Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Lt. Cdr. Lionel 'Buster' Crabb was an accomplished ex-Royal Navy diver who had served with distinction in the Mediterranean during World War II when he was recruited by MI6 in 1956. On 19 April 1956, Crabb was sent to dive and investigate the Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze while it was on a diplomatic mission to the UK with Premier Khrushchev, and was never seen alive again. His headless body was recovered more than a year later, and the circumstances around his death remain shrouded in secrecy.
Classified government files about the Crabb affair are not due to be released until 2057 under the '100-year rule'.
One of the "missing" Great Mysteries and Myths of the Twentieth Century episodes. Footage missing around the 8:34 mark because BBC claims to own that footage of frogmen training (they don't) and won't let it be viewed on Youtube.
Lt. Cdr. Lionel 'Buster' Crabb was an accomplished ex-Royal Navy diver who had served with distinction in the Mediterranean during World War II when he was recruited by MI6 in 1956. On 19 April 1956, Crabb was sent to dive and investigate the Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze while it was on a diplomatic mission to the UK with Premier Khrushchev, and was never seen alive again. His headless body was recovered more than a year later, and the circumstances around his death remain shrouded in secrecy.
Classified government files about the Crabb affair are not due to be released until 2057 under the '100-year rule'.
One of the "missing" Great Mysteries and Myths of the Twentieth Century episodes. Footage missing around the 8:34 mark because BBC claims to own that footage of frogmen training (they don't) and won't let it be viewed on Youtube.
