View source for Charles Momsen

{{short description|US Navy admiral, submarine rescue (1896–1967)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Charles Bowers Momsen
|birth_date= {{birth date|1896|6|21}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1967|5|25|1896|6|21}}
|birth_place= [[Flushing, New York]]
|death_place= [[St. Petersburg, Florida]]
|placeofburial= [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|image=  Charles Momsen.jpg
|caption=
|nickname= "Swede"
|allegiance={{flagu|United States|1912}}
|branch={{flag|United States Navy}}
|serviceyears=1916–1955
|rank=[[File:US-O9 insignia.svg|25px]] [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vice admiral]]
|commands= {{USS|O-15|SS-76|3}}<br/>{{USS|S-1|SS-105|3}}<br/>{{USS|South Dakota|BB-57|2}}
|unit=
|battles= [[World War II]]<br/>**[[Pacific War]]
|awards={{plainlist|
* [[File:Navy Cross ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Navy Cross]]
* [[File:Navy Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
* [[File:Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|35 px]] [[Legion of Merit]]
}}
|laterwork=
}}

'''Charles Bowers Momsen''' (June 21, 1896 – May 25, 1967), [[List of military figures by nickname#S|nickname]]d "Swede", was born in [[Flushing, Queens|Flushing]], [[New York (state)|New York]].<ref name=onr>{{cite web |url=http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/blowballast/momsen/default.htm |title=Swede Momsen |access-date=2008-04-29 |publisher=US Office of Naval Research |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325044544/http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/blowballast/momsen/default.htm |archive-date=2008-03-25 }}</ref> He was an American pioneer in submarine rescue for the [[United States Navy]], and he invented the underwater escape device later called the "[[Momsen lung]]", for which he received the [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]] in 1929.<ref name=onr/> In May 1939, Momsen directed the rescue of the crew of [[USS Sailfish (SS-192)|''Squalus'']] (SS-192).<ref name=onr/>

==Early years in the Navy==
Momsen entered the [[U.S. Naval Academy]] in 1914, but he was dismissed after a widespread cheating scandal during the spring of his first year there. However, Momsen pursued another appointment to the Academy, received it, repeated his plebe year, and graduated in 1919 — one year early, due to the involvement of the United States in [[World War I]].<ref name=onr/>

From 1919 to 1921, Momsen served on the [[battleship]] {{USS|Oklahoma|BB-37|2}}. In 1921, he entered the [[Naval Submarine Base New London#Submarine School|Naval Submarine School]] in [[New London, Connecticut]], graduating in January 1922. Eighteen months later, he took command of the [[submarine]] {{USS|O-15|SS-76|3}}. A few years later, he was given command of {{USS|S-1|SS-105|3}}, one of the newest US Navy designed submarines of that time.<ref name=onr/><!--This is distinct from the EB & Lake designs-->

==Diving and rescue==

===Early interest===
It was aboard ''S-1'' Momsen's attention became drawn to the urgent need for a way to rescue trapped submariners.<ref name=onr/>

On September 25, 1925, ''S-1''{{'}}s sister ship, {{USS|S-51|SS-162|3}}, collided with freighter ''City of Rome'' in the vicinity of [[Block Island]] and sank in {{convert|130|ft|m}} of water. Momsen was ordered to take ''S-1'' to search for the crippled submarine. ''S-1'' found the oil slick marking the spot where ''S-51'' had sunk, but without any [[sonar]], there was no way for his crew to locate her on the bottom, nor was there a way for trapped crewmen to escape.

Momsen began to look for ways to rescue submariners. He conceived a diving bell, which could be lowered to a submarine in distress, mated to an escape hatch, and opened to allow trapped submariners to climb in. A watertight seal to the submarine could be achieved by placing a rubber gasket around the diving bell's bottom and reducing the air pressure once the bell was over the escape hatch. Then, the hatch could be opened, and the trapped submariners could climb aboard.

Momsen diagrammed his idea and sent it up the chain of command. He waited more than a year for a response, heard nothing, and concluded there must have been something technically wrong with the concept.

Momsen's next tour of duty took him to the Submarine Division of the [[Bureau of Construction and Repair]]. Shortly after he reported aboard, he came across his diving bell drawings. They had been disapproved as impractical. He stated his case again, but to no avail.

Shortly thereafter, in December 1927, another submarine, the {{USS|S-4|SS-109|3}}, sank off [[Cape Cod]]. All forty of her crew died. Six sailors survived three days in the forward torpedo room, but had no way to escape.

===The Momsen lung===
{{main|Momsen lung}}
[[File:Momsen lung.jpg|thumb|[[USS Narwhal (SS-167)|''V-5'']] crewman A. L. Rosenkotter exits the submarine's forward escape trunk wearing a "Momsen lung" during the submarine's sea trials in July 1930.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}]]
After the 1927 ''S-4'' incident, Momsen began working on a device to help trapped submariners escape safely to the surface.<ref name=onr/> Officially called the Submarine Escape Lung,<!--capitalized because it was an official name, not simply descriptive--> it consisted of an oblong rubber bag that recycled exhaled air. This idea has been patented and tested by [[Henry Fleuss]] since 1879. German submarines had those [[Escape breathing apparatus|''Tauchretter'']] as standard issue since 1912.<ref>Michael Kamp: ''[[Bernhard Dräger]]: Erfinder, Unternehmer, Bürger. 1870 bis 1928.'' Wachholtz Verlag, 2017, ISBN 978-3-52906-369-5, S. 300 f. </ref> The local press enthusiastically received the "new" device and they dubbed it the "Momsen lung", a name that stuck in the [[US]].

The Momsen lung contains a canister of [[soda lime]], which removes poisonous [[carbon dioxide]] from the exhaled air and then replenishes the air with [[oxygen]]. Two tubes lead from the bag to a mouthpiece: one with which to inhale air and the other with which to exhale spent air. The device hangs around the wearer's neck and is strapped around the waist. Besides providing oxygen for the ascent, it also allows a submariner to rise slowly to the surface, thus avoiding embolisms.

Between June 1929 and September 1932, Lieutenant Momsen developed the lung along with Chief Gunner's Mate Clarence L. Tibbals and Frank M. Hobson, a civilian employee of the [[Bureau of Construction and Repair]] (later the [[Bureau of Ships]]). In 1929, Momsen received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for personally testing the device at a depth of {{convert|200|ft|m}}.

The Momsen lung saved its first lives in October 1944, when eight submariners used it to reach the surface after {{USS|Tang|SS-306|3}} sank in {{convert|180|ft|m}} of water in the [[East China Sea]].

The Momsen lung was eventually supplemented by the [[Steinke hood]] and free-ascent techniques.<!--Ironically, belief in the need for the Momsen lung, or its Royal Navay equivalent, supposedly led some submariners to remain trapped when they might have escaped by free ascent.-->

==The diving bell==
Momsen returned to his [[diving bell]] idea in 1930. He built a prototype, constructed from a water-tight aircraft hangar pirated from ''S-1'' and tested it off [[Key West, Florida]].<ref name=onr/> Momsen stated the bell was unstable, tipped, and leaked, and had several changes in mind for the diving bell, but was sent to the Bureau of Construction and Repair to teach submariners how to use the Momsen lung before he could make the changes. He charged{{citation needed|date=June 2017|reason=not according to either of their bios at the USN history page...}} Lieutenant Commander [[Allan Rockwell McCann|Al McCann]] to make the changes he wanted and McCann was put in charge of the final revisions on the Momsen / McCann diving bell. When the redesigned diving bell was completed in late 1930, it was introduced as the [[McCann Submarine Rescue Chamber]]. The final bell, with the revisions and changes that Momsen authorized, included a floor bulkhead, pneumatic winch and a pressure seal allowing direct transfer of survivors to the diving bell in a dry environment.

===Gas mixtures===
From 1937 to 1939, Momsen led an experimental deep-sea diving unit at the [[Washington Navy Yard]] which achieved a major breakthrough in the physiology of the human lung's gas mixtures under high pressure.<ref name=onr/> At depths greater than {{convert|60|ft|m|abbr=on}}, on pure oxygen, and {{convert|270|ft|m|abbr=on}}, on air, the [[oxygen]] turns [[Oxygen toxicity|toxic]]. Underwater, breathing air, [[nitrogen]] enters the blood, then tissues, and below {{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on}} may cause euphoria commonly called "[[nitrogen narcosis]]". Also, divers who ascend too rapidly can get [[decompression sickness]], commonly known as "the bends," which happens when nitrogen in the blood forms bubbles. These bubbles can block blood flow and cause intense pain, even death.

In experiments often performed by Momsen himself, the team replaced the [[nitrogen]] with nontoxic [[helium]] and mixed it with varying levels of [[oxygen]] depending on the depth.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Momsen |first=C. |title=Report on Use of Helium Oxygen Mixtures for Diving |journal=US Navy Experimental Diving Unit Technical Report |issue=42–02 |year=1942 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3312 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007192850/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3312 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |access-date=2008-03-16 }}</ref> Today's divers use the knowledge to operate safely deeper than {{convert|300|ft|m}}.

==The ''Squalus'' rescue==
{{main|USS Sailfish (SS-192)#Sinking of Squalus and recommissioning}}

[[File:NH 57333 (28119368866).jpg|thumb|Acting Secretary of the Navy [[Charles Edison]] (left) reads a letter of commendation from President Franklin D. Roosevelt to several members of the USS ''Squalus'' salvage unit in his Navy Department offices, September 16, 1939. Commander Momsen is second from left.]]

Momsen, already famous for the invention of his Momsen lung, achieved even more fame for directing the rescue and recovery of the 33 crewmen of the submarine [[USS Squalus (SS-192)#Sinking of Squalus and recommissioning as Sailfish|''Squalus'']],<ref name=onr/> which sank in May 1939 in {{convert|243|ft|m}} of water off the [[Isles of Shoals]], [[New Hampshire]]. Working from the [[submarine rescue ship]] {{USS|Falcon|ASR-2}}, Momsen instructed the team of [[surface-supplied diving|deep-sea diver]]s as they dived to the submarine and attached cables to the rescue chamber. He also supervised rescue chamber operators{{r|Maas}}  as it made four dives to bring the submariners to the surface and a fifth to check the flooded aft section for survivors. The fourth dive was marred by a cable jam, and the chamber had to be hauled to the surface by hand over hand pulling by all on board. All 33 surviving crewmen were rescued. Twenty-six men had perished.

Momsen led the diving operations in the effort to salvage the ''Squalus'',{{r|Maas}} which took 113 days. She was taken to the [[drydock]] at the [[Portsmouth Navy Yard]].

Along with Commander McCann, Momsen received a letter of commendation from President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] for the successful rescue of the crewmen from the ''Squalus'' and the subsequent salvage of the submarine. After her repairs, the ''Squalus'' was renamed the USS ''Sailfish'', and the name ''Squalus'' was never used by the U.S. Navy again.

==World War II==
[[File:USNavyGeneralBoard1947.jpg|right|thumb|The [[General Board of the United States Navy|General Board of the U.S. Navy]] in November 1947. From left to right: Colonel [[Randolph M. Pate]]; Admiral Walter F. Boone; Admiral [[Charles H. McMorris]]; Admiral [[John H. Towers]]; Rear Admiral Momsen; Captain Leon J. Huffman; Commander Lee; and Captain [[Arleigh Burke]]]]

During [[World War II]], Momsen served as Commander, [[Submarine Squadron 2]]<!--This is how the Navy describes it--> (ComSubRon 2) and Commander, [[Submarine Squadron 4]] (ComSubRon 4).<ref name=onr/>  While Momsen was ComSubRon 2 in the [[U.S. Pacific Fleet]], captains under his command reported their [[Mark 14 torpedo]]es were not functioning properly. When fired from the preferred perpendicular angle of impact, the [[torpedo]]es did not always explode. However, when fired to hit at acute angles,<!--which reduced the impact force on the contact pistol--> the torpedoes usually exploded. When officers of Momsen's own squadron complained, he decided to find out why. He took torpedoes to the shallow waters and sheer cliffs of the [[Hawaii]]an Island of [[Kahoolawe]] and fired until he got a dud. Then, risking his own life, he dove into the water to find the unexploded torpedo. With help, he recovered the dangerous live torpedo and brought it on board. A small problem with the firing pin inside the primer cap of the warhead was causing the duds: it was becoming crushed, rather than firing the warhead.

In Fall 1943, [[ComSubPac]] initiated the Navy's first [[Wolfpack (naval tactic)|wolfpack]].<ref name="Blair1">Blair, Clay, Jr. ''Silent Victory'' (New York: Bantam, 1976), p.541.</ref> Momsen drilled his captains and their executive officers in tactics, planning to have three boats act in company, one boat making the first attack on a [[convoy]] then acting as "trailer", while the other two attacked alternatively on either flank afterward.<ref name="Blair2">Blair, p.542.</ref> He also developed a simple code for communications on the short range VHF radio system used for Talk Between Ships (TBS).<ref name=Blair2/> The pack consisted of [[Edgar McGregor]]'s {{USS|Shad|SS-235|2}}, experienced skipper [[David Charles White|Dave White]]'s new {{USS|Cero|SS-225|2}}, and {{USS|Grayback|SS-208|2}}, fresh from refit in [[Mare Island Navy Yard|Mare Island]] (and with one of the Submarine Force's first {{convert|5|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} deck guns), under newcomer [[John Anderson Moore|John Moore]].<ref name=Blair1/> Momsen, without any combat experience, flew his flag in ''Cero''.<ref name=Blair1/>

The pack arrived in the [[East China Sea]] in October 1943. It proved unable to solve the problems of communication and risk of fratricide, and made only one joint attack on a single convoy,<ref name=Blair2/> but was credited at the time with sinking five Japanese ships for 88,000 tons and damaging eight others for 63,000 tons between them. (This was reduced to three sunk for 23,500 tons by [[Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee|JANAC]] postwar.)<ref>Blair, pp.542-3.</ref> Momsen also received the [[Legion of Merit]] for work on the Navy's wolfpacks from February 1943 to June 1944. Momsen earned a [[Navy Cross]] for his efforts.<ref name=onr/>

Momsen commanded the battleship {{USS|South Dakota|BB-57|2}} from December 1944 through August 1945.<ref name=onr/> For his distinguished service in command, Momsen was awarded a Gold Star (with Combat "V"), in lieu of a third award of the Legion of Merit.<!--This is how he was awarded, get over it-->

== Military decorations==
In addition to the [[Navy Cross]] once and the [[Legion of Merit]] with two Gold Stars (to show repeat awards) and "V" device,<!--deleting this is deleting an award--> Momsen earned the [[Navy Distinguished Service Medal]], [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Army Distinguished Service Medal]], [[Navy Commendation Medal]] with "V" device, [[World War I Victory Medal (United States)|World War I Victory Medal]] with escort clasp, [[American Defense Service Medal]] with Fleet Clasp, [[American Campaign Medal]], [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal|Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four service stars]], [[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]], [[Navy Occupation Service Medal]], [[National Defense Service Medal]], [[Philippine Liberation Medal]] with one bronze star and the [[Submarine Warfare insignia]].

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=U.S. Navy - Submarine Warfare Insignia (Gold Dolphins).gif|width=256|alt=}}
|-
|colspan="3"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}} 
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Navy Distinguished Service ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=award-star|other_device=v|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|other_device=v|ribbon=Navy and Marine Corps Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=World War I Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Phliber rib.svg|width=106}}
|-
|}

==Later years==
In November 1945, he directed a fleet of nearly 200 surplus Army and Navy ships, manned by Japanese crews, that evacuated the first of nearly six million Japanese from [[Manchuria]], [[Taiwan|Formosa]], and islands in the Pacific.

Momsen served on the [[General Board of the United States Navy|Navy General Board]] from June 1947 until May 1948. He served as Assistant [[Chief of Naval Operations]] for Undersea Warfare from 1948 to 1951, then became Commander of the Submarine Force's Pacific Fleet.<ref name=onr/> Momsen also took part in developing the streamlined {{USS|Albacore|AGSS-569|2}} submarine. To avoid Navy interference, Admiral Momsen directed [[Bureau of Ships]] to design an unarmed submarine for speed, and told the Navy that the submarine would be a [[Seaborne target|practice target]] for anti-submarine aircraft from aircraft carriers.<ref name="ussalbacore.orgBuild">{{cite web | url=http://www.ussalbacore.org/html/history/building_changing.html | title=Building and Changing Albacore | access-date=2019-03-08 | archive-date=2019-03-04 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304103626/http://www.ussalbacore.org/html/history/building_changing.html | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="ussnautilus.org">{{cite web | url=http://ussnautilus.org/blog/the-revolutionary-uss-albacore-agss-569/ | title=The Revolutionary USS ALBACORE (AGSS-569)  |date=2014-03-14 |access-date=2019-03-08 }}</ref><ref name="asme.org">{{cite web | url=https://www.asme.org/wwwasmeorg/media/ResourceFiles/AboutASME/Who%20We%20Are/Engineering%20History/Landmarks/209-USS-Albacore-1953.pdf | title=209-USS-Albacore-1953.pdf |date=2000-05-13 |access-date=2019-03-08 }}</ref>

Vice Admiral Momsen died of cancer on May 25, 1967. He was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref name=onr/>

==Namesake==
The 42nd {{Sclass|Arleigh Burke|destroyer|0}} [[guided missile destroyer]], {{USS|Momsen|DDG-92|6}} is named in his honor.

Momsen Hall, the 75-man [[Barracks|Bachelor Officer Quarters]] at the [[Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center]] (AUTEC), [[Andros Island]], [[Bahamas]], was named in his honor in 1969.

On November 10, 2009, the U.S. Navy's newest trainer, the Submarine Escape Trainer, was named in honor of Admiral Momsen in ceremonies at the [[New London Submarine Base]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kenny|first=William|date=19 November 2009|title=SUBSCOL dedicates Submarine Escape Trainer|journal=The Dolphin|url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20388468&BRD=1659&PAG=461&dept_id=8103&rfi=6|access-date=2009-11-19}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal bar|Biography}}
*{{annotated link|Momsen lung}}
*{{annotated link|Steinke hood}}
*{{annotated link|Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment}}
*{{annotated link|USS Albacore (AGSS-569)|USS Albacore SS569, special test submarine}}

==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name=Maas>{{Cite book |author=Maas, Peter |title=The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History |location=New York |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1999 |isbn=0-06-019480-4 |author-link=Peter Maas |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/terriblehours00pete_0 }}</ref>
}}

==Additional references==
*{{Cite video |people=Keach, James |year=2000 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286996 |title = Submerged |medium=Film |location=New York |publisher=[[NBC]]}} ([[Television movie]].)
*{{Cite book |author=Barrows, Nat A. |title=Blow All Ballast: The Story of the Squalus |location=New York |publisher=Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. |year=1940 |author-link=Nat A. Barrows}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031225042318/http://www.momsen.org/ Momsen.org] points to a biographical page on his granddaughter's otherwise unrelated website, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080827155904/http://www.helenhart.citymax.com/ Hart Enterprises: Professional Embroidery].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120209152432/http://ibssg.org/mccann/momsen-account.htm "Rescue and Salvage of U.S.S. Squalus" by Commander Charles B. Momsen, USN, (Lecture delivered to the Harvard Engineering Society on 6 October 1939)]

{{Underwater diving}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Momsen, Charles}}
[[Category:1896 births]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Flushing, Queens]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:United States Navy admirals]]
[[Category:United States Naval Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Submarine pioneers]]
[[Category:United States submarine commanders]]
[[Category:United States Navy World War II admirals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Cross (United States)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:American people of Swedish descent]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]