Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-10
Momsen and TibbaIs Given
D. S. Medals and HobSon
One Years Pay.
ADAMS OFFICIATES
AT CEREMONY FOR TWO
Risks and Tireless Efforts Here
Recalled in Making Life in
Service Safer.

For giving the submarine sailors of
die United States Navy, and of the
navies of the world, the lung" which
allows them to escape from their sub
merSible should it become disabled and
sink at sea, President Hoover has
awarded the Distinguished Service
Medal to Lieut.. c. B. Momsen and
Chief Gunner Clarence L. Tibbals, and
the Navy Department has awarded one
years pay to Frank M. Hobson, civilian
engineer in the Bureau of Construction
and Repair.
Lieut.. Momsen and Mr.. Hobson re-
ceived their awards from Secretary of
the Navy Adams before high-ranking
naval officers at the Navy Department
this morning.
Chlef Gunner Tibbals, who is at pres
net on duty aboard the u S. S. S-4 at
New London, Conn, will receive his
award later from Lieut. Comdr. p. H.
Dunbar, Jr., commanding officer of the
Sd.
Mr. Hobson, whose home is in Bir-
mingham, Ala, is living at 1905 Gala
tin street, Washington. Chief Gunner
Tibbals long has been a resident of
Washington and was with the diving
school at the Washington Navy Yard
during the time of the development of
the submarine escape apparatus, for
which he has been decorated. Lieut..
MomSen's home is at st. Paul Park, st.
Paul, MINI. He has been on duty at the
Bureau of Construction and Repairs at
the Navy Department here for some
time.
Chief Gunner Tibbals, who is re-
garded as the Nays greatest authority
on diving and the bends" the dread
disease with which divers become af-
f11cted, already has received the Navy
Cross for outstanding service in con-
nection with salvaging of the Sd.
Life Risked in Tests.
The citation accompanying Lieut..
Momsen'S award follows:
For exceptionally meritorious and
distinguished service to the Govern
ment in the. successful development of
the escape device known as the lung
During the early stages of its design
and development Lieut.. Momsen, one of
the inventors, courageously, repeatedly
and voluntarily riSked his life in con-
Quoting experiments of a nature such
that there was little or no information
available as to hteir probable results.
I'm the later tests of the device when
escapes were made from the u. S. S.
S-4 submerged to depths as much as
206 feet, Lieut.. Momsen was not only
the first person to venture the escape,
but also was the leading and guiding
spirit in all subsequent ones. 1t is
through the initiative, courage and
perseverance of Lieut.. Momsen that the
development of the lung" which has
been pronounced as the greatest single
contribution to submarine escape, has
reached a successful conclusion. and
the device been adopted as part of the
regular equipment of all our subma-
rines"
Chief Gunner Tibbals was given the
following citation:
For exceptionally meritorious and
distinguished service to the Government
in the successful development of the
escape device known as the lung Chief
Gunner Tibbals, one of the inventors,
furnished much of the information
needed in the design of the lung from
the knowledge gained during his long
years of experience as an expert deep
sea diver, and later during the first
tests of the apparatus he repeatedly
courageously and voluntarily performed
featS at great personal risk in order to
prove the correctness of the theory and
construction of the apparatus. When
the practicability of the apparatus was
first tested he made many escapes and
assisted others in making escapes from
the U. S. S. S-4, the first to depths as
much as FOG feet. 1t is in large meas
high sense of duty of Chief Gunner
Tibbals that the development of the
lung which has been pronounced the
greatest single contribution to sub
marine escape, has reached successful
conclusion, and the device has been
adopted as part of the regular equip
ment of all our submarines"
Years Pay Awarded.
In congratulating Mr.. Hobson, Secre-
tary Adams said:
''It seems unfortunate that there is no
reward in the way of medal or decora-
ton for civilian employees. Naturally no
monetary award can be fixed which will
be the equivalent of decoration, which
could be handed down in your family.
However, in order that you should have
some expression of appreciation for your
exceptionally meritoriouS service to the
Government in the development of the
escape device, known as the lung you
have been awarded one years pay. May
I thank and congratulate you"
Work with the then existing types Of
submarine escape devices was started
several years ago, the big German kapok
device, weighing about IS pounds, and
the metal helmet-oxygen flask device,
being the two favored for study and de-
velopment. Both were found i'm
practical, both on account of weight
and bulkiness, and because of the many
limitations to their use.
Long before the Ssh and the S-4
disasters had taken their toll of Ameri-
can sailors lives, Chief Gunner Tibbals
and Mr.. HobSon were hard at work on
the idea of individual submarine escape
at the Washington Navy Yard.
The big tank in which Navy divers
get their first instruction, and in which
depths up to 300 feet can be simulated,
was used in these tests. 1t was dis
covered that a good swimmer could
simulate escape from submarine and
swim to the surface from depths as low
as 40 feet without serious effect, but
that attempts to rise from greater
depths would be dangerous.
Designing and Testing.
Followed a period of designing and
testing of number of devices, of which
the "lungS" was the outcome
In these tests Mr.. Hobson played the
role of designer, Lieut.. MomSen gave
the devices its actual trials and Chief
Gunner TibbalS contributed his wide
knowledge of water pressures and their
effects upon the human system.
The first actual tests of the lung"
were made at the Washington Navy
Yard by Lieut. Momsen and a corps of
Navy divers attached to the diving boat
Crilley. Early last Summer the lung"
| received its final tests in the diving
tank and in the murky waters of the
Potomac around the navy yard.