Authors Note: This is about what the Navy SEALs have used in
their arsenal since they were UDTs in World War II.
In World
War II there was an elite team of U.S. Navy divers Called UDTs (Underwater
Demolition Teams). These teams had jump started the U.S. Navy Frog Men and the SEALs
(SEa Air Land). Throughout every war we have fought in since WW II their weapons
and tactics have been improving.
In World
War II the U.S. had ether really liked to do beach landings or that was the
only way to get on to the enemy soil but to me I think that it was this usually
the only way to get on to the enemy soil. After the Normandy beach landing and
all the losses that had come from this military operation. We obtained these
because the Army Air Corps had failed to take out the German artillery so we
could not get our tanks up on the beach. But that was not the only reason we
could not get tanks up on the shore it was because there were tank bearers that
they could not get by and that is why we took all those losses. So the Navy had
an answer to this UDTs. UDTs were small teams of elite navy divers that would usually
carry a M3 Grease gun matches or a lighter for a small bag with 8 bricks of C4
explosives. They would only be wearing an air tank, diving mask and their under
wear. What they would is go ashore and take out the tank barriers so they could
go ashore they would also take out submarine nets and small dams.
During
World War II the navy had realized that UDTs were good but they weren’t always
the best because they were only deploy able by bout. So yet again the navy had a
response to this and the Navy Frog Men were born. The Frog Men were basically
UDTs that would be air born and would be parachuted in to the water so they
could infiltrate the beaches with more stealth. They were called Frog Men because
they would operate in the water and on land just like frogs. Although they were
armed with the same equipment as the UDTs they were slightly more effective. Frog
Men were some of the most effective special ops groups and were used from WW II
through some of Vietnam War but they are still used today but not as often.
Jumping
forward to the Vietnam War were the U.S. had started fighting in a new kind of
war that the U.S. has never fought in before we were fighting in a guerrilla war
with the VC (Vietcong) and the NVA (North Vietnamese Army). So to fight the enemy
John F. Kennedy had decided to make the U.S. Navy SEALs to fight the guerrilla
war. When the SEALs were formed they were not given the greatest gun and other weapons
and tools to use in the field so they found themselves making their own
upgrades to their standard issue M16A1, M60 machine guns, Stoner 63s and LAAW rockets.
They were also issued M18Claymores, M67 Fragmentation grenades and C4
explosives. The gun that they made the biggest self improvements was the M60 Machine
gun. The improvements that they would make was they would take of the butt stock,
4-6 inches of the barrel, the front and rear sights and the bi-pod then they
would put in tracer round so they could see where there shots would go. The SEALs
went given their own vehicles so they started stealing Jeeps and trucks from
the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps and when they would take them they would re
paint them and put new serial numbers on them. Seals have their own tactics for
every mission so they never had a specific type of tactics for the Vietnam War.
But one tactic that was commonly used was to hit the enemy with everything that
they had and to make a force of 10-12 men seem like a force of 35-40 men to a
force of 50-55 VC or NVA and it usually worked. SEALs weren't considered divisions
or platoons they were teams that would be divided it to platoons. When the SEALs
were first in vented there were only 2 teams now there are 12 teams that I now
of currently. The tactics of the seals today but what they will do in today’s
war that they did not do in Vietnam is that they will try to blend in with the
natives so they are not discovered by the enemy. In today’s war they will use a
lot of the same guns except for the M60. The guns that replaced that are the M240B
and the M249SAW and they use the M4A1 carbine. So SEALs have come a long way
since they were born in the Vietnam War.
If you look
at how fare SEALs have come since they were known as UDTs in WW II. If we didn’t
have UDTs in World War II the U.S. might not have won the war. In Vietnam without
the SEALs the U.S. might not have captured as many Vietnamese Officer, Tax collectors
and other officials. So without the UDTs, Frog Men and SEALs we would not have
had the SOCOM forces that we have today to protect our county.
Special thanks to the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air
Force and the service men and women.
