Aug 1, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: Climb Into the Mini-Sub Navy SEALs Use to Bring Death From Below

U.S. Navy/Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Andrew McKaskle via <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Navy_050505-N-3093M-007_Members_of_SEAL_Delivery_Vehicle_Team_Two_(SDVT-2)_prepare_to_launch_one_of_the_team%27s_SEAL_Delivery_Vehicles_(SDV)_from_the_back_of_the_Los_Angeles-class_attack_submarine_USS_Philadelphia_(SSN_690).jpg">Wikipedia</a>
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seal-sub
Soldiers board an SDV, which deploys from a larger host submarine that can't maneuver in the shallow water near the shore.
U.S. Navy/Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Andrew McKaskle
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SDV operations
A team of divers moves around an SDV next to the submarine USS Florida.

U.S. Navy/Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Andrew McKaskle
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Performing SDV operations with USS Florida
SDVs are "free-flooded," which means that occupants are submerged in ocean water while inside the vessel.
U.S. Navy/Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Andrew McKaskle
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SDV operations
Soldiers train next to the USS Hawaii submarine. The SDVs allow occupants to move long distances that would be impossible with standard scuba tanks and flippers.

U.S. Navy/Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Andrew McKaskle
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SDV operations
As a media specialist captures a training routine, soldiers move around outside the host submarine, which deploys the SDV.
Courtesy Navy SEAL Museum
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NovSEAL-053-edit
Unlike its smaller predecessors, the Mark VIII SDV was designed to haul multiple soldiers and their cargo. It was wide enough that a pilot and navigator could sit side-by-side.

Courtesy Navy SEAL Museum
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Lambertsen Collection
These kinds of vehicles have been around for decades. A World War II-era "Sleeping Beauty," never saw combat but was later used by underwater demolitions teams.
Courtesy Navy SEAL Museum
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A dry-docked single-passenger "Sleeping Beauty," first developed by British naval forces.

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