Berry L. Cannon
Encyclopedia
Berry Louis Cannon was an American aquanaut
who served on the SEALAB II and III
projects of the U.S. Navy
. Cannon died of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair SEALAB III. It was later found that his diving rig's baralyme canister, which should have absorbed the carbon dioxide
Cannon exhaled, was empty.
in 1962. He was a civilian electronics engineer at the U.S. Navy Mine Defense Laboratory
in Panama City, Florida
, where he designed intercommunications systems. He also served at the Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Depot
in Hawthorne, Nevada
, where he was on the boxing
team. From August 28 to September 12, 1965, Cannon served on the first crew of SEALAB II near La Jolla, California
. He received the Navy's Superior Civilian Service Award
for his participation in the project.
. He was one of four members of Team One assigned to open and secure the habitat, alongside fellow aquanauts Robert A. Barth, Richard Blackburn and John Reaves. On February 16, 1969, the SEALAB III habitat
sprung a leak. Cannon, Barth, Blackburn and Reaves were twice sent down to SEALAB in the Personnel Transfer Capsule (PTC) in an attempt to repair the problem.
Shortly after 0500 hours on February 17, Cannon began to convulse while working on the exterior of the habitat. Barth tried to save him, holding his head in the breathable gas pocket of the skirt surrounding SEALAB's entrance and unsuccessfully attempting to force the mouthpiece of the emergency aqua-lung
regulator
between Cannon's teeth. Finally, Barth dragged Cannon back to the PTC, where his fellow aquanauts helped him bring Cannon inside and Reaves and Blackburn attempted resuscitation. When the PTC reached the surface Cannon was placed in the outer airlock of the deck decompression chamber (DDC), but it was obvious that he was dead. His body was removed from the DDC and brought to San Diego Naval Hospital.
. Surgeon commander John Rawlins, a Royal Navy
medical officer assigned to the project, also suggested that hypothermia
was a contributing factor.
According to John Piña Craven
, the U.S. Navy's head of the Deep Submergence Systems Project of which SEALAB was a part, SEALAB III had been "plagued with strange failures at the very start of operations". According to Craven, while the other divers were undergoing the weeklong decompression
, repeated attempts were made to sabotage their air supply by someone aboard the command barge. Eventually, a guard was posted on the decompression chamber and the men were recovered safely. A potentially unstable suspect was identified by the staff psychiatrist but the culprit was never prosecuted. Craven suggests this may have been done to spare the Navy bad press so soon after the USS Pueblo
incident. As a result, it has been suggested that Cannon's death was a murder
.
Aquanaut
An Aquanaut is any individual who remains underwater, exposed to the ambient pressure, long enough to come into equilibrium with his or her breathing media. Usually this is done in an underwater habitat on the seafloor for a period equal to or greater than 24 continuous hours without returning to...
who served on the SEALAB II and III
SEALAB (United States Navy)
SEALAB I, II, and III were experimental underwater habitats developed by the United States Navy to prove the viability of saturation diving and humans living in isolation for extended periods of time...
projects of the U.S. 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...
. Cannon died of carbon dioxide poisoning while attempting to repair SEALAB III. It was later found that his diving rig's baralyme canister, which should have absorbed the carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
Cannon exhaled, was empty.
SEALAB II
Cannon graduated from the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in 1962. He was a civilian electronics engineer at the U.S. Navy Mine Defense Laboratory
Naval Support Activity Panama City
The United States Naval Support Activity Panama City , is located just outside Panama City, Florida and is a United States Navy military base. It is located within Bay County. Among other commands, it houses Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division and the Navy Experimental Diving Unit...
in Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
, where he designed intercommunications systems. He also served at the Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Depot
Hawthorne Army Depot
Hawthorne Army Depot is a U.S. Army ammunition storage site located near the town of Hawthorne in western Nevada in the United States. It is directly south of Walker Lake. The depot covers and has storage space in 2,427 bunkers...
in Hawthorne, Nevada
Hawthorne, Nevada
Hawthorne is a census-designated place in Mineral County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,311 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Mineral County...
, where he was on the boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
team. From August 28 to September 12, 1965, Cannon served on the first crew of SEALAB II near La Jolla, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He received the Navy's Superior Civilian Service Award
Navy Superior Civilian Service Award
The Navy Superior Civilian Service Award is the highest honorary award the Chief of Naval Operations or the Commandant of the Marine Corps may bestow on a civilian employee in the Department of the Navy and the highest award granted at the major claimant level. This is the second highest honorary...
for his participation in the project.
SEALAB III
In 1969, Cannon was assigned to Team One for the SEALAB III project, which would take place off San Clemente IslandSan Clemente Island
San Clemente Island is the southernmost of the Channel Islands of California. It is owned and operated by the United States Navy, and is a part of Los Angeles County. Defined by the United States Census Bureau as Block Group 2 of Census Tract 5991 of Los Angeles County, California, it is long and...
. He was one of four members of Team One assigned to open and secure the habitat, alongside fellow aquanauts Robert A. Barth, Richard Blackburn and John Reaves. On February 16, 1969, the SEALAB III habitat
Underwater habitat
Underwater habitats are underwater structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the basic human functions of a 24-hour day, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping...
sprung a leak. Cannon, Barth, Blackburn and Reaves were twice sent down to SEALAB in the Personnel Transfer Capsule (PTC) in an attempt to repair the problem.
Shortly after 0500 hours on February 17, Cannon began to convulse while working on the exterior of the habitat. Barth tried to save him, holding his head in the breathable gas pocket of the skirt surrounding SEALAB's entrance and unsuccessfully attempting to force the mouthpiece of the emergency aqua-lung
Aqua-lung
Aqua-Lung was the original name of the first open-circuit free-swimming underwater breathing set in reaching worldwide popularity and commercial success...
regulator
Diving regulator
A diving regulator is a pressure regulator used in scuba or surface supplied diving equipment that reduces pressurized breathing gas to ambient pressure and delivers it to the diver. The gas may be air or one of a variety of specially blended breathing gases...
between Cannon's teeth. Finally, Barth dragged Cannon back to the PTC, where his fellow aquanauts helped him bring Cannon inside and Reaves and Blackburn attempted resuscitation. When the PTC reached the surface Cannon was placed in the outer airlock of the deck decompression chamber (DDC), but it was obvious that he was dead. His body was removed from the DDC and brought to San Diego Naval Hospital.
Aftermath
It was widely reported in the news media that Cannon had died of a heart attack. However, the official board of inquiry, held in San Diego from February 28 to March 12, 1969, concluded that Cannon had in fact died of carbon dioxide poisoning. The carbon dioxide-scrubbing baralyme canister on Cannon's Mark IX diving rig was empty. The SEALAB III aquanauts, including Cannon, did not set up their own diving rigs. The identity of the person who failed to refill the baralyme canister was never determined. SEALAB medical officer Paul G. Linweaver later suggested that Cannon would have realized his equipment was faulty had he not been suffering from extreme cold due to breathing pressurized heliumHelium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
. Surgeon commander John Rawlins, a Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
medical officer assigned to the project, also suggested that hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
was a contributing factor.
According to John Piña Craven
John Piña Craven
John Piña Craven is known for his involvement with Bayesian search theory and the recovery of lost objects at sea....
, the U.S. Navy's head of the Deep Submergence Systems Project of which SEALAB was a part, SEALAB III had been "plagued with strange failures at the very start of operations". According to Craven, while the other divers were undergoing the weeklong decompression
Decompression
Decompression has several meanings:* Decompression , the release of pressure and the opposition of physical compression* Decompression sickness, a condition arising from the precipitation of dissolved gases into bubbles inside the body on depressurization* Decompression , a procedure used to treat...
, repeated attempts were made to sabotage their air supply by someone aboard the command barge. Eventually, a guard was posted on the decompression chamber and the men were recovered safely. A potentially unstable suspect was identified by the staff psychiatrist but the culprit was never prosecuted. Craven suggests this may have been done to spare the Navy bad press so soon after the USS Pueblo
USS Pueblo (AGER-2)
USS Pueblo is an American ELINT and SIGINT Banner-class technical research ship which was boarded and captured by North Korean forces on January 23, 1968, in what is known as the Pueblo incident or alternatively as the Pueblo crisis or the Pueblo affair. Occurring less than a week after President...
incident. As a result, it has been suggested that Cannon's death was a murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
.