Evening star., 1939-07-13
Stern S Weight
Slows Raisinq
Of Squa|us
Sub Lifted Clear
Of Sea Bottom
By Pontoons
By the Associated Press.

PORTSMOUTH, N. H., July 49,
On the verge Of complete victory,
the Navy suffered at least a tenn.
porary delay today in raising the
U. s. s. Squalus and her 26 dead
to the full 85-foot level set as the
goal of its first lift"
With virtually the entire length
Of the submarine lifted clear of the
muddy bottom by its cradle of seven
pontoons, the tremendous weight
of the water filled stern held that
end Of the craft on or near the
bottom.
High Navy officers announced
they expected the Squalus to rise
at any moment to a horizontal
position 155 feet below the surface,
but three hours after the bow pom
toons started their upward journey,
as shown by burst of bubbles on
the sun-It sea, the stern still hung
back.
Air Forced Into Tanks.
Fifty-two days, almost to the
minute, after the Squalus' fatal
plunge, Rear Admiral c. w. Cole
signaled at 7:30 am. (E. S. T.) the
start Of the climactic operation.
High-pressure air from the salvage
ship Falcon was forced first into
the submarines ballast tanks and
then, slowly, into seven hugh lifting
pontoons arranged at different
levels above the craft.
Ar QEc -
Longstaff, aide to the commandant
of the Navy Yard here, announced
that the final" blowing of the
lifting devices was under way and
that the three upper pontoons might
break the surface at any time
signaling the lift" had been sue
cessful. He explained, however, that
If the submarine proved. heavier
than anticipated it might take an
hour or two more before the pom
tOons rose.
Humping Of Pumps Heard.
Associated Press observers on a
telephone-equipped, private craft at
the scene could hear the humping
OF the pumps as the seven ships Of
the salvage fleet strung out in a
single line battle" formation in
preparation for towing the Squalus
to shallower water later in the day,
The first step in the operation
was to let water into the ballast
tanks at the uplifted bow of the sub.
marine, forcing the nose down in an
effort to break the flooded stern
free from the grip of the blue mud
bottom. The air pumping followed.
On a sun-f1ecked, easily rolling
sea. the salvage fleet faced to the
north and toward shallower water,
with the Squalus' sister. submarine
Sculpin drawn up close to the stern
OF the Falcon in order to lend the
aid OF her air pumps in blowing"
the pontoons. Ahead of these two
lay the Navy tug Wandank, ready
to tow both the Falcon and the
deeply dangling Squalus as one unit
"a wierd sort of double decker"
Another tug maneuvered into posi-
ton at the end of the procession in
order to keep the sunken Squalus
from suddenly surging ahead.
Proceeding with infinite care, q
diver went over the side of the SAL
wage ship Falcon about an hour
after daybreak for a final check of
the high-pressure air hoses, and
shortly before 6 am. Rear Admiral
Cole announced the time was near
for the big blow"
Decks damned With Men.
The decks of the Falcon were so
Jammed with men, many of them
brought over from the gunboat Sac
ramento soon after sunrise, that the
low, gray vessel appeared almost
like a busy excursion boat-save for
the maze of more than so bristling
air hoses and lines attached to the
Squalus and the seven huge lift
ing pontoons.
The breeze freshened soon after
huge, bright orange sun came out
OF the sea, but 1t failed to place
whitecaps on the long, easy swells
that rocked the salvage fleet. The
weather at that hour was cold but
clear, near perfect morning at
sea.
For so days-ever since 80 survi-
(see sQUALUs, Page A-6J