New Lungs

ARMY & NAVY

The submarine 54, once a coffin for 40 seamen off Provincetown, Mass., now a rescue laboratory stripped of fighting gear, gurgled purposefully down into seven fathoms of blue Gulf Stream water off Key West last week, carrying a trapped crew of 15 volunteers. The U. S. S. Mallard (tender) stood by. After 15 minutes a black buoy bobbed up among the waves. Three anxious minutes crawled by. Then the head of Chief Torpedoman Edward Kalinowski plopped out on the surface. A minute later Lieut. Charles B. Momsen emerged. They were the first two U. S. submariners ever to escape directly from a sunken craft.

The two escapists looked like strange creatures from the marine underworld. To the face of each was attached one of the new Momsen-Tibbals "lungs"--a mask like device with nose-clip, mouthpiece and two flexible tubes to a pouch worn on the chest. The pouch contains soda-lime, to absorb exhaled carbon dioxide, and compressed oxygen for inhalation. Over the head fits a caplike helmet with waterproof goggles.

To escape from the submerged 54, the men had first climbed up into a barrel-like chamber on the deck called the "trunk." A door in the "trunk's" bottom was closed, water was valved in to equalize pressure, an outer hatch was opened and the "survivors," in bathing suits and "lungs," rose swiftly through 40 feet of water.

The test worked successfully again at a depth of 76 feet. When the S-4 attempted to descend to 20 fathoms (120 feet, slightly deeper than the S-4 lay off Provincetown) her periscope sprung a leak and she had to rise, be towed back to Key West for repairs.