« MOMSEN LUNG

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 1, 1 July 1939, Page 16

« MOMSEN LUNG

RESCUE FROM SEABED

THE CREW OF THE SQUALUS

HOW IT WORKS

(From "The Post's" Representative:) NEW YORK, June 7. ,V The -latest submarine disaster, the worst in the history of the United States Navy, commemorates the triumph of modern; invention for res- .. cue from sunken undersea craft. The rescue work did not start till thirty hours after the vessel, one;of the latest ■'. i tyijeL - sank, because water filled the - aft. section through an r induction valve ." thkt, was -open when the test dive ?During all those thirty hours, . tn^f-entergency telephone buoy that; ■had.been immediately,released lay un : seen on;the.surface,-.240 feet above the : . submarine. Had it been seen at the :■=* outset, rescue would have been a matteir iota:few hours,; .■.•:■■ - A* 4-20 .on, the afternoon after the j "mishap;xthe first call came, over the1 •wire: The sister-ship Sculpin had dis- | covered^ the'buoy. But there was fur T I . ther trouble in store. The waves broke ■'.-. thfe telephone wire. .Then, the men tapped put: messages, with a sledge hammer on the side of the' hull. ' Tliese picked up by detec"tots^n the .Sculpin. They sent messages'■-, back by oscillograph, a sort of ■ TOder-watfer diaphragm ■, that creates 'Spund^^"waves in' the sea. These were picked up by - the survivors through :r-'"--^e'hu|l-/:; .Each/inessage;described-p:r,6-;1 'gress'bfthe rescue squadron. : Then 1 America's new undersea safety device^: .:a ; buoy, invented by Ideutenant-Gommander Momsen, : known as .the Momsen^ Lung, was '•' "SpwisredX t>'iyevs guided it until the gr^at/rubber.coupling v/as fastened .to. tneV haich of-the -submarine's hull, i /Seven ip^n at a time climbed, into the buoy? : The rescue was made in four ' -tijips. i Survivors say that "there was ' no sign of; alarm oi panic. The com- . maiuier^ beUevfedj.ttiat the 26 men who hi^ere trapped, including one officer and two 'civilian .observers, met a merci■^:'iu^/lsudden.:end.V;-■;.:_, ■-..''.■;■■ ' •;-.• f^'-^^.rP^AB^SHAPED CYLINDER.'. "" v The Jtfomsen £>ung was made availa^e to fail"- foreign navies, but,! so far. States Navy ' &nthe only one which has the equip 4 ; : irient; Five submarine rescue ships are '** etjuippecl. . prie is based on the Atlantic '.■■:Gpastj a second wittfthe fleet ik /the Pacific, a ; third in the Panama 'Canal Zone, a fourth with the Asiatic SquadTOn^ and- a fifth at Pearl Harfiawaii. ;,v ■■ :; ■'■ ' "\: ■.'. ■\'"--;;!^He-v -juag-'.is;;a' pear-shaped cylinder, It is oi steel . consteuttibhi ' ten feet high, with '.''■■■'sc', Maximum; outside diameter, near :thV' top*■■:'.; of eight; feet, -.-taper-, iri'g, at"- the,' bottom, to five feet. It .is ..open; .at the bottom, and around the bottom is a; rubber gasket, '.:; seveft^ighths of an inch in thickness. ■;Tl^e; "bell has three divisions—upper ; and: lower' compartments and ballast tank. On Jthe .outside and top the bell are \;four water-tight fittings for air, which is supplied from the rescue, ><?**%:' baieh^With praised combing af> ;fbrds,"entrance from the top to the ; virhjlef: •^^^ei ;^ppe^fed^''frbi^■'the/lfop^;or;'frpm' 1' .-A-'t&e ;iipper;!.!eoiiipartment,::. allbyvs the .-esfcape ,pf 'water from the hatch combr tog. All: the; operating gear-is. in' the upper compartment, except the .reel ior- the ■ dbwnhaul: wire. - This is the ; QPi^p'artmfent in which the three opera--3 : to^ and passengers ride. ■'■■■ . .'.; :lxi':'.ihifiv-ixpper compartment are the . ppj^aiing4; iibtbr,- air supply and ex;«liausi line^valvesj .blow-.and vent valves, [ .arid/mangold for lower, compartment V'and i bailasj; tank, electric light and r telephone system, and portable battery l^mps'.for'■:',the holding-down rods and -■ access, batches to upper and lower ",■_ compartments. The operating motor is ■i air-driven, : similar to that of a; pneuQmatic drill. The niotor is designed 7■ to stall bfefore submitting any part . %of the' system to breaking strain, and : ; can.be operated at full speed, without danger of breaking the cable,; which y is 489 .feet i long. • ■ ;; Fomieen ~ movable tanks, used to ,;'compensate. : " for the gain or -loss in ;;. weight 'of. the rescue chamber, with "^|h^ entrance or departure 'of ■ passeni'geara* up to nine* its 1 ■capacity, .are arranged ...'in a circle .jairoiind, the inside* of the upper com-- ■ Gauges indicate air and sea :./.' pressure. " The lower * compartment, ■ : ;;which: has a capacity of : 4000; pounds : pf' salt, water,; is open at the bottom, "and is connected by hatches with the . upper compartment. The ballast tank, ; .whose.,capacity is theY same as ;he • lower' compartment, completely on'/'circles'it." ; ' '■■■■■■. ■■..'..:._",■._ '.../. ; Ciradually the-.;wlnch winds in the cabbie, pulling the rescuer's to the outer, trshiell:-. of -4he disabled 7 submarine, "-■.'. against: which • the rubber gasket acts suction;'- .With air, pumped from :-." theiYresctie'shipi"the'water-in the:lower ~' 'i- hatch =V of the chamber is blown out. v, Then/valves are ' closed, ;to keep it ■::. from re-entering v/hen' the air is shut off. l'" Then: :the" hatch cover: between -:*upper and lower compartments is dpehed. :• The "bell" is made fast; to . the submarine hatch. v C:- From:then on, the work is routine. The hatch bn^ the submarine is opened. - The men? to be rescued are taken > aboard: The sUbniarine hatch is closed. " Then the hatch in the lower conipart- ,: inent is closed. Then the hatch in the ■'•. tipper' compartment" is closed. .; The winch' is reversed, and the entire res'Ciie party makes its way to therescue ship by virtue of the original flotation principle.'