Lionel Crabb
The mystery of Lieutenant Commander Lionel Crabb, OBE, GM, RNVR is one of the most enduring mysteries of the Cold War era. Lionel Crabb, also known as Buster Crabb, was a Royal Navy frogman and diver who had served with distinction during the Second World War. He was involved in mine and bomb disposal operations in Gibraltar and Italy, where he earned the nickname “Buster” after the American two-time Olympic swimmer and actor Buster Crabbe. He was awarded the George Medal and appointed as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his bravery and skill.
Much of Crabb’s postwar work is murky. as are his associations. After the war, he worked as a “civilian”: diver in an array of different jobs. After his divorce, he is worked as a salesman in a furniture store owned by a friend for a time but was regularly gone from his job for days at a time. He is said to have been recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6) in 1956, although there is speculation that he may have worked for the SIS prior to that.
In 1956, he was sent on a secret mission by the SIS to spy on a Soviet cruiser, the Ordzhonikidze, a Sverdlov-class cruiser that had brought Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin on diplomatic mission to the UK. The cruiser was berthed at Portsmouth Dockyard. Crabb’s mission was to examine the hull and propellers of the ship for any signs of advanced technology.
Crabb, who was 47 years old and in poor health due to his heavy drinking and smoking habits, entered the water on the morning of 19 April 1956 with the help of another diver, Lieutenant George Franklin. According to some reports, he resurfaced after about 20 minutes, complaining about the cold and poor visibility, and asked for more weight for his final dive. He never returned from that dive, and his fate remains unknown to this day.
Some of the possible explanations are that he was captured or killed by the Soviets, that he died of a natural mishap, or that he defected to the USSR. Some have even wondered (without evidence to back it up) if he was assassinated by the SIS, the British Security Service (MI5), or the CIA, due to a fear that he had become a double agent and planned on defecting.
On 9 June 1957, nearly 14 months after his disappearance, a headless and handless body in a rubber diving suit that was covered in marine growth was dragged by several fisherman off Pilsey Island in Chichester Harbour. A coroner’s inquest was subsequently held, and the body identified as Crabb, although the cause of death was listed as indeterminate. Interestingly, Crabb’s naval records, which may have aided in identification, were not provided for the inquest. Although the body was identified as Crabb’s, doubts have been raised as to its identity.
In 2007, a Russian who had been onboard the Ordzhonikidze claimed that the Soviets had been tipped off about the British operation by a mole and were expecting him that night. He stated that he dived into the murky waters beneath the Ordzhonikidze, hunted down Crabb, and slit his air hose and then slit his throat with a knife. Other sailors that served on the Ordzhonikidze have stated that Crabb was captured by two of its divers and transported to Russia. That the Soviets were aware of Crabb’s mission beforehand was verified by a Soviet defector in 1960.
Crabb’s disappearance sparked a major scandal and a cover-up by the British authorities, who initially claimed that he had died while testing some diving equipment in Stokes Bay, which was a good distance from Portsmouth. However, the truth soon leaked out to the press and the public, causing both embarrassment and outrage.
The question of whether SIS was authorized to send Crabb on such a risky and provocative operation has never been conclusively answered. The British government has maintained a veil of secrecy over the affair, refusing to release any official documents or admit any involvement. Some sources indicate that SIS acted without the knowledge or approval of then Prime Minister Anthony Eden, who was furious when he learned of the incident. Others suggest that Eden was aware of and sanctioned the mission, but later tried to cover it up. The truth may never be revealed, as the files on Crabb’s case are still classified and will not be opened until 2057.
The Crabb incident inspired Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, to write a scene in his novel Thunderball, where Bond examines the hull of the Disco Volante, a yacht that belongs to the villain Emilio Largo. The scene was also adapted into the film version of Thunderball, released in 1965.
The mystery of Lionel Crabb has inspired many books, films, and theories, but none of them have been able to solve it definitively. His disappearance remains one of the most intriguing mysteries of the Cold War era, as no conclusive evidence has ever been found to explain his fate.
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