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We Rescue The Men From The U. S. S. Squalus, by Lt. Comdr. C. W. Shilling (MC) USN

Shilling Narrative, Page 8

The problem now facing the men on deck was to bring him safely to the surface. In order to come up without developing the dreaded "bends" he had to take a hundred and forty-six minutes for the slow step by step ascent from the bottom to the surface. By this slow decompression he would be able to eliminate the nitrogen gas which would otherwise bubble out of the tissues and the blood and cause serious difficulty or even his death. Obviously, it was impractical to take all of the one hundred and forty-six minutes decompression time in the water. This problem had been faced years before. We had done enough experimental work to know that it was safe and feasible to bring a man up to a depth of 90 feet below the surface and hold him for a couple of minutes and then to 80 feet for a little longer; then to 70 feet, then to 60, then to 50 -- and then, at the 50 foot level it was safe to whip him out of the water quickly and get him into the decompression chamber and back under air pressure for the final long period of decompression at 50, 40, 30, 20 and l0 feet. Safe, that is, if the maneuver could be accomplished in less than three minutes; there had to be precise action and perfect timing. Once again experimental work was to pay off.

Sibitzky found and got aboard the diving stage at 90 feet without any difficulty. The diving stage is a type of elevator that makes it easy to lower a diver into the water or to lift him to the surface. He made his routine stops at 80, 70, 60 and 50 feet which took a total of 42 minutes, and then he was whipped out of the water; his helmet was jerked off and he was helped into the recompression chamber -- the entire maneuver taking less than two minutes. I was in the chamber waiting for him and stayed with him during the hour and three-quarters of final decompression. Everything went well and he felt fine, exhilarated by the knowledge that he had accomplished one of the really remarkable diving feats of all time.

As we went into the chamber at 1124, the bell was just going over the side for its memorable first trip down to the submarine, 240 feet below, on the bottom of the ocean. Commander McCann had made all the last-minute checks of the bell, which he had been so largely instrumental in perfecting. He had flown up from Washington and, like Lieutenant Commander Momsen, had arrived ahead of the FALCON. The bell, as you will recall, was an old friend of mine -- I had worked with the group during its early trials. I know the two men chosen to operate the bell, John Mihalowski, Torpedoman, First Class, and Walter E. Harmen, Gunner's Mate, First Class. Both of them were divers of long experience and both of them were well versed in the operation of the bell. Mihalowski was one of the smallest of all of our First Class divers. This was good because the bell; as you remember, was not tall enough for a person inside to stand up, and with seven or eight men being brought up from the submarine, quarters would be close. As a matter of fact, I well remember experimental trips in the bell when we had fewer men than that, and we were so packed in that if one person decided to move and cross his legs, all hands had to follow suit in order to find places for legs and feet.

The winches topside on the boat deck started up and the boom hoisted the bell clear of the rail and swung it out over the water. It was lowered gently until the sea was just washing around the top. I have often wondered what Commander McCann thought as he watched the piece of equipment that he had helped perfect going over the side for its first life-saving mission.

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