Army Frogmen Aka Army Frogman Training (1961)

🎬British Pathé – Trainee divers from the Royal Engineers are seen in action at Marchwood in Hampshire. Marchwood, Hampshire. L/S panning across the harbour; various ships are seen in the distance; on the quay beside us are four frogmen in diving suits with air cylinders on their backs. An army officer checks their equipment as we hear they are from the Royal Engineers, and are shallow water divers. The men line up along the quay and jump in. Various shots of the men swimming on their backs to the target zone as commentator tells us the frogmen are used when there's a need for a silent, unseen approach. On land we see M/S of a soldier working a large air pump with a long hose attached to a diving rig. M/S on the top of the rig shows a man in a full old-fashioned diving costume with bowl-shaped helmet and weighted shoes. A soldier fits the air hose to the diving suit while an officer crouches beside a kind of radio transmitter. The diver climbs down a ladder into the diving rig. The soldiers at the top of the rig light an underwater cutter and lower it into the water. Underwater M/Ss of the diver cutting through a girder with the oxy-hydrogen torch. L/S and M/S from a stony beach as we see two frogmen coming out of the water. The three frogmen crouch on the beach while a soldier winds up a detonator box. M/S of the water as an explosive charge is detonated; the explosion throws up a large cloud of water. Note: print used for telecine transfer is quite scratched; neg is cut. On file is a letter to Pathe from the Diving School at McMullen Barracks in Marchwood. Cuts exist - see separate record