Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-12
TESTS OF LUNG"
PROVE SUCCESSFUL
Three Men Escape. From
Bottom of Chesapeake
With New Device.

ouOiAloA CoOdRC 0CbNCCg IAlCC
slipped from an improvised submarine
hatch about a foot from the bottom
of the deepest part of Chesapeake Bay
yesterday and rose 155 feet to the sur
face without i'll effects
Such feat was unheard of before
the lung was invented by Lieut.. c. B.
Momsen. U. S. NJ; Frank NJ Hobson,
civilian engineer connected with the
Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair
here, and Chief Gunner c. L. Tibbals.
one of the foremost diving experts of
the Navy.
From these final tests of the second
stage of development of the lung" the
inventors have results which they he
J lieve will result in the immediate
manufacture of the devices for equip
ping all the 70 submarines in the Navy
with lung" for each man.
! Manufacture Begins.
I Scores are on order now for use in
he tests to be made next month when
the repaired Sd will be used as a test
hulk off the Virginia Capes. They will
De made at the Washington Navy Yard.
Taking steady breaths from a bag
containing oxygen. the men yesterday
mace the ascent in times varying from
seconds.
Lieut.. Momsen. Chief Torpedoman
Joseph Eiben and Torpedoman FIRST
Glass; Edward KalinoSki went down in
a specially constructed steel lock to
the bottom of the Chesapeake. and.
coming out of the lock, slipped slowly
TO the surface with their extra lung
strapped to their chests. the mouthpiecc
hrmly gripped in their mouths. ami
breathing easily'in five atmosphere of
pressure
All were put through the decompres-
Falcon, from which the tests were
made. as a precautionary measure
against their contracting the bends"
the dread ailment of diving men. which
sometimes results in death and often in
paralysis.
/ The deepest hole in Chesapeake Bay
was found yesterday morning by the
FALCON Off Barren Island, at the mouth
OF the Patuxent River. about 10 milec
from Solomons Island, Md
The Navy diving boat Crilley. carry
| ing all OF the equipment for the expert
n1cnts. tied up to the Falcon and part
OF the afternoon was consumed in
building and setting in place stage
out over the water from the Falcons
deck for the divers to work from.
Then the two-and-a- half-ton diving
lock was hoisted from the deck of the
Crilley and lowered to the chopIy water
alongside the stage
Chief Gunner Tibbals, who is regard
ed in the Navy as the greatest author
Ity ON the bends, was experimenting
the work. He consulted his associates
Lieut.. Momsen. Mr. Hobson and diving
experts, as to the weather outlook The
water already was white-capped and
there was little sea. 1t was decided
that the outlook for the next day was
none too good for experimental work.
They all agreed that the down-to-the-
bottom test could be made right tfer
and the work completed.
Go to the Bottom.
Lieut.. Momsen, with his tender. P. j.
Hoy both wearing lungs" first entered
the diving lock, carrying with them an
oxygen line, for filling the bag of the
lung" telephone line and fash
light.
The order to lower away came and
the lock was dropped quickly to the bed
of the bay. One hundred and fifty
five feet measured on the lifting cable
when the lock finally came to rest at
the bottom. Then came the word by
phone from below that all was we'll and
that Lieut.. Momsen was getting ready
to come up Up came the yellow buoy,
carrying the line up which Lieut.. Nom
sen was to slide, checking his ascent
to prevent too rapid departure from the
high-preSsure depth Then came two
tugs on the lifeline. Lieut.. Momsen
was starting up.
He came up fast for the first 100 feet,
measuring his ascent by knots at 10
foot intervals along tie life line. Fifty
feet from the surface he encountered
wooden ball, where he made his first
stop, pauSing for the period of II
breathS. Then he slid up slowly to the
next knot in the line, 40 feet down
taking % breaths from his auxiliary
lung: at 30 he took so breathS at 20
1t was 48 breaths and at 10 it was %.
Then he came on to the surface. was
helped aboard the Falcon and rushed
to the decomposition chamber.
Then the lock was raised and Hoy
also was taken to the decomposition
chamber.
Within a few minutes Eiben. with
Stephen Cominski of the Crilley as his
tender, went down in the lock and
Eiben made the ascent with the lung"
breaking the surface, after short pauses
on the way up, in minutes and 80
seconds.
Third Test.
Then Edward Kalinoski, with John
LinSo Of the Crilley as his tender,
went down and came out of the lock,
getting to the top in minutes and II
seconds.
Both Eiben and Kalinoski took part
in the attempted rescue and salvage
work on the sunken S4. Eiben was
k1,n Grcf To anti hn RI 1nJ
submarine and took eight bodies from
the flooded compartments. He was re-
Gently awarded his second Navy Cross
for bravery.
The three inventors Of the lung"
found in yeSterda : test, the deepest
yet made and the completion of the
experimental work before it is actually
used in making escapes from sunken
submarines, great qualification 1t had
been with setback after setback and
/ problem after problem that they had
| finally devised the present device, which
promises to be for the sailor at sea in
bmarine what the parachute is to
the flyer in the air-the only avenue of
escape in the event of a sunken or
sinking ship.
Lieut.. MomSen further explained the
workings Of the lung" For yester-
days test five atmospheres of oxygen
were uScU. 4Iiat ID, i've times the
amount Of oxygen found in the air at
! the surface was blown into the bag of
| the "lung" at the bottom of the bay.
| The air contains one-fifth oxygen and
| four-fifthS nitrogen. The nitrogen actsj
as neutralizing agent for the oxygen.
which is vital to the health and growth
of body tissues.
Explains Device.
Pure oxygen. breathed for more than
half an hour or so. would burn YOU
up. Lieut.. MomSen said. But down
AZ 6ayytI,c ftro -