In the early part of the 20th century, American physicist and chemist, Professor Elihu Thomson – the person credited with putting the eventual use of helium on the diving menu – had originally proposed the use of hydrogen as a… Read More ›
History
An Early ‘Try-Dive’.
A section of the classic work, ‘Deep Diving And Submarine Operations’, by (Sir) Robert H. Davis, is devoted to, ‘Divers’ Yarns And Adventures’, and includes the story of an early ‘Try-Dive’ by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 – 1894), the author… Read More ›
The Search for X5
Developed by the Royal Navy during WWII, the X-craft were midget submarines manned by a crew of four – one of whom was the designated diver. Because of their limited range, the smaller X-Craft would be towed by a ‘mother’… Read More ›
Bruco And The Door-Stop
Designed by Australian, Ted Eldred, the ‘Porpoise’ became the world’s first single-hose, open-circuit regulator. A major disadvantage of the early models was the lack of a mechanism to purge water from the second-stage chamber should it become dislodged from the… Read More ›
The ‘K-Force’
A comparative latecomer to the idea of using combat divers and swimmers in an offensive role, the nucleus of what was to become Germany’s KampfSchwimmerKompanie, (the ‘K-force’) were sent to Italy in 1943 to learn from, and train in,… Read More ›
“The Silent Enemy”
Lionel “Buster” Crabb achieved fame for his wartime exploits in Gibraltar as a member of the Royal Navy’s, ‘Underwater Working Party’ – a team of volunteer divers that could be speedily deployed to search ships hulls for explosive devices. (Named… Read More ›
