We are interested in “Buster” Crabb” as he stayed at HMS Lochinvar, Port Edgar, South Queensferry in the late 1940’s – early 1950’s.
The following information below is sourced from Wikipedia and Historic -Uk
In 1946, mine clearance of the Firth of Forth and East coast was co-ordinated and carried out from the base and in 1948 it was used for minesweeping trials and experiments. Buster was involved in diving equipment trials. It is said he was very fond of the wardroom mess bar!
In 1946, mine clearance of the Firth of Forth and East coast was co-ordinated and carried out from the base and in 1948 it was used for minesweeping trials and experiments. Buster was involved in diving equipment trials. It is said he was very fond of the wardroom mess bar!
Lionel Crabb was born in London on 28th January 1909. He was announced missing, presumed dead on 19th April 1956.
He trained for a naval career and joined first the Merchant Navy then the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve before the Second World War. At the outbreak of the War he was a merchant seaman gunner then he joined the Royal Navy in 1941. The following year he was sent to Gibraltar where he worked in a mine and bomb disposal unit, initially disarming limpet mines removed from the hulls of allied ships. He eventually decided to learn to dive.
He was one of a group of underwater clearance divers who checked for limpet mines in Gibraltar harbour. In 1942 he was awarded the George Cross for his efforts during Italian frogmen and torpedo attacks.
In 1943 he became Principal Diving Officer for Northern Italy, assigned to clear mines in the ports of Livorno and Venice. He later received an O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire) for these services. By this time he had gained the nickname “Buster” after American actor and swimmer Buster Crabbe, who’s most popular roles included Tarzan and Flash Gordon.
He trained for a naval career and joined first the Merchant Navy then the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve before the Second World War. At the outbreak of the War he was a merchant seaman gunner then he joined the Royal Navy in 1941. The following year he was sent to Gibraltar where he worked in a mine and bomb disposal unit, initially disarming limpet mines removed from the hulls of allied ships. He eventually decided to learn to dive.
He was one of a group of underwater clearance divers who checked for limpet mines in Gibraltar harbour. In 1942 he was awarded the George Cross for his efforts during Italian frogmen and torpedo attacks.
In 1943 he became Principal Diving Officer for Northern Italy, assigned to clear mines in the ports of Livorno and Venice. He later received an O.B.E. (Order of the British Empire) for these services. By this time he had gained the nickname “Buster” after American actor and swimmer Buster Crabbe, who’s most popular roles included Tarzan and Flash Gordon.
After the war Crabb was stationed in Palestine and led an underwater explosives disposal team that removed mines that were placed by Jewish divers from the maritime force of the elite Jewish fighting force.
After 1947, he was demobilised from the military and he remained in close contact with his military comrades, assisting with a number of naval projects.
After 1947, he was demobilised from the military and he remained in close contact with his military comrades, assisting with a number of naval projects.
He moved to civilian work using his diving skills, then later returned to work for the Royal Navy. He twice dived to investigate sunken Royal Navy submarines — HMS Truculent that sank after an accidental collision with a Swedish oil tanker on the Thames Estuary in January 1950 and HMS Affray that sank in the English Channel, reason unknown, in 1951 — to find out whether there were any survivors. Both efforts were fruitless.
Hover cursor over images below to read information
Hover cursor over images below to read information
In March 1955, Crabb was made to retire due to his age, but a year later he was recruited by MI6. By this point, Crabb's heavy drinking and smoking had taken its toll on his health, and Crabb was not the diver that he had been in World War II.
Spy or not to Spy?
The following information below is condensed from the Daily Express October 27th 2006. Reporters Paul Callan and Cyril Dixon
The following information below is condensed from the Daily Express October 27th 2006. Reporters Paul Callan and Cyril Dixon
At aged 47, in 1956, as a retired lieutenant commander in the royal reserve, MI6 ordered him to swim underneath the massive soviet warship, Sverdlov - class Cruiser Ordzhonikidze which was in Portsmouth harbour and bristled with state of the art weaponry. On board were Nikita Khrushchev and Marshal Nikolai Bulganin, the two most powerful men in Russia, on a goodwill mission to Britain.
Senior officers at MI6 wanted to know what special equipment existed below the waterline. This was hazardous not only for “Buster” Crabb but it was also very risky diplomatically since the cold war between Russia and the west was particularly arctic at that moment.
Crabb dived early in the morning of April 19th 1956, with 2 hours of oxygen, but was never seen again. He had been out of the navy for more than a year by this time and had been drinking heavily the night before.
Senior officers at MI6 wanted to know what special equipment existed below the waterline. This was hazardous not only for “Buster” Crabb but it was also very risky diplomatically since the cold war between Russia and the west was particularly arctic at that moment.
Crabb dived early in the morning of April 19th 1956, with 2 hours of oxygen, but was never seen again. He had been out of the navy for more than a year by this time and had been drinking heavily the night before.
In June the following year, a headless handless body wearing a diving suit, was found floating in Chichister harbour. This was later said to be Crabb, and he was rapidly buried in Portsmouth. His ex-wife and girlfriend both claimed that this corpse was in fact, not him. It seems Buster had easily identifiable toes.
The government were frantic to play down claims that he was spying on the cruiser and the Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden told the house of commons, “it would not be in the public interest to disclose the circumstances in which commander Crabb is presumed to have met his death”.
That the government were embarrassed is in no doubt and they tried to play down Busters role. The Admiralty insisted he was only trying out new equipment and just happened to be in the area of the Soviet Cruiser.
The government were frantic to play down claims that he was spying on the cruiser and the Prime Minister, Sir Anthony Eden told the house of commons, “it would not be in the public interest to disclose the circumstances in which commander Crabb is presumed to have met his death”.
That the government were embarrassed is in no doubt and they tried to play down Busters role. The Admiralty insisted he was only trying out new equipment and just happened to be in the area of the Soviet Cruiser.
(An extract from the Sally Port Hotel website where Buster Crabb stayed in Portsmouth, states that after he went missing, all his belongings were removed and the page where his name had been recorded was removed, and not by them. MI6 had tried to cover up the mission and went as far as to say he had died during a test dive in Stokes Bay. The Soviets responded to this by saying that they had indeed seen a frogman near the cruiser).
Many rumours circulated about what had happened to him. Some said he was killed by the Russians who mistook him for a saboteur, some said he was captured and taken to Russia. It was said that there may have been a wet compartment underneath the Ordzhonikidze that had frogmen waiting in case other frogmen came investigating. One such frogman claimed to have spotted Crabb below the ship and cut his throat.
Many rumours circulated about what had happened to him. Some said he was killed by the Russians who mistook him for a saboteur, some said he was captured and taken to Russia. It was said that there may have been a wet compartment underneath the Ordzhonikidze that had frogmen waiting in case other frogmen came investigating. One such frogman claimed to have spotted Crabb below the ship and cut his throat.
A secret dossier was smuggled across the iron curtain in 1959 by British agents. It claimed that Crabb had been watched by the Soviets while staying in a Portsmouth hotel and that officers on the Ordzhonikidze were waiting for him. The dossier also claims he was questioned by the cruisers political officer but he remained silent. The officer was ordered to abandon the interrogation and to keep him drugged, in a hospital bed, with a bandage face, and declare he was a sick crew member, in case of unexpected developments. There have been claims that 7 years later he was seen in a Russian sanatorium by a visitor and the description certainly sounded very like him.
That there was a big cover up is sure in many minds, but there is still, over 50 years on (at the time of the article being written -2006), no answer to what happened to Buster.
That there was a big cover up is sure in many minds, but there is still, over 50 years on (at the time of the article being written -2006), no answer to what happened to Buster.
One of Crabbs few remaining relatives had recently said “we deserved to know what happened to a man who served his country honourably and with integrity. He was a decorated war hero and a true patriot”.
Crabb had been a brilliant frogman who won the George medal in the Second World War. He was noted for his skill in bomb disposal in Gibraltar and Italy and his heroic wartime exploits were made into a film, “The Silent Enemy” in 1958. On land he wore Saville Row suits, a monocle and carried a swordstick with a crab carved on the handle. But his health was failing and by the time of his disappearance friends were worried about his heavy drinking. He was also short of money and it is possible he took on the unofficial espionage to help shore up his dwindling finances. “Whatever the truth of the fate of Crabb, he was a sad victim sucked into the darkness of intelligent intrigue”.
Crabb had been a brilliant frogman who won the George medal in the Second World War. He was noted for his skill in bomb disposal in Gibraltar and Italy and his heroic wartime exploits were made into a film, “The Silent Enemy” in 1958. On land he wore Saville Row suits, a monocle and carried a swordstick with a crab carved on the handle. But his health was failing and by the time of his disappearance friends were worried about his heavy drinking. He was also short of money and it is possible he took on the unofficial espionage to help shore up his dwindling finances. “Whatever the truth of the fate of Crabb, he was a sad victim sucked into the darkness of intelligent intrigue”.
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