26: The disappearance of Lionel Crabb

On the 19th April 1956, former Royal Navy diver Lionel Crabb went on an MI6 operation to investigate a soviet cruiser docked in Portsmouth harbour. After 2 hours under the water Lionel had still not emerged and the operation was aborted. Around 14 months later, a body was discovered wearing a diving suit but was missing its head and hands. Was this the body of Lionel Crabb and if it was him what had happened to him? The mystery of his disappearance is still ongoing and continues to baffle those who hear about it.

Important information provided by:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-nicholas-elliott-1370833.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6089952.stm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/south/series11/index_mobile_phones_bugging.shtml

https://web.archive.org/web/20071111015318/http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article3143239.ece

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7097646.stm

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/jun/11/featuresreviews.guardianreview14

http://spartacus-educational.com/SScrabb.htm

http://time.com/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/5068860.stm

http://www.mcdoa.org.uk/Buster%20Crabb%20Enigma.htm

Further reading:

Knowles, Sydney (2009). A diver in the dark : Experiences of a pioneer Royal Navy clearance diver (1st ed.). Bognor Regis: Woodfield Publishing. pp. 21–22\. ISBN 1846830826.

Houghton, Harry (1972). Operation Portland. Hart-Davis. pp. 49–50\. ISBN 0246105488.

Hale, Don (2 November 2007). The Final Dive: The Life and Death of Buster Crabb. NPI Media Group Ltd. p. 288\. ISBN 978-0-7509-4574-5.

Wright, Peter (1987). Spycatcher. New York and London: Viking Penguin Inc. ISBN 0670820555

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