United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit The United States Navy Experimental Diving Unit ( NEDU or NAVXDIVINGU ) is the primary source of diving and hyperbaric operational guidance for the US Navy . It is located within the Naval Support Activity Panama City in Bay County , Panama City Beach , Florida . Mission and Vision . NEDU describes its mission as : " The Navy Experimental Diving Unit tests and evaluates diving , hyperbaric , and other life - support systems and procedures , and conducts research and development in biomedical and environmental physiology . NEDU provides technical recommendations based upon knowledge and experience , to Commander , Naval Sea Systems Command to support operational requirements of our armed forces . " The vision for NEDU is stated to be : " The Navy Experimental Diving Unit will be the most credible and respected research , development , and test and evaluation center for diving as well as the focal point of leadership for biomedical and bioengineering solutions for undersea military operations . " History . Brooklyn Navy Yard . Experimental diving in the US Navy started in 1912 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard under the leadership of Chief Gunner George D . Stillson . Stillson ' s research program ultimately led to increasing diver capabilities from to over of depth based on Haldane ' s decompression work with the Royal Navy . This resulted in the first publication of the United States Navy Diving Manual and established the need for a facility dedicated to research and development of diving procedures . In 1915 , Stillson ' s team was sent to salvage the " F - 4 " submarine . On these deep dives , the divers experienced the debilitating effects of nitrogen narcosis leading them to try the addition of helium to their breathing mix . The navy salvage operations then came under the direction of Warrant Gunner C . L . Tibbals who led teams through the salvage of the " S - 51 " in 1925 and " S - 4 " in 1927 further establishing the naval need for equipment , training , and procedures for rescue operations . Washington Navy Yard . NEDU was established in 1927 at the Washington Navy Yard . Early developments for the unit involved evaluation and testing of the Submarine Escape Lung ( Momsen lung ) and the McCann Rescue Bell . This work was done by Charles Momsen and Allan McCann . In 1929 , Momsen received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for personally testing the device at a depth of 200 feet ( 61 m ) . Techniques used for the rescue of submariners aboard the " USS Squalus " were developed by Momsen and McCann in their time at NEDU . This work lead to the rescue and recovery of 33 crewmen . Momsen and McCann received a Letter of Commendation from President of the United States Franklin D . Roosevelt for the " Squalus " effort . The first medical staff were introduced to the facility in the mid - 1930s when Charles W Shilling , Albert R Behnke , and OE Van der Aue began work . Their early work improved the prevention and treatment of decompression sickness with the inclusion of oxygen rather than air . Through World War II , work continued on decompression and oxygen toxicity . Through the 1950s NEDU tested equipment and further refined procedures for divers including the US Navy 1953 decompression table . From 1957 to 1962 was the beginnings of saturation diving under the leadership of Captain George F . Bond of the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory and the Genesis Project . Genesis D was performed at NEDU in 1963 . Bond then went on to head the SEALAB I saturation project in 1964 . Robert D . Workman published a novel method to calculate decompression schedules in 1965 that involved estimating the limiting values of excess tissue supersaturation . Work continued in deep saturation dives , equipment testing as well as thermal protection and physiology research throughout the 1960s and early 1970s . Naval Support Activity Panama City . In 1975 , NEDU relocated to its current location in Panama City , Florida . NEDU tested and evaluated the replacement of Stillson ' s Mark V as the US Navy standard diving dress , the Mark 12 Surface Supplied Diving System , and eventually its replacement the Mark 21 / Superlight 17 in the 1970s and 1980s . NEDU conducts at least one saturation dive per year . These dives were used , amongst other things , to evaluate decompression and recompression procedures , equipment , carbon dioxide absorbents , as well as active and passive thermal protection . Many of these tests included ongoing evaluations of commercially available diving equipment . In 1998 , the Naval Medical Research Center ' s diving biomedical and development group was transferred to NEDU . In response to the overseas military needs , NEDU focused on warm water diving from 1999 to 2002 . This guidance to the Naval Special Warfare community influences operational needs on an ongoing basis . NEDU divers were essential to the recovery of artifacts from the ex - USS " Monitor " in 2001 and 2002 . In 2002 , certification of the Mark 16 Mod 1 rebreather was completed following improvement of systems including , extension of the working limit to , new decompression tables for both nitrogen - oxygen and helium - oxygen diving including new repetitive diving capabilities for helium - oxygen , test of an Emergency Breathing System with communications , the addition of an integrated buoyancy compensation device , and an improved full face mask . In 2004 , NEDU contributed to operational guidance for diving in harsh contaminated environments . NEDU has continued research into oxygen toxicity utilizing the US Navy Mark 16 Mod 1 . Development of breathing systems , thermal protection , and decompression procedures for SEAL Delivery Vehicle s and the Advanced SEAL Delivery System is ongoing . In 2011 , divers completed a 1 , 000 fsw saturation dive to evaluate the new Navy ' s Saturation Fly - Away Diving System ( SAT FADS ) . The SAT FADS was designed in 2006 as a portable replacement of two decommissioned Pigeon - class submarine rescue vessels . Evaluation and testing of new breathing apparatus and application of other technologies for diving is key to their mission . Facilities . Ocean simulation facility . The Ocean Simulation Facility ( OSF ) simulates ocean conditions to a maximum pressure equivalent of seawater ( fsw ) at any salinity level . The chamber complex consists of a wet chamber and five interconnected dry living / working chambers totaling of space . Wet and dry chamber temperatures can be set from . Equipped with the latest data acquisition capability , the OSF can accommodate a wide range of complex experiments including diver biomedical studies and testing of humans as well as small submersible vehicles and other machines in the wet chamber . Saturation dives can be performed for more than 30 days of continuous exposure in the OSF . For human and equipment testing underwater over extended periods , divers use the dry chambers as comfortable living quarters , from which they can make diving excursions into the wet chamber . The dry chambers are also capable of altitude simulation studies to heights of . Experimental test pool . The Experimental Test Pool is a capacity freshwater tank measuring by by deep , capable of sustaining temperatures from . It is designed and constructed for manned , shallow water testing and for supporting workup dives for the Ocean Simulation Facility . The test pool is supported by a fully instrumented medical and engineering deck , from which the safety of both divers and test equipment can be monitored . The facility can accommodate a wide range of experiments , from biomedical studies of diver thermal and workload conditions to equipment studies of submersible devices . The test pool has a communications suite , full video capability , real - time computerized data acquisition and analysis , and pressure and gas monitoring . The depth is sufficient to allow divers to maintain an oxygen partial pressure of 1 . 3 bar on their breathing apparatus while immersed and riding a bicycle ergometer . Environmental chamber . The Environmental Chamber is capable of simulating a broad range of temperatures from , humidity from 5 to 95 % , and wind velocity from . The chamber is instrumented to conduct physiological studies and to test various types of equipment . Experimental diving facility . The Experimental Diving Facility ( EDF ) simulates unmanned pressure conditions to sea water and temperatures can be set from . As a complement to the Ocean Simulation Facility , the EDF is used to conduct unmanned testing and evaluation of diving and hyperbaric chamber systems and components . All diving practices and procedures are tested to determine their safety , conformance to established standards , and operational suitability and limits . Class 100 , 000 clean room . Operated by certified technicians , the Class 100 , 000 Clean Room performs a variety of cleaning and testing tasks : oxygen cleaning of piping , valves , regulators , tanks , and filters , as well as hydrostatic test ing up to . All components used in diving life - support systems are cleaned and certified to meet military standards . Gas analysis lab . The gas analysis laboratory is equipped for the precise analysis of gases , and it is used to evaluate diving - related problems such as offgassing and contaminant control . The laboratory ’ s analytical capabilities include gas chromatography , mass spectrometry , and infrared spectroscopy . The facility is currently used to develop reliable and rapid screening methods and analyzers for the Fleet . Cardiopulmonary lab . The cardiopulmonary laboratory consists of machines that perform a myriad of respiratory function tests and aerobic performance measurements that are often recorded before and after pressure and / or thermal exposure . Library . The NEDU Library contains over 120 , 000 document s on diving medicine , engineering , and history from around the world . Many of the NEDU publications have been scanned and are available online at the Rubicon Research Repository . Other articles can be found in the Duke University Medical Center Archive finding aid s of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society library collection . Personnel . The 120 person NEDU Team includes highly qualified and experienced military divers with a combined 1 , 000 man - years of diving experience : Sea - Air - Land ( SEAL ) , Explosive Ordnance Disposal ( EOD ) , Salvage , Saturation , Seabee , Diving Officer , and Diving Medical Officer ( DMO ) , Ph . D . scientists , engineers , various science - degreed professionals and support personnel .