Member Dyke Cobb spotted the following squib in the October 9th, 1972, issue of "Chemical and Engineering News" and thought that our readers might find its details on the SMITH salvage job interesting. No doubt we had all wondered what it was that they pumped into the hull to make it float. We quote from page 19:

"Polyurethane Foam, Raises Another Sunken Ship. In the largest such venture to date, Olin supplied isocyanate and polyol starting materials for three million pounds of foam to a salvaging company working under the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. The foam, formed under water in the St. Clair River between Lake Huron and Detroit, was implanted in the bow section of the 489-foot freighter SIDNEY E. SMITH JR. which sank after a collision. The foam gave the bow section enough buoyancy for the tow to the beach."

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