George Foote Bond, MD | |
|---|---|
 NOAA drawing of Dr. Bond and the SEALAB habitat.(1960s) Captain George Bond's Discoveries Enable Divers to Stay Below Indefinitely | |
| Nickname | Papa Topside |
| Born | (1915-11-14)November 14, 1915 |
| Died | January 3, 1983(1983-01-03) (aged 67) |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1953–1978 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Awards | Navy Commendation Medal,Legion of Merit with two gold stars |
CaptainGeorge Foote Bond (November 14, 1915 – January 3, 1983) was aUnited States Navyphysician who was known as a leader in the field ofundersea andhyperbaric medicine and the "Father ofSaturation Diving".[1][2]
While serving as Officer-in-Charge at the Naval Medical Research Laboratory in Groton, Connecticut, he conducted his earliest experiments into saturation diving techniques.In 1957, Bond began the Genesis project to prove that humans could in fact withstand prolonged exposure to differentbreathing gases and increased environmental pressures. Once saturation is achieved, the amount of time needed fordecompression depends only on the depth and gases breathed. This was the beginning ofsaturation diving and the US Navy's Man-in-the-Sea Program.[1]
The first two phases of Project Genesis involved exposing animals to saturation in various breathing gases.[3] In 1962, interest inhelium-oxygen atmospheres for crewed space flights made Phase C possible.[2] Phase C involved saturation of three subjects at one atmosphere (surface) in a 21.6% oxygen, 4% nitrogen, and 74.4% helium environment for six days.[2][4] In phase D experiments at theUnited States Navy Experimental Diving Unit in 1963,[4] the subjects performed the world's first saturation dive at a depth of 100 feet of seawater (fsw) in a 7% oxygen, 7% nitrogen, and 86% helium environment for 6 days.[4] In phase E trials in 1963 divers were saturated for 12 days at 198 fsw breathing 3.9% oxygen, 6.5% nitrogen and 89.6% helium.[4] A 27-hour linear ascent was made from saturation.[4][5]
"Papa Topside" Bond initiated and served as the Senior Medical Officer andprincipal investigator of the US NavySEALAB program.[2] SEALAB I was lowered off the coast ofBermuda in 1964 to a depth of 192 fsw below the sea's surface. The experiment was halted after 11 days due to an approachingtropical storm.[2] SEALAB I proved that saturation diving in the open ocean was a viable means for expanding our ability to live and work in the sea. The experiment also provided engineering solutions to habitat placement, habitat umbilicals, humidity, and helium speech descrambling.[2] SEALAB II was launched off the coast of California in 1965 to assess the feasibility of utilizing saturation techniques and tools to accomplish a variety of tasks that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish by repeated dives from the surface.[6] In addition to physiological testing, the divers tested new tools, methods of salvage, and an electrically heated drysuit.[7][8] SEALAB III was placed in water three times as deep to test new salvage techniques and foroceanographic andfishery studies.[9][10] On February 15, 1969, SEALAB III was lowered to 610 fsw (185 m), offSan Clemente Island, California. The habitat soon began to leak and six divers were sent to repair it, but they were unsuccessful. During the second attempt, aquanautBerry L. Cannon died,[2] and the program came to a halt.[11]
George Foote Bond was born November 14, 1915, inWilloughby, Ohio, to Robert and Louise Foot Bond.[1] Bond received aBachelor andMaster of Arts from theUniversity of Florida in 1939.[1] While a student at UF, he became a member of theSigma Nu fraternity.[12] He then attended medical school atMcGill University where he completed his medical training insurgery in 1945.[1] Bond performed hisinternship at the Memorial Hospital inCharlotte, North Carolina.[1] In 1946, Bond established a rural medical practice inBat Cave, North Carolina.[1] Seeing a need in the community, Bond established the Valley Clinic and Hospital in 1948.[1] Bond was recognized by the community as "Doctor of the Year" in 1953. The people of the area showed their affection towards Bond when he appeared on the national television showThis Is Your Life on June 22, 1955.[1][13]
Bond entered active Navy service in 1953.[1] Soon after he qualified as a Diving andSubmarine Medical Officer and served as Squadron Medical Officer from 1954 to 1958.[1] Later that year, Bond transferred to theNaval Medical Research Laboratory inGroton, Connecticut, where he served as the Officer-in-Charge until 1964.[1] It was during this time that Bond conducted his earliest experiments intosaturation diving techniques.[1]
On October 2, 1959, approximately 15 miles southwest of Key West, Commander Bond and Chief Engineman Cyril Tuckfield safely completed a 52-second, 302-foot buoyant ascent from the forwardescape trunk of the U.S. Navy submarineUSSArcherfish. Both men received theLegion of Merit in 1960 for establishing the feasibility of deep submarine escape by locking out.[1]
Albert R. Behnke proposed the idea of exposing humans to increased ambient pressures long enough for the blood and tissues to becomesaturated with inert gases in 1942.[4][14] In 1957, Bond began the Genesis project proving that humans could in fact withstand prolonged exposure to differentbreathing gases and increased environmental pressures.[2][4] Once saturation is achieved, the amount of time needed fordecompression depends on the depth and gases breathed. This was the beginning ofsaturation diving and the US Navy's Man-in-the-Sea Program.[1]
Genesis was conducted in phases. In 1957 and 1958, the first two phases (A and B) involved exposing animals to saturation in various breathing gases.[3] The experiments are summarized in the table below:
| Phase | Animal | Depth | Duration | Breathing Gas | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Wistar rats | 198 fsw[note 2] | 35 hours | Air | Rats all died, attributed tooxygen toxicity |
| A2 | Wistar rats | 198 fsw | 14 days | 3% Oxygen/ 97% Nitrogen | 15 of 16 animals survived, lung lesions found in survivors[15] |
| A3 | Wistar rats | 1.5 ATA[note 3] | 35 hours | Oxygen | Rats all died |
| B1 | Wistar rats | 1 ATA | 16 days | 20% Oxygen/ 80% Helium | All survived |
| B2 | Wistar rats | 200 fsw | 14 days | 3% Oxygen/ 97% Helium | All survived |
| B3 | Wistar rats,Goat,Squirrel monkey | 200 fsw | 14 days | 3% Oxygen/ 97% Helium | All survived |
Once the animal work was completed, Bond proposed offering "the opportunity for development of ecological systems which would permit man, as a free agent, to live and work to depths at 600 feet, and for periods in excess of 30 days."[2] This proposal was rejected but in 1962, interest inhelium-oxygen atmospheres for crewed space flights made Phase C possible.[2]
Fred Korth was theSecretary of the Navy in 1962 and authorized Phase C involving saturation of three subjects at one atmosphere (surface) in a 21.6% oxygen, 4% nitrogen, and 74.4% helium environment for six days.[2][4] The divers for this trial wereLieutenants John C. Bull, Jr., Albert P. Fisher, Jr., andChief QuartermasterRobert A. Barth.[4] Physiologically, the subjects showed no changes though difficulty controlling their body temperature as well as changes in their speech from the helium were noted.[4]
Phase D experiments were conducted at theUnited States Navy Experimental Diving Unit in 1963.[4] The subjects for these trials were Robert A. Barth,Sanders W. Manning, and Raymond R. Lavois.[4] The subjects performed the world's first saturation dive at a depth of 100 feet of seawater (fsw) in a 7% oxygen, 7% nitrogen, and 86% helium environment for 6 days.[4] Light exercise and underwater swimming were performed periodically in the "wet pot" (a water-filledhyperbaric chamber).[4] Again the difficulty controlling their body temperature was a concern and the helium speech became worse at the greater environmental pressure.[4]
Bond returned the team to the Naval Medical Research Laboratory for the Phase E trials in 1963.[4] The divers were John C. Bull, Jr., Robert A. Barth, and Sanders W. Manning.[4] They were saturated for 12 days at 198 fsw breathing 3.9% oxygen, 6.5% nitrogen and 89.6% helium.[4] The temperature and voice communications problems continued with communications with the surface being virtually impossible.[4] A 27-hour linear ascent was made from saturation.[4][5]
Bond summarized the Genesis experiments:[15]
|
The Genesis chamber is still in use as a research facility today at theNaval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory.[16]
Following the success of the Genesis Project,Edwin Link initiated his Man-in-the-Sea dives followed shortly thereafter byCousteau and hisConshelf experiments. "Papa Topside" Bond initiated and served as the Senior Medical Officer andprincipal investigator of the US NavySEALAB program.[2]
SEALAB I was lowered off the coast ofBermuda in 1964 to a depth of 192 fsw below the sea's surface. It was constructed from two converted floats and held in place withaxles fromrailroad cars. Bond and Captain Walter Mazzone inspected the habitat prior to the beginning of the project.[2] The experiment involved four divers (LCDRRobert Thompson, MC; Gunners Mate First ClassLester Anderson, Chief QuartermasterRobert A. Barth, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Sanders Manning), who were to stay submerged for three weeks. The experiment was halted after 11 days due to an approachingtropical storm.[2] SEALAB I proved that saturation diving in the open ocean was a viable means for expanding our ability to live and work in the sea. The experiment also provided engineering solutions to habitat placement, habitat umbilicals, humidity, and helium speech descrambling.[2]
SEALAB II was launched in 1965 to assess the feasibility of utilizing saturation techniques and tools "to remain deep beneath the ocean surface indefinitely and accomplish a variety of tasks that would be difficult or impossible to accomplish by repeated dives from the surface."[6] It was placed in theLa Jolla Canyon off the coast ofCalifornia, at a depth of 205 fsw. On August 28, 1965, the first of three teams of divers moved into what became known as the "Tilton Hilton" (Tiltin' Hilton, because of the slope of the landing site). Unlike SEALAB I, it also included hot showers andrefrigeration. Each team spent 15 days in thehabitat, butaquanaut/astronautScott Carpenter remained below for a record 30 days. In addition to physiological testing, the divers tested new tools, methods of salvage, and an electrically heated drysuit.[7][8] One case ofdecompression sickness was treated by Dr. Bond.[17]
SEALAB III used a refurbished SEALAB II habitat, but was placed in water three times as deep. Five teams of ninedivers were scheduled to spend 12 days each in the habitat, testing new salvage techniques and conductingoceanographic andfishery studies.[9][10] According toJohn Piña Craven, the U.S. Navy's head of theDeep Submergence Systems Project of which SEALAB was a part, SEALAB III "was plagued with strange failures at the very start of operations".[18] On February 15, 1969, SEALAB III was lowered to 610 fsw (185 m), offSan Clemente Island, California. The habitat soon began to leak and six divers were sent to repair it, but they were unsuccessful. Tragically, during the second attempt, aquanautBerry L. Cannon died.[2] The SEALAB program came to a halt, and although the habitat was retrieved, it was eventually scrapped. Aspects of the research continued but no new habitats were built.[11]
Bond was decorated with aNavy Commendation Medal for "heroic, professional, and scientific achievement" while he was the Medical Officer for Submarine Squadron One from 1954 to 1956.[1] TheLegion of Merit was awarded in 1960 for establishing the feasibility of deep submarine escape by locking out of a submarine at a depth of 302 fsw with two additional gold stars being earned for his work with SEALAB I (1964) and SEALAB II (1965).[1]
The US Navy dedicated the new Ocean Simulation Facility at theUnited States Navy Experimental Diving Unit in honor of Dr. Bond in 1974.[2]
Bond served on the first Board of Advisors for theNational Association of Underwater Instructors.[19]
Bond's leadership helped establish the Man-In-The-Sea Museum in 1977 with a goal to preserve the history of undersea exploration.[20]
Bond died on January 3, 1983.[1] He is buried inBat Cave, North Carolina.
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