UHEXSO's HELMETS of The Deep PAGE
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This page is devoted to the development and styles of helmets developed overseas. UHEXSO members have working rigs from Russia, Korea, and the U.K. It is interesting to note the sometimes subtle style changes between these helmets and the U.S. Mark V.
Left: UHEXSO founder Paul Schenk in his Russian helmet and rig. The Russian helmet is a three-port design with a handle on top to aide tenders in putting the helmet over the diver's head. Instead of a weight belt, the breast plate is fitted to take chest weights. These weights, fitted on front and back, keep the breast plate from floating up over the diver's head during a dive. Paul is using a 1947 CRAFTWELD oxy-acetylene cutting torch, which had just flamed out when this picture was taken.
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In this photo you can better see the front chest weight on the Russian rig. The weight is secured by line to prevent the weights from shifting around and to hold them close to the diver's body.
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Left: 50th Anniversary Pin with Russian Naval Academy shield and anchor
Middle: Russian Navy Duty Diver Pin
Right: Russian Navy First Class Diver
Below: Russian Diving Cadets in Marching Formation
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Right: UHEXSO founder Pete Petrisky in his Korean helmet using a USN salvage nozzle to water-jet. Pete had a fourth port added to the top of the helmet. The Korean is based on the Mark V design, but is much lighter. It uses a 12-bolt breast plate and dress, weight belt and weighted dive boots. Air flow to the helmet is controlled by a valve located on the diver's left side. Note: You can see the stream of retro-jets from the nozzle. The reverse thrust of these jets offsets the main jet and allows the diver to use the water-jet with more control and with less fatigue.
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Above: A better view of Pete's Korean helmet. Notice that unlike the Mark V, which has a hinged face plate, the Korean and Russian helmets use screw-in face plates. The diver's umbilical is attached to the breast plate by line, and Pete has the air control valve handle in his hand.
Both the Russian andKorean helmets are fitted with two-way communications so the diver and surface crew can communicate. Before voice communications, diver and surface crew communicated through a series of line-pull signals
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The above photo shows, from left to right: Siebe Gorman 12-bolt helmet. Russian 3-bolt helmet and what appears to be a Korean 3 light deep-sea helmet. Notice the diffrence in size between the Siebe and the Korean.
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Left: A rare Heinke mine recovery outfit. Only about 18 sets of this helmet were produced. Heinkewas an English company that produced diving helmets and equipment. This helmet was auctioned at Christie's in May of 1999.
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Many of the European helmets used hand pumps much like this single-cylinder pump manufactuured by Siebe Gorman circa 1900. Pumps delivered air to the diver in "gulps" as opposed to the continuous flow produced by compressors. This may explain why many European helmets do not use the Mark V style of air control valve.
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Above: Royal Engineers divers and crew at Chatham, England in 1904. Notice the two-diver pump and the very enthusiastic young men who run it. For information about the Royal Engineers, check out the HDS-U.K. web site.
The helmets featured above are closed-style helmets, which means that they seal with the diving suit to create a dry environment for the diver. Open helmets are just that--open at the bottom. So if a diver were to lean over too far or to become inverted, the helmet would either fall off or flood. The open style of helmet preceeded closed helmet styles. Open helmets are still manufactured and dived today by collectors.
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Pictured here is the Danish Middelaldercentret (Middle Ages Center) reconstruction of a medieval diving dress. The helmet is based primarily on a military engineering work known as the Anonymous of the Hussite Wars, circa 1425, and also on features from other contemporary depictions of divers. The suit and helmet were constructed using methods and materials that would have been available during the 1400's. The air supply was delivered to the diver by bellows. The dive hose was made from hollowed-out wooden sections reinforced and joined by a tubular leather sheath. This helmet has been dived on test dives to a depth of 5.5 meters.
To find out more about this unusal helmet, check out the HDS-UK puplication, Historical Diving Times, Winter 1998 edition.
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