STANDARD DIVING DRESS

A 'standard diving dress' consists of a metallic (copper, brass or bronze) diving helmet, an airline or hose from a surface supplied diving air pump, a canvas diving suit, diving knife and boots. An important part of the equipment is the addition of lead weights, generally on the chest, back and boots, to counteract the buoyancy of the helmet and diving suit.
This type of diving equipment is also known as ''hard-hat'' equipment or a ''"John Brown"'' rig, so-called after the British company that built many of the helmets. It was commonly used for underwater civil engineering, commercial diving and naval diving.

Contents

Typology

History

Popular culture

See also

Gallery

External links

Typology

History

The watershed development in hardhat diving was the "closed" dress, in 1837 by Augustus Siebe, where the helmet was sealed to the suit making the suit watertight. The helmet could not flood no matter how the diver moved, resulting in safer and more efficient underwater work. The overall design changed little over the years until superseded in the 1960s when SCUBA, modern fiberglass helmet designs, and saturation diving became slightly more common.

Popular culture

★ While searching for Red Rackham's treasure, Tintin, Captain Haddock, and the Thompson Twins used diving suits, with varying levels of success.

★ "Big Daddies" from Bioshock wear Standard Diving Dress, the variation of helmet representing "Bouncer" (Close-combat with a mining drill)who wear Carmagnolle helmets, or "Rosie" (long range with a rivet gun).

See also

★ Three-bolts equipment

Gallery

External links

★ The Historical Diving Society

★ US Naval Undersea Museum

★ Mixed Gas Diving Helmets

★ Pumps