The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-05-29

iZ9.-Ihlrty-th grim young
men, haggard and unshaven
came back from the dead in the
United States Navy's nine-ton
rescue bell fifteen miles south
east of here last week-back
from the bottom of the capricious
North Atlantic whittier they
went when the new submarine
Squalls dived to a blue-mud bed
/ 40 fathoms down.
j. Yes-literally back from the
dead, for they left 26 shipmates
there, heroes of the Navy and
! the sea. trapped in after com
paltments of the craft when
something happened which has
not yet been explained.
The story of the rescue of the
living is an ODYSSEY, which, when
the tale is done, will be writ
large in naval annals throughout
the world.
Ten years ago last Winter
Lieut.. Charles B. MomSen was al
the Key West Naval Station when
Capt. Clark d. Stearns, now re-
tired and living with his charm
ing wife at Coconut Grove, was
commandment. The ill-Starred S-4
| Drawn from the depths after the
tragedy aboard her had taken
the lives of 40 men, had been
sent to Key West for practice
tests during which the new
Momsen lung" was tried and
found practical. I was aboard
the craft at the time, had long
talk with Momsen, and the
; lung" he devised was demon
strated for me.
In l0l Feet Of Wafer
The S'4 went down in a crash
Dec. II, 1927, when the Coast
Guard boat Paulding rammed
her. It required three months to
raise her with the same type OF
pontoons which probably will be
used in recovering the Squalus
A similar tragedy had occurred
off Block Island, r. l., when on
Sept. 25th, 1925, the submarine
Ssh was in collision with the
American steamship City OF
Rome, and 81, all the summers
ible's crew. lost their lives. The
Ssh rested in 127 feet of water
a little more than half the depth
240 feet, where the SqualuS lies
with so many of her crew en-
tombed. 1t took nine months tc
bring the S-54 OF the surface
with her sacrificia1 dead.
| How long it will take to sal
wage the 100000 Squalls, is de
batable question, but the Navy
has gained much invaluable
knowledge in the Ia years since
the S-4 tragedy.
The Squaius is few inches
less than 300 feet in length. The
Ssh was 200 feet long, as was
the S4. Their surface diSplace-
ment was 900 tons; that of the
Squalus 1910 tons. Many more
pontoons will have to be used to
recover the Squalls if that
method is found necessary after
examination has been made OF
the possibility of blowing the wa
ter from the flooded deathhouse
and that found impossible.
Tremendous pressure is exert.
ed at depth of $40 feet. If {
handkerchief foot square were
spread on the deck of the Squa
lus the pressure would equal ~
tons! Six pontoons brought the
S-4 to the surface, and eight the
Ssh. Many Key Westers viii
remember seeing some of the i'm
mense pontoons floating in the
basin at the navy yard dozer
years ago.
Under Trying Conditions
Because of high gales anc
rough seas, the salvage crew:
handling the S-4 job had but 4:
working days in the 90-odd day:
allotted. In that period divers ~te
the number of "a made 500 de,
scents, They closed all air valves
guided heavy chains beneath the
hull, made them fast to pontoon:
and drilled holes for coupling or
air hose.
The most difficult job was lit
orally to blast two tunnels be.
meath the sunken sub amidship:
so chains could be passed below
through the mud compacted by
the weight of the great steel fish
! After all water possible wa:
blown from the S-4 the sunker
metal tanks used as pontoons
were filled and the craft came
back to the surface. Those tank:
had lifting capacity of 480 ton:
each.
When the first salvage work
was done on the Ssh derrick
ships were resorted to, but the
strategy was useless and pom,
Itooyis were utilized with ultimate