Shallow Water Dress 1. The very first diving dress manufactured by Augustus Siebe in the 1820s for the diving pioneer charles Deane consisted of a helmet attached to a short leather jacket. This ‘Open Dress’, was quickly superseded by the 12-bolt helmet and suit introduced in 1837. However, the concept of a combined helmet and waterproof jacket continued to be used for many years in a so-called shallow water apparatus. Supplied by a small cylinder of oxygen the diver was, in comparison to his Standard Dress cousin, relatively lightweight and manoeuverable. The equipment could also be stored in a relatively small space, making it popular aboard vessels where there was not enough room to maintain and operate conventional equipment. Shallow water equipment was particularly useful in confined spaces – entering a flooded compartment for example – whilst it also doubled as an apparatus for penetrating smoke-filled rooms.
Shallow Water Dress 2. During the early years of the 20th century various attempts were made to develop a very lightweight diving apparatus which obviated the need for any kind of bulky helmet or suit. Drawing on previous designs for mine rescue apparatus, Siebe Gorman produced a waterproof jacket with a flexible hood. Supplied with oxygen from an integral cylinder, the apparatus also had a small chemical filter strapped to the back. Nevertheless, the buoyancy of the jacket and hood proved such that it was necessary to add weight in the form of lead blocks hung from the belt, whilst to prevent the diver flipping upside down, even more lead blocks were strapped to the ankles. Thus the apparatus was anything but lightweight and not very practical, but these early attempts at producing self-contained equipment paved the way for future, more successful, devices.
Submarine Escape Early experimental submarines had a tendency to sink, and a number of accidents before the First World War made the Admiralty look into the possibility of developing an escape apparatus for use by trapped crews. One of these, designed by Captain S.S. Hall and Fleet Surgeon O. Rees, and manufactured by Siebe Gorman, briefly went into production. It incorporated a canister containing ‘Oxylithe’, a special chemical which when breathed upon gave off oxygen and absorbed carbon dioxide. This eliminated the need to carry compressed oxygen, thus saving weight and increasing safety. The original apparatus had a flexible hood, but this was later abandoned in favour of a metal helmet which protected the head of the wearer. Despite its workable design, the Hall-Rees apparatus was phased out – one for each crew member simply took up too much room in a cramped submarine.
Atmospheric Diving Suit It was soon recognised that the answer to very deep diving was to enclose the diver in a chamber strong enough to resist the immense pressure of the sea, allowing the occupant to breath under ordinary atmospheric conditions. All problems of decompression and breathing at depth would thus be eliminated. Unfortunately a diver enclosed in a steel chamber can do no work, and at the end of the 19th century numerous attempts were made to combine the flexibility of the ordinary diving dress with the strength of a metal skin. Few of the early designs had merit, most ignoring the obvious, dangerous effect of allowing the diver’s unprotected hands to emerge from the suit. By the 1920s the designs had become quite intricate, although they still had leaking joints which were difficult to move when the water pressure increased. It was not until the 1930s that Peres designed the ‘Tritonia’ – the first fully working atmospheric jointed suit.

Salving Of HMS Gladiator HMS Gladiator, a cruiser of 5750 tons and some 320 feet long, sank after a collision in 1908. The job of salvaging her was given to the Liverpool Salvage Association. She was lying with her port side visible at high tide. Her 15 ton guns were first removed with other heavy equipment by divers. All openings were made watertight. A decision was made to haul her into shallow water, floating her with the aid of pontoons. She would then be hauled upright and towed away.