Early Air Fills?

[David Wilson]

Was there a lot of exchange of ideas, equipment and practice between the USSR and allied states like the DDR, Cuba and Yugoslavia? How did equipment makers survive the collapse?.

Have you seen these threads in the Vintage Equipment Diving forum here?
Soviet fins: Models 1-7
Soviet fins 2
Soviet Fins 3: Made in Leningrad
Soviet fins 4: The Ukrainian connection
Soviet masks: Russian models
Soviet masks: Ukrainian models
Post-Soviet fins: Russian models 1
Post-Soviet fins: Russian models 2
Post-Soviet fins: Ukrainian models
Post-Soviet masks: Russian models
Post-Soviet masks: Ukrainian models
Russian and Ukrainian snorkels
Basic gear from the Polish People's Republic
Basic gear from the People's Republic of Bulgaria
Basic gear from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Basic gear from the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Basic gear from the Hungarian People's Republic
Basic gear from the former German Democratic Republic: East German fins
Basic gear from the former German Democratic Republic: East German masks and snorkels

These threads do touch on points of comparison not only between Soviet and pre-1990 East European basic diving equipment but also between East and West European basic underwater swimgear before the fall of the Berlin Wall. For example, a Soviet Russian rubber plant made its own version of the iconic Cressi Pinocchio diving mask:

1. The original Italian Cressi Pinocchio on the head of its inventor Luigi Ferraro

2. The Soviet "Buratino" replica manufactured in the "Mosrezina" rubber goods factory in Moscow in the early 1970s:

The same company also made its own version of the equally iconic GDR (East German) Naiade fin:

1. The original Naiade fin made by Guwelin (VEB Gummiwerke Berlin), the publicly owned (East) Berlin Rubber Works:

2. The Soviet "Rusalka" replica manufactured in the "Mosrezina" rubber goods factory in Moscow in the early 1970s:

Here's an image of the now defunct Mosrezina plant in Moscow where the replica masks and fins were manufactured:

Finally, copying and exchanging ideas and designs are part of parcel of every branch of industry. Diving manufacturers are no exception to this rule, whether located in the capitalist, socialist or developing world, as you will find out if you also read the more recent threads in the Vintage Equipment Diving forum about the British, Australian and French history of basic underwater gear.

 

[JasmineNeedsGills]

Thanks for the links. I only recently joined the forum so wasn't aware there's been so much discussion. Should give me plenty to catch up on!

 

[David Wilson]

Yes, by all means have a look at the links, JasmineNeedsGills, but avoid treating them as definitive discussions. I've chanced upon plenty of new, and sometimes contradictory, historical evidence since I contributed to those threads and it's important that such matters should eventually be placed in the public domain before they are lost for ever. I've learnt so much from others who have contributed and corrected my conclusions here, using their own knowledge and experience. We all have pieces of the jigsaw, but the overall picture will only emerge when we share what we know. And as you have suggested in your earlier posting, what we learn about the narrower field of the history of diving inevitably mirrors the broader subject of the history of humankind.

 

[АлександрД]

This is so interesting to me, as I have an interest in the general history of Soviet society. How popular and accessible was recreational diving during the Soviet era? Did ДОСААФ / DOSAAF provide dive training/certification for recreation diving?

This opens up new questions as well - like how was the popular imagination shaped by rec diving? Was there anything similar to the "Costeau effect"? What sort of diving was most popular? Was there a lot of exchange of ideas, equipment and practice between the USSR and allied states like the DDR, Cuba and Yugoslavia? How did equipment makers survive the collapse?

It surprises me that even now, diving the waters east of the old "iron curtain" is still somewhat alien territory to western diving, and not well explored.

Hopefully some more "old hands" from the Russian / FSU diving world can shed some light on this and share their experiences - I'd absolutely love to find out more.

I think this topic is not the proper place to discuss diving in Soviet Union, and from your question I`d starts new topic - ДОСААФ (DOSAAF) - Soviet diving society

You can see some my and others messages here about Soviet equipment and other things:
https://www.scubaboard.com/community/search/37314894/?q=AVM-1&o=date
Basic gear from the former German Democratic Republic: East German masks and snorkels
Hi from San Francisco, CA
Russian and Ukrainian snorkels

 

[Seahuntjerry]

The Cornelius compressors in tbone's video were in pretty widespread use in Minnesota in the 1960s, from what I understand. Smith Diving was the pioneer shop in Minneapolis, and had fills.

In the early years, I don't believe the Cornelius compressors were widely equipped with filtration, here. Dives were short and shallow by today's standards.

For the Record Cornelius had a manufacturing business in Ne Mpls Mn. Jack the Frogmen was on early pioneer started in the 50's. Ron Benson has a few Cornelius compressors that jack used.
Jerry Paulson had Paulson divers and sold his business to Smith diving in the 60's.
Frans Carlson worked for Jerry and I started diving in 1963.

 

[michael-fisch]

I was taught that the first importer of dive gear to the US was located in Burlington Vermont (on lake Champlain) and Imported Spirotechnik CG-45s long before Rene got into diving gear out on the west coast. I still have an old US Divers steel tank marked Rene from the first year of USD in pretty good condition (no rust inside or out and the galvanising is still in good condition).

Michael

 

[SurfLung]

My Father started diving in Northern Minnesota in 1961 (Leech Lake, town of Walker) and would ship his tanks by Greyhound bus to be refilled by Jack the Frogman in Minneapolis. It wasn't long before a friend also got into diving and bought a Cyclone compressor from U.S. Divers. I remember my Dad was diving a Totes dry suit and the friend had just received a mail order wetsuit. He thought it would keep him dry and tried it out the first time with his clothes on. Oops.

 

[David Wilson]

I remember my Dad was diving a Totes dry suit and the friend had just received a mail order wetsuit. He thought it would keep him dry and tried it out the first time with his clothes on. Oops.

Just as well James Bond knew the difference in Goldfinger...

 

[kelemvor]

Regular fills were officially $1.50.

Curiously, US$1.50 in 1962 would be US$12.62 in 2019 accounting for inflation. There's a lot of dive shops that charge around that price for air fills. So I guess fill prices haven't gone any crazier than inflation in general.