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1939 USS Squalus disaster and rescue...
1939 USS Squalus disaster and rescue...
Item # 724932
May 24, 1939
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, May 24, 1939
* USS Squalus (Sailfish) submarine disaster
* Diving bell rescue (1st report)
The top of the front page has a five column headline: "DIVER REACHES THE SQUALUS, MAKES CONTACT WITH CREW; RESCUERS FEAR 26 ARE DEAD" with subheads and related photo. (see images) More inside.
Complete with 40+ pages, light toning at the margins, some small binding holes along the spine, generally in very nice condition.
background: The rescue of the USS Squalus on May 24, 1939, stands as a landmark achievement in naval history, marking the first time a trapped crew was saved from a sunken submarine at such a depth. Under the direction of Commander Charles "Swede" Momsen, the Navy deployed the newly developed McCann Rescue Chamber—a 10-foot-tall, pear-shaped diving bell—from the rescue ship USS Falcon. Divers braved the freezing, high-pressure waters 243 feet below the surface to attach a down-haul cable to the submarine’s forward hatch, allowing the bell to winnow its way down and create a watertight seal. Over the course of 13 grueling hours, the chamber made four separate trips to the seafloor, successfully extracting all 33 survivors who had endured nearly 40 hours of darkness and suffocating carbon dioxide. The operation’s success, despite a terrifying moment during the final ascent where the chamber’s cable frayed and jammed, revolutionized deep-sea rescue protocols and remains a testament to early 20th-century engineering and the courage of the divers, four of whom were awarded the Medal of Honor.
Category: The 20th Century
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