I suspect that most people read the title of this post and went, “What…???” Well… as it happens, this day in history, the first device to provide a means to escape a sunken submarine underwent its first testing. The Momsen Lung consists of a rubber bag containing a canister of soda lime that removes carbon dioxide from exhaled air and replaces it with oxygen. It was developed by Lieutenant Charles B. Momsen (UNSA Class of 1919), Chief Gunner Clarence L. Tibbals, and civilian engineer Frank Hobson.

The only known emergency use of the Momsen lung was during the escape from USS Tang on October 25, 1944. The Momsen lung was replaced by the Steinke hood beginning in 1962. This was the device that was standard during my time of service. My only experience with the hood was during SubSchool when all are required to do an ascent from ~100 feet. It was actually kinda’ fun.

The USS Tang was launched in 1943 and immediately went into action with Commander Richard O’Kane USN. Throughout the war the submarines had been plagued with faulty torpedoes. Sadly, Tang was actually sunk by her own torpedo which went into a circular run. She sank off China in the Taiwan Strait on 24 October 1944.

The engagement was at night with Tang surfaced and so there were several crew members along with O’Kane topside in the sail of the submarine. The majority of the crew was below decks. Several men escaped via the Momsen Lung, several did a free-ascent, but in the end only 78 perished. Nine, inlcuding O’Kane, survived and were captured by the Japanese, spening the remainder of the was in a POW camp.

In her short career in the Pacific War, Tang sank 33 enemy ships. Commander O’Kane received the Medal of Honor for her Tang’s last two engagements (23 and 24 October 1944)

O’Kane also received three Navy Crosses and three Silver Stars, for a total of seven awards of the United States military’s three highest decorations for valor in combat. Before commanding Tang, O’Kane served in the highly successful USS Wahoo as executive officer and approach officer under noted Commander Dudley “Mush” Morton. In his ten combat patrols, five in Wahoo and five commanding Tang, O’Kane participated in more successful attacks on Japanese shipping than any other submarine officer during the war.

In the world of WWII submarine lore, Morton and O’Kane are legendary.

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Image credit:
Momsen Lung: United States Navy, photographer unknown
Steinke Hood: National Museum of the U.S. Navy – 330-PSA-262-63 (USN 711388), Public Domain