** This day in Diving History -- 01 February 1966 -- Harbor Clearance Unit ONE Established **

01 February 1966; Harbor Clearance Unit ONE established at Subic Bay, Philippines. The establishment of HCU ONE was authorized by the Secretary of the Navy to fill the need for harbor clearance of any waterway or port in Vietnam. While the idea of a harbor clearance team harkened back to successful clearance operations by various units in WWII, this new operational concept gave Navy Salvage an additional capability. The missions of HCU ONE in Vietnam would call for committing small and highly mobile teams of well qualified salvage specialists to a job rather than relying on large salvage ships. While deep heavy salvage was and is very necessary; the waterways, rivers and deltas of certain geographic areas (like Vietnam) simply won't support large vessels just as open ocean doesn't do well with small ones.

The original crew of HCU ONE consisted of a hand-picked cadre of five officers and sixty-five enlisted men. The unit's headquarters started out as a barge specifically converted to a salvage tender that was outfitted with all the shop facilities, storage, and accommodations necessary to support various salvage operations. The team would later acquire adequate medical, office and armory facilities. A typical diving team consisted of an officer and 18 enlisted men. These Divers were all a colorful and confident bunch (as would be expected) even giving their teams nicknames. For example, HCU ONE Team FIVE was originally known as Bennett's Bastards after their OIC LT John Bennett. HCU ONE Team ONE was known as Naquin's Nitwits again after the OIC LT John C. Naquin. HCU ONE grew in men and equipment during its years of existence and amassed a huge record of success. During its tenure in the Philippines, the unit was awarded two Navy Unit Commendations, a Meritorious Unit Commendation and a Vietnamese Unit Cross of Gallantry. Eventually, HCU ONE would move its homeport to Hawaii and later be renamed Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit ONE where it continues operations today. Its east coast counterpart Harbor Clearance Unit TWO would be stood up 8 months later on October 1, 1966 and will be covered in a future email.

Note: To see more HCU ONE photos and sea stories than could possibly be attached to this email check out the following website: http://www.seastory.us/hcu1/

H/Y

** This Day in Diving History -- November 21, 1891 -- Edward Ellsberg born **

"It never pays to quit until you're dead."......Edward Ellsberg

NAVY ACADEMY
Ned Ellsberg was born on November 21, 1891 in Colorado and decided at a young age that he wanted to become a Naval Officer. He was not a large man physically; in fact he barely met the height and weight requirements for admission to the Naval Academy. He even went as far as changing his name, Ned, to Edward as he thought it would be more befitting a naval officer. Despite his diminutiveness, he won two medals in fencing, wrote two prize essays, and won top honors in seamanship and navigation. Although he was the top student in ordinance, two gunnery awards went to rival classmates, the predominant theory being that those prizes were diverted deliberately, lest Ellsberg run off with every honor for the Class of 1914. Ellsberg would graduate from Annapolis in 1914, at the head of his class academically but low in "military efficiency".

EARLY CAREER
Following his initial assignment aboard the battleship Texas, he was reassigned to the Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWI. There he would excel in the field of engineering and although highly encouraged to remain a line officer, decided to transfer into Naval Engineering and Construction. His first two commands serving in his new role would be at the Boston and New York Navy Yards. Here he would prove to be an active, take-charge officer who did not avoid confrontation or controversy when he knew he was right.

S-51
Ellsberg's first public success and introduction to Navy Salvage would occur in September 1925 when the submarine USS S-51 (SS 162) sank after being struck by the steamer City of Rome, losing all but three of her sailors. At the time, the Navy had little to no deep-water salvage capability and few Navy Divers. Despite this, Ellsberg convinced Navy leadership that he could raise the S-51 with existing personnel and equipment. After great public outcry, the Navy began to realize that it needed to have the capability to salvage its own; vice relying solely on contractors. The successful salvage of S-51 would take 10 months during which Ellsberg and the salvage team battled against inadequate resources, a shortage of experienced deep-sea divers, primitive equipment, and uncooperative weather. In the process they would develop such salvage items as pontoons, underwater cutting torches and jetting nozzles. Ellsberg would even start an on site school to train more divers, including himself, thereby becoming the first Construction Corps officer to qualify as a Deep-Sea Diver. In the words of Ellsberg:

"If I was going to control the diving operation on the bottom of the sea, the bottom of the sea was where I belonged."

This job would be the basis for his first book, On the Bottom, about the salvage of the S-51. It made him a popular public figure. This was unpopular with the Navy however who stated that he received too much public attention and was too outspoken. In 1926, he was denied a meritorious promotion and was told that he would have to wait another eight years for reconsideration. A frustrated Ellsberg gave his resignation and started work for the Tide Water Oil Company.

S-4
Ellsberg had hardly settled in his civilian job when in December 1927 the submarine S-4 was rammed off Cape Cod. Immediately, he was brought back into the Navy and rushed to the scene. The nation was horrified as six trapped men tapped their final messages on the steel hull, while Navy rescue ships tossed helplessly, prevented by storms from sending divers down. The Navy had shown once again that it had no means of rescue for downed submariners. S-4 was salvaged and brought to dry dock six months after she sank. The boat was then stripped and towed to Key West to be used as a platform to examine possibilities for submarine rescue and to practice salvage techniques. This platform would prove key in the development of the McCann Rescue Chamber and Momsen Lung. Ellsberg continued to warn that complacency and political penny-pinching were making further submarine disasters inevitable. He wrote a detailed report that served as a bible for future submarine salvage operations and revealed that the Navy's Salvage organization was simply inadequate. Again, him speaking with such candor was unpopular with Navy leadership.

MASSAWA/ORAN
In 1942 Ellsberg was sent to Massawa, Ethiopia, with the responsibility for clearing the port and returning the dry-dock and ship repair facilities to service. Massawa was a critically important regional repair facility for Allied Forces in the European theater during WWII. When compared to the conditions of the S-51 salvage, the situation in Massawa was almost beyond belief. The Italians had sabotaged/destroyed facilities and sunk ships as they exited the port prior to Allied capture. One of Massawa's key dry docks had been declared totally unsalvageable - Ellsberg had her afloat only nine days after his arrival. In eight months his crew would re-float four cargo ships, another dry dock, and a floating crane; refurbished more than 80 supply ships; and repaired three British cruisers. The press hailed his achievements as "the Miracle of Massawa."

Ellsberg went without a break from Massawa to become General Eisenhower's salvage officer for North Africa. He was tasked with clearing the blocked and sabotaged port of Oran, Algeria. Here he encountered many of the same problems of supply, equipment and personnel that he had experienced in Massawa. Ellsberg's team worked frenetically clearing harbors and salvaging torpedoed ships. His successes was again great but the physical strain was too much for a man in his fifties. Ellsberg was hospitalized and sent home in February 1943 after being diagnosed with incipient heart failure - it would take more than heart failure to stop him however.

NORMANDY
In 1944 he was again sent to Europe and was instrumental in preparing the artificial (Mulberry) harbors that helped make the Normandy landings a success. Sent to England to advise on preparations for the D-Day landings, he found that planners had not realized the scale of the problem or the resources required for deploying and setting up a mobile harbor in a wartime environment. He guided planners in recognizing and addressing what was needed to pump out and refloat over a hundred caissons in a matter of a few days -- without which the whole artificial port concept would have been a failure. Ellsberg rode one of the caissons to Normandy and helped unsnarl wrecked landing craft and vehicles on the beach in the wake of D-Day. When a storm two weeks later temporarily crippled the flow of supplies, he was called back to once again assess the damage at Omaha Beach. Ordered home in September 1944, he reported to Cleveland, Ohio, as Supervisor of Shipbuilding for the Lake Erie area. Fatigue had once again caught up with him, and ship construction was winding down, so Ellsberg asked to be relieved from active duty. On 3 April 1945 he returned to civilian life - permanently this time. He passed away in 1983 (age 91), having brought Navy Salvage leaps and bounds both in the minds of the Navy and civilians alike and attained the rank of rear admiral in doing so.

Although he achieved high rank and had scores of medals on his chest; when asked about his biggest military reward he would recall a comment he received from Deep-Sea Diver Francis Smith. At the end of the S-51 operation, Smith grabbed Ellsberg's hand and stated simply: "There isn't one of that bunch of divers, Mr. Ellsberg, who wouldn't go to hell for you!"

ELLSBERG the AUTHOR
Of all Ellsberg's talents and contributions to Navy Diving, one of his biggest was that of author. In the late 1920s Ellsberg began a long and distinguished career as a writer that showcased Diving and Salvage. His first book was titled "On the Bottom" (published in 1929); an account of the salvage of S-51, it became a best-seller. A subsequent book, Pigboats, published in 1931, was made into the movie Hell Below by MGM studios. He would become one of the most prolific authors ever to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, his 17 books included several award winners. His stories appeared in popular magazines throughout the 1930s and 1940s, introducing many a young reader to the adventures of the deep.

Website: http://www.edwardellsberg.com/

Reading: To many books/articles to list on this email. My personal favorite is "On the Bottom" but you can't go wrong with any of them. To see a list of all his books and publications, see http://www.edwardellsberg.com/pub.htm

H/Y

** This Day in Diving History -- 15 October 2001 -- Diving operations begin on the Ehime Maru **

February 9, 2001 -- 13:43......about 9 nautical miles off the south coast of Oahu, Hawaii; while conducting an emergency surfacing maneuver, the USS GREENVILLE (SSN-772) collided with the Ehime Maru Japanese fishing vessel. This was part of a demonstration for some civilian visitors, onboard USS GREENVILLE. As the submarine surfaced, it struck Ehime Maru, slicing her hull wide open from starboard to port. Within minutes of the collision, Ehime Maru quickly sank and hit the bottom at 2,000 fsw. A total of 35 people were on board Ehime Maru; 20 crewmembers, 13 students and two teachers. Coast Guard vessels quickly responded and rescued 26 crewmembers. These crewmembers were taken to Oahu for immediate medical treatment, but the remaining nine crewmembers remained missing.
On 16 February 2001, the Supervisor of Salvage and Diving (SUPSALV) and Submarine Development Squadron 5 (SUBDEVRON 5), using the Scorpio remotely piloted underwater vehicle (ROV), located Ehime Maru in 2,000 feet of water. After assessing the technical feasibility and environmental impact of raising Ehime Maru from the ocean bottom, the U.S. government decided to proceed with its recovery. The decision was made not to raise Ehime Maru all the way to the surface but to lift and carry it underwater to a shallow location (115 ft) one mile away from Oahu. Once there, Navy Divers could enter the ship, on 15 October 2001 they did just that. Divers were tasked with five specific mission objectives:
1. Recovery of the 9 mission crewmembers
2. Collection of personal effects

3. Recovery of unique shipboard items
4. Performing hazardous liquids and material removal
5. Rigging the ship for movement to the final relocation site after 1-4 was complete

In order to accomplish this volume of work in a timely manner, divers ran two deep sea dive stations simultaneously. Inside the ship there was sharp metal, destroyed bulkheads, fuel, wire and debris fouling any sort of passage. Despite this and low-to zero visibility, divers located and recovered eight of the nine missing crew members. In the course of searching four of her decks, they also cleared 120 compartments recovering over 2,500 personal and unique shipboard items. A technique called a "hot-tap" was used to drain the ships fuel tanks completely of 45,000 gallons of lube oil and diesel fuel. This prevented any loss of hazardous pollutants to the environment. An estimated two tons of debris would be removed by divers in order to rig the Ehime Maru prior to moving her back out to her final deepwater resting place. After the recovery was complete, on 25 November, Ehime Maru was lifted, towed back out to sea, suspended about 90 feet below the towing barge, and scuttled in over 6,000 feet of water 12 nautical miles south of Oahu where she rests today.
All in all Navy Divers conducted over 650 dives during the course of 29 days. This operation not only gave closure to families and recovered sensitive items but it also only helped avoid future ecological damage due to the fuel. The use of military assets to complete this also went a very long way in public support and U.S./Japanese relations in that it showed genuine concern vice simply throwing money at the problem.

H/Y

**This Day in Diving History -- October 12, 2000 -- USS COLE (DDG-67) Terrorist Attack**

**This Day in Diving History -- October 12, 2000 -- USS COLE (DDG-67) Terrorist Attack**
Eleven months before the events of September 11, the USS COLE (DDG-67), was on deployment enroute to Bahrain. In need of fuel, the Arleigh-Burke class destroyer entered the harbor of Aden, Yemen for a scheduled refueling. After the mooring of the ship to a buoy, the refueling operation began. Approximately 45 minutes into the refueling (11:18 a.m.), terrorists detonated a small boat packed with explosives on the port side of the ship. The explosion ripped a 1,600 square foot hole in her hull, killed 17 Sailors and left 39 wounded.

In the aftermath of the explosion, the crew of the COLE fought tirelessly to free sailors trapped by the twisted wreckage and limit flooding that threatened to sink their ship. The crew's prompt actions to isolate damaged electrical systems and contain fuel oil ruptures prevented catastrophic fires that could have engulfed the ship and cost the lives of others. Skillful first aid applied by the crew prevented additional deaths and eased the suffering of many others. The crew conducted more than 96 hours of sustained damage control in conditions of extreme heat and stress. Deprived of sleep, food and shelter, they vigilantly battled to save the ship and restore stability to vital engineering systems. This superhuman effort kept the ship afloat although it remained highly unstable. During these efforts, initial hull searches for additional explosive devices on her were carried out by EOD that were deployed in the area. As these initial searches were being conducted, a detachment of Navy Divers was brought on scene and tasked with locating the missing Sailors, ship stabilization, evidence recovery, structural inspections and assistance in loading her on a heavy transport ship that would eventually bring her home.

The first challenge would be to stabilize the ship. The COLE was listing to port, had no electrical power and was still flooding in several compartments. To do this, a surface supplied diving system was set up onboard the COLE which would allow divers to route through multiple decks and compartments for extended periods of time. Diving in enclosed spaces is dangerous enough; adding to this would be diving in a medium of both water and fuel, around shattered bulkheads, buckled decks and a spider web of broken pipes and wires – all in zero visibility with water and air temperatures ranging from 90 to 110 degrees. Once setup was complete, Navy Divers were able to systematically identify, isolate and effectively stop remaining flooding into the ship. In process they recovered several bodies of fallen crew members and successfully stabilized the ship. Once these immediate stability concerns were met, Navy Divers moved to the blast area itself in order to inspect the area, gather evidence and recover remaining crewmember remains.


The blast area on the ship was nothing less than devastating. Noticeable to the world was the immense opening in the hull. Even more disturbing was the level of damage inside the ship. Divers had to be even more careful in this area to ensure they did not cut themselves or their equipment on countless shards of metal. Slowly and methodically, they inspected every inch of the blast area. Through these continued efforts, evidence was gathered about the explosion for investigators and all of the missing COLE Sailors were recovered. These sailors were given full military honors as they were escorted off the ship to begin their long and final journey home.

With the recovery phase completed, inspection dives were conducted so that naval engineers could determine how much of the COLE's structural strength had been lost. The Blue Marlin, a 700-foot-long Norwegian heavy-lift transport ship, was contracted to return the COLE back to the United States. To accommodate the COLE, the Blue Marlin was fitted with special docking blocks that would hold her in the most stable position for the long voyage. The fleet ocean tug USNS Catawba towed the COLE out to deeper waters approximately 23 miles off the coast of Yemen on 29 October. Loading the COLE onto the Blue Marlin required calm seas and a water depth of at least 75 feet. The Blue Marlin partially submerged as tugs maneuvered the COLE into position over the transport's deck. Navy Divers then guided the damaged destroyer into position as the Blue Marlin raised up in the water to meet the ship. The entire docking evolution took almost 24 hours to complete. The Blue Marlin, with the COLE securely held on her deck, began the transit back to the United States.
USS COLE was off-loaded Dec. 13, 2000, in a pre-dredged deep-water facility at the shipyard of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems. After a successful 14-month effort to repair the damage, USS COLE returned to Naval Station Norfolk on April 25, 2002. She would deploy to the Middle East for the first time since the bombing in June 2006. While passing the port city of Aden the crew manned the rails to honor the crewmembers killed in the bombing.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri is alleged to be the mastermind of the USS COLE bombing and other terrorist attacks, who headed al-Qaeda operations in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf states prior to his capture in November 2002 by the CIA. He is currently in American military custody in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. In December 2008, he was charged before a Guantanamo Military Commission. The charges were dropped in February 2009 pending the Obama administration's review of all Guantánamo detentions, but may be refiled.

H/Y

**This Day in Diving History -- MDSU TWO and SWRMC's Birthday**

**This Day in Diving History October 1, 1966/1986 -- MDSU TWO and SWRMC's Birthday **

Today marks the Birthday of two of Navy Divings major commands, MDSU TWO and SWRMC.

- MDSU TWO -

October 1, 1966 Harbor Clearance Unit TWO commissioned at the Navy Amphibious Base Little Creek, VA.
Patterned after World War II mobile salvage units, HCU TWO consolidated the diving resources of the Atlantic fleet in direct support of combat operations through the clearance of harbors and waterways during the Vietnam War. Along with her sister command (HCU 1), HCU 2 salvaged hundreds of small craft, barges, and downed aircraft; refloated many stranded U. S. Military and merchant vessels; cleared obstructed piers, shipping channels, and bridges; and performed numerous underwater repairs to ships operating in the combat zone.

The command officially became Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit TWO in February of 1982, reflecting the new focus on salvage operations and specialized diving missions. Over the years, MDSU TWO earned the title of "Experts in Salvage" through participation in numerous salvage/recovery operations, harbor clearance, humanitarian operations and battle damage assessment and repair.

The heavy salvage capabilities of MDSU TWO have been demonstrated during such salvage operations as; TWA 800, Swiss Air Flight 111, Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia and the salvage of USS MONITOR's steam engine, turret, eleven-inch Dahlgren guns and crew remains. MDSU TWO has been involved in quick response battle damage assessment and repair on such vessels as: USS La MOURE COUNTY (LST 1194) and USS COLE (DDG 67). They have also been involved in many humanitarian missions such as Minneapolis Minnesota bridge collapse and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Contributions during the GWOT have included emergent taskings such as the salvage of a SH-60 helicopter in 270 feet of water in the Red Sea and deployments to the Persian Gulf for Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM.

MDSU TWO continues to support current and future fleet requirements. The command supports five Mobile Diving and Salvage Detachments (MDSDs), an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) Detachment and a Side Scan Sonar team as well as one shore detachment in Norfolk, Virginia. Detachments are trained and equipped with fly-away diving systems and recompression chambers to support the Atlantic Fleet with combat salvage, expeditionary harbor clearance and homeland defense operations.

- SWRMC -

In 1979 COMNAVSURFPAC created a San Diego based Diver Consolidation plan as a pilot program to determine if consolidation of Navy Divers would better effect utilization of diving assets and increase cost savings to the fleet. The first year of the program turned out to be a success and in August of 1980, the unit officially was commissioned as Harbor Clearance Unit One Detachment (HCU ONE DET). The Unit's name was later changed to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One Detachment (MDSU ONE DET), when HCU-1 in Hawaii changed its name to MDSU ONE. This should not to be confused with the current MDSU ONE Det ONE Detachment currently in San Diego that would not be reestablished until years later when the Navy saw a need for an asset focused on Salvage/Harbor Clearance on the west coast of the U.S.

The combination of man power and technical expertise at MDSU ONE DET resulted in the development of underwater work procedures for different jobs and classes of ships focusing on UWSH procedures but including some Salvage as well. In addition, MOBDIVSALU ONE DET personnel conducted training aimed at the certification of the Navy's first underwater welders. On October 1, 1986 MOBDIVSALU ONE DET was officially renamed Consolidated Divers Unit (CDU). The command's focus became underwater ships husbandry with the transfer of the salvage portion of the command's mission to MDSU ONE in Hawaii. CDU was again renamed the South West Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) Dive Locker on May 22, 2002 and remains one of the Navy's premier underwater ships husbandry assets. Since its inception SWRMC has completed underwater repairs on ships and submarines from bow to stern. They operate not only in the southern California area, but can also conduct fly-away emergent ship/sub repairs. SWRMC also serves at the southwest regions emergent hyperbaric medical facility for all branches of the military. These operations expedite getting the Navy's sea assets back at sea, saving the Navy countless dollars and time in dry-docking costs.

Note: Anyone who has ever walked through the SWRMC Dive Locker has seen the life-sized statue of a diver in full gear, riding atop a 14 foot shark holding its dorsal fin and pointing forward with his other hand. While many have seen this statue, few know the history behind it. The statue was constructed at the Underwater Swim School in Key West, FL by Chief Yeoman Dow Byers. YNC Byers was a UDT Diver who served as an instructor and worked in the carpentry shop. In 1964, he came up with the idea to make a life-sized statue of the school-house's logo - a diver riding a shark. The shark was designed bearing the characteristics of a few sharks; the fine-tooth, mako, sand and nurse shark - and is a female. To create the shark, he shaped pieces of white pine into a skeleton and covered it with fiberglass. The diver was a little trickier. Chief Byers envisioned the diver being tall and thin and searched several dive school classes until settling on one of the instructors to be the model. BM1 Caltenback (a First Class Diver) stood 5'10" and weighed about 150lbs at the time. Byers encased Caltenback in a full body cast from the neck down for four hours during which he protested a great deal and moved not an inch. The result was a life-sized figure of a SCUBA Diver in full gear, astride a 14 foot shark with the words "U.S. Navy School, Underwater Swimmers" in large red letters. Soon after Dow Byers completed the statue, it was displayed at the Monroe County Fair where it won first place ribbons. U.S. Naval School Underwater Swimmers, Key West, Florida, welcomed its first class in 1954 and trained over 6000 divers before officially closing it doors in l973. The statue was then transferred to Navy Dive School, Coronado where it stayed until 1993 when it was transferred once more to CDU (which eventually became SWRMC) where it is proudly displayed to this day.

For more info about the U.S. Naval School Underwater Swimmers, Key West, FL check out http://www.uwss.org/

H/Y

This Day in Diving History -- 29 August 1915 -- USS SKATE raised (late entry)

This Day in Diving History -- 29 August 1915 -- USS SKATE (F-4) raised.

The Navy's first deep-sea submarine salvage was of the USS SKATE (F-4), which was lost in approximately 51 fathoms (306 feet) while making a short submerged run off the island of Oahu, Hawaii, in March 1915. This was the Navy's first loss of submarine and crew.


The F-4 had a length of 142 feet, with a submerged displacement of 400 tons and a designed depth of 200 feet. After the accident, an oil slick and air bubbles about 2 miles from the harbor entrance lead to dragging operations that positively located the boat; there were no apparent signs of life. The submarine lay far deeper than any divers had ever descended with existing equipment and methods. In and effort to reach the boat on the day of the loss; two Navy Divers dove to a depth of 190 and 215 feet, but neither reached or sighted the vessel. The only chance of saving any possible survivors was to drag the boat into shallow water because no lifting gear could be made and rigged in the time available. Dragging would work only if the boat was not completely flooded. Sweeps were made by the NAVAJO and INTREPID to pass a wire rope around the hull and drag it into shallow water. An attempt at this was made the following day, but the boat could not be moved. Rescuing the crew appeared hopeless but one more attempt was warranted. A dredge was brought to the scene; if a portion of the submarine remained unflooded and buoyant, there was a possibility of moving the boat into shallow water by heaving with the dredge and towing with tugs. No progress could be made (one of the wires parted at its maximum load). This answered the question whether the F-4 was filled with water -- it was, and rescue effort was regretfully concluded.


Because the F-4 was the Navy's first submarine loss, there was an intense desire within the Navy to determine the cause of the casualty. There was also a huge public outcry for the recovery of the bodies of the crew. Naval Constructor LCDR Julius Furer, who was in Hawaii for the construction of the new Naval Station at Pearl Harbor, was placed in charge of the technical side of salvage. After evaluation the situation and consultation with Navy Salvors, it was determined that multiple short lifts and tows were the only feasible way of raising the boat. Faced with a lack of specialized equipment for the job and a base under construction in Hawaii; Salvors were forced to do what they do best - improvise with what was on hand to get the job done. Two sturdily constructed 104x36 foot barges belonging to a local construction company had the strength to support the downed submarine. A lifting system was built using I-beams planned for a coal storage facility, sugar mill shafts were used as windlasses along with miscellaneous machinery that was either available or made for the job.


Knowing that the positions of the lift slings would be crucial to the success of the salvage and that their positions could only be verified visually, five of the Navy's top Divers were ordered in from the Navy Yard. At the time the Navy Yard was responsible for the test and review of all diving equipment and techniques. These divers were Gunner Stillson, Frank Crilley, Stephen Drellishak, Frederick Nilson and William Loughman. Chief Crilley made the first dive just two days after arrival. He reached the F-4, more than 300 feet down, and reported that the boat was upright but the slings would have to be moved. The difficulty of working at this depth cannot be overstated. Keep in mind that all of these dives were conducted with air -- breathing HE02 had not been discovered yet. The futility of attempting to work at these depths was demonstrated when a diver remained on the bottom for thirty minutes trying to pass a small reeving line. He was unaware of fatigue on the bottom, but collapsed from exhaustion on the surface and did not regain strength for several days. In another instance Chief Loughman became entangled in a steel hawser at a depth of 250 feet down breaking his hip in process. Loughman fell unconscious and GMC Frank W. Crilley dove in after him, disregarding personal safety. He found Loughman and worked for an hour and a half to free him. For his heroism, Crilley became the first Navy Diver to be awarded the Medal of Honor on February 15, 1929. For more info on this heroic rescue see the "This Day in Diving History" email sent April 17.

After multiple lifts over the course of months the submarine had been moved to 48 feet of water by June. The problem was now how to move her in one lift through Honolulu Harbor with out breaking the sub up which would totally block the harbor. It also had to achieve a depth of 25 feet or less to fit into existing drydocks. In order to accomplish this, Salvors developed what would be known as the submarine pontoon salvage method. To do this, chains were moved under the boat and attached to huge pontoons that were built for this operation. These pontoons were 32 feet long with a lifting capacity of 420 tons and were built with wooden sheething all around to prevent impact, chaffing, or puncture to the hull due to frequent contact. On 29 August, the pontoons were blown dry, the submarine was towed into the harbor and placed in drydock. It was immediately discovered that the cause of the accident was leakage through rivet holes where the rivets had been eaten away by battery acid. This resulted in immediate design changes to all U.S. Navy Submarines.

The methods, lessons learned, and equipment employed in this operation would be used during the raising of the USS SQUALUS (SS-192) years later.


Note: For more reading about this historic salvage operation check out the following hyperlink to UnderSea Warfare Magazine

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_29/f4.html

H/Y