Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment: Difference between revisions

'''Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment''' ('''SEIE'''), also known as '''Submarine Escape ''and'' Immersion Equipment''', is a whole-body suit and one-man [[life raft]], that was first produced in 1952. It was designed by British company [[Survitec Group|RFD Beaufort Limited]], thatand allows submariners to escape from a sunken [[submarine]].<ref>{{cite web |title=FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Submarine Escape & Immersion Equipment (SEIE) |url=https://survitecgroup.com/faqs/faq-submarine-escape-immersion-equipment-seie/ |website=Survitec Survival Technology |publisher=Survitec Group Limited |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref> The suit also provides protection against [[hypothermia]] and is(since the Mk 10 version) rapidlyhas replacingreplaced the [[Steinke hood]] rescue device. The suit allows survivors to escape a disabled submarine at depths down to {{convert|600|ft|m|0}}, with an ascent speed of 2–3 meters/second, at a rate of eight or more sailors per hour.<ref name=Survivitec>{{cite web |website = Survitec Group| publisher = Survitec Group Limited | date = April 19, 2015 | url = http://survitecgroup.com/products/seie-mk11 | access-date = April 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206120407/http://survitecgroup.com/products/seie-mk11 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 6, 2017 |title=SEIE MK11}}</ref><ref name=UnderseaWarfare>{{cite magazine | last = Rush | first = David | title = SEIE Provides New Level of Survivability | magazine= Undersea Warfare |volume= 7 |issue= 2 | publisher = United States Department of the Navy | date = April 21, 2005 | url = http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_25/downlink4.htm | accessdateaccess-date = April 19, 2015}}</ref> Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment can be a method used in [[submarine rescue]] operations.

The latest generation [[RFD Beaufort SEIE MK11]] enables free ascent from a stricken submarine and provides extensive protection for the submariner on reaching the surface until rescued. A typical assembly comprises a submarine escape and immersion suit, an inner thermal liner, and a gas-inflated single-seat life raft, all contained in a protective stowage compartment. The intention of the suit is to keep the escapee dry and protected from cold shock during ascent, and to provide buoyancy, freeboard, and [[thermal insulation]] at the surface.<ref name=Survivitec/><ref name=UnderseaWarfare/>

Following a nearly 30-year hiatus, the U.S. Navy reinstituted [[pressurized submarine escape training]] (PSET) for submarine sailors in 2009, using the Beaufort Mk 10 Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment (SEIE) suit.<ref name="ReferenceA">O'Donnell SW, and Horn WG, Initial review of the U.S. Navy's pressurized submarine escape training outcomes, Undersea Hyperb. Med. 2014 Jan-Feb;41(1):33-40</ref>

In aan ''[[Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine]]'' review of training, O'Donnell and Horn report that "During the first 39 months of training, 7,025 students screened for PSET with 32% completing all phases, including two pressurized ascents. The most common reason for screening disqualification was presence of upper respiratory congestion. During training, [[Barotrauma#Ear barotrauma|middle ear barotrauma]] was responsible for 53% of attrition, primarily during the test of pressure."<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The Steinke hood was designed for the same purpose as the SEIE, but did not include thermal insulation or a life raft. It could not protect submariners from hypothermia and weather exposure, or provide crew visibility at the surface, as the SEIE can.<ref name=NSMRL1205>{{cite journal |author1=Frank, SJ |author2=Curley, MD |author3=Ryder, SJ |title=A Biomedical Review Of The U.S. Navy Submarine Escape System: 1996 |journal=Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory Technical Report |volume=NSMRL-1205 |year=1997 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/8530 |accessdatearchive-url=https://archive.today/20130415180707/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/8530 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |access-date=2013-03-15}}</ref>

Another benefit of vehicle rescue as compared to escape with the SEIE is that there would likely be additional critical on-site resources available, such as a [[recompression chamber]], that could be urgently needed by the rescued crew members.<ref name=Weathersby1999>{{cite journal |author1=Weathersby, PK |author2=Survanshi, SS |author3=Parker, EC |author4=Temple, DJ |author5=Toner, CB |title=Estimated DCS Risks in Pressurized Submarine Rescue. |journal=US Naval Medical Research Center Technical Report |volume=NMRC 1999-04 |year=1999 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7553 |accessdatearchive-url=https://archive.today/20130415223023/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7553 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |access-date=2013-03-15}}</ref><ref name=NEDU-1999-4>{{cite journal |author1=Latson, Gary W |author2=Flynn, Edward T |title=Use of Emergency Evacuation Hyperbaric Stretcher (EEHS) in Submarine Escape and Rescue. |journal=[[US Navy Experimental Diving Unit Technical Report]] |volume=NEDU-TR-4-99 |year=1999 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3563 |accessdatearchive-url=https://archive.today/20130415174245/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/3563 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=April 15, 2013 |access-date=2013-03-15}}</ref>

*[[{{annotated link|Davis Submerged Escape Apparatus]]}}

*[[{{annotated link|Steinke hood]]}}

*[[{{annotated link|Momsen lung]]}}

*[[{{annotated link|Escape set]]}}

*{{cite press release|accessdateaccess-date=2007-03-10|url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=26901