Evening star., 1932-02-27
NEW USE Of lung
ADOPTED BY NAVY
TO HASTEN RESCUE
Intermittent Stop System
With Submarine Device
Is Abolished.
CHANGE PERMITS ASCENT
AT so FEET A MINUTE
Navy Yard Experiments Disprove
Old Theory That Quick Coming
to Surface Is Fatal.

An improved method of using the
Lung" greatly facilitating escape of
trapped submarine crews equipped with
the breathing device has been adopted
formally by the Navy, after long ex-
perimentation.
All submarine forces have been
notified to discard the original Inter
mittent stop" system of ascending with
the Lung" in favor of a rapid hand
overland ascent of the buoy line.
Under the new plan ascents will be
made at the rate of about so feet a
minute. whereas the old method called
for "decompresSion' haltS at markers
spaced 10 feet apart on the buoy line
Tests conducted by Lieut.. Lowe H.
~Bibby and his associates of the ex-
perimental diving unit at the Washing
ton Navy Yard have diSproved the pre-
vious belief that an uninterrupted
ascent would be fatal.
The old method had serious draw
backs. Because of the slow evacuation
of the crew under the stop" system
the men awaiting their turn to escape
were subjected to too high presSures
and cold temperatures for long periods.
The longer the men were forced to
remain on the stricken submarine, the
slower they were required to ascend in
order to avoid bends"
Announcement Made.
$50 far as an emergence from Sunken
submarines is concerned" an announce
ment by Rear Admiral George H. Rock,
chief of the Bureau of Construction
and Repair, stated, the new method
will permit a rapid evacuation of the
escape compartments, thereby reducing
to considerable extent the time under
which the majority of the crew would
be subjected to high-pressure air and
also the time during which they would
be exposed to cold water, thus permit
ting reduction in the decomposition
time that would otherwise be neces-
sary.
The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
has recommended the adoption of this
continuous uniform ascent for decom-
preston in using the lung in emer-
gency escapes from submerged subma-
rineS.
In view of this, the instructions con-
1alned in previous references, so far as
they advise various stops for decom-
preston, are hereby modified to pro-
vide for continuous ascent up the
buoy line at the rate of about so feet
per minute in any case Of casualty
necessitating evacuation Of the vessel
by use of the lung A normal and
overland ascent up the line will pro-
duce approximately this rate of ascent" :"
Submarines Fully Equipped.
In an accompanying memorandum
Admiral Rock said that all submarines
fIrn oil
ance Of lungs" Revised rules for
training men in the use of the device
were given
Calling attention to the fact that
two fatalities and "at least nine addi-
tional casualties" have resulted from
improper use of the lung" in training,
Admiral Rock warned that utmost pre-
caution should be taken to prevent repe-
tition of such accidents.
While in the cases of the casual
ties mentioned" he said, the investiga-
tionS left in doubt the exact cause of
the casualties, from all indications and
from results of experience gained to
date in the training of submarine per-
sonnel in the use of the apparatus. it
is believed the casualties resulted from
dangerous excess pressure in the sub
ject's lungs, due to the attempt to hold
the breath or else due to rising so rap
idly that the pressures within and with
out did not have time to equalize,"
In this connection the bureau issued
orders that all candidates for lung"
training be examined physically that
they be thoroughly versed in operation
of the device and that they be pro-
tected against possibility of accident
due to mechanical defects in the appa-
ratus.