. US Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Words, 2003. Read more |
 |
| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Underwater demolition". Read more |
Related answers
- What is demolition?
- What is a demolition derby?
- What are the type of demolition?
- What rhymes with demolition?
- What is demolition derby?
ADVERTISEMENT
Answer these
- Who were in demolition?
- Demolition of skyscrapers?
- Types of demolition?
- How do you get a career in demolition?
- What is commerical demolition?
Mentioned in
- underwater demolition team (ordnance)
- covering fire
- SEAL
- Time Machine: The Complete History of the U.S. Navy Seals (History Film)
- The Frogmen (1951 War Film)
- Hollywood After Dark (1968 Drama Film)
- SEAL Teams (intelligence)
- Underwater Demolition Badge
- Naval Mines
- Special Forces (American history)
- DYK
- Underwater Demolition Command
- UDT
- Royal Thai Navy SEALs
