Jump to content

Latest Navy Deck Jacket - UDT


doyler
 Share

Recommended Posts

If you do a Google search, you will see a bit of controversy that seems to stem from this quote:

 

raykor.jpg

 

His high school apparently used that incident to decide that he was a "co-founder" of the SEALS, a claim he never made, but some people on one of those angry sailor sites tried to blame him, some even questioning whether he was actually UDT.

 

This jacket certainly makes it clear he was UDT and, again, he did play a role in the early efforts to move Navy frogmen from the sea to the air.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Bob for the additional information.The insignias being Japanese made ties in with all the information above and other info I saw on the Korean war era.The teams were very small during WW2 and The years following into Korea.Like many WW2 units that were dissolved often the concepts remained and a lot of forward thinkers kept trying new concepts even when not a popular thing with those in higher positions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

very cool jacket and awesome that you found this history on it! love the patches.

 

-Brian

Thanks Brian.

Was one of those "one looker" moments when I first saw it.Just waited a while to make the deal.Glad I made up my mind to get it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You may want to contact the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida about Mr. Raynolds. They have pretty good records about the SEALs and UDTs and may have a photograph of Mr. Raynolds' UDT class. The museum is actually only about twenty minutes from where Mr. Raynolds died and may even have known Mr. Raynolds because they have been doing reunions at the museum for years.

 

Here is their phone number: (772) 595-5845

 

If you call ask to speak to Andy Brady, and he should be able to look him up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You may want to contact the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida about Mr. Raynolds. They have pretty good records about the SEALs and UDTs and may have a photograph of Mr. Raynolds' UDT class. The museum is actually only about twenty minutes from where Mr. Raynolds died and may even have known Mr. Raynolds because they have been doing reunions at the museum for years.

 

Here is their phone number: (772) 595-5845

 

 

 

If you call ask to speak to Andy Brady, and he should be able to look him up.

 

Thanks.

I visited the museum several years ago prior to the remodel and expansion.

 

Later spoke to Mr.Watson on the flotation vests and jackets when he was there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Information I came across on the UDT in post WW2 days and Korea.As shown the detachments were very small.Also states how Team 5 took part in the destruction of fish nets in an operation to curb the North Koreans food source.

 

 

UDTs in the Korean War

In 1947 two UDT teams commanded by Lieutenant Commander Cooper were assigned to Commander Amphibious Force, Pacific Fleet, and were based at Coronado, California. Two teams commanded by Lieutenant Commander Fane were assigned to the Commander Amphibious Force, Atlantic Fleet, and were based at Little Creek, Virginia. By 1948 the four UDT teams had a skeleton complement of 7 officers and 45 men each. With this small force they had to prepare for possible future wars, and try to maintain a combat readiness.

When the Korean War broke out in June, 1950, a 6-man detachment from UDT 3 was on duty in Japan. As the North Korean Army crossed the 38th Parallel and swept into the south, the UDT men boarded the flagship Admiral UDD Mount McKinley and headed for Korea. On July 4, 1950, just four days after the initial aggression by the Reds, General MacArthur was planning an amphibious assault on Inchon. A UDT reconnaissance of the beach of Pohang, conducted by LTJG George Atcheson and his boat crew, led to a successful landing on July 18, of 10,000 combat ready troops who boarded trains at Pohang and two days later met and repelled the Communist advance.

But the war raged on. Korea is a mountainous land,great rugged ranges spread out from the interior to the sea.US. Navy ships and aircraft cruised up and down the coast bombarding and bombing the bridges and tunnels, strafing the long lines of military vehicles and trains, and even blasting cliffs to pour landslides across the vital highways. Admiral Joy conceived the idea of organizing small amphibious raiding parties to harass the enemy by dynamiting their supply routes. UDT men in rubber boat crews performed the traditional beach reconnaissance missions and pioneered in sneak inland penetration missions to gather intelligence data and to destroy specific strategic targets such as roads or bridges in the near coastal areas.

Both of the Pacific coast teams, UDT 1 and UDT 3 officially arrived in Korea with their peacetime half-strength size of approx. 50 men each, in mid September of 1950. Their assignments included destroying a railway bridge and blowing up railroad tunnels to disrupt North Korean operations and supply lines. It was during the Korean War that UDT men pioneered in sneak inland penetration missions to gather intelligence data and to destroy specific strategic targets such as roads and bridges in the near-coastal area. Night insertion and reconnaissance became important in Korea.

Phil Carrico writes of UDTs in the '50s story one, two, three, four

UDT Operations in Korea: Inchon

UDT Operations in Korea: Taechon

UDT Operations in Korea: Wonsan

UDT Operations in Korea: Hungnam

UDT 5, a team newly commissioned to meet the Korean war duty, entered Wonsan waters aboard the Diachenko in February, 1952. Minesweeping occupied them until mid summer when their mission became destroying North Korean fishing nets to affect their food supply. These nets were huge, some 300' long, reinforced with steel cable. The men of UDT 5, while under fire from the enemy on shore, used bolt cutters and explosives to rip holes in the nets.

Otis Hackney - UDT 5 photo album

The armistice ended fighting on 27 July 1953. The men of UDT 1, UDT 3, and UDT 5 proved the readiness and outstanding capabilities of the "naked warriors". Meanwhile, UDT 2 and UDT 4, the Atlantic Fleet Teams, were involved in experimental programs involving the aqualung, lock-out from submerged submarines, cold-weather swimming systems, parachute training, and miniature submersibles.

On 8 February 1954, UDT 1, UDT 3, and UDT 5 were redesignated UDT 11, UDT 12, and UDT 13 respectively. UDT 2 and UDT 4 became UDT 21 and UDT 22. The Korean War marked a turning point in the history of the UDTs. In addition to their guiding amphibious forces ashore and obstacle demolition, the scope of their missions was expanded to include clearing obstructions from harbors, stealthily infiltrating waterways to attack enemy shipping and transport, clearing ordnance from the high seas, infiltrating and intelligence gathering, and covering the withdrawal of friendly forces.

In 1955 the UDTs carried out several missions in the icy waters of Alaska where their skills were put to good use to build the early warning radars needed to forestall any Soviet threat from the north.

In 1959 the UDTs lent a hand to the space program, experimenting with methods of astronauts training and space capsule recovery.

For photographs of Korean era Underwater Demolition Team men see:

 

Suggested reading:

 

Exploits of U. S. Navy Frogmen in Korea, by Phil Carrico, ISBN 1-88774-527-0

Fifties Frogs - Journal of the Underwater Demolition Teams, by Don Belcher and Bob Blann – self published

Korea Remembered, by Charles F. Cole, autobiography, ISBN 1-8881325-13-X

NSWA home

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Killer jacket with a cool history Ron-thanks for sharing.

 

 

Thanks

 

Have seen dozens of M42 jump jackets and Marine Cammos over the years but this is the ONLY UDT jacket I have seen and named as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Here is one in my collection that is not as nice as your deck jacket but appears to be from the same era. This UDT deck jacket has a painted on logo instead of sewn on patches. The back has the wording BMU-1 (Beach Master Unit -1 ) and 1944 blacked out under U.S. Navy. It used to belong to Richard Schwarten of I believe UDT-11.

 

 

post-1389-0-58998400-1414377610.jpg

post-1389-0-14604800-1414377621.jpg

post-1389-0-78545300-1414377645.jpg

post-1389-0-41374600-1414377668.jpg

post-1389-0-55202500-1414377678.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...