Chronology |
“Diving Bell”
4th c. BC
The first depictions of underwater devices are pointed out by Aristotle who mentioned that “…one can allow divers to breathe by lowering a bronze tank into the water. Naturally the container is not filled with water but air, which constantly assists the submerged man”. This device represented a jar, turned upside down, in which the diver thrust his head. During his descent to the sea floor, he breathed the air that remained inside the jar. Actually, this is the prototype of the true diving bell.
325 BC
Alexander the Great and his comrade Nearch (the commander of the fleet) managed to go under surface to a depth of 25 meters with the aid of a huge diving bell. It consisted of colorless glass to help the diver see through it.
prototype of the true diving bell.
Early
Centuries
AD
A typical diving bell: leather bags to refresh the air were dropped by the surface;
The diver went out from the diving bell with his breath held, to do some work under water. After he was out of breath, instead of ascending to the surface, he returned to the bell where he inhaled fresh air;
Stones were attached to the brim of the wooden barrel to help the bell sink;
When the air became unbreathable, the bell was taken to the surface for ventilation;
Middle
Ages
In this epoch, sea was considered a mysterious and threatening power, a dangerous and unknown world. The tall stories told by monks and priests aroused superstitious fear which became the main reason for less interest towards diving. Look how people from this period imagined diving.
Renaissance
This was an incredible period in terms of revival and development of diving. Many experiments were conducted and these attempts were not futile. Among the most famous personalities, engaged with diving inventions, were Halley, Sturm, Borelli. In his book “Codex Atlanticus” Leonardo Da Vinci describes the forerunners of the fins, snorkel and breathing apparatus. He also designed a diving helmet of leather. It had spikes against monsters in the oceans and a breathing tube leading to the surface. In this period Torricelli, Bernoulli and Pascal set the basis of physics, hydrostatics and aerostatics which led to important conclusions concerning diving.
1535
The first diving bell was invented. Guglielmo de Lorena made a device that can be considered a true diving bell. This apparatus rested on diver’s shoulders and had much of its weight supported by slings. This bell provided enough air for the diver to breathe.
1583
In the presence of Charles the Fifth and other 10,000 curious citizens, two men dove in the Tagus River (Toledo) using a large bronze diving bell and stayed 20 minutes on the sea floor.
16–17th c.
Galilei and Denis Papin adapted to the diving bell an air pump through which fresh air can be transported to the people under water. The bell had the shape of a frustum of a cone in which the main elements are the valves.
1619
Sir Edmund Halley patented a bell which looked like the above mentioned bell. According to some sources of information, Halley was aware of Galilei and Papin’s plan and made a device following their idea. The inventor is debatable but there is no doubt about the appearance of the bell.
Thick glass to let light in;
Coated with lead sheets;
Barrel with replenished air
It was equipped with three auxiliary ballast weights;
Individual bells, fastened to diver’s shoulders and connected with a pipe to the main bell, that allowed him to walk away for unlimited time without returning for rebreathing.
1667
Using the bell, developed by Galilei and Papin, William Phipps managed to salvage a huge treasure from a wrecked ship near the coasts of Espanola. The same year, Albrecht von Treileben brought out 53 weapons found 40 meters in depth on a sunken vessel.
1716
Edmund Halley invented two types of bells: a wooden bell, assisted with two barrels with fresh air that reached the bell with a tube, and a lead bell. The latter had seats for several divers. Air was supplied in the same way. Halley and other four men stayed submerged with this device at a depth of 18 meters for 90 minutes. The only problem they suffered from was awful pain in the ears. They didn’t still know anything about water pressure and its effect on human organism.
1788
John Smeaton (American) improved the diving bell by adapting a hand-operated pump to provide fresh compressed air. The main characteristic is that the valve is non-return – it does not allow air to return when pumping stops. In the next years, Smeaton’s device was used in all major harbors for salvaging ships.
18th c.
Only at the end of the 18-th century was the diving bell fully studied and improved. Its use is no more a technical problem. The main disadvantage of the diving bell is that it should be pulled up to the surface for the workers to be replaced which is a time- and energy-consuming
“Heavy Footed Diving Suit”
1715
Chevalier de Beauve (a guard in the Navy) developed a waterproof suit with lead shoes. Air was surface-supplied by two leather tubes, fastened to the helmet.
1719
The “free” man and the “confined” man;
the “free” man – a diver wearing a diving suit with his head placed in a box with a porthole. Weights, fastened to his belt, help the diver sink. There are four pipes for breathing – two for inhalation and two for exhalation.
The “confined” man – a diver lying face down in a large box which resembles a coffin (thence evolves his name). It has a porthole for the diver to see through it. Air is transported through hoses each of them having devices to inhale and exhale air.
1772
The French scientist Freminet invented a helmet-hose diving apparatus, in which air was pumped from the surface with an egg-shaped reservoir and it reached the diver through a hose. Thus, a constant air supply was produced. With this device, Freminet stayed submerged at a depth of 16 meters for 1 hour.
1797
Klingert created a device which is the first to be called “diving suit”. It had leather jacket and trousers, and a helmet with small round windows for the eyes.
1837
In 1819 Augustus Siebe invented the first diving suit with “heavy-footers”.
A metal helmet with portholes; a cramp-iron, which passed between diver’s legs, supported the tightly-attached helmet; air was supplied by a surface pump through a hose; unneeded air bubbles went out the helmet because of the constant flow of air through the hose;
One major disadvantage was that water would flow under the helmet if the diver was out of the vertical position. Siebe was aware of that problem and in 1837 he improved his device. He created the first waterproof diving suit with a metallic neckpiece to which the helmet was screwed. Unneeded air which accumulated in the suit came out through a non-return valve that could be opened in case.
1855
Cabirol developed a diving suit with extremely secured equipment - air was delivered to the diver through a hose, a valve allowed the diver manually to adjust the air intake and another security hose which emerged form the mouth.
1873
Rouquayrol and Denayrouze designed a device which allowed the diver to swim wholly independently under water for some time. It weighed 85 kilos. It was stable and perfectly air-supplied, with surface-to-diver telephone communication. The diver could go to greater depths because of the helmet with portholes and lead soles.
1923
In the early 20-th century the German engineer Neufeldt created a rigid diving suit – a metallic suit adapted to great depths, in which air under pressure was supplied in order to avoid long-lasting decompression after staying a long time under water. With this suit the diver could descend to a depth of 160 meters but he is quite limited in his movements.
Grips, attached to the steel sleeves, served as hands;
Motion with such a diving suit was impossible as a result of the strong hydrostatic pressure which caused the parts of the suit to squeeze. It was beyond human power to overcome this pressure and move freely. Work with rigid diving suit was not effective at all – the diver could merely be an observer. That is why, these apparatuses did not develop any further.
“Other Significant Dates”
SNORKEL
4th c. BC
SNORKEL
Aristotle mentioned “instruments for respiration”. He compared the breathing tubes with elephant trunks that both humans and animals raised up above the water.
320 AD
SNORKEL
The first hint of a curve in snorkel design came from China. The curve allowed the diver to look up and down under the surface in contrast to the straight tube which obliged the diver to keep his head up and his nose shut.
1488/9
SNORKEL
Leonardo Da Vinci illustrated improved snorkels. In his Codex “Atlanticus”, he says - “it is made of leather with many rings so that it can’t close up”.
MASK
Leonardo DaVinci mentioned the use of a mask and helmet in his Codex “Atlanticus” – “goggles of frosted glass and a cuirass with large spikes in front”.
1680
FINS
Borelli designed a pair of claw-like fins.
1865
The first light under water;
Ernest Bosen, enticed by the gold bars in Vigo Bay, created an underwater tower weighing 2700 kg and equipped with an electric bulb. He reached 75 meters in depth and at that level he turned on the bulb.
1930s
SNORKEL
Only in 1930 did the forerunners of the true snorkels appear among French spearfishermen.
FINS
Commander de Carlieu improved the fins.
1937
The American Max Paul successfully dove in Lake Michigan, breathing a gas mixture which has for its basis the indifferent gas He (helium).
1946
Cousteau’s team for underwater exploration reached 120 meters which was considered to be the maximum depth for compressed-air apparatus.
1947
The Swiss Auguste Piccard invented the first bathyscaphe and started to accumulate knowledge for the underwater world.
1956
The Englishman George Wookie stayed under water for 5 min at a depth of 180 meters but on his way back to the surface he needed a 12-hour-decompression.
1959
A group of Italians broke the record from 1946 by reaching 131,5 meters which is the limit for compressed-air apparatuses.
1960
Jacques Piccard, the son of Auguste Piccard – the inventor of the bathyscaphe, and lieutenant Donald Walsh from the US Navy set a world record on January 23, 1960 with the bathyscaphe “Trieste”. They descended to the deepest known point in the oceans – the Mariana Trench – 10,912 meters (35,800 ft).
1964
Hans Keller and professor Bulman patented breathing mixtures, used in deep dives. It turned out that on the bottom the diver breathes a gas mixture that contains mainly He (helium) and a small percentage of oxygen. Little before the ascent the diver passes over to breathing another mixture with harder inert gas – neon. At some level the diver changes his breathing gas with another component – nitrogen, the hardest of all mentioned.
1969/70
NASA conducted the experiment “Tektite”;
Divers lived in an underwater habitat for 60 days at a depth of 15 meters. The NASA specialists recorded changes in the psychic conditions of the divers – reduced working capacity, lower self-dignity and mental disorder. They concluded that these changes were a result of the long social and psychological isolation to which the divers were exposed while living in the habitat.
1970s
Silicone and plastics began to take the place of the traditional rubber diving goods. These materials are lighter in weight and minimize the problem of an allergic reaction that a number of people have towards rubber.
1976
On November 23, 1976 Jacques Mayol crossed the 100-meter-boundary in depth only with a snorkel, mask and fins.
1999
On June 5, 1999 the Frenchman Loic Leferme set a world record in free diving style. He reached 137 meters only holding his breath!
Nowadays
The maximum depths in descents with a decompression chamber is 686 meters – 69,9 atm. It was set in the experiment “Atlantic” where a mixture of He, N and O2 was used
“Autonomous Diving Apparatus”
Early
Centuries
In historical chronicles are described varieties of projects of constructing self-contained breathing apparatuses but they were impracticable – their design opposed to the laws of physics and physiology. One of the earliest attempts was a primitive device – an animal bladder or a leather bag (in which air was stored) and a stone to help the diver sink. The supply of air was enough only for several inhalations.
1808
Freiderich von Drieberg designed an apparatus that was worn on the diver’s back and was surface-supplied with compressed air. This device, called “Triton”, was of no practical use but it gave the idea of compressed air being applied in diving.
1865
Two French inventors Benoit Rouquayrol and Augustus Denayrouse developed an autonomous open-circuit breathing apparatus. It consisted of a steel bottle for air reservoir and a valve regulator connected to a mouthpiece. The regulator served to provide air under pressure, equal to the pressure in the outside. A hose delivered fresh air from the surface to the bottle but the diver could disconnect from that system and dive only with the bottle for a couple of minutes. The valve was a remarkable discovery because it allowed the diver to have a breath of air in case of emergency. This equipment referred to as “Aerophore” was even described in Jules Verne’s classic – “Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea”.
the diver is carrying electric light.
1879
Up to this year, divers with scuba equipment exhaled straight into the surrounding water and thus, much air was wasted. In 1879, Henry Fleuss invented a “closed-circuit oxygen rebreather scuba” with a totally new principle of operation. The diver breathed air, rich in O2 . CO 2 from the exhaled air was soaked by an absorber and enriched with oxygen by a balloon; afterwards, exhaled air can be re-breathed. Despite depth limitations (pure oxygen is hazardous below a definite sea level), this device allowed long bottom stays.
1890
Another closed-circuit breathing apparatus, which worked with pure oxygen, was constructed by the Frenchman Davis in 1890. The exhaled gas mixture was purified chemically and was used again. Consequently, this device was developed and in 1911, it was employed in the French Navy to rescue ships from sunken ships or boats.
1926
Captain Yves Le Prieur and Fernez patented a self-contained diving apparatus. Its main elements are a steel cylinder with compressed air on diver’s back, air hose leading to the mouthpiece, goggles and a noseclip. The trouble with it was that it did not have a demand valve.
Improved models allowed the diver to swim for 30 min at a depth of 7 meters or for 10 min at 12 meters.
World
War
II
Because closed-circuit breathing apparatuses do not permit bubbles to enter water (when exhaled air is rebreathed), they were widely-used in Second-World-War-military operations. Divers were camouflaged and could not be detected by the enemy. During the war, belligerents developed intensively underwater equipment. Due to their inconspicuousness and autonomy, divers were dangerous and hopeful weapons against enemy ships, in battle reconnaissance, in mining and unmining of targets.
1943
Jacques-Ives Cousteau and Emile Gagnan invented their “Aqualung” and revolutionized underwater exploration. They designed a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) with two or three cylinders with compressed air. This device uses a demand valve regulator which does not allow air-waste during inhalation. It was the first automatic autonomous diving suit with a pressure regulator and compressed-air bottles that provided the diver with absolute freedom of movement.
Its simplicity of design and perfectness of construction make it less dangerous for underwater activities and sport diving. The new type diving apparatus received world acknowledgement and made diving descents safe and accessible for everyone.
The same year Cousteau, Gagnan and two other men experienced over five hundred dives with the aqualung and greatly contributed to underwater investigation.
1946
The aqualung of Cousteau becomes a commercial yield in France, in 1950 - in Great Britain, in 1951 - in Canada and 1952 - in USA.
1947
in August Dumas makes record sinkage with aqualung on depth of 106,8 meters in the Mediterranean Sea.
1948
Littoral of California Otis Barton is steeped on depth of 1566 meters in the improved and altered bathyscaphe.
1950
Audust Picard, the Swiss scientist, pays the notice to probing of no-bottoms. With the son Jacque he tests a new type of a vessel called bathyscaphe (deep water ship). The bathyscaphe is completely autonomous (does not depend on a surface) and is constructed to be steeped more deeply than bathysphere. February 15, 1954 on littoral of western Africa establishes a record, Georges S. Houot and Pierre-Henri Willm are steeped in a bathyscaphe on 4623,8 meters, beating a record of Barton, in 1948.
1951
Has appeared the first magazine about the diving timelagged respirations “Skin dive magazine”.
1950
Diving is gained by popularity all over the world. Diving with aqualung displaces timelagged respirations diving. In USA the stores on sale of equipment for underwater navigation are unclosed.
1953
The book " The silent world ", written by Jacques Cousteau at support by Frederic Dumas. The book reflects development and first tests of aqualung.
1959
Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his colleagues is created World-Wide Confederation of underwater activity CMAS (Confederation Mondiale des Activites Subaquatiques)
1959
The federation YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association, Scuba Program) is educated which begins to conduct the first national courses in USA on underwater navigation.
1960
The growing quantity of casualties demands forming an international course of preparing. First national agencies of training, intended for preparing and type certification of divers are opened. The association NAUI is grounded per 1960.
1962
By the beginning of 1962 some experiments are undertaken. Are developed and the so-called underwater dwellings are plotted, where the people can sleep, is and conduct time. The underwater habitats are stocked with compressed air from a surface. First such experiment is conducted in September 1962 under vigilant supervision Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his crew, Albert Falco and Claude Wesley conduct seven days on depth of 10 meters about Topsail, in a underwater habitat, which they have called Diogen.
1963-1965
Eight divers conduct one month in a so-called underwater habitat with a title " A Continental Shelf 2 " in depths of the red sea (1963). Other dwellings of this period: Sea Lab II (1965); Sea lab II (1965); and Continental Shelf III (1965), in which ex-astronaut Scott Carpenter and other divers conduct month on depth of 60 meters at the coast Southern France.
1966
PADI ((Professional Association of Diving Instructors) was based.
1967
Professional association of the instructors on underwater navigation per the first year of the work train 3226 divers.
1968
October 14 John J. Gruener and R. Neal Watson are steeped on 152 meters, breathing by compressed air at coast of an island Grand Bahamas. This record remains unbeaten till 1990.
1970
Important achievements concerning to safety underwater, incorporated in 1960, become normative.
1980
With the purpose of development safe diving at University Duke the noncommercial organization is grounded Divers Alert Network, as.
1981
The new record in medical center of university of Duke is fixed. Stephen Porter, Len Whitlock and Erik Kramer make their sinkage on 783 meters in the pressure chamber by diameter of 2,7 meters during 43 days, breathing by a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen and helium. They beat the former record in 1980.
1983
There is a first dive-computer called Orcas Edge. After that the producers implant on the markets of selling dive-computers, which become a usual element of equipment for underwater navigation.
1985
The American and French crew headed Robert Ballard, utilizing scoops of distance steering attached to the ship, finds the wreck ship "Titanic". The ship is pulled down on 2 parts superjacent on depth 4350 meters approximately in 400 miles on Northeast from New York. Since 1985 the contributors of USA and France regularly visited this place, and the French crews have lifted some things from the ship.
1990
The dive-business becomes popular among broad masses, is transformed to major business. In Northern America diving becomes the biggest industry. In too time the distribution of technical diving happens, which means usage of the advanced technologies, including mixtures of gases, mask on all face, underwater voice connection, underwater agents of movement.
1993
50-th anniversary of opening of the invention of aqualung is celebrated worldwide. PADI is the most major national federation in the world, which certificate 515000 new divers.
1997
On June 25 for 87 years of life, the founder by film and owner of numerous prizes, diver and scientific Jacques-Yves Cousteau has died.
2000
Catastrophe of the Russian submersible “Kursk”. For the first time, the international expedition participates in a underwater works on a war ship.
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