Captain Charles Wesley Shilling was an American physician who was known as a leader in the field of undersea and hyperbaric medicine, research, and education. Shilling was widely recognized as an expert on deep sea diving, naval medicine, radiation biology, and submarine capabilities. In 1939, he was Senior Medical Officer in the rescue of the submarine U.S.S. Squalus.
Cutaway drawing of the McCann Rescue Chamber used to rescue crewmen from the sunken submarine USS Squalus in May 1939.
Shilling's portrait at the Duke University Medical Center Library
USS Sailfish (SS-192), was a US Sargo-class submarine, originally named Squalus. As Squalus, the submarine sank off the coast of New Hampshire during test dives on 23 May 1939. The sinking drowned 26 crew members, but an ensuing rescue operation, using the McCann Rescue Chamber for the first time, saved the lives of the remaining 33 aboard. Squalus was salvaged in late 1939 and recommissioned as Sailfish in May 1940.
USS Sailfish (SS-192), off the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California, 13 April 1943
SS-192 in drydock after salvage
Conning tower of SS-192 on display at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, seen during a 2013 visit by General Martin Dempsey, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
