UHEXSO
U.S. Navy Mark V Page
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The equipment featured on this page belongs to individual members and friends of UHEXSO. Other images have been reproduced from various sources to show different styles and makes of standard dress so the reader can see a wide range of equipment. UHEXSO does allow members and guests to dive the standard dress, provided the diver has permission from the equipment's owner and meets UHEXSO's minimum safety and instruction standards for the equipment. UHEXSO does not allow non-certified divers to dive at its rallies or events. Please read the Disclaimer on the UHEXSO FAQ's Page for further details.
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Mark V helmet and breastplate
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In the world of historical diving, the deep-sea standard dress rig is king. This page is dedicated to UHEXSO members and friends who dive the standard dress and who in turn allow us to dive their rigs as well. The image of the "hard-hat" diver has captured the imaginations of generations of young divers and adventure seekers. Through movies, books and logos the classic hard hat image is the most recognized symbol of diving. We hope you enjoy this page; if you have any comments or questions, please e-mail us at: UHEXSO@airmail.net Also, be sure to check out the other equipment pages on this site and the associated links. Dive into History!
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Development of Standard Dress
During the 1800's English inventors Augustus Siebe and Charles and John Deane developed the helmet and dress that would evolve into the Mark V(MK V), which was adopted by the United States Navy in the early 1900's. Through the years there has been very little modification to the basic Mark V design outside of improved communications and adding mixed-gas capabilities. It was the wreck of the USN submarine SQUALUS in 1912 that made the navy take stock of its diving program. Divers wearing the Mark V deep-sea rig dove to a depth of 304 feet salvaging the SQUALUS. Prior to that time, navy divers rarely went below 60 feet. At the start of WW II the only two companies manufacturing the Mark V were Morse and Schrader. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, DESCO and Miller-Dunn also began manufacturing the Mark V. DESCO started producing the Mark V sometime in 1942 and was manufacturing 8 helmets a day by 1945. Between 1942 and 1945, DESCO produced 3,000 helmets. After the war a glut of Morse, DESCO and Miller-Dunn helmets hit the market and you could purchase a new helmet for $100 to $125. Just makes you want to lay your head down and cry!
Let's Go Diving
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In the beginning--At left, UHEXSO founders Paul Schenk (diver) and John Hoover (tending), June 1995, Lake Travis, Texas. Paul is wearing his 1940's Mark V rig. The dress is made of india canvas and rubber. The diver enters the dress from the top. The dress is fitted with a thick rubber gasket seal laminated to the canvas. The seal has 12 holes punched in it so that the breastplate can be attached. The dress is pulled up over the breastplate so that the 12 studs on the breastplate match up to the holes. Brails are then placed over the studs and tightened down to create a watertight seal between the breastplate and the dress. Once the helmet is affixed to the breastplate and the faceplate shut, the diver is fully enclosed in the dress. The diver wears eighty pounds of weight at the waist and lead-soled canvas boots that weigh 20 pounds each. This much weight is necessary to counteract the buoyancy of the dress. On surface the whole rig weighs almost 280 pounds. In the water, because of the bouncy control characteristics of the dress, the diver has a fair degree of mobility. Eyelets at the dress's legs and wrists allow it to be drawn tight to restrict the amount of air in these areas of the dress. The lines attached to the breastplate secure the diver's control valve hose and air hose to the dress. |
| In this photo taken in October of 1998, at the Battleship TEXAS (BB35), diver Paul Schenk is being helped out of the water and to the dressing bench by tenders Mel Janney and Pete Petrisky. You will notice that the tenders are wearing U.S. Navy seaman's uniforms. No, the navy is not hurting for new recruits. The TEXAS was hosting a Parks and Wildlife living history event called Battle Stations 1944. The TEXAS was staffed that weekend by living history interpreters who brought the TEXAS back to life as it would have been in 1944. Our role was to portray a U.S. Navy Diving Salvage Unit. The event was lots of fun and a great backdrop for diving the Mark V.
Battleship TEXAS (BB35), San Jacinto State Park
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Notice above that the shoulder straps on the diver's weight belt go over the breastplate and the jocking strap goes between the diver's legs. This configuration helps keep the breastplate from floating up over the diver's face when the diver is submerged. |
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One famous diver who served on the Battleship TEXAS was Navy Commander Edward Ellsberg. Commander Ellsberg was one of the top Navy Salvage divers of his day and was the first Jewish midshipman to graduate at the top of his Naval Academy class in 1914. He served on the Battleship TEXAS after he graduated from the Naval Academy for a brief period of time.
To read more about Commander Ellsberg's life, check out the book, Salvage Man, by John D. Alden. Available through the HDS-USA.
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UHEXSO diver John Hoover in Paul Schenk's Mark V rig getting ready for his first Mark V dive since 1979. You will notice in this picture that the diver's dress is orange. It is a modern vulcanized rubber suit made by Viking. Hoover also has on diver's canvas chaffing pants to protect the suit from tears and cuts. Below, John Hoover's first dive in a Mark V, in 1979 at the Florida Institute of Technology in Jensen Beach, Florida. Don't worry, you young kids don't have to dive the Mark V in dive school anymore as a course requirement.
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Additional information can be found in copies of the US Navy Diving Manual, in editions published on or before 1973. For an excellent book on the early history of diving, get a copy of the The Infernal Diver by Dr. John Bevan of the HDS-U.K. To find these and other books on diving, check out Best Publishing Company, which can be contacted at (800) 468-1055 or check out the Historical Diving Society-USA's web site for books and videos about MK V diving.
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Pictured is a fully dressed out U.S. Navy MK V diver. The diver is ready to be lowered down into the water on a diving stage. Launching divers by stage was done to get the diver safely into the water. The weight of the MK V rig can exceed 280 lbs. So making the climb down or up the side of a ship would be extremely difficult.
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Above: U.S. Navy MK V Recirculating Helmet. This helmet was designed for mixed-gas for deep diving applications.
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Here are some of the main U.S. Military diving insignia worn by diving personnel. Insignia badges are available through the HDS-USA or military surplus stores.
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