On March 23, 1939, the US submarine Squalus sank off the coast of New Hampshire.  The sinking was due to a faulty air induction valve which caused the aft engine room to flood, killing 24 sailors and two civilians.  The rest of the crew (32 sailors and a civilian) were alive, but chlorine gas was leaking from a battery compartment.  The sub rested 240 feet down.  They managed to float a marker buoy which was located by another sub, the Sculpin.  The rescue ship USS Falcon was rushed to the location and used a Mommsen-McDann rescue chamber (like a diving bell) to rescue the crew.  In four trips over a period of 39 hours, all the survivors were rescued.  Later, the Squalus was raised, rebuilt, recrewed, and renamed the Sailfish.  In WWII, both the Sailfish and the Sculpin served in the Pacific.  In November, 1943 the Sculpin was disabled by a Japanese destroyer and the crew had to scuttle the sub.  The sailors were picked up by the Japanese and became prisoners of war.  On Dec. 4, 1943, the Sailfish sank the Japanese carrier Chuyo.  Everybody on board celebrated.  What they didn’t know was that the Chuyo was transporting 22 members of the Sculpin crew to a prison camp in Japan.  Only one of them survived.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-03-08-9503080068-story.html

https://historycollection.co/depths-8-daring-submarine-missions/7/


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