What year was scuba discovered? Many will answer that it was the 1860s. But, when was scuba invented? Let's start by looking at the first scuba equipment. Emile Gagnan Jacques Cousteau, and others have played important parts in the development of scuba divers. They are responsible for the development of freedom of navigation. And who is responsible for the earliest scuba regulator?
Jacques Cousteau
In the early 1960s, Jacques Cousteau was part of a program called the Conshelf Saturation Dive, which aimed to determine the feasibility of living underwater for extended periods. Five divers participated in the experiment, which was documented in a film called World Without Sun. The ocean exploration goal has greatly improved since the invention of scuba equipment. Robotic undersea robots now perform this work. Cousteau's documentary won third Academy Award.
Emile Gagnan
Scuba was invented in the 1940s, when a French engineer named Emile Gagnan was working on valve designs for a compressed gas company in Paris. He realized that scuba divers were at high risk of developing nitrogen addiction, which can cause extreme pain and make people insane. Gagnan and Cousteau worked together to create a machine that could allow people to survive underwater. They realized that oxygen-pressure regulation would be key to survival.
1860s
Henry A. Fleuss, an engineer and diver from London, invented the sport of scuba in 1860s. Fleuss' design consisted of a diving mask with a spout that could be filled with compressed air. The bag could also be filled with caustic potash. The resulting sealed circuit system allowed divers to breathe air for up to three hours.
1860s Scuba regulator
1860s scuba regulators were a far cry from the current technology. They were designed by Benoit Rouquayrol and Auguste Denayrouze. Benoit Rouquayrol's demand valve was first used in smoky rooms and poisonous mines, but was later adapted for use in diving. In 1865, the Rouquayrol-Denayrouze apparatus became a mass-produced product and was adopted as a French Navy standard. This regulator was not widely accepted by the French diving community.
Davis Submerged Escape Device
R. H. Davis created the Davis Submerged Rescue Device, also known as Davis scuba in 1914. It consisted of a rubber breathing and buoyancy bag, a canister of barium hydroxide, and a steel pressure cylinder containing 56 litres of oxygen at 120 bar. This was connected to a breathing bag and charged by the pressure in water surrounding it. The Davis scuba rig was the first commercially-available rebreather, and it was used for submarine escapes in the First World War. It was also used to do industrial diving.
1860s Scuba Goggles
In the 1860s diving gear wasn't as sophisticated as it is today. Before the invention of scuba glasses, divers relied on wooden or plastic diving helmets. These were unsuitable for the water's pressure. However, two wealthy families had experimented with underwater exploration in their youth, and Otis Barton was one of them. Barton had worn a makeshift dive helmet and weighed his body with rocks as he swam around Massachusetts waters.
Deane brothers Scuba System
The Deane brothers tested their underwater apparatus for the first time in 1829. The scuba system consisted of a helmet and a breathing apparatus. The Deane brothers made a very successful invention, and their business exploded. Their invention was the catalyst for the creation of The Method of Using Deane Brothers Patent Diving Apparatus, the first diving manual. It detailed the functions of the device and provided safety guidelines.
1860s scuba reservoir
Using compressed air as a scuba reservoir was first invented in the 1860s by Benoit Rouquayrol. Rouquayrol had already invented the "demand regulator" for underground mines and smoke-filled rooms. Auguste Denayrouze, an 1864 entrepreneur, adapted Rouquayrol’s design for underwater diving. The principle behind this device still holds true today. Modern scuba regulators use a similar system.