Steinke hood
Encyclopedia
A Steinke hood, named for its inventor, Lieutenant
Harris Steinke, is a device designed to aid escape from a sunken submarine
,
essentially an inflatable life jacket with a hood that completely encloses the wearer's head, trapping a bubble of breathing air. An advancement over its predecessor, the Momsen lung
, it was standard equipment in all submarine
s of the United States Navy
throughout the Cold War
period. The U.S. Navy has replaced Steinke hoods on U.S. submarines with escape suits called Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment
.
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Harris Steinke, is a device designed to aid escape from a sunken submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
,
essentially an inflatable life jacket with a hood that completely encloses the wearer's head, trapping a bubble of breathing air. An advancement over its predecessor, the Momsen lung
Momsen lung
The Momsen lung was a primitive underwater rebreather used before and during World War II by American submariners as emergency escape gear. The Momsen lung was invented by Charles B. Momsen . Submariners would train in a 100-foot deep escape training tower using this apparatus...
, it was standard equipment in all submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
throughout the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
period. The U.S. Navy has replaced Steinke hoods on U.S. submarines with escape suits called Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment
Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment
Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment MK-10, also known as Submarine Escape and Immersion Equipment is whole-body suit and one-man life raft, designed by British company RFD Beaufort Limited, that allows submariners to escape from a sunken submarine. The suit provides protection against hypothermia...
.