Tuesday Tidings Newsletter

21 May 2024

Welcome back to our National Maritime Historical Society members and friends who share a love for naval history!

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, there will be commemorative events across the nation, and we encourage you to participate and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our freedoms. In the nation’s capital, the World War II Memorial will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Meanwhile in Kenosha, Wisconsin this Saturday, the Pritzker Military Archive Center will be opening to the public. With the 80th Anniversary of D-Day soon coming on 6 June, the new archive’s architecture evokes the appearance of a landing craft. See the story below.

Speaking of D-Day, there will be an impressive gathering of world leaders at Normandy on 6 June. If you don’t plan to make it to France, there will be commemorations across the country, like the Yogi Berra Learning Center Museum in northern New Jersey where Naval History and Heritage Command Director Rear Adm. Sam Cox, Rear Adm. Sonny Masso, and historian Paul Stillwell will engage in a roundtable discussion about the landing on French beaches that involved the now deceased Yankee catcher and former Navy coxswain for whom the museum is named.

This week for our Naval History Book Review we offer Barrett Tillman’s assessment of Maj, Jim Rotramel’s Operation Eldorado Canyon. We have some new titles in. Please check the list!

Tuesday Tidings is compiled by Dr. David F. Winkler and Jessie Henderson as a benefit for members of the National Maritime Historical Society and friends of naval history.

As always, comments are welcome at nmhs@seahistory.org.

ITEMS OF IMMEDIATE INTEREST

22 May 2024 – Virtual Talk: Harvey Milk and National Maritime Day

With Stuart Milk

Noon–1 PM (EDT) Navy Museum, Washington, DC (Virtual via Facebook)

23 May 2024 – Kings Maritime History Series – The Post-Napoleonic Employment of Former Warships in the British Southern Whale Fishery, 1815–1845

With Julie Papworth and Roger Dence, King’s College

5:15 PM (GMT)

25 May 2024 – Opening of the Pritzker Military Archive Center, Kenosha, WI

11 AM–3 PM (CDT)

26 May 2024 – Registration Deadline The Battle of Midway Dinner, Washington, DC

6 June 2024 – 80th Anniversary of D-Day at Museum Dedicated to D-Day Veteran Yogi Berra

With Rear Admirals Sam Cox, Sonny Masso, and historian Paul Stillwell

11 AM -12:30 (EDT) Yogi Berra Learning Center and Museum, Little Falls, NJ

6 June 2024 –The NMHS ZOOM Seminar Series Presents Lethal Tides: Mary Sears and the Marine Scientists who Helped Win World War II with Dr. Catherine Musemeche

Lecture at 7 PM EST, Q&A to Follow

Buy the book here>>

20–22 June 2024 – North American Society for Oceanographic History/Canadian Nautical Research Society conference

St. Catharines, Ontario

FEATURED CONTENT

Pritzker Military Archives Center

Designed by JAHN, an award-winning, internationally recognized architectural firm, this space is a state-of-the-art research center located in Kenosha, WI, to further the mission of the Pritzker Military Museum & Library through restoration, preservation, and storage of its collection. It features a Gallery Center that is approximately 9,400 square feet for public viewing, offering the local community the opportunity to immerse themselves in history.

This new, Wisconsin-based archive is necessary due to the overwhelming support of donors and families eager to protect their family’s legacy and stories. Along with the archival space, workspace for the Pritzker Military Museum & Library staff is included for continued curation of the military collection for future exhibits. It also serves as an academic center for researchers and will be taking appointments upon request. If you are a researcher and would like to book an appointment, please email reference@pritzkermilitary.org.

Podcast Updates

In Episode 5 of the new Anchored in History Podcast Series, the Director of Naval History and Heritage Command, Rear Adm. Sam Cox, discusses his H-Gram 082 titled: “USS Asheville's Defiance and the ‘Dancing Mouse.’” This episode covers the heroic actions of Lieutenant Commander Jacob Britt, the commanding officer of USS Asheville (PG-21), and Lieutenant Joshua Nix, the commanding officer of USS Edsall (DD-219), who chose to fight against overwhelming odds rather than surrender, during the fall of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in March 1942. They were true to the banner in Memorial Hall of the US Naval Academy—“Don't give up the ship.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, the Honorary Secretary of the Society for Nautical Research reports the Mariner’s Mirror Podcast “has become the world’s leading podcast dedicated to all of maritime and naval history.” For a peek at that report, click HERE.

McCann’s Rescue Chamber Saved 33 Lives

Courtesy Brent A. Hunt, Naval History and Heritage Command Communication and Outreach Division

The McCann rescue chamber in the water alongside USS Falcon (ASR-2) during the rescue of 33 crewmembers still alive and trapped in the sunken submarine USS Squalus (SS-192), off the New Hampshire coast, May 24–25, 1939. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

On May 24–25, 1939, Vice Adm. Allan R. McCann’s rescue chamber became the first deep-water device that was used to save crewmembers on a sunken submarine. On May 23, 1939, USS Squalus (SS-192) flooded and sank off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, after a main engine air-induction valve was left open. Twenty-six of its crew, trapped in the flooded aft compartments, drowned. However, 33 managed to survive in the forward part of the submarine. Lt. Cmdr. Charles Momsen, the initial designer of the chamber, led the rescue effort during four

submersions to retrieve all the survivors successfully from a depth of 243 feet. Four Navy divers were awarded the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions during the rescue.

Drawing of the McCann rescue chamber used to rescue 33 crewmembers from the sunken submarine USS Squalus (SS-192), May 24–25, 1939. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command.

Under Momsen’s direction, the Bureau of Construction and Repair had begun developing the rescue chamber in 1928. After extensive testing and experimenting, Momsen was reassigned within the bureau to design an underwater breathing apparatus for submarine escape—which became known as the Momsen lung, his most famous invention. The bureau placed then–Lt. Cmdr. McCann in charge of the design revisions Momsen had planned for the rescue chamber. McCann directed the development of the chamber for a year and a half; once completed in 1930, the bell was introduced by the Navy as the McCann rescue chamber. The chamber worked by coupling with a submarine’s escape hatch. The lower compartment of the chamber was cleared of water by blowing it into the chamber’s ballast tanks. Once the pressurized air in the lower chamber was released into the upper compartment and vented to the surface, the chamber and submarine are at equal pressure. The submarine’s escape hatch could be opened, and the trapped submariners could enter the rescue chamber for transport to the surface.

The loss of USS Thresher (SSN-593) in 1963 and USS Scorpion (SSN-589) in 1968 in extremely deep water—without the possibility of rescue—triggered the Navy to completely rethink submarine design, maintenance, and operations to reduce the number of unrecoverable submarine accidents. This would lead to the Submarine Safety Program, an ongoing quality-assurance effort by Sailors and contractors to ensure the safety of the submarine fleet, covering everything from welds to operating procedures. For decades, the Navy has invested in developing and maintaining the ability to locate and rescue crews of downed submarines. Today, the Undersea Rescue Command (URC) is home to the Navy’s submarine rescue specialists. URC provides operational, administrative, maintenance, and logistical oversight of the Navy's shallow and deepwater rescue systems as well as the remotely operated vehicle intervention system. URC uses a combination of active duty Sailors, Reserve personnel, and government contractors to provide worldwide submarine rescue coverage for United States and foreign submarines. URC is the sole US provider for submarine rescues for the Navy.

Battleship New Jersey Update

Photos by Dr. David Winkler and Charles T. Creekman

A hearty thank-you to the The Battleship New Jersey for offering a tour of the battleship in dry dock at the Philadelphia Navy Yard to the National Maritime Historical Society as an auction item at its recent National Maritime Awards Dinner in Washington. Curator Ryan Szimanski led the group tour this past Sunday and reported that, thanks to the publicity generated by media outlets such as the New York Times and NBC Nightly News, additional funds have been raised to extend the drydocking for an additional two weeks to allow the repair of some surprises found when the hull was exposed for the first time in 30 years. For more on New Jersey and how to help see: Battleship New Jersey – Experience a tour of the world’s greatest battleship!

NAVAL HISTORY BOOK REVIEWS

Operation Eldorado Canyon: the 1986 Bombing of Libya.

By Major Jim Rotramel, USAF (Ret.), Harpia Publishing, Austria (2024)

Reviewed by Barrett Tillman

...Rotramel’s text rates high for objectivity. He does not shy away from equipment failures, nor does he overlook what he blatantly calls US hypocrisy. The best example: Washington knew that the damage inflicted on the French Embassy was errant US ordnance rather than a Libyan missile that fell to earth. Forced to admit the facts, Washington blamed the bombing error on the crew that was killed in action. As Rotramel notes, “these known lies completely disgusted everyone who knew the truth.” Visually, Eldorado Canyon is a big, handsome 8 ½ by 11 inch softcover book typical of Harpia’s European format. It contains a great deal of information in 256 pages, though navalists will note absence of the FA-18 Hornet from the aircraft listed in the index.

Appendices are lavishly detailed with tables of organization for US Air Force and Navy units with their emblems, plus a Libyan air order of battle. The 120 or so illustrations are all in color, with several vivid maps showing details of aircraft paths, targets, and refueling points. Several profiles depict aviation weapons and ordnance. For generalist readers, the book contains six pages of acronyms and a six-page index. Overall, an excellent survey, adding to the existing literature.

Read review>>

NAVAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW

See the current List of Naval History Books Available for Review >>

Reviewers, authors, and publishers can also see our Guidelines for Naval History Book Reviews >>