Momsen never went on the first dive of the McCann Rescue chamber. He hadn't on any of the four trips. He was actually cited as scrutinizing the higher number of the rescued in the chamber, yet, told them to keep it up. The names of the operators cited in the movie were inaccurate as well. The following is a quote from a true account taken from the 1939 Newspapers:
Sibitsky made contact with the Squalus, and the 33 survivors cheered when they heard his lead boots clang outside. He did his job in the pitch dark without a hitch and safely returned to the surface. Some of the survivors' previous Morse Code messages requested food, so at 11:30 AM, while Torpedoman's Mate John Mihalowski and Gunner's Mate Walter Harman entered the dive bell, they brought a surprise. Inside the 10-foot high by 7-foot wide, 21,600-pound chamber, the pair brought hot pea soup, sandwiches, milk, and extra blankets and flashlights.
As they leveled the dive bell's buoyancy, they slowly slid down the line to the escape hatch, bolted down the chamber, and sealed it to the Squalus. When Mihalowski opened the hatch, he was greeted with the faces of the crew and quickly exchanged supplies. One of the survivors slurped his hot soup and jokingly remarked, "Where in the hell are the napkins?"
I do not know if Momsen actually knew the Captain of the S-51 as claimed in the movie. I do know that Walter E Harman was a S-51 crew member (listed in the original casualty list) later assigned to the USS Falcon. Some may say that it's a movie and that poetic license is often taken. The problem I have here is that it down plays the historic significance and bravery of those who risked their lives during the operation - almost like erasing them from history.
