ESCAPE AT SEA
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BY JO2/SS Steve Vasquez
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 NAVY BASE
FREDRIKSHAVEN, DENMARK-Dive, Dive, Dive, words familiar to all submariners. When going to sea on a submarine all personnel understand the dangers. A fire could break out, flooding could happen, or a mechanical problem, all these things could lead to a major catastrophe for the submarine. What if the submarine was sunk on the bottom, could they get off?
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Four crew members from the Swedish submarine HSwMS VASTERGOTLAND, two British, two Danish and one American sailor demonstrated not only that this can be done but how to do it as they conducted an escape exercise during the
NATO-PfP exercise Sorbet Royal 2002.
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The sailors would be using the MK 10 Submarine Escape Equipment suit. The suit has been in use by the British Royal Navy since 1994 and has been used in other exercises like these in the past.
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Arriving early Saturday morning to board the Danish vessel HDMS LAESOE, the escapees spoke with nervous anticipation. Commander Bruce Cohen, U.S. Navy, said, “All of us have trained in the suits prior to today and know what to expect. We have used different dive towers in the past, but time it’s for real, in open ocean and out of a live submarine.”
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Arriving at their rendezvous point, the submarine was quickly sighted. Its mast sticking out of the water with a buoy in tow. This would be used to pinpoint the submarines sail during the exercise and estimate the distance for the position of surfacing for those escaping. After the submarine had surfaced, the participants quickly boarded small boats to take them over to the submarine. Due to the small amount of space on the submarine, personnel from the boat also had to be transported back to the LAESOE so that the boat’s compliment stayed the same.
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After a few test runs and settling to the bottom of the Kattegat the “rescues at sea” was about to begin. Underwater communication between the ship and the submarine indicated when the escapees were to leave the boat. In ten seconds, they arrived on the surface bobbing in the water as the rescue team from the LAESOE swooped in to pluck them from the water. The crew had three minutes to get the escapes from their surfacing point to the compression chamber on board to avoid potentially dangerous decompression sickness. In actuality, the well-trained Danish crew took about 90 seconds.
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The four Swedish crew members from the submarine were the first to come to the surface. Word spread around the ship quickly that a you had to see the male and female Swedish officers who had come aboard. It was discovered after shedding their MK10 suits that they had worn their full dress uniforms. Bow ties and long skirts had accompanied them as well as a bottle of champagne to commemorate the event.
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After all were recovered, the satisfaction of the day and the excitement didn’t appear to wearing off. Commander Cohen, the first post-WWII U.S. Navy personnel to accomplish the escape, relayed “getting into the trunk I was excited and lonely, then things just happened and I did what I was trained to do. Before I knew it I was swimming for light and was on the surface. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be doing this. This is a system that works and has proven to work.” He added, “just think I get paid to do this.”
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It was then time to open the bottle of champagne. Everyone gathered to toast the day and that everyone had made it through it safe. |
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