Many countries are sending teams of divers to take
part in this exercise. Divers play an important part in
many aspects of submarine escape and rescue. Free
swimming divers can descend to a submarine and
work to inspect the hull, clear access to hatches and
attach supply lines to deliver fresh air to the crew or
high pressure air to attempt to bring it to the surface.
In addition they can deliver water-tight pods
containing food, medical supplies or atmosphere
control chemicals to keep the crew alive while awaiting
rescue. For a disabled submarine below the depths
at which divers can work an Atmosphere Diving Suit
(ADS) will allow the same tasks to be carried out. As
the illustration shows an ADS is a self contained oneman
submersible suit of armour, it is capable of long
endurance dives down to the maximum depths at which
rescue can be performed.
