Page 23: of Marine News Magazine (August 2023)

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Feature

Comms called “The Straightaway” (essentially a compression gar- ment for men) which sold in stores in New York and New

England, and via direct mail.

“G”-forces and the partial pressure suit

With America’s involvement in World War II seeming inevitable, David Clark, working through business associ- ates in Washington, D.C., approached the War department to consider prototype garments which he had recently de- veloped to address “the dreaded blackout”, or G-induced loss of consciousness among ? ghter pilots. It was through his contacts at the War Department that he was introduced to E.J. Baldes, head of the department of Biophysics at the

Mayo Clinic, in November of 1941. The two men would become lifelong friends. David Clark recalls in his memoir,

The Development of the Partial Pressure Suit, “We each had similar and great interests in aviation; I’d not worked at it at all, but he had worked with Drs. Boothby, Lovelace and

Bulbullian – all at the forefront of aviation medical research – in the development of improved methods for supplying

David Clark pilots with oxygen to breathe so that they might ? y at higher altitudes. I presumed that I might be able to help develop some sort of protection from the ‘Dreaded Blackout’ experi- enced by pilots of high-performance aircraft when conduct- ing high speed maneuvers in ? ight. I believed that I should offer my services and facilities to the government.”

David Clark rapidly moved his company into war mode, adding sewing machines, and began making tent parts, jungle hammocks with insect netting and roofs, as well as fragmentation bomb parachutes, on prime contracts. His ernment on June 2, 1944, for a partial pressure anti-g suit passion, however, was developing the “Anti-Blackout” (ul- – made out for thirteen dollars! Since then, David Clark timately referred to as a “G”- Suit). With the help of the Company’s contributions and accomplishments read like a

Department of Biophysics at the Mayo Clinic, the com-

Who’s Who list of aerospace history: pany fabricated 22 progressively improved designs. • First Operational Capstan Pressure Suits developed

Initially, the military was skeptical. Again, from his for X-1 rocket plane test pilots who broke the sound bar- memoir, Clark recalled, “I wrote to the Commanding rier and ? rst explored high-altitude ? ight.

Of? cer at Wright Field [now Wright-Patterson Air Force • X-15 Full-Pressure Suits developed for test pilots

Base] in Dayton, Ohio, and received a classic reply, ‘There who ? ew the X-15 to record speeds and altitudes - Mach is no existing data indicating that apparatus such as you 6.70 and 354,200 feet.

describe would be helpful.’ I was to hear that many times, • Gemini Space Suits developed for each mission’s with only slight variations in the next few years.” unique requirements, including the G-4C space suit for

Undeterred, David Clark persevered. After experiment-

Ed White’s ? rst U.S. space walk.

ing with several suit pressure valve and in? atable bladder • Apollo Block I Suits utilized to train the initial Apol- designs, the company received its ? rst check from the gov- lo astronaut crews and support initial missions.

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