Development and Evaluation of a Swimmer's Rescue Suit

Two prototype garments, differing only in size, were fabricated and submitted to the Naval Medical Research Laboratory for test and evaluation. These suits were subjected to a great variety of practical tests; first in the Escape Training Tank at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base, Groton, Connecticut, then in a series of service tests in use with divers, both skin and SCUBA, in an underwater cave in a quarry in an actual rescue situation, in a river-bottom search for a victim of drowning, in clearing a propeller shaft of a vessel in Long Island Sound, in demonstrating the feasibility of torpedo recovery by submarine personnel, and finally in a cold chamber where the wearer was subjected to a temperature of -20F and a wind velocity of 3-4 knots. The prototype 'wet' suit was found to be highly satisfactory and is considered suitable for adoption as the standard item of issue for swimmer rescue and related operations. (Modified author abstract)