Organization
SpN PDSS (Противо-диверсионные силы и средства, Protivo-Diversionnye Sily i Sredstva; Anti-diversionary forces and means), are elite units of special purpose anti-sabotage divers, which appeared in the Soviet Navy at the end of the 1960s to counter possible attacks by frogmen. Their name in full is (о) СпН ПДСС, Специального назначения по борьбе с подводными диверсионными силами и средствами ((o) SpN PDSS, Spetsial'nogo naznacheniya po bor'be s podvodnymi diversionnymi silami i sredstvami; Special-purpose combat with underwater diversionary forces and means).
Before 2000/2001 they were called ОБ ПДСС, Отряды по борьбе с подводными диверсионными силами и средствами (OB PDSS, Otryady po bor'be s podvodnymi diversionnymi silami i sredstvami; Combat units with underwater diversionary forces and facilities).
Officially there are no Naval Spetsnaz units in any of the former Soviet states, except for Ukraine which inherited theirs from the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. In order to have Naval Spetsnaz on the Black Sea, the Russian Navy transferred the OMRP of the Caspian Flotilla under the Russian Black Sea Fleet command. They sometimes used false names and numbers called "Legends" (cover-up). For example, the Naval Spetsnaz Unit in the Baltic Fleet uses the cover-name Аварийно-спасательная школа №49 (Avariyno-spasatel'naya shkola nomer 49; Diving Rescue School No. 49).
All Russian military units have their own five-digit number. For instance, the Naval Spetsnaz Unit in the Baltic Fleet officially has the Number 10617.
Among Navy and Army Intelligence servicemen, all Naval Spetsnaz units are called ОМРП (OMRP, Отдельный морской разведывательный пункт (Otdel'nyy morskoy razvedyvatel'nyy punkt; Detached Naval Reconnaissance Point) and have their own numbers. For example, the Naval Spetsnaz Unit in the Baltic Fleet is officially the 561st OMRP.
Naval Spetznaz units have unofficial names, the unit in the Baltic Fleet is unofficially called by themselves and other servicemen Парусники (Parusniki; Sailing Ships), because this unit is based in a settlement called Парусное (Parusnoye), whose name means "sail place". But in the 1950s and 1960s it was unofficially called Потехинцы (Potekhintsy) after its first commander, Colonel Potekhin.
This link gives details of training and the actions of Soviet combat frogmen and says that they are in a KGB spetsnaz organization called Delfin. Other sources mention units called "Dolfin", "Omega", "Barrakuda", and others. Another source says that Naval Spetsnaz units have never used such names, but that the name Delfin arose as false information sold to a journalist, who published information about this unit in the early 1990s.
Every PDSS unit has around 50-60 combat swimmers. There are PDSS units in all major Naval Bases.
Every OMRP has about 120-200 combat divers. There are now four OMRPs in Russia, one for each fleet: Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet, Pacific Ocean Fleet.
"Riding on Proton" by Afonchenko (Russian) seems to describe in passing some Russian frogman-type operations and techniques including an infiltration into the sea off South Korea. (This "Proton" is a one-man submerged diver-carrier similar to a Protei-5.)
Read more about this topic: Russian Commando Frogmen
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