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>01seal-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 McKaskle02SDV operations
A team of divers moves around an SDV next to the submarine USS Florida.
U.S. Navy/Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Andrew McKaskle03Performing 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 McKaskle04SDV 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 McKaskle05SDV operations
As a media specialist captures a training routine, soldiers move around outside the host submarine, which deploys the SDV.
Courtesy Navy SEAL Museum06NovSEAL-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 Museum07Lambertsen 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 Museum0836-Sleeping-Beauty-Ashore-sdv-seal-delivery-vehicle-edit
A dry-docked single-passenger "Sleeping Beauty," first developed by British naval forces.
