Charles "Swede" Momsen

Charles "Swede" Momsen was a United States Navy officer and pioneering submarine engineer known for lifesaving rescue innovations and contributions to undersea warfare, salvage, and diving technology. He is credited with developing early submarine escape systems and techniques that influenced United States Navy submarine safety, Royal Navy interest in rescue protocols, and international undersea rescue doctrine used during the World War II era. Momsen's work intersected with prominent contemporaries, institutions, and events in twentieth-century naval history.

Early life and education

Born in Flourtown, Pennsylvania, Momsen spent formative years shaped by American industrial and maritime environments that included connections to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, United States Naval Academy, and regional technical schools. He attended preparatory schools that fed into institutions such as the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, where future classmates included officers who later served aboard USS Squalus (SS-192), USS S-4 (SS-109), and during operations alongside Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Antarctic expeditions. Momsen’s early exposure included lectures and training tied to Naval Research Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, and engineering programs influenced by figures at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and American Bureau of Shipping. His education connected him with contemporaries from United States Naval Academy Class of 1918 and with mentors from Bureau of Ships and Office of Naval Research-linked research groups.

Naval career and submarine innovation

Momsen’s naval career encompassed service aboard surface combatants and submarines including deployments that intersected operational theaters like the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and interwar exercises off Cuban and Panama Canal Zone waters. He worked within organizations such as the Bureau of Construction and Repair, Submarine Force, United States Atlantic Fleet, and staff offices that coordinated with the United States Fleet and allied services like the Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy. Momsen collaborated with inventors and officers associated with Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, and analysts at Naval War College and United States Naval Institute who shaped submarine doctrine. His innovations built on earlier work by inventors linked to Simon Lake, John Philip Holland, and engineers at Electric Boat Company and Bethlehem Steel Corporation, influencing designs adopted by Gato-class submarine programs and postwar classes such as the Balao-class submarine.

Development of the Momsen lung and rescue techniques

Momsen developed the escape respirator later dubbed the "Momsen lung" after research in collaboration with diving physiologists associated with Naval Medical Research Institute, Harvard Medical School researchers, and pressure studies by teams at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His work was informed by decompression theory from scientists linked to Haldane-influenced protocols and by salvage practices used by companies such as Mare Island Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The device and associated procedures were tested during exercises with crews of boats like USS S-4 (SS-109), and equipment trials involved cooperation with United States Coast Guard units, United States Army Air Forces air-sea rescue planners, and industrial partners including General Electric and DuPont for materials. The Momsen lung complemented the development of the Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus, and its adoption altered training curricula at institutions like the Submarine School and safety manuals distributed by the Bureau of Ships.

Notable rescues and the USS Squalus incident

Momsen played a central role in the dramatic rescue and salvage of USS Squalus (SS-192), an operation that brought together salvage teams from Navy Yard, Portsmouth (New Hampshire), United States Navy Bureau of Engineering, and civilian contractors such as Curtiss-Wright and Merritt-Chapman & Scott. The Squalus incident united personalities and organizations including Admiral Ernest King, Rear Admiral John H. Hoover, Commander Charles B. McVay III-era contemporaries, and divers trained under protocols from Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center. The rescue utilized rescue chambers that presaged the McCann Rescue Chamber and techniques that informed international responses to submarine disasters such as the HMS Thetis and later incidents involving K-219 and Kursk (K-141). The operation engaged technology from Bethlehem Steel fabricated components and drew logistical support from Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. Momsen’s actions during Squalus established procedures later referenced by commissions and inquiries including those convened by the United States Congress and naval investigative boards.

Later career, awards, and legacy

After his hands-on rescue work, Momsen served in senior positions including assignments that interacted with Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Bureau of Ships, and advisory roles to the Underwater Sound Laboratory and Cold War anti-submarine efforts involving NATO partners like Royal Netherlands Navy and Royal Australian Navy. His awards and recognitions included decorations associated with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, commendations from the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, and mentions in proceedings of the United States Naval Institute. Momsen influenced subsequent generations through curricula at the Naval Submarine School, contributions to publications in venues such as Proceedings (magazine), and mentorship of officers who later served with figures like Admiral Hyman G. Rickover and scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. His legacy is preserved in memorials at institutions including Subase New London and in museum exhibits at National Museum of the United States Navy and Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. The techniques and devices he championed informed modern submarine escape systems used by navies worldwide and continue to be cited in studies by Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory and international salvage organizations.

Category:United States Navy admirals Category:Submarine rescue pioneers