Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-03-21
MAKING SUBMARINES SAFER.
A Wonderful Helmet That Has Been
Adopted by England.

| A Wonderful Helmet That has Been
| Adopted by England.
The recent German submarine dis
aster serves as a reminder that there
are few more horrible forms Of death
than that of being trapped under
water in a disabled submarine, and 1t
says a great deal for the pluck Of
British naval men that when a new
submarine is put In commission there
are always a great number Of ap-
plicants from men who want to be
included in her crew.
The lives OF brave men are pre-
cious. and every year something new
is thought of and applied that will
make submarine work less risky.
After exhaustive tests. the admiralty
have just purchased from Siebe, Cor
man & CO., the famous submarine
engineers, a large number Of life
saving helmets that have been in
vented to enable men to escape from
wrecked submarines.
When a submarine meets with a
serious accident-an accident due pos
sibly to a rock or to a shell from an
enemy's guns-the water Immediately
rushes into the vessel, and 1t sinks
more or less rapidly to the bottom Of
the sea.
The crew at once take shelter in
the lair traps" which are simply
partitions made to catch the air and
hold it, no matter how high the water
may rise inside the submarine.
The air trap can be easily under
stood II a tumbler is held upside
down in an emytp basin. II the basin
Is then filled with water, little Of
the air will slip round the brim and
bubble up, but most of It will remain
in the tumbler. no matter how high
the water may rise.
In the same way the air trap In
the submarine acts as a sort Of big
tumbler into which the crew can es-
cape as the water rises, and here they
will find a sufficient supply Of air
to let them breathe freely while they
are putting on their new safety he'll
NETS, which are kept hanging ready
in the air traps
Even then there is no time to waste,
for the air in the air traps may rap
idly become poisonous owing to a gas
that Is formed when the salt water
reaches the electric batteries In the
vessel.
Three things are required now.
therefore: The crew must be pre-
vented from being drowned in the
submarine; they must be made safe
from being poisoned by gases; and
they must have some means Of escape
and be able to ascend to the surface
Of the sea- All these three things are
carried out by the new helmet, which
can be slipped on, without help, In
80 seconds
In appearance, the head-piece is
rather like that worn by an ordinary
diver. Attached to 1t in a strong
waterproof blouse reaching to below
the waist, the sleeves having broad
india rubber cuffs that grip the wrists
tightly. A belt holds the blouse in
place round the waist, and, to pre-
vent it's slipping up. another belt pass
es down between the legs.
The man has now, as II were, got
his head in an upside-down tumbler
and even though the vessel Is filled
There is, however, only q small
amount Of air in the helmet and IL
man breathes the same air over and
over again II very soon becomes pois-
onous. The wonderful thing about
this helmet, then, Is an arrangement
whereby the man can breathe the
same air over and over again and still
keep 1t fresh.
Inside the house, in front, Is
pocket containing case a little larger
than an ordinary six-shilling novel.
There are two tubes attached; one
Of these the man puts into his mouth
and breathes through, the other Is
left free inside the helmet. Now,
when the mans breath has gone
down the first tube and into the case,
1t has to pass over a number Of little
trays, out into the helmet, back over
the trays, and up the tube again.
Each Of these little trays contains a
special patented chemical which, on
being moistened by the watery vapour
Of the breath, gives off the necessary
oxygen gas that enables the man to
go on breathing the same air over and
over again for about an hour and a
half.
He must, Of course, be careful to
breathe through the tube In the
mouth. II he Is at all inclined to
breathe through his nose he Is given
special clip that closes the nostrils.
The man can now leave the air
trap and move about as freely as the
water in the submarine will let him.
II 1t Is decided that the crew shall
leave the vessel at once, they simply
open the hatch Of the conning-tower
and step out The air inside their
helmets, being a sort Of huge bubble,
then raises them gradually to the sur
face Of the sea-
After this 1t is simply a question OF
waiting to be picked up, but as this
may be a question Of hours or even
days, and the chemical in the little
trays may become exhausted, 1t Is
necessary to open the windows In the
helmets and let in fresh air.
II a man opens the window as he
Is, of course the imprisoned air Will
escape and he will sink In the ordi-
nary way and get drowned. but this
wonderful helmet has yet another
safety device. Before he opens his
window the man has only to blow
three times down a tube and imme-
diately he finds that part of his blouse
has become an air lifebelt, going
right round him, under his arms.
Now he can open his window without
fear Of sinking and trust to luck to
be picked up soon.-Pearson's week