Dating to the 1950s, this U.S. Navy film USING THE STANDARD DEEP SEA DIVING OUFIT gives an explanation of the hard hat diving suit, and shows how it is used in Navy operations. The diver’s crewmen are shown, including the diving officer, diving tender and backup tender, as well as the phone talker. A time keeper or diving supervisor is also shown, as well as an engineer who forces air to the diver below. Finally, a standby diver is shown, fully dressed except for his helmet, ready to assist or rescue the diver.
The film discusses basic procedures: descending to the bottom, working on the bottom, and ascending to the surface. At 7:00, an emergency situation is seen with the diving suit, one of several scenarios where divers can get into trouble is seen. At 8:12, a build-up of carbon dioxide is seen, with the diver adjusting his valves to relieve the problem.
A standard diving dress consists of a metallic (copper and brass or bronze) diving helmet, an airline or hose from a surface supplied diving air pump, a canvas diving suit, diving knife and weighted boots. An important part of the equipment is the lead weights, generally on the chest, back and shoes, to counteract the buoyancy of the helmet and diving suit.
This type of diving equipment is also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, or heavy gear. Leading British manufacturers were Siebe Gorman and Heinke. In the United States, the dominant makers were DESCO, Morse, Miller-Dunn and Schräder and it is sometimes known as a “Diver Dan” outfit, from the television show of the same name. It was commonly used for underwater civil engineering, commercial diving, pearl shell diving and naval diving.
The helmet was usually made of copper with soldered on brass fittings. The windows are known as lights or ports. The front port usually opens on the surface by being screwed out or opens a hinge. The back of the helmet has two goose neck fittings. One has a non-return valve and is the connection for the air line. The other is for the diver’s telephone.
Later helmets include a non-return valve where the airline is connected, which prevents potentially fatal helmet squeeze if the pressure in the hose is lost. The difference in pressure between the surface and the diver can be so great that if the air line were cut on the surface and there was no non-return valve, the diver would be squeezed into the helmet by the external pressure, and injured or possibly killed.
Helmets have a spring-loaded exhaust valve which allows the air to leave the helmet. The spring force is adjustable by the diver and prevents the diver’s suit from deflating completely or over-inflating and the diver being floated uncontrollably to the surface. Some helmets have an extra manual exhaust valve known as a spit-cock. This allows the diver to vent excess air when he is in a position where the main exhaust will not function correctly.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
