Digital Editions

The US Navy first provided a diving manual for training and operational guidance in 1905, and the first book titled Diving Manual was published in 1916. Since then books titled Diving Manual or U.S. Navy Diving Manual have been published several times, each one updating the content of the previous version. The amount of information provided has tended to increase over the years, the 1905 edition had approximately 66 pages, while Revision 7 (2016) has 992 pages in 18 chapters; the manuals are illustrated with contemporary photographs, diagrams and graphs. 

• Print Length: 992 pages
• Publication Date: June 06, 2018
• Language: English

Revision 7 Change A (Latest version as of 2023) has the following content:

• Volume 1: Diving Principles and Policies
  • Chapter 1: History of diving: Surface-supplied air diving, scuba diving, mixed gas diving, submarine salvage and rescue, salvage diving, open sea deep diving records.
  • Chapter 2: Underwater physics: Physics, matter, measurement, energy, light energy in diving, mechanical energy in diving, heat energy in diving, pressure in diving, gases in diving, gas laws, gas mixtures.
  • Chapter 3: Underwater Physiology and Diving Disorders: The nervous system, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, respiratory problems in diving, barotrauma during descent, barotrauma during ascent, pulmonary over inflation syndromes, indirect effects of pressure on the human body, thermal problems in diving, special medical problems associated with deep diving, other diving medical problems.
  • Chapter 4: Dive Systems: General information, diver's breathing gas purity standards, diver's air sampling program, dive system components
  • Chapter 5: Dive Program Administration:
  • Appendix 1A: Safe Diving Distances from Transmitting Sonar
  • Appendix 1B: References
  • Appendix 1C: Telephone Numbers
  • Appendix 1D: List of Acronyms
• Volume 2: Air Diving Operations
  • Chapter 6: Operational Planning and Risk Management: Mission analysis, course of action development, risk assessment, task planning and emergency assistance, execution.
  • Chapter 7: SCUBA Air Diving Operations: Operational considerations, minimum equipment, operational equipment, air supply, pre-dive procedures, water entry and exit, underwater procedures, ascent procedures, post-dive procedures.
  • Chapter 8: Surface Supplied Air Diving Operations: KM-37 NS, Mk 20, portable surface-supplied diving systems, surface-supplied diving accessory equipment, diving communications, pre-dive procedures, water entry and descent, underwater procedures, ascent procedures, surface decompression, post-dive procedures.
  • Chapter 9: Air Decompression: Theory of decompression, definitions, dive charting and recording, the air decompression tables, general rules for the use of air decompression tables, no decompression limits and repetitive group designation, the air decompression table, repetitive dives, exceptional exposure dives, variations in rate of ascent, emergency procedures, diving at altitude, ascent to altitude/flying after diving, dive computer
  • Chapter 10: Nitrogen-Oxygen Diving Operations: Equivalent air depth, oxygen toxicity, nitrox diving procedures, nitrox repetitive diving, nitrox dive charting, fleet training for nitrox, nitrox diving equipment, equipment cleanliness, breathing gas purity, nitrox mixing, blending and storage systems.
  • Chapter 11: Ice and Cold Water Diving Operations: Operations planning, pre-dive procedures, operating precautions, emergency procedures.
  • Appendix 2A: Optional Shallow Water Diving Tables
  • Appendix 2B: U.S. Navy Dive Computer
  • Appendix 2C: Environmental and Operational Hazards:
  • Appendix 2D: Guidance for U.S. Navy Diving on a Dynamic Positioning Vessel
• Volume 3: Mixed Gas Surface Supplied Diving Operations
  • Chapter 12: Surface-Supplied Mixed Gas Diving: Operational considerations, diving equipment/systems, descent and ascent procedures, emergency procedures, charting heliox dives, diving at altitude.
  • Chapter 13: Saturation Diving: Deep diving systems, US Navy fly-away saturation dive system, shore based saturation facilities, life support systems, thermal protection system, underwater breathing apparatus, gas usage, operations, operational considerations, selection of storage depth, records, logistics DDC and PTC atmosphere control, gas supply requirements, environmental control, fire zone considerations, hygiene, atmosphere quality control, compression phase, storage depth, emergency procedures, decompression, post-dive procedures.
  • Chapter 14: Breathing Gas Mixing Procedures: Mixing procedures, gas analysis.
• Volume 4: Closed-Circuit and Semiclosed Circuit Diving Operations
  • Chapter 15: Electronically Controlled Closed-Circuit Underwater Breathing Apparatus (EC-UBA) Diving: Principles of operation, operational planning, pre-dive procedures, descent, underwater procedures, ascent procedures, decompression procedures, multi-day diving, altitude diving and flying after diving, post-dive procedures, medical aspects, equipment reference data.
  • Chapter 16: Closed Circuit Oxygen UBA (CC-UBA) Diving: Medical aspects of closed-circuit oxygen diving, oxygen exposure limits, operations planning, pre-dive procedures, water entry and descent, underwater procedures, ascent procedures, post-dive procedures and documentation, Mk-25.
• Volume 5: Diving Medicine and Recompression Chamber Operations
  • Chapter 17: Diagnosis and Treatment of Decompression Sickness and Arterial Gas Embolism: Manning requirements, arterial gas embolism, decompression sickness, recompression treatment, treatment tables, treatment for non-diving disorders, chamber life-support considerations, post treatment considerations, non-standard treatments, treatment abort procedures, ancillary care and adjunctive treatments, emergency medical equipment,
  • Chapter 18: Recompression Chamber Operation: Description, state of readiness, gas supply, operation, maintenance, diver candidate pressure test.
  • Appendix 5A: Neurological Examination
  • Appendix 5B: First Aid
  • Appendix 5C: Hazardous Marine Creatures
• Index

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U.S. Navy Diving Supervisors Guide to the non-technical skills required for Safe and Productive Diving Operations

INTRODUCTION
Safety research has shown that human performance problems most heavily shape risks
in hazardous industries: the greatest cause of approximately 80% of aviation mishaps is
generally regarded as human error.

Although U.S. Navy diving is remarkably safe, because of the high-risk environment in which divers work, accidents and mishaps do occur. The Navy diving community is adept at identifying and mitigating technical problems; it is not as adept with the nontechnical or human factors that cause accidents. Little guidance to prevent or mitigate such accidents is available to its divers.

The purposes of this guide are to provide information on the nontechnical skills required
for safe and productive operations by U.S. Navy dive teams. Nontechnical skills are
required for safe and effective performance in a technical context but not directly related
to technical expertise. The nontechnical skills addressed in this guide include situation
awareness, decision making, teamworking/leadership, and mitigating the effects of
stress and fatigue. Communication is not included as a separate topic, since it
underpins every one of these skills.

The information provided is based on an analysis of 455 diving mishaps, 5 reports
investigating fatal mishaps, 15 interviews with Navy Divers, and 272 U.S. Navy Diver
responses to an attitude questionnaire.

The complete framework of nontechnical skills required for safe, effective diving operations from this research is in Appendix A.

Information has also been drawn from other high-risk industries (e.g., aviation, nuclear
power production, offshore oil production) relevant to Navy dive teams. Furthermore,
real-world diving incidents in which failures in nontechnical skills were evident have
been included.

June 2005
39 pages

Author: Paul E. O’Connor, LT, USNR, MSC

Updated: 01 January 2021 278 pages A note to Salvors -- this handbook is a short summary of the hard-earned and sometimes blood-stained knowledge and lessons learned contained in the rich library of the USN Salvage and Diving Program: • USN Salvage Manuals (6 volumes) • USN Towing Manual • Salvage Safety Manual • Underwater Cutting and WeldingManual • Use of Explosives in UnderwaterSalvage • Salvage Engineering Manual I. Initial Actions Following a Casualty II. Naval Architecture III. Rigging IV. Refloating Strandings V. Sinkings VI. Towing VII. Useful Information Index of Information ------------------------- Updated: 01 January 2021 Author: J. R. Wilkins, III Director of Ocean Engineering Supervisor of Salvage and Diving, USN