Rescue of the Squalus: The Sinking

During the morning, conversation was limited to necessities to conserve oxygen. A review of the use of the Momsen Lung was conducted in case the men had to leave the submarine through a lock and rise to the surface with the Lung to sustain them.

Most of the survivors were wet and became increasingly cold. The air was decreasing, at 2:00 p.m. the first use of a carbon dioxide absorbent occurred. Oxygen under pressure in canisters was held in reserve. The slightly toxic air made the men drowsy, which promoted sleep. A second meal of beans, tomatoes and fruit was issued about 6:00 p.m.. Oxygen was bled into the stale air.

Two ships arrived on the scene during the afternoon. Their propellers could be heard clearly in the Squalus. One had an oscillator for generating underwater sound, making possible Morse code transmissions. The Squalus responded by laboriously beating out answers by hammering on the hull. One blow was a dot and two a dash. However, the sound from the depth was weak and only occasionally was heard. By midnight, the water in the pump room below the 18 sailors in the control room had risen two feet.

Despite knowing of the ships gathered overhead, the time on the bottom must have been terrible. The awful conditions of wet and cold, thoughts of lost shipmates and loved ones ashore and the knowledge that never before had the survivors of a submarine sinking ever been saved from such a depth, each by itself, could have caused despair. But no one in the Squalus caved in, and discipline, if not spirits, remained high.