Special Air Service

Special forces of the British Army

Not to be confused with Australian Special Air Service Regiment, Canadian Special Air Service Company, New Zealand Special Air Service, or Rhodesian Special Air Service.

"The Regiment" redirects here. For other uses, see The Regiment (disambiguation).

Special Air Service

Special Air Service insignia

Active| 1941–1945
1947–present[1][2][3]
Country| United Kingdom
Branch| British Army
Type| Special forces
Role| Special operations
Counter-terrorism
Size| Three regiments[nb 1]
Part of| United Kingdom Special Forces
Garrison/HQ| RHQ: Stirling Lines, Herefordshire, England
21 SAS: Regent's Park Barracks, London, England[4]
22 SAS: Stirling Lines, Herefordshire, England[4]
23 SAS: Birmingham, West Midlands, England[4]
Nickname(s)| "The Regiment"[7]
Motto(s)| "Who Dares Wins"[8]
Colours| Pompadour blue[8]
March| Quick: "Marche des Parachutistes Belges"[8]
Slow: "Lili Marlene"[8]
Engagements| List of SAS operations
Commanders
Colonel-Commandant| Field Marshal The Lord Guthrie[9]
Notable
commanders| General Sir Peter de la Billière
General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith

Military unit

The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling, and in 1950 it was reconstituted as a corps.[5] The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and special reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations.[10][11][12]

The corps consists of the 22 Special Air Service Regiment, which is the regular component, as well as the 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) and the 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), which are reserve units, all under the operational command of United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). Its sister unit is the Royal Navy's Special Boat Service, which specialises in maritime counter-terrorism. Both units are under the operational control of the Director Special Forces.

The Special Air Service traces its origins to 1941 during the Second World War. It was reformed as part of the Territorial Army in 1947, named the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists Rifles). The 22nd Special Air Service Regiment, which is part of the regular army, gained fame and recognition worldwide after its televised rescue of all but two of the hostages held during the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege.[13]

## History

[edit]

Further information: History of the Special Air Service, List of SAS operations, and List of former SAS personnel

### Second World War

[edit]

The Special Air Service was a unit of the British Army during the Second World War that was formed in July 1941 by David Stirling and originally called "L" Detachment, Special Air Service Brigade - the "L" designation and Air Service name being a tie-in to a British disinformation campaign, trying to deceive the Axis into thinking there was a paratrooper regiment with numerous units operating in the area (the real SAS would "prove" to the Axis that the fake one existed).[1][14] It was conceived as a commando force to operate behind enemy lines in the North African Campaign[15] and initially consisted of five officers and 60 other ranks.[16] Its first mission, in November 1941, was a parachute drop in support of the Operation Crusader offensive, codenamed Operation Squatter.[14][17] Due to German resistance and adverse weather conditions, the mission was a disaster; with only 22 men, a third of the unit making back to base. The rest were either killed or captured. Its second mission was a major success. Transported by the Long Range Desert Group, it attacked three airfields in Libya, destroying 60 aircraft without loss.[18] In September 1942, it was renamed 1st SAS, consisting at that time of four British squadrons, one Free French, one Greek, and the Folboat Section.[19]

SAS patrol in North Africa during WWII (1943)

In January 1943, Colonel David Stirling was captured in Tunisia and Paddy Mayne replaced him as commander.[20] In April 1943, the 1st SAS was reorganised into the Special Raiding Squadron under Mayne's command and the Special Boat Squadron was placed under the command of George Jellicoe.[21] The Special Raiding Squadron fought in Sicily and Italy along with the 2nd SAS, which had been formed in North Africa in 1943 in part by the renaming of the Small Scale Raiding Force under the command of Bill Stirling (brother of David).[22][23] The Special Boat Squadron fought in the Aegean Islands and Dodecanese until the end of the war.[24] In 1944 the SAS Brigade was formed. The unit was formed from:[25]

* 1st Special Air Service
* 2nd Special Air Service
* 3rd Special Air Service – 3e Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes
* 4th Special Air Service – 2e Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes
* 5th Special Air Service – lineage continued by Belgian Special Forces Group
* F Squadron – responsible for signals and communications

It was tasked with parachute operations behind the German lines in France[2] and carried out operations supporting the Allied advance through France (Operations Houndsworth, Bulbasket, Loyton, Kipling and Wallace-Hardy), Belgium, the Netherlands (Operation Pegasus), and eventually into Germany (Operation Archway and Operation Howard).[25][26] As a result of Hitler's issuing of the Commando Order on 18 October 1942, the members of the unit faced the additional danger that they would be summarily executed if captured by the Germans. In July 1944, following Operation Bulbasket, 34 captured SAS commandos were indeed summarily executed by the Germans; in October 1944, in the aftermath of Operation Loyton, another 31 captured SAS commandos were summarily executed by the Germans.[27]

The last original member of the Special Air Service and the last survivor of the Long Range Desert Group, Mike Sadler, died on 4 January 2024, at the age of 103.[28]

### Post-war

[edit]

At the end of the war the British government saw no further need for the force and disbanded it on 8 October 1945.[2]

The following year it was decided there was a need for a long-term deep-penetration commando unit and a new SAS regiment was to be raised as part of the Territorial Army.[29] Ultimately, the Artists Rifles, raised in 1860 and headquartered at Dukes Road, Euston, took on the SAS mantle as 21st SAS Regiment (V) on 1 January 1947.[3][29]

John Woodhouse was chosen to assist with establishing a reformed selection process for the SAS. The rigorous systems he assisted in developing over three years provided the basis of selection and training of the modern SAS.[30]

#### Malayan Scouts

[edit]

21 SAS soldier after a night parachute drop exercise in Denmark (1955)

In 1950, a 21 SAS squadron was raised to fight in the Korean War. After three months of training in Britain, it was informed that the squadron would no longer be required in Korea and so it instead volunteered to fight in the Malayan Emergency.[31] Upon arrival in Malaya, it came under the command of Mike "Mad Mike" Calvert[32] who was forming a new unit called the Malayan Scouts (SAS).[31] Calvert had already formed one squadron from 100 volunteers in the Far East, which became A Squadron; the 21 SAS squadron then became B Squadron; and after a recruitment visit to Rhodesia by Calvert, C Squadron was formed from 100 Rhodesian volunteers.[33] The Rhodesians returned home after three years' service and were replaced by a New Zealand squadron.[34] By this time the need for a regular army SAS regiment had been recognised; the 22 SAS Regiment was formally added to the army list in 1952 and has been based at Hereford since 1960.[8] In 1959 the third regiment, the 23 SAS Regiment, was formed by renaming the Reserve Reconnaissance Unit, which had succeeded MI9 and whose members were experts in escape and evasion.[35]

### 22 SAS Regiment

[edit]

Since serving in Malaya, men from the regular army 22 SAS Regiment have taken part in reconnaissance patrols and large scale raiding missions in the Jebel Akhdar War in Oman and conducted covert reconnaissance and surveillance patrols and some larger scale raiding missions in Borneo during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation.[36][37] They returned to Oman in operations against Communist-backed rebels in the Dhofar Rebellion including the Battle of Mirbat.[38] They have also taken part in operations in the Aden Emergency,[39] Northern Ireland,[40] and Gambia.[37] Their Special projects team assisted the West German counterterrorism group GSG 9 at Mogadishu, with Lufthansa Flight 181.[37] The SAS counter terrorist wing famously took part in a hostage rescue operation during the Iranian Embassy Siege in London.[41] SAS were involved throughout Britain's covert involvement in the Soviet–Afghan War; they acted through private military contractor Keenie Meenie Services (or KMS Ltd), training the Afghan Mujaheddin in weapons, tactics and using explosives. They trained the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan and sent them to be trained in Pakistan, Oman and parts of the UK.[42] During the Falklands War B squadron were prepared for Operation Mikado before it was subsequently cancelled while D and G squadrons were deployed and participated in the raid on Pebble Island.[43] Operation Flavius was a controversial operation in Gibraltar against the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA).[37] 22 SAS directed NATO aircraft onto Serb positions and hunted war criminals in Bosnia.[44][45] They were involved in the Kosovo War helping KLA guerillas behind Serbian lines. According to Albanian sources one SAS sergeant was killed by Serbian special forces.[46]

The Gulf War, in which A, B and D squadrons deployed, was the largest SAS mobilisation since the Second World War, also notable for the failure of the Bravo Two Zero mission.[47] In Sierra Leone it took part in Operation Barras, a hostage rescue operation, to extract members of the Royal Irish Regiment.[37]

Following the September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda in 2001, two squadrons of 22 SAS, later reinforced by members of both the Territorial SAS units, deployed to Afghanistan as part of the Coalition invasion at the start of the War in Afghanistan, to dismantle and destroy al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power in the War on Terror. The Regiment carried out Operation Trent, the largest operation in its history, which included its first wartime HALO parachute jump. Following the invasion, the Regiment continued to operate in Afghanistan against the Taliban and other insurgents until 2006, when its deployment to Iraq became its focus of operations, until 2009 when the SAS redeployed to Afghanistan.[48][49][50][51]

The regiment took part in the Iraq War, notably carrying out operations in Iraq before the 2003 invasion. Following the invasion, it formed part of Task Force Black/Knight to combat the post invasion insurgency; in late 2005/early 2006, the SAS were integrated into JSOC and focused its counterinsurgency efforts on combating al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Sunni insurgency alongside Delta Force. The counter-insurgency was successful, and the UKSF mission in Iraq ended in May 2009.[48][49][52] Overall, more than 3,500 terrorists were "taken off the streets" of Baghdad by 22 SAS.[53]

Various British newspapers have speculated on SAS involvement in Operation Ellamy and the 2011 Libyan civil war. The Daily Telegraph reports that "defence sources have confirmed that the SAS has been in Libya for several weeks, and played a key role in coordinating the fall of Tripoli."[54] While The Guardian reports "They have been acting as forward air controllers - directing pilots to targets - and communicating with NATO operational commanders. They have also been advising rebels on tactics."[55]

Members of the Special Air Service were deployed to Northern Iraq in late August 2014, and according to former SIS chief Richard Barrett, would also be sent to Syria, tasked with trying to track down the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group that the press labelled the Beatles.[56][57][58] In 2024 it was acknowledged that five SAS members had been arrested by the Royal Military Police on suspicion of committing war crimes in Syria, though details have not been disclosed.[59]

Since the 1990s SAS officers have risen to senior appointments in the British Armed Forces. General Peter de la Billière was the commander in chief of the British forces in the 1990 Gulf War.[60] General Michael Rose became commander of the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia in 1994.[61] In 1997 General Charles Guthrie became Chief of the Defence Staff the head of the British armed forces.[62] Lieutenant-General Cedric Delves was appointed commander of the Field Army and deputy commander in chief NATO Regional Headquarters Allied Forces North in 2002–2003.[63]

### 21 and 23 SAS

[edit]

Main articles: 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) and 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve)

For much of the Cold War, the role of 21 SAS and 23 SAS was to provide stay-behind parties in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of western Europe, forming together I Corps' Corps Patrol Unit. In the case of an invasion, this Special Air Service Group would have let themselves be bypassed and remained behind in order to collect intelligence behind Warsaw Pact lines, conduct target acquisition, and thus try to slow the enemy's advance.[64][65][66]

In early 2003, a squadron of about 60 soldiers from 21 SAS and 23 SAS, were deployed to Afghanistan.[67][68] In 2005, for the first time since the Malayan Emergency a whole Reserve squadron deployed from one of the regiments to Afghanistan to conduct reconnaissance of Helmand province in preparation for the establishment of a Task Force based around 16 Air Assault Brigade.[69]

### Influence on other special forces

[edit]

Following the post-war reconstitution of the Special Air Service, other countries in the Commonwealth recognised their need for similar units. The Canadian Special Air Service Company was formed in 1947, being disbanded in 1949.[70][71] The New Zealand Special Air Service squadron was formed in June 1955 to serve with the British SAS in Malaya, which became a full regiment in 2011.[72] Australia formed the 1st SAS Company in July 1957, which became a full regiment of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) in 1964.[73] On its return from Malaya, the C (Rhodesian) Squadron formed the basis for creation of the Rhodesian Special Air Service in 1961.[35] It retained the name "C Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service" within the Rhodesian Security Forces until 1978, when it became 1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment.[74]

Non-Commonwealth countries have also formed units based on the SAS. The Belgian Army's Special Forces Group, which wears the same capbadge as the British SAS, traces its ancestry partly from the 5th Special Air Service of the Second World War.[82] The French 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (1er RPIMa) can trace its origins to the Second World War 3rd and 4th SAS, adopting its "who dares wins" motto.[83] The American unit, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, was formed by Colonel Charles Alvin Beckwith, who served with 22 SAS as an exchange officer, and recognised the need for a similar type of unit in the United States Army.[84] The Israeli Sayeret Matkal and Shaldag units have also been modelled after the SAS, sharing its motto. Ireland's Army Ranger Wing (ARW) also trains with the SAS.[85] The Philippine National Police's Special Action Force was formed along the lines of the SAS.[86]

The former Royal Afghan Army's 666th Commando Brigade was formed by Colonel Ramatullah Safi in the 1970s after he received his training with the SAS before it was disbanded through purges after the coups in 1973 and 1978.[87]

## Organisation

[edit]

Little publicly verifiable information exists on the contemporary SAS, as the British government usually does not comment on special forces matters due to the nature of their work.[10][11] The Special Air Service comprises three units: one Regular and two Army Reserve (AR) units. The regular army unit is 22 SAS Regiment and the reserve units are 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) (21 SAS(R)) and 23 Special Air Service Regiment (23 SAS (R)), collectively, the Special Air Service (Reserve) (SAS(R)).[6]

Special Forces Parachute Support Squadron (Para Sp Sqn) is a sub-unit of the Airborne Delivery Wing (ADW) based at RAF Brize Norton.[88]

Supplementary to the SAS, together with the Special Boat Service and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment is 18 (UKSF) Signal Regiment.[89]

### Squadrons

[edit]

22 SAS normally has a strength of 400 to 600.[90] The regiment has four operational squadrons: A, B, D and G. Each squadron consists of approximately 65 members commanded by a major, divided into four troops (each troop being commanded by a captain) and a small headquarters section.[91][92] Troops usually consist of 16 members. Members of the SAS are variously known as "blade" or "operator".[93][94][95] Each patrol within a troop consists of four members, with each member possessing a particular skill e.g. signals, demolition, medic or linguist in addition to basic skills learned during the course of his training.[92] The term "squadron" dates back to the unit's earliest days when the unit's name was intended to confuse German intelligence.[94] The four troops specialise in four different areas:

* Boat troop – specialists in maritime skills including diving using rebreathers, using kayaks (canoes) and rigid-hulled inflatable boats and often train with the Special Boat Service.[96]
* Air troop – experts in free fall parachuting and high-altitude parachute operations including High-Altitude Low Opening (HALO) and High-Altitude High Opening (HAHO) techniques.[96]
* Mobility troop – specialists in using vehicles and are experts in desert warfare.[97] They are also trained in an advanced level of motor mechanics to field-repair any vehicular breakdown.[98]
* Mountain troop – specialists in Arctic combat and survival, using specialist equipment such as skis, snowshoes and mountain climbing techniques.[96]

In 1980 R Squadron (which has since been renamed L Detachment) was formed; its members are all ex-regular SAS regiment soldiers who have a commitment to reserve service.[92][nb 2]

22 SAS squadron duty rotations are set up as such that one squadron is maintained on Counter-Terrorism duty in the UK; a second will be on a deployment; a third will be preparing for deployment whilst conducting short term training; and the fourth will be preparing for long-term overseas training such as jungle or desert exercises. In times of war, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it is not uncommon for two squadrons to be deployed.[94]

22 Special Air Service Regiment  | 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) | 23 Special Air Service Regiment

|
|

'A' Squadron (Hereford)[4] | 'Cap' Squadron (Regent's Park)[100] | 'HQ' Squadron (Birmingham)[101][102][103]
'B' Squadron[104] | 'A' Squadron (Regent's Park)[4] | 'B' Squadron (Leeds)[105][106]
'D' Squadron  | 'C' Squadron (Bramley Camp)[107] | 'D' Squadron (Scotland)[108]
'G' Squadron[109] | 'E' Squadron (Wales)[110] | 'G' Squadron (Manchester)[111]

Squadron Structure:[112]

* A Squadron: 1 (Boat) Troop – 2 (Air) Troop – 3 (Mobility) Troop – 4 (Mountain) Troop
* B Squadron: 6 (Boat) Troop – 7 (Air) Troop – 8 (Mobility) Troop – 9 (Mountain) Troop
* D Squadron: 16 (Air) Troop – 17 (Boat) Troop – 18 (Mobility) Troop – 19 (Mountain) Troop
* G Squadron: 21 (Mobility) Troop – 22 (Mountain) Troop – 23 (Boat) Troop – 24 (Air) Troop

### Counter Terrorist Wing

[edit]

The SAS has a subunit called the Counter Terrorist Wing (CTW) that fulfils its counterterrorism (CT) role.[113] It has previously been known as the Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) Wing[114] and special projects team.[115][116] The SAS receives aviation support from No. 658 Squadron AAC to carry out their CT role.[117]

The CTW is trained in Close Quarter Battle (CQB), sniper techniques and specialises in hostage rescue in buildings or on public transport.[118] The team was formed in the early 1970s after the Prime Minister, Edward Heath, asked the Ministry of Defence to prepare for any possible terrorist attack similar to the massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics therefore ordering that the SAS Counter Revolutionary Warfare (CRW) wing be raised.[119]

Squadrons refresh their training every 16 months, on average. The CRW's first deployment was during the Balcombe Street siege. The Metropolitan Police had trapped a PIRA unit; it surrendered when it heard on the BBC that the SAS were being sent in.[119] The first documented action abroad by the CRW wing was assisting the West German counter-terrorism group GSG 9 at Mogadishu.[37]

The CT role was shared amongst the squadrons, initially on a 12-month and later six-month rotation basis to ensure that all members are eventually trained in CT and CQB techniques. The SAS train for the CT role at Pontrilas Army Training Area in a facility that includes the Killing House (officially known as Close Quarter Battle House) and part of a Boeing 747 airliner that can be reconfigured to match the internal layouts of virtually any commercial aircraft. The on-call CT squadron is split into four troops, two of which are on immediate notice to move and are restricted to the Hereford-Credenhill area, whilst the other two conduct training and exercises across the UK, but are available for operational deployment should the need arise.[120]

### Commanding Officers

[edit]

* 1950 Lt Col Mike Calvert, Royal Engineers[121]
* 1951 Lt Col John Sloane, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders[122]
* 1953 Lt Col Oliver Brooke, Welch Regiment[123]
* 1954 Lt Col Michael Osborn, West Yorkshire Regiment[123]
* 1955 Lt Col George Lea, Lancashire Fusiliers[124] and Parachute Regiment[125]
* 1957 Lt Col Tony Deane-Drummond, Royal Signals[126]
* 1960 Lt Col Ronald Dare Wilson, Royal Northumberland Fusiliers[127]
* 1962 Lt Col John Woodhouse, Dorset Regiment and East Surreys[128]
* 1965 Lt Col Michael Wingate-Gray,[129] Black Watch
* 1967 Lt Col John Slim,[130] Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
* 1969 Lt Col John Watts,[131] Royal Irish Rangers
* 1972 Lt Col Peter de la Billière,[132] Light Infantry
* 1974 Lt Col Anthony Jeapes,[133] Devonshire and Dorset Regiment
* 1977 Lt Col Mike Wilkes, Royal Artillery[134][135]
* 1982 Lt Col Mike Rose, Coldstream Guards[136]
* 1984 Lt Col Andrew Massey, Royal Corps of Transport[137]
* 1986 Lt Col Cedric Delves, Devonshire and Dorset Regiment[138]
* 1989 Lt Col John Holmes, Scots Guards[139]
* n/k Lt Col Jonathan "Jacko" Page, Parachute Regiment[140]
* 2001 Lt Col Ed Butler, Royal Green Jackets[141][142]
* 2002 Lt Col Mark Carleton-Smith, Irish Guards[143]
* 2007 Lt Col Richard Williams, Parachute Regiment[144]
* 2012 Lt Col Nick Perry, King's Royal Hussars[145]

### Operational command

[edit]

#### Regular

[edit]

22 SAS is under the operational command of the Director Special Forces (DSF), a major-general grade post. Previously ranked as a brigadier, the DSF was promoted from brigadier to major-general in recognition of the significant expansion of the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF).[146]

#### Reserve

[edit]

On 1 September 2014, 21 and 23 SAS were moved from UKSF.[147] They were placed under command of 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.[148][149] In 2019 they were moved back to UKSF.[150][151]

## Recruitment and training

[edit]

Main article: United Kingdom Special Forces Selection

Pen y Fan 2,907 feet (886 m) above sea level, the location for the Fan Dance

The first version of the SAS selection course was created by John Woodhouse in 1952.[152][153] The United Kingdom Special Forces do not recruit directly from the general public.[154][155] All current members of the UK Armed Forces can apply for Special Forces selection, but the majority of candidates have historically come from a Royal Marines or Parachute Regiment background.[156] Selections are held twice a year, once in summer and again in winter.[154]

Typically only 10% of candidates make it through the initial selection process.[157] Between 2014 and 2022 there were more deaths in training and exercises than in combat against armed threats.[158] In a group of approximately 200 candidates, most will drop out within the first few days, and fewer than 30 will remain by the end. Those who complete all phases of selection are transferred to an operational squadron.[159]

For applicants to the reserve component, 21 SAS and 23 SAS, the pathway involves comparable elements, apart from jungle training, but taken in blocks, spread out over a longer period, to fit in with the demands of participants' civilian careers.[160] In October 2018, recruitment policy changed to allow women to become members of the SAS for the first time.[161] In August 2021, two women became the first to pass the pre-selection course, making them eligible for the full course.[162]

The first phase of selection, aptitude phase, lasts 4 weeks and takes place in the Brecon Beacons.[163] This phase also involves training in Sennybridge, and normally starts with approximately 200 potential candidates.[154] Candidates complete a Personal Fitness Test (PFT) upon arrival, which consists of at least 50 sit-ups in two minutes, 60 press-ups in two minutes, and a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) run in 10 minutes and 30 seconds. They then complete an Annual Fitness Test (AFT), which consists of marching 8 miles (13 km) in two hours while carrying 25 lb (11 kg) of equipment.[164] Candidates then march cross-country against the clock, increasing the distance covered each day; this culminates in an endurance test known as the "Endurance", in which candidates march 40 miles (64 km) with full equipment before climbing up and down the mountain Pen y Fan (886 m; 2,907 ft) in 20 hours.[154] By the end of this phase, candidates must then be able to run 4 miles (6.4 km) in 30 minutes or less and swim 2 miles (3.2 km) in 90 minutes or less.[154]

After completing aptitude phase, officer candidates are required to spend a week assessing their ability to carry out planning for UKSF operations while fatigued and stressed.[165][166] Following mountain training, the jungle phase takes place in Belize, Brunei, or Malaysia.[167] Candidates are taught navigation, patrol formation and movement, and jungle survival skills.[168] Candidates then return to the UK to begin training in battle plans and foreign weapons, and then take part in combat survival exercises, ending in week-long escape and evasion training.[169] Candidates are formed into patrols and, with nothing more than a tin can filled with survival equipment, are dressed in World War II-era uniforms and told to head for a particular destination by sunrise. The final selection test, resistance to interrogation (RTI), lasts for 36 hours.[170]

## Uniform distinctions

[edit]

SAS pattern parachute wings

Normal barracks headdress is the sand-coloured beret,[8] its cap badge is a downward pointing Excalibur, wreathed in flames (often incorrectly referred to as a winged dagger) worked into the cloth of a Crusader shield with the motto Who Dares Wins.[dubious - discuss][171][nb 3] SAS pattern parachute wings, designed by Lieutenant Jock Lewes and based on the stylised sacred ibis of Isis of Egyptian iconography depicted in the décor of Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo, are worn on the right shoulder.[173] Its ceremonial No 1 dress uniform is distinguished by a light-blue stripe on the trousers. Its stable belt is a shade of blue similar to the blue stripe on the No 1 dress uniform.[8]

## Battle honours

[edit]

In the British Army, battle honours are awarded to regiments that have seen active service in a significant engagement or campaign, generally with a victorious outcome.[174] The Special Air Service Regiment has been awarded the following battle honours:[175][176]

* North-West Europe 1944–45
* Tobruk 1941
* Benghazi Raid
* North Africa 1940–43
* Landing in Sicily
* Sicily 1943
* Termoli
* Valli di Comacchio
* Italy 1943–45
* Greece 1944–45
* Adriatic
* Middle East 1943–44
* Falkland Islands 1982
* Western Iraq
* Gulf 1991

## Order of precedence

[edit]

Preceded by

Line Infantry and Rifles

|  British Army Order of Precedence[177] | Succeeded by

Army Air Corps

|
|

## Memorials

[edit]

Ascension memorial at Hereford Cathedral

The names of those members of the Regular SAS who have died on duty were inscribed on the regimental clock tower at Stirling Lines.[178] Originally funded by contributions of a day's pay by members of the regiment and a donation from Handley Page in memory of Cpl. R.K. Norry who was killed in a freefall parachuting accident,[179][180] this was rebuilt at the new barracks at Credenhill. Those whose names are inscribed are said by surviving members to have "failed to beat the clock".[181] At the suggestion of the then Commanding Officer, Dare Wilson, inscribed on the base of the clock is a verse from The Golden Journey to Samarkand by James Elroy Flecker:[182]

> We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
>  Always a little further: it may be
>  Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow
>  Across that angry or that glimmering sea...

The other main memorial is the SAS and Airborne Forces memorial in the cloisters at Westminster Abbey. The SAS Brigade Memorial at Sennecey-le-Grand in France commemorates the wartime dead of the Belgian, British and French SAS and recently a memorial plaque was added to the David Stirling Memorial in Scotland. There are other smaller memorials "scattered throughout Europe and in the Far East".[183]

The local church of St Martin's, Hereford[184] has part of its graveyard set aside as an SAS memorial, over twenty SAS soldiers are buried there. There is also a wall of remembrance displaying memorial plaques to some who could not be buried, including the 18 SAS men who lost their lives in the Sea King helicopter crash during the Falklands Campaign on 19 May 1982[185] and a sculpture and stained glass window dedicated to the SAS.[186]

On 17 October 2017 Ascension, a new sculpture and window honouring the Special Air Service Regiment in Hereford Cathedral, was dedicated by the Bishop of Hereford at a service attended by Prince William.[187]

## In popular culture

[edit]

Books and films about the SAS

* Eastern Approaches – Fitzroy Maclean's memoir provides his personal experiences in the fledgling SAS in the Western Desert Campaign.
* Bravo Two Zero – Memoir about a failed SAS mission by Andy McNab.[188]
* Bravo Two Zero – 1999 miniseries based on the book of the same name by Andy McNab.
* Red Notice – Novel by Andy McNab, part of his Tom Buckingham Series.
* SAS: Red Notice – 2021 film based on the book of the same name by Andy McNab.[189]
* The One That Got Away – Memoir about the Bravo Two Zero mission by Chris Ryan.
* The One That Got Away – Film based on the book of the same name by Chris Ryan.
* The Feather Men – Novel by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, claimed by the author to be a partly non-fictional story involving the SAS.
* Killer Elite – Film based on The Feathermen, about a mercenary hired to kill SAS troopers (fictional story surrounding real events and people from SAS history).
* 6 Days – Film about the SAS involvement in the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980.
* Who Dares Wins – 1982 film, released in the United States as The Final Option.
* SAS: Rogue Heroes – 2016 book.[190]

Television shows about the SAS

* SAS: Are You Tough Enough? (2002–2004).[191]
* SAS: Who Dares Wins – Quasi-military training television reality programme which pits contestants against harsh environments in a two-week-long training course designed to replicate Special Air Service selection.[192]
* Ultimate Force – ITV action drama series following the operations of the fictitious "Red Troop" of the Special Air Service (2002–2008).[193]
* SAS: Rogue Heroes – BBC historical drama series which depicts the formation of the Special Air Service during World War II (2022).[194]

## Alliances

[edit]

* Australia – Special Air Service Regiment[195]
* New Zealand – New Zealand Special Air Service[195]

## See also

[edit]

* List of military special forces units
* Parachute Regiment (United Kingdom)

## References

[edit]

### Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ On 31 July 1947, the 21st regiment, SAS Regiment, (Artists Rifles) (Territorial Army) was formed. This was followed on 16 July 1952, when the 22 SAS Regiment was formed and the 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Territorial Army) was formed in February 1958. The 21 and 23 SAS are a part of the Army Reserve.[4][5][6]
2. ^ The Regular reserve is made up of ex-soldiers who have a mobilisation obligation by virtue of their former service in the regular army. For the most part, these reservists constitute a standby rather than ready reserve and are rarely mobilised except in times of national emergency or incipient war.[99]
3. ^ Designed by Bob Tait in 1941, it is a flaming sword, although it is often known as a winged dagger.[172]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b Molinari, p. 22
2. ^ a b c Shortt & McBride, p. 16
3. ^ a b Shortt & McBride, p. 18
4. ^ a b c d e f Rayment, Sean (28 December 2003). "Overstretched SAS calls up part-time troops for Afghanistan". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
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## Bibliography

[edit]

* Adams, James (1987). Secret Armies. Hutchinson. ISBN 0-553-28162-3.
* Breuer, William B. (2001). Daring missions of World War II. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-40419-4.
* Chant, Christopher (1988). The Handbook of British Regiments. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00241-9.
* Davis, Brian Leigh (1983). British Army Uniforms and Insignia of World War Two. Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-609-2.
* Downie, Nick (2006). Passing the SAS Selection Course – from the Inside. h2g2. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
* de B. Taillon, J. Paul (2000). The evolution of Special Forces in Counter-Terrorism, The British and American Experiences. Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-96922-3.
* Edgeworth, Anthony; De St. Jorre, John (1981). The Guards. Ridge Press/Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-54376-1.
* Farrell, Theo (2017). Unwinnable: Britain's War in Afghanistan, 2001–2014. Bodley Head. ISBN 978-1847923462.
* Geraghty, Tony (1980). Who Dares Wins: The Story of the Special Air Service, 1950–1980. Book Club Association. ISBN 085368457X.
* Griffin, P.D (2006). Encyclopedia of Modern British Army Regiments. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3929-X.
* Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2009). Who Dares Wins – The SAS and the Iranian Embassy Siege 1980. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-395-7.
* Haskew, Michael E (2007). Encyclopaedia of Elite Forces in the Second World War. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-577-4.
* Jennings, Christian (2005). Midnight in some burning town: British Special Forces: Operations from Belgrade to Baghdad. Cassell. ISBN 0-3043-6708-7.
* Kemp, Anthony (1993). The SAS at War 1941–1945. Signet. ISBN 0451174569.
* Molinari, Andrea (2007). Desert Raiders: Axis and Allied Special Forces 1940–43. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-006-2.
* Morgan, Mike (2000). Daggers Drawn: Second World War heroes of the SAS and SBS. Sutton. ISBN 0-7509-2509-4.
* Otway, Lieutenant-Colonel T.B.H. (1990). The Second World War 1939–1945 Army – Airborne Forces. Imperial War Museum. ISBN 0-901627-57-7.
* Ryan, Chris (2009). Fight to Win. Century. ISBN 978-1-84605-666-6.
* Scholey, Pete; Forsyth, Frederick (2008). Who Dares Wins: Special Forces Heroes of the SAS. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-311-7.
* Shortt, James; McBride, Angus (1981). The Special Air Service. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-396-8.
* Stevens, Gordon (2005). The Originals – The Secret History of the Birth of the SAS in Their Own Words. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-190177-6.
* Thompson, Leroy (1994). SAS: Great Britain's Elite Special Air Service. Zenith Imprint. ISBN 0-87938-940-0.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Special Air Service at Wikimedia Commons

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* No. 50 Commando
* No. 51 Commando
* No. 52 Commando
* No. 62 Commando (Small Scale Raiding Force)
* Middle East Commando

Royal Marine|

* No. 40 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 42 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 43 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 44 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 45 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 46 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando
* No. 48 (Royal Marine) Commando

Royal Navy|

* Royal Naval Commandos
* British commando frogmen

Royal Air Force|

* Royal Air Force Commandos

Joint service|

* No. 30 Commando

Brigades (list)|

* Special Service Brigade
* 1st Special Service Brigade
* 2nd Special Service Brigade
* 3rd Special Service Brigade
* 4th Special Service Brigade
* Special Air Service Troops

Ad-hoc forces|

* Forfarforce
* Layforce
* Layforce II
* Northforce
* Timberforce

Other commando forces|

* Special Air Service
* Special Boat Squadron
* Special Raiding Squadron
* No. 1 Demolition Squadron
* Long Range Desert Group
* Special Interrogation Group

* v
* t
* e

Underwater diving

* Diving activities
* Diving modes
* Atmospheric pressure diving
* Freediving
* Saturation diving
* Scuba diving
* Snorkeling
* Surface oriented diving
* Surface-supplied diving
* Unmanned diving

Diving equipment

* Cleaning and disinfection of personal diving equipment
* Human factors in diving equipment design
* List of diving equipment manufacturers

| Basic equipment|

* Diving mask
* Snorkel
* Swimfin

|

Breathing gas|

* Bailout gas
* Bottom gas
* Breathing air
* Decompression gas
* Emergency gas supply
* Heliox
* Hydreliox
* Hydrox
* Nitrox
* Oxygen
* Travel gas
* Trimix

Buoyancy and
trim equipment|

* Avelo diving system
* Buoyancy compensator
* Power inflator
* Dump valve
* Variable buoyancy pressure vessel
* Diving weighting system
* Ankle weights
* Integrated weights
* Trim weights
* Weight belt

Decompression
equipment|

* Decompression buoy
* Decompression chamber
* Decompression cylinder
* Decompression trapeze
* Dive computer
* Diving bell
* Diving shot
* Diving stage
* Jersey upline
* Jonline

Diving suit|

* Atmospheric diving suit
* JIM suit
* Newtsuit
* Dry suit
* Sladen suit
* Standard diving suit
* Rash vest
* Wetsuit
* Dive skins
* Hot-water suit

Helmets
and masks|

* Anti-fog
* Diving helmet
* Free-flow helmet
* Lightweight demand helmet
* Orinasal mask
* Reclaim helmet
* Shallow water helmet
* Standard diving helmet
* Diving mask
* Band mask
* Full-face mask
* Half mask

Instrumentation|

* Bottom timer
* Depth gauge
* Dive computer
* Dive timer
* Diving watch
* Helium release valve
* Electro-galvanic oxygen sensor
* Pneumofathometer
* Submersible pressure gauge

Mobility
equipment|

* Diver propulsion vehicle
* Human torpedo
* Wet sub
* Diving bell
* Closed bell
* Wet bell
* Diving stage
* Swimfin
* Monofin
* PowerSwim
* Towboard

Safety
equipment|

* Alternative air source
* Octopus regulator
* Pony bottle
* Bolt snap
* Buddy line
* Dive light
* Diver's cutting tool
* Diver's knife
* Diver's telephone
* Through-water communications
* Underwater acoustic communication
* Diving bell
* Diving safety harness
* Emergency gas supply
* Bailout block
* Bailout bottle
* Lifeline
* Screw gate carabiner
* Emergency locator beacon
* Rescue tether
* Safety helmet
* Shark-proof cage
* Snoopy loop
* Navigation equipment
* Distance line
* Diving compass
* Dive reel
* Line marker
* Surface marker buoy
* Silt screw

Underwater
breathing
apparatus|

* Atmospheric diving suit
* Diving cylinder
* Burst disc
* Scuba cylinder valve
* Diving helmet
* Reclaim helmet
* Diving regulator
* Mechanism of diving regulators
* Regulator malfunction
* Regulator freeze
* Single-hose regulator
* Twin-hose regulator
* Full-face diving mask

| Open-circuit
scuba|

* Scuba set
* Bailout bottle
* Decompression cylinder
* Independent doubles
* Manifolded twin set
* Scuba manifold
* Pony bottle
* Scuba configuration
* Sidemount
* Sling cylinder

|

Diving rebreathers|

* Carbon dioxide scrubber
* Carleton CDBA
* Clearance Divers Life Support Equipment
* Cryogenic rebreather
* CUMA
* DSEA
* Dolphin
* Halcyon PVR-BASC
* Halcyon RB80
* IDA71
* Interspiro DCSC
* LAR-5
* LAR-6
* LAR-V
* LARU
* Mark IV Amphibian
* Porpoise
* Ray
* Siebe Gorman CDBA
* Salvus
* Siva

Surface-supplied
diving equipment|

* Air line
* Diver's umbilical
* Diving air compressor
* Gas panel
* Hookah
* Scuba replacement
* Snuba
* Standard diving dress

Diving
equipment
manufacturers|

* AP Diving
* Apeks
* Aqua Lung America
* Aqua Lung/La Spirotechnique
* Beuchat
* René Cavalero
* Cis-Lunar
* Cressi-Sub
* Dacor
* DESCO
* Dive Xtras
* Divex
* Diving Unlimited International
* Drägerwerk
* Faber
* Fenzy
* Maurice Fernez
* Technisub
* Oscar Gugen
* Heinke
* HeinrichsWeikamp
* Johnson Outdoors
* Mares
* Morse Diving
* Nemrod
* Oceanic Worldwide
* Porpoise
* Shearwater Research
* Siebe Gorman
* Submarine Products
* Suunto

Diving support equipment

| Access equipment|

* Boarding stirrup
* Diver lift
* Diving bell
* Diving ladder
* Diving platform (scuba)
* Diving stage
* Downline
* Jackstay
* Launch and recovery system
* Messenger line
* Moon pool

|

Breathing gas
handling|

* Air filtration
* Activated carbon
* Hopcalite
* Molecular sieve
* Silica gel
* Booster pump
* Carbon dioxide scrubber
* Cascade filling system
* Diver's pump
* Diving air compressor
* Diving air filter
* Water separator
* High pressure breathing air compressor
* Low pressure breathing air compressor
* Gas blending
* Gas blending for scuba diving
* Gas panel
* Gas reclaim system
* Gas storage bank
* Gas storage quad
* Gas storage tube
* Helium analyzer
* Nitrox production
* Membrane gas separation
* Pressure swing adsorption
* Oxygen analyser
* Electro-galvanic oxygen sensor
* Oxygen compatibility

Decompression
equipment|

* Air-lock
* Built-in breathing system
* Decompression tables
* Diving bell
* Bell cursor
* Closed bell
* Clump weight
* Launch and recovery system
* Wet bell
* Diving chamber
* Diving stage
* Recreational Dive Planner
* Saturation system

Platforms|

* Dive boat
* Canoe and kayak diving
* Combat rubber raiding craft
* Liveaboard
* Subskimmer
* Diving support vessel
* HMS Challenger (K07)

| Underwater
habitat|

* Aquarius Reef Base
* Continental Shelf Station Two
* Helgoland Habitat
* Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station
* SEALAB
* Tektite habitat

|

Remotely operated
underwater vehicles|

* 8A4-class ROUV
* ABISMO
* Atlantis ROV Team
* COTSBot
* CURV
* Deep Drone
* Épaulard
* Global Explorer ROV
* Goldfish-class ROUV
* Kaikō ROV
* Kaşif ROUV
* Long-Term Mine Reconnaissance System
* Mini Rover ROV
* OpenROV
* ROV KIEL 6000
* ROV PHOCA
* Scorpio ROV
* Sea Dragon-class ROV
* Seabed tractor
* Seafox drone
* SeaPerch
* SJT-class ROUV
* T1200 Trenching Unit
* VideoRay UROVs

Safety equipment|

* Diver down flag
* Diving shot
* ENOS Rescue-System
* Hyperbaric lifeboat
* Hyperbaric stretcher
* Jackstay
* Jonline
* Reserve gas supply

General|

* Diving spread
* Air spread
* Saturation spread
* Hot water system
* Sonar
* Underwater acoustic positioning system
* Underwater acoustic communication

Freediving

| Activities|

* Aquathlon
* Apnoea finswimming
* Freediving
* Haenyeo
* Pearl hunting
* Ama
* Snorkeling
* Spearfishing
* Underwater football
* Underwater hockey
* Underwater rugby
* Underwater target shooting

|

Competitions|

* Nordic Deep
* Vertical Blue
* Disciplines
* Constant weight (CWT)
* Constant weight bi-fins (CWTB)
* Constant weight without fins (CNF)
* Dynamic apnea (DYN)
* Dynamic apnea without fins (DNF)
* Free immersion (FIM)
* No-limits apnea (NLT)
* Static apnea (STA)
* Skandalopetra diving
* Variable weight apnea (VWT)
* Variable weight apnea without fins

Equipment|

* Diving mask
* Diving suit
* Hawaiian sling
* Polespear
* Snorkel (swimming)
* Speargun
* Swimfins
* Monofin
* Water polo cap

Freedivers|

* Deborah Andollo
* Simone Arrigoni
* Peppo Biscarini
* Michael Board
* Sara Campbell
* Derya Can Göçen
* Goran Čolak
* Carlos Coste
* Robert Croft
* Mandy-Rae Cruickshank
* Yasemin Dalkılıç
* Leonardo D'Imporzano
* Flavia Eberhard
* Şahika Ercümen
* Emma Farrell
* Francisco Ferreras
* Pierre Frolla
* Flavia Eberhard
* Mehgan Heaney-Grier
* Elisabeth Kristoffersen
* Andriy Yevhenovych Khvetkevych
* Loïc Leferme
* Enzo Maiorca
* Jacques Mayol
* Audrey Mestre
* Karol Meyer
* Kate Middleton
* Stéphane Mifsud
* Alexey Molchanov
* Natalia Molchanova
* Dave Mullins
* Patrick Musimu
* Guillaume Néry
* Herbert Nitsch
* Umberto Pelizzari
* Liv Philip
* Annelie Pompe
* Stig Severinsen
* Tom Sietas
* Martin Štěpánek
* Walter Steyn
* Tanya Streeter
* William Trubridge
* Devrim Cenk Ulusoy
* Fatma Uruk
* Danai Varveri
* Alessia Zecchini
* Nataliia Zharkova
* Kateryna Sadurska

Hazards|

* Barotrauma
* Drowning
* Freediving blackout
* Deep-water blackout
* Shallow-water blackout
* Hypercapnia
* Hypothermia

Historical|

* Ama
* Octopus wrestling
* Swimming at the 1900 Summer Olympics – Men's underwater swimming

Organisations|

* AIDA International
* Scuba Schools International
* Australian Underwater Federation
* British Freediving Association
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins
* Performance Freediving International

Professional diving

| Occupations|

* Ama
* Commercial diver
* Commercial offshore diver
* Hazmat diver
* Divemaster
* Diving instructor
* Diving safety officer
* Diving superintendent
* Diving supervisor
* Haenyeo
* Media diver
* Police diver
* Public safety diver
* Scientific diver
* Underwater archaeologist

| Military
diving|

* Army engineer diver
* Canadian Armed Forces Divers
* Clearance diver
* Frogman
* Minentaucher
* Royal Navy ships diver
* United States military divers
* U.S. Navy diver
* U.S.Navy master diver

| Military
diving
units|

* 7th Marine Brigade
* Clearance Diving Branch (RAN)
* Commando Hubert
* Combat Divers Service (Lithuania)
* Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei
* Decima Flottiglia MAS
* Frogman Corps (Denmark)
* Fuerzas Especiales
* Fukuryu
* GRUMEC
* Grup Gerak Khas
* Jagdkommando
* JW Formoza
* JW GROM
* JW Komandosów
* Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine
* KOPASKA
* MARCOS
* Marine Commandos
* Marinejegerkommandoen
* Marine Raider Regiment
* Minedykkerkommandoen
* Namibian Marine Corps Operational Diving Unit
* Naval Diving Unit (Singapore)
* Naval Service Diving Section
* Naval Special Operations Command
* Operational Diving Division (SA Navy)
* Royal Engineers
* Russian commando frogmen
* Sappers Divers Group
* Shayetet 13
* Special Air Service
* Special Air Service Regiment
* Special Actions Detachment
* Special Boat Service
* Special Boat Squadron (Sri Lanka)
* Special Forces Command (Turkey)
* Special Forces Group (Belgium)
* Special Operations Battalion (Croatia)
* Special Service Group (Navy)
* Special Warfare Diving and Salvage
* Tactical Divers Group
* US Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance
* US Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions
* US Navy SEALs
* Underwater Construction Teams
* Underwater Demolition Command
* Underwater Demolition Team
* Underwater Offence (Turkish Armed Forces)
* UNGERIN

|

Underwater
work|

* Commercial offshore diving
* Dive leader
* Diver training
* Recreational diver training
* Hazmat diving
* Hyperbaric welding
* Marine construction
* Offshore construction
* Underwater construction
* Media diving
* Pearl hunting
* Police diving
* Potable water diving
* Public safety diving
* Scientific diving
* Ships husbandry
* Sponge diving
* Submarine pipeline
* Underwater archaeology
* Archaeology of shipwrecks
* Underwater cutting and welding
* Underwater demolition
* Underwater inspection
* Nondestructive testing
* Underwater logging
* Underwater photography
* Underwater search and recovery
* Underwater searches
* Underwater videography
* Underwater survey

| Salvage diving|

* SS Egypt
* Kronan
* La Belle
* SS Laurentic
* RMS Lusitania
* Mars
* Mary Rose
* USS Monitor
* HMS Royal George
* Vasa

|

Diving
contractors|

* COMEX
* Helix Energy Solutions Group
* International Marine Contractors Association

Tools and
equipment|

* Abrasive waterjet
* Airlift
* Baited remote underwater video
* In-water surface cleaning
* Brush cart
* Cavitation cleaning
* Pressure washing
* Pigging
* Hot stab
* Lifting bag
* Remotely operated underwater vehicle
* Thermal lance
* Tremie
* Water jetting

Underwater
weapons|

* Limpet mine
* Speargun
* Hawaiian sling
* Polespear

| Underwater
firearm|

* Gyrojet
* Mk 1 Underwater Defense Gun
* Powerhead
* Underwater pistols
* Heckler & Koch P11
* SPP-1 underwater pistol
* Underwater revolvers
* AAI underwater revolver
* Underwater rifles
* ADS amphibious rifle
* APS underwater rifle
* ASM-DT amphibious rifle
* QBS-06

|

Recreational diving

* Recreational dive sites
* Index of recreational dive sites
* List of wreck diving sites
* Outline of recreational dive sites

| Specialties|

* Altitude diving
* Cave diving
* Deep diving
* Ice diving
* Muck diving
* Open-water diving
* Rebreather diving
* Sidemount diving
* Solo diving
* Technical diving
* Underwater photography
* Wreck diving

|

Diver
organisations|

* British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC)
* Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA)
* Cave Diving Group (CDG)
* Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas (FEDAS)
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM)
* International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD)
* Quintana Roo Speleological Survey (QRSS)
* Woodville Karst Plain Project (WKPP)

Diving tourism
industry|

* Dive center
* Diving in Timor-Leste
* Diving in the Maldives
* Environmental impact of recreational diving
* Scuba diving tourism
* Scuba diving in the Cayman Islands
* Shark tourism
* Sinking ships for wreck diving sites
* Underwater diving in Guam

Diving events
and festivals|

* Diversnight
* Underwater Bike Race

Diving safety

* Human factors in diving equipment design
* Human factors in diving safety
* Life-support system
* Safety-critical system
* Scuba diving fatalities
* Underwater diving emergency
* Water safety
* Water surface searches

| Diving
hazards|

* List of diving hazards and precautions
* Environmental
* Current
* Delta-P
* Entanglement hazard
* Overhead
* Silt out
* Wave action
* Equipment
* Freeflow
* Use of breathing equipment in an underwater environment
* Failure of diving equipment other than breathing apparatus
* Single point of failure
* Physiological
* Cold shock response
* Decompression
* Nitrogen narcosis
* Oxygen toxicity
* Seasickness
* Uncontrolled decompression
* Diver behaviour and competence
* Incompetence
* Overconfidence effect
* Panic
* Task loading
* Trait anxiety
* Willful violation

| Consequences|

* Barotrauma
* Decompression sickness
* Drowning
* Hypothermia
* Hypoxia
* Hypercapnia
* Hyperthermia
* Non-freezing cold injury

|

Diving
procedures|

* Ascending and descending
* Emergency ascent
* Boat diving
* Canoe and kayak diving
* Buddy diving
* buddy check
* Decompression
* Decompression practice
* Pyle stop
* Ratio decompression
* Dive briefing
* Dive log
* Dive planning
* Rule of thirds
* Scuba gas planning
* Diver communications
* Diver rescue
* Diver training
* Doing It Right
* Drift diving
* Gas blending for scuba diving
* Night diving
* Rebreather diving
* Scuba gas management
* Solo diving
* Wall diving

Risk
management|

* Checklist
* Hazard identification and risk assessment
* Hazard analysis
* Job safety analysis
* Risk assessment
* Hyperbaric evacuation and rescue
* Risk control
* Hierarchy of hazard controls
* Incident pit
* Lockout–tagout
* Permit To Work
* Redundancy
* Safety data sheet
* Situation awareness

| Diving team|

* Bellman
* Chamber operator
* Diver medical technician
* Diver's attendant
* Diving supervisor
* Diving systems technician
* Gas man
* Life support technician
* Stand-by diver

|

Equipment
safety|

* Breathing gas quality
* Testing and inspection of diving cylinders
* Hydrostatic test
* Sustained load cracking
* Diving regulator
* Breathing performance of regulators

Occupational
safety and
health|

* Association of Diving Contractors International
* International Marine Contractors Association
* Code of practice
* Contingency plan
* Diving regulations
* Emergency response plan
* Diving safety officer
* Diving superintendent
* Diving supervisor
* Operations manual
* Standard operating procedure

Diving medicine

| Diving
disorders|

* List of signs and symptoms of diving disorders
* Cramp
* Motion sickness
* Surfer's ear

| Pressure
related|

* Alternobaric vertigo
* Barostriction
* Barotrauma
* Air embolism
* Aerosinusitis
* Barodontalgia
* Dental barotrauma
* Middle ear barotrauma
* Pulmonary barotrauma
* Compression arthralgia
* Decompression illness
* Dysbarism

| Oxygen|

* Freediving blackout
* Hyperoxia
* Hypoxia
* Oxygen toxicity

|

Inert gases|

* Avascular necrosis
* Decompression sickness
* Dysbaric osteonecrosis
* Inner ear decompression sickness
* Isobaric counterdiffusion
* Taravana
* High-pressure nervous syndrome
* Hydrogen narcosis
* Nitrogen narcosis

Carbon dioxide|

* Hypercapnia
* Hypocapnia

Breathing gas
contaminants|

* Carbon monoxide poisoning

Immersion
related|

* Asphyxia
* Drowning
* Hypothermia
* Immersion diuresis
* Instinctive drowning response
* Laryngospasm
* Salt water aspiration syndrome
* Swimming-induced pulmonary edema

Treatment|

* Demand valve oxygen therapy
* First aid
* Hyperbaric medicine
* Hyperbaric treatment schedules
* In-water recompression
* Oxygen therapy
* Therapeutic recompression

Personnel|

* Diving Medical Examiner
* Diving Medical Practitioner
* Diving Medical Technician
* Hyperbaric nursing

Screening|

* Atrial septal defect
* Effects of drugs on fitness to dive
* Fitness to dive
* Psychological fitness to dive

Research|

| Researchers in
diving physiology
and medicine|

* Arthur J. Bachrach
* Albert R. Behnke
* Peter B. Bennett
* Paul Bert
* George F. Bond
* Robert Boyle
* Alf O. Brubakk
* Albert A. Bühlmann
* John R. Clarke
* Guybon Chesney Castell Damant
* Kenneth William Donald
* William Paul Fife
* John Scott Haldane
* Robert William Hamilton Jr.
* Henry Valence Hempleman
* Leonard Erskine Hill
* Brian Andrew Hills
* Felix Hoppe-Seyler
* Christian J. Lambertsen
* Simon Mitchell
* Charles Momsen
* Neal W. Pollock
* John Rawlins
* Charles Wesley Shilling
* Edward D. Thalmann
* Jacques Triger

|

Diving medical
research
organisations|

* Aerospace Medical Association
* Divers Alert Network (DAN)
* Diving Diseases Research Centre (DDRC)
* Diving Medical Advisory Council (DMAC)
* European Diving Technology Committee (EDTC)
* European Underwater and Baromedical Society (EUBS)
* National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology
* Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory
* Royal Australian Navy School of Underwater Medicine
* Rubicon Foundation
* South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS)
* Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS)
* United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU)

Law

* Civil liability in recreational diving
* Diving regulations
* Duty of care
* List of legislation regulating underwater diving
* Investigation of diving accidents
* Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

History of underwater diving

* History of decompression research and development
* History of dive computers
* History of Diving Museum
* History of scuba diving
* List of researchers in underwater diving
* Lyons Maritime Museum
* Man in the Sea Museum
* Timeline of atmospheric diving suits
* Timeline of diving technology
* Pearling in Western Australia
* US Navy decompression models and tables

| Archeological
sites|

* SS Commodore
* USS Monitor
* Queen Anne's Revenge
* Whydah Gally

|

Underwater art
and artists|

* The Diver
* Jason deCaires Taylor

Engineers
and inventors|

* Jerónimo de Ayanz y Beaumont
* William Beebe
* Georges Beuchat
* Giovanni Alfonso Borelli
* Joseph-Martin Cabirol
* John R. Clarke
* Jacques Cousteau
* Charles Anthony Deane
* John Deane
* Louis de Corlieu
* Auguste Denayrouze
* Ted Eldred
* Henry Fleuss
* Émile Gagnan
* Karl Heinrich Klingert
* Peter Kreeft
* Christian J. Lambertsen
* Yves Le Prieur
* John Lethbridge
* Ernest William Moir
* Joseph Salim Peress
* Auguste Piccard
* Joe Savoie
* Willard Franklyn Searle
* Gordon Smith
* Augustus Siebe
* Pierre-Marie Touboulic
* Jacques Triger

Historical
equipment|

* Aqua-Lung
* RV Calypso
* SP-350 Denise
* Magnesium torch
* Nikonos
* Porpoise regulator
* Standard diving dress
* Sub Marine Explorer
* Vintage scuba

| Diver
propulsion
vehicles|

* Advanced SEAL Delivery System
* Cosmos CE2F series
* Dry Combat Submersible
* Human torpedo
* Motorised Submersible Canoe
* Necker Nymph
* R-2 Mala-class swimmer delivery vehicle
* SEAL Delivery Vehicle
* Shallow Water Combat Submersible
* Siluro San Bartolomeo
* Welfreighter
* Wet Nellie

|

Military and
covert operations|

* Raid on Alexandria (1941)
* Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior

Scientific projects|

* 1992 cageless shark-diving expedition
* Mission 31

Awards and events|

* Hans Hass Award
* International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame
* London Diving Chamber Dive Lectures
* NOGI Awards
* Women Divers Hall of Fame

Incidents|

| Dive boat incidents|

* Sinking of MV Conception

|

Diver rescues|

* Alpazat cave rescue
* Tham Luang cave rescue

Early diving|

* John Day (carpenter)
* Charles Spalding
* Ebenezer Watson

Freediving fatalities|

* Stephen Keenan
* Loïc Leferme
* Audrey Mestre
* Nicholas Mevoli
* Natalia Molchanova

Offshore
diving incidents|

* Byford Dolphin diving bell accident
* Drill Master diving accident
* Star Canopus diving accident
* Stena Seaspread diving accident
* Venture One diving accident
* Waage Drill II diving accident
* Wildrake diving accident

Professional
diving fatalities|

* Roger Baldwin
* John Bennett
* Victor F. Guiel Jr.
* Francis P. Hammerberg
* Craig M. Hoffman
* Peter Henry Michael Holmes
* Johnson Sea Link accident
* Edwin Clayton Link
* Gerard Anthony Prangley
* Per Skipnes
* Robert John Smyth
* Albert D. Stover
* Richard A. Walker
* Lothar Michael Ward
* Joachim Wendler
* Bradley Westell
* Arne Zetterström

Scuba diving
fatalities|

* 1973 Mount Gambier cave diving accident
* Ricardo Armbruster
* Allan Bridge
* David Bright
* Berry L. Cannon
* Cotton Coulson
* Cláudio Coutinho
* E. Yale Dawson
* Deon Dreyer
* Milan Dufek
* Sheck Exley
* Maurice Fargues
* Fernando Garfella Palmer
* Guy Garman
* Steve Irwin
* death
* Jim Jones
* Henry Way Kendall
* Artur Kozłowski
* Yuri Lipski
* Kirsty MacColl
* Linnea Mills
* Agnes Milowka
* François de Roubaix
* Chris and Chrissy Rouse
* Dave Shaw
* Wesley C. Skiles
* Dewey Smith
* Rob Stewart
* Esbjörn Svensson
* Josef Velek

Publications

| Manuals|

* NOAA Diving Manual
* U.S. Navy Diving Manual
* Basic Cave Diving: A Blueprint for Survival
* Underwater Handbook
* Bennett and Elliott's physiology and medicine of diving
* Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving
* The new science of skin and scuba diving
* Professional Diver's Handbook
* Basic Scuba

|

Standards and
Codes of Practice|

* Code of Practice for Scientific Diving (UNESCO)
* DIN 7876
* IMCA Code of Practice for Offshore Diving
* ISO 24801 Recreational diving services — Requirements for the training of recreational scuba divers

General non-fiction|

* The Darkness Beckons
* Goldfinder
* The Last Dive
* Shadow Divers
* The Silent World: A Story of Undersea Discovery and Adventure

Research|

* List of Divers Alert Network publications

Dive guides|

Training and registration

| Diver
training|

* Competence and assessment
* Competency-based learning
* Refresher training
* Skill assessment
* Diver training standard
* Diving instructor
* Diving school
* Occupational diver training
* Commercial diver training
* Military diver training
* Public safety diver training
* Scientific diver training
* Recreational diver training
* Introductory diving
* ISO training standards
* Teaching method
* Muscle memory
* Overlearning
* Stress exposure training

| Skills|

* Combat sidestroke
* Diver navigation
* Diver trim
* Ear clearing
* Frenzel maneuver
* Valsalva maneuver
* Finning techniques
* Scuba skills
* Buddy breathing
* Low impact diving
* Diamond Reef System
* Surface-supplied diving skills
* Underwater searches

|

Recreational
scuba
certification
levels|

| Core diving skills|

* Advanced Open Water Diver
* Autonomous diver
* CMAS* scuba diver
* CMAS** scuba diver
* Introductory diving
* Low Impact Diver
* Master Scuba Diver
* Open Water Diver
* Supervised diver

|

Leadership skills|

* Dive leader
* Divemaster
* Diving instructor
* Master Instructor

Specialist skills|

* Rescue Diver
* Solo diver

Diver training
certification
and registration
organisations|

* European Underwater Federation (EUF)
* International Diving Regulators and Certifiers Forum (IDRCF)
* International Diving Schools Association (IDSA)
* International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA)
* List of diver certification organizations
* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
* Nautical Archaeology Society
* Recreational diver course referral
* World Recreational Scuba Training Council (WRSTC)

| Commercial diver
certification
authorities|

* Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme (ADAS)
* Commercial diver registration in South Africa
* Divers Institute of Technology
* Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
* Department of Employment and Labour

|

Commercial diving
schools|

* Divers Academy International
* Norwegian diver school

Free-diving
certification
agencies|

* AIDA International (AIDA)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Performance Freediving International (PI)
* Scuba Schools International (SSI)

Recreational
scuba
certification
agencies|

* American Canadian Underwater Certifications (ACUC)
* American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI)
* Association nationale des moniteurs de plongée (ANMP)
* British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC)
* Comhairle Fo-Thuinn (CFT)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas (FEDAS)
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins (FFESSM)
* Federazione Italiana Attività Subacquee (FIAS)
* Global Underwater Explorers (GUE)
* International Association for Handicapped Divers (IAHD)
* International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD)
* International Life Saving Federation (ILS)
* Israeli Diving Federation (TIDF)
* National Academy of Scuba Educators (NASE)
* National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI)
* Nederlandse Onderwatersport Bond (NOB)
* Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
* Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC)
* Professional Technical and Recreational Diving (ProTec)
* Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID)
* Sub-Aqua Association (SAA)
* Scuba Diving International (SDI)
* Scuba Educators International (SEI)
* Scuba Schools International (SSI)
* Türkiye Sualtı Sporları Federasyonu (TSSF)
* United Diving Instructors (UDI)
* YMCA SCUBA Program

Scientific diver
certification
authorities|

* American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS)
* CMAS Scientific Committee

Technical diver
certification
agencies|

* American Nitrox Divers International (ANDI)
* British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC)
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS)
* Diving Science and Technology (DSAT)
* Federazione Italiana Attività Subacquee (FIAS)
* International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD)
* Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI)
* Professional Diving Instructors Corporation (PDIC)
* Professional Technical and Recreational Diving (ProTec)
* Rebreather Association of International Divers (RAID)
* Trimix Scuba Association (TSA)
* Technical Extended Range (TXR)

| Cave
diving|

* Cave Divers Association of Australia (CDAA)
* Cave Diving Group (CDG)
* Global Underwater Explorers (GUE)
* National Speleological Society#Cave Diving Group (CDG)
* National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI)
* Technical Diving International (TDI)

|

Military diver
training centres|

* Defence Diving School
* Navy Diving Salvage and Training Center
* Underwater Escape Training Unit

Military diver
training courses|

* United States Marine Corps Combatant Diver Course

Underwater sports

| Surface snorkeling|

* Finswimming

|

Snorkeling/breath-hold|

* Spearfishing
* Underwater football
* Underwater hockey
* Australia
* Turkey
* Underwater rugby
* Colombia
* United States
* Underwater target shooting

Breath-hold|

* Aquathlon
* Apnoea finswimming
* Freediving

Open Circuit Scuba|

* Immersion finswimming
* Sport diving
* Underwater cycling
* Underwater orienteering
* Underwater photography

Rebreather|

* Underwater photography

Sports governing
organisations
and federations|

* International
* AIDA International
* Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques)
* National
* AIDA Hellas
* Australian Underwater Federation
* British Freediving Association
* British Octopush Association
* British Underwater Sports Association
* Comhairle Fo-Thuinn
* Federación Española de Actividades Subacuáticas
* Fédération Française d'Études et de Sports Sous-Marins
* South African Underwater Sports Federation
* Türkiye Sualtı Sporları Federasyonu
* Underwater Society of America)

Competitions|

* 14th CMAS Underwater Photography World Championship
* Underwater Hockey World Championships
* Underwater Orienteering World Championships
* Underwater Rugby World Championships

Underwater divers

| Pioneers
of diving|

* Eduard Admetlla i Lázaro
* Aquanaut
* Mary Bonnin
* Amelia Behrens-Furniss
* James F. Cahill
* Jacques Cousteau
* Billy Deans
* Dottie Frazier
* Trevor Hampton
* Hans Hass
* Hannes Keller
* Dick Rutkowski
* Teseo Tesei
* Arne Zetterström

|

Underwater
scientists
archaeologists and
environmentalists|

* Michael Arbuthnot
* Robert Ballard
* George Bass
* Mensun Bound
* Louis Boutan
* Jeffrey Bozanic
* Hugh Bradner
* Cathy Church
* Eugenie Clark
* James P. Delgado
* Sylvia Earle
* John Christopher Fine
* George R. Fischer
* Anders Franzén
* Honor Frost
* Fernando Garfella Palmer
* David Gibbins
* Graham Jessop
* Swietenia Puspa Lestari
* Pilar Luna
* Robert F. Marx
* Anna Marguerite McCann
* Innes McCartney
* Charles T. Meide
* Mark M. Newell
* Lyuba Ognenova-Marinova
* John Peter Oleson
* Mendel L. Peterson
* Richard Pyle
* Andreas Rechnitzer
* William R. Royal
* Margaret Rule
* Gunter Schöbel
* Stephanie Schwabe
* Myriam Seco
* E. Lee Spence
* Robert Sténuit
* Peter Throckmorton
* Cristina Zenato

Scuba record
holders|

* Pascal Bernabé
* Jim Bowden
* Mark Ellyatt
* Sheck Exley
* Nuno Gomes
* Claudia Serpieri
* Krzysztof Starnawski

Underwater
filmmakers
and presenters|

* Samir Alhafith
* David Attenborough
* Ramón Bravo
* Jean-Michel Cousteau
* Richie Kohler
* Paul Rose
* Andy Torbet
* Ivan Tors
* Andrew Wight
* James Cameron

Underwater
photographers|

* Doug Allan
* Tamara Benitez
* Georges Beuchat
* Adrian Biddle
* Jonathan Bird
* Eric Cheng
* Neville Coleman
* Jacques Cousteau
* John D. Craig
* Ben Cropp
* Bernard Delemotte
* David Doubilet
* Candice Farmer
* John Christopher Fine
* Rodney Fox
* Ric Frazier
* Stephen Frink
* Peter Gimbel
* Monty Halls
* Hans Hass
* Henry Way Kendall
* Rudie Kuiter
* Joseph B. MacInnis
* Luis Marden
* Agnes Milowka
* Noel Monkman
* Pete Oxford
* Steve Parish
* Zale Parry
* Pierre Petit
* Leni Riefenstahl
* Peter Scoones
* Brian Skerry
* Wesley C. Skiles
* E. Lee Spence
* Philippe Tailliez
* Ron Taylor
* Valerie Taylor
* Albert Tillman
* John Veltri
* Stan Waterman
* Michele Westmorland
* John Ernest Williamson
* J. Lamar Worzel

Underwater
explorers|

* Caves
* Graham Balcombe
* Sheck Exley
* Martyn Farr
* Jochen Hasenmayer
* Jill Heinerth
* Jarrod Jablonski
* Brian Kakuk
* William Hogarth Main
* Tom Mount
* Jack Sheppard
* Bill Stone
* Reefs
* Arthur C. Clarke
* Wrecks
* Leigh Bishop
* John Chatterton
* Clive Cussler
* Bill Nagle
* Valerie van Heest
* Aristotelis Zervoudis

Aquanauts|

* Andrew Abercromby
* Joseph M. Acaba
* Clayton Anderson
* Richard R. Arnold
* Serena Auñón-Chancellor
* Michael Barratt (astronaut)
* Robert A. Barth
* Robert L. Behnken
* Randolph Bresnik
* Timothy J. Broderick
* Justin Brown
* Berry L. Cannon
* Scott Carpenter
* Gregory Chamitoff
* Steve Chappell
* Catherine Coleman
* Robin Cook
* Craig B. Cooper
* Fabien Cousteau
* Philippe Cousteau
* Timothy Creamer
* Jonathan Dory
* Pedro Duque
* Sylvia Earle
* Jeanette Epps
* Sheck Exley
* Albert Falco
* Andrew J. Feustel
* Michael Fincke
* Satoshi Furukawa
* Ronald J. Garan Jr.
* Michael L. Gernhardt
* Christopher E. Gerty
* David Gruber
* Chris Hadfield
* Jeremy Hansen
* José M. Hernández
* John Herrington
* Paul Hill
* Akihiko Hoshide
* Mark Hulsbeck
* Emma Hwang
* Norishige Kanai
* Les Kaufman
* Scott Kelly
* Karen Kohanowich
* Timothy Kopra
* Dominic Landucci
* Jon Lindbergh
* Kjell N. Lindgren
* Michael López-Alegría
* Joseph B. MacInnis
* Sandra Magnus
* Thomas Marshburn
* Matthias Maurer
* K. Megan McArthur
* Craig McKinley
* Jessica Meir
* Simone Melchior
* Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger
* Andreas Mogensen
* Karen Nyberg
* John D. Olivas
* Takuya Onishi
* Luca Parmitano
* Nicholas Patrick
* Tim Peake
* Thomas Pesquet
* Marc Reagan
* Garrett Reisman
* Kathleen Rubins
* Dick Rutkowski
* Tara Ruttley
* David Saint-Jacques
* Josef Schmid
* Robert Sheats
* Dewey Smith
* Steve Squyres
* Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper
* Robert Sténuit
* Hervé Stevenin
* Nicole Stott
* James Talacek
* Daniel M. Tani
* Robert Thirsk
* Bill Todd
* Mark T. Vande Hei
* Koichi Wakata
* Rex J. Walheim
* Shannon Walker
* John Morgan Wells
* Joachim Wendler
* Douglas H. Wheelock
* Peggy Whitson
* Dafydd Williams
* Jeffrey Williams
* Sunita Williams
* Reid Wiseman
* Kimiya Yui

Writers and journalists|

* Michael C. Barnette
* Victor Berge
* Philippe Diolé
* Gary Gentile
* Bret Gilliam
* Bob Halstead
* Hillary Hauser
* Trevor Jackson
* Steve Lewis
* John Mattera

Rescuers|

* Craig Challen
* Richard Harris
* Rick Stanton
* John Volanthen

Frogmen|

* Lionel Crabb
* Ian Edward Fraser
* Sydney Knowles
* James Joseph Magennis

Commercial salvors|

* Keith Jessop

Science of underwater diving

* List of researchers in underwater diving

| Diving
physics|

* Metre sea water
* Neutral buoyancy
* Underwater acoustics
* Modulated ultrasound
* Underwater vision
* Underwater computer vision

|

Diving
physiology|

* Blood shift
* Cold shock response
* Diving reflex
* Equivalent narcotic depth
* Maximum operating depth
* Physiological response to water immersion
* Thermal balance of the underwater diver
* Underwater vision
* Work of breathing

| Decompression
theory|

* Decompression models:
* Bühlmann decompression algorithm
* Haldane's decompression model
* Reduced gradient bubble model
* Thalmann algorithm
* Thermodynamic model of decompression
* Varying Permeability Model
* Equivalent air depth
* Oxygen window
* Physiology of decompression

|

Diving
environments|

* Underwater exploration
* Deep-sea exploration

| Classification|

* List of diving environments by type
* Altitude diving
* Benign water diving
* Confined water diving
* Deep diving
* Inland diving
* Inshore diving
* Muck diving
* Night diving
* Open-water diving
* Black-water diving
* Blue-water diving
* Penetration diving
* Cave diving
* Torricellian chamber
* Ice diving
* Wreck diving
* Recreational dive sites
* Underwater environment
* Underwater diving environment

|

Impact|

* Environmental impact of recreational diving
* Low impact diving

Other

* Bathysphere
* Defense against swimmer incursions
* Diver detection sonar
* Offshore survey
* Rugged compact camera
* Underwater domain awareness
* Underwater vehicle

| Deep-submergence
vehicle|

* Aluminaut
* DSV Alvin
* American submarine NR-1
* Bathyscaphe
* Archimède
* FNRS-2
* FNRS-3
* Harmony class bathyscaphe
* Sea Pole-class bathyscaphe
* Trieste II
* Deepsea Challenger
* Ictineu 3
* JAGO
* Jiaolong
* Konsul-class submersible
* Limiting Factor
* Russian submarine Losharik
* Mir
* Nautile
* Pisces-class deep submergence vehicle
* DSV Sea Cliff
* DSV Shinkai
* DSV Shinkai 2000
* DSV Shinkai 6500
* DSV Turtle
* DSV-5 Nemo

|

Submarine rescue|

* International Submarine Escape and Rescue Liaison Office
* Submarine Escape and Rescue system (Royal Swedish Navy)
* McCann Rescue Chamber
* Submarine rescue ship

| Deep-submergence
rescue vehicle|

* LR5
* LR7
* MSM-1
* Mystic-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle
* DSRV-1 Mystic
* DSRV-2 Avalon
* NATO Submarine Rescue System
* Priz-class deep-submergence rescue vehicle
* Russian deep submergence rescue vehicle AS-28
* Russian submarine AS-34
* ASRV Remora
* SRV-300
* Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System
* Type 7103 DSRV
* URF (Swedish Navy)

|

Submarine escape|

* Escape trunk
* Submarine escape training facility
* Submarine Escape Training Facility (Australia)

| Escape set|

* Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus
* Momsen lung
* Steinke hood
* Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment

|

Special
interest
groups|

* Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia
* CMAS Europe
* Coral Reef Alliance
* Divers Alert Network
* Green Fins
* Finger Lakes Underwater Preserve Association
* Karst Underwater Research
* Nautical Archaeology Program
* Nautical Archaeology Society
* Naval Air Command Sub Aqua Club
* PADI AWARE
* Reef Check
* Reef Life Survey
* Rubicon Foundation
* Save Ontario Shipwrecks
* SeaKeys
* Sea Research Society
* Society for Underwater Historical Research
* Society for Underwater Technology
* Underwater Archaeology Branch, Naval History & Heritage Command

Neutral buoyancy
facilities for
Astronaut training|

* Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory
* Neutral buoyancy pool
* Neutral buoyancy simulation as a training aid
* Neutral Buoyancy Simulator
* Space Systems Laboratory
* Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center

Other|

* Nautilus Productions
* Helicopter Aircrew Breathing Device
* Scuba diving therapy
* Seabed mining

* Category
* Commons
* Glossary
* Indexes: Dive sites
* Divers
* Diving
* Outline
* Portal

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