> At the very end they left this fact: Bellbottom
> trousers were introduced into the Navy in 1817. The men
> sometimes used them for emergency flotation devices by
> filling them with air and wrapping them around their neck
> (this part is vague, I can't exactly remember where they
> wrapped them to be perfectly honest, in any case, I suppose
> you could use a shirt for the same purpose!). My question
> is, WHOSE navy?

I don't know whose navy--the American, presumably--but I am surprised & gratified to hear that emergency use of trousers for life vests is so old. I picked up on this in an old children's series (yes, I mean an old series and a series for old children (-: ) called Rick Brant; I also had to do it and stay afloat for 10 minutes in college.

The procedure is straightforward: whip off the trousers, tie a knot in each leg, fling them over your head while holding open the bottom to fill the legs with air. If you have a belt, you can secure the bottoms against your chest with it. There is ample buoyancy to insert your head between the now-upside-down legs and float above the water. The thing about bells is that there is more leg material to work with, and they are easier to slip off in the water.

Periodically you must re-wet the legs (to reduce air loss) & add more air to them. If the wet garments are too awkward to fling over your head, you can scoop air into them just under the surface with your hands. You can get temporary buoyancy to do all this by scooping or breathing air into your shirt while wearing it; the back of it will keep you afloat for quite a while. If you only have bermuda shorts on, you can still invert the pockets, fill them with air, and keep floating. (You can also do the pocket trick to keep the wet trousers from sinking once you have struggled out of them but before you inflate them.) I had to demonstrate each of these methods, as well as floating with hands tied, feet tied, and with feet and hands tied. I'm out of practice as a swimmer, but by God I can keep afloat!