Secret spy diver report revealed June 14, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : general , trackback
There is an interesting article on the BBC website regarding the disappearance of a navy frogman during the cold war. On 19th April 1956, Commander Lionel ‘Buster’ Crabb vanished whilst spying on the Soviet Cruiser, Ordzhonikidze, which had brought Nikita Khrushchev on a diplomatic visit. He never returned, and when the disappearance was noticed, the whole mission was subsequently denied, and it was discovered that tno rescue mission was carried out as the intelligence service did not want to alert the crew of the Soviet ship.
From the BBC report, Lomand Handley, one of Commander Crabb’s relatives, has been able to read the top secret document;
After reading the report, she said: “This was a spying mission which went ahead despite the prime minister forbidding it and when the operation went pear-shaped they did nothing seriously to get him back.“They acted very carelessly at best and at worse callously. They abandoned him. They left him to his fate, which to me is absolutely horrendous after all that he had done for his country.
“It was a bungled operation, planned without sufficient thought, because those in charge failed to apply their minds to the consequences should it go badly wrong.”
Commander Crabb’s wartime exploits are well known, as his actions in the Mediterranean were featured in the 1958 film, Silent Enemy, and he had received the George medal for removing Italian limpet mines from British warships at Malta aas well as an OBE for mine clearance at Livorno.
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