The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-07-12
Navy TRAINING
DIVERS NEAR BY
Ex-NORMANDIE

New York, July IL CUP)-Not all
the sailors grin widely when their
heavy brass diving headplates are
unscrewed following their first
plunge beneath the turgid Hudson
River adjacent to where the former
luxury liner Normandie still rests.
Some of the 430 enlisted men
just can't take" the confinement
Of diving suit. According to the
officers of the Third Naval District,
a few of the students at the Nays
salvage school peer out through the
thick glass panels in their helmets
and get ill-from claustrophobia.
They are quickly eliminated from
the school, but no report is made
against them. They have volun-
! teered for the 14-Week course and
still may be as brave as any other
bluejacket-but not under water.
Many of the remaining students
have been doing some work on the
great ship now known as the
Lafayette. Now, however, more
experienced men have taken over
almost all phases of the great sal
wage operation that will give the
armed forces their greatest trans
! port when 1t is completed months
| from now.
The students, meanwhile, under
go both practical and classroom
drill in all phases of underwater
salvage work
Because an ability to dive is the
primary qualification of a salvage
worker, the men are sent down as
soon as possible after they report
for training. They pull on their
| unwieldy rubberized suits on Pier
88, famous before the war as the
gateway through which many thou
sands boarded the French ship for
an express cruise to Europe, and
clomp clumsily over to one side Of
the pier, heavy loaded boots sound
ing on the concrete flooring to two
diving platforms. Trainees dive con-
tinuously, in three shifts, around
the clock.
Men Volunteer
Most men take their first dive in
stride. Their voices sound cheerful
over the communication system and
they flash confident smiles on again
reaching the surface. The diving Of
ficer grunts his approval and
knows that they will probably be
among the 275 out of the original
430 who will complete the tough
course.
The men have been admitted on
their own applications. Most of
them already have artificer ratings
carpenters mates, machinist's
mates, shipftters. and the like. All
have mechanical ability and the
desire to do hard, hazardous bu-
interesting work.
Once they've gotten their first
submersion out of the way they get
constant diving practice. But that
is only one phase of their schooling.
The salvage division has no par
ticular use for man who can
merely dive.
He must be able to dive-and then
when he gets on the bottom, work
despite currents and other dangers
UIldU CdIl DCOCO Ildll llldIly lCCU
below the surface. They are taught
how to weld under water. They are
required to build boxes and operate
pneumatic tools and handle tools
all under water They are taught to
improvise what they need from
what they have.
Become Expert Mechanics
Some of the 20 to as per cent who
fail do so because they couldn't
acquire this all-around mechanical
ability. Some can't stand the physi-
cal strain.
Others find the classroom work
the tough nut to crack Expert sal-
wage officers, such as 1t Comdr. G.
F. Chandler, USNR, resident salvage
officer. or 1t. William Handler, USN.
the diving officer, explain problems
of their trade.
Students work in the rigging loft
where they learn how to tie knots,
splice wire cables and rig tackle
They learn to patch their diving
suits in another room. They break
down and assemble motors of vari-
GUS types; before they graduate
they are expert motor mechanic =
Repair methods are demonstrated
on scale ship models.
AS their skill increases, they are
given practical experience on sal
wage jobs that may be available.
Advanced students may go to work
on the Lafayette, according to the
Navy. Some have been among the
workers on the ammunition ship
which burned recently and sank in
New York Harbor
The more skillful will be gradu-
ated as salvage divers. Others
leave the school as divers, second F,
class. All of them, thereafter, will
spend the war wherever salvage |
work becomes necessary-and they'll |
spend a good part of it under water. |