Diving equipment has evolved significantly since the early history of diving, when people relied on surface-supplied air when salvaging goods from wrecks or exploring underwater. Scuba gear has existed since the 19th century, and modern scuba tanks now can hold compressed breathing gases at pressures of up to 3,500 psi, allowing for longer and deeper dives.
Surface-Supplied Air
Divers have used surface-supplied air since the 16th century. Diving bells were first used in 1530, according to MarineBio.org. When lowered into the water, diving bells provide airtight chambers for one or more divers. The pressure of the water at depth prevents the air from escaping the bell. Otto von Guericke developed the first functional air pump in 1650, which could be used to supply more air to diving bells, according to MarineBio.org. Robert Boyle used the pump to study the effects of decompression on animals. Boyle's findings provided important lessons for divers.
Surface-Supplied Suits and Helmets
In the 19th century, divers in England and France began diving with suits supplied with air pumped from the surface. In the 1820s, brothers Charles Anthony and John Deane invented a metal helmet tethered to an air supply at the surface, according to MarineBio.org. Divers had to stay upright while diving with this helmet, however. Aufustus Siebe sealed the Deane brothers' helmet to a watertight diving suit in 1837, allowing divers to move more freely underwater. The U.S. Bureau of Construction and Repair invented the Mark V Diving Helmet in 1917, a surface-supplied diving helmet that the U.S. Navy used to conduct salvage work during World War II. Salvage workers continued to use surface-supplied helmets until the 1930s.
Self-Contained Devices
In 1825, William James developed the first self-contained device for breathing underwater, according to MarineBio.org. His device, a cylindrical metal tank, could hold compressed air at 450 psi. Forty years later, Benoit Rouquayrol and Auguste Denayrouse invented a mouthpiece connected to a steel tank with a valve. This tank could only hold air at pressures up to 350 psi, meaning divers had to remain tethered to a surface air supply for much of the dive.
Modern Scuba Gear
Modern scuba gear has its roots in the 1930s, when Yves Le Prieur developed a compressed air tank that could carry air at pressures of 1,500 psi. Divers using Prieur's tank had to open a tap and breathe air directly from the tank, rather than through a regulator. In 1942, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan developed the first regulator that could supply air to divers on demand, only when the divers inhale. Previous regulators had supplied air in a continuous flow, leading to rapid depletion of a diver's air supply. Cousteau and Gagnan's regulator and tank became known as the Aqua Lung. Frederic Dumas, a friend of Cousteau, used the Aqua Lung to dive to 210 feet in 1943.
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