Down, down, down...

Diving technology, old school

Segment from British Pathe’s “Going Down,” 1939

Your header gif today is from the British Pathé archival film “Going Down” from 1939, available to watch here:

The oldest surviving diving suit is thought to be “The Old Gentleman” from the 18th century.¹ It was housed in Finland’s Raahe Museum.

The diving suit at Raahe Museum is made of cowskin with seams stitched with pitch thread and sealed with pitch. The diving suit was water-proofed with a mixture of mutton tallow, tar and pitch. The top of the suit, the hood, is reinforced with strips of wood on the inside. Air was probably pumped for the diver with bellows through wooden pipes joined with flexible leather stockings. The top of the hood presumably featured a flap valve where the air came in, correspondingly leaving through a pipe in the back. The brave diver squeezed into the diving suit through a hole in the suit’s stomach, which was closed by twisting the long leather strip with the hole around the belt and fastening it around the diver’s waist. The diving suit made it possible to inspect the condition of a ship’s bottom without having to tilt the boat or dry-dock it.

The maker of the diving suit had mastered the latest achievements of diving technology, which had advanced immensely in the 18th century. The Old Gentleman of Raahe must be considered as a unique transitional form made of leather, due to an ongoing shift from diving bells to proper heavy diving suits.²

“The Old Gentleman,” Raake Museum image

The origin of this suit is not known for sure, but the footwear design suggests Finnish construction. There also exists “The Young Gentleman,” fashioned as a faithful replica of the old model which has been used successfully underwater. By 2020 “The Old Gentleman” had become too fragile and had been moved to the Crown Granary. This newer model is currently is displayed at Raahe Museum.

Here are some links and video for learning more about The Old Gentleman:

Raahe Museum Website

Interesting Engineering

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raahe_Museum

2. https://www.raahenmuseo.fi/en/information-about-museums/old-gentleman