Basic gear from the mid-twentieth-century Federal Republic of Germany

[David Wilson]

Fifth and last Barakuda diving mask today is the Marina, numbered 29:

German: "MARINA, schwarz. Eine Druckausgleichsmaske mit Ausblasventil, Kunststoff-Sprengrahmen, Sicherheitsglas, breitem, verstellbarem Kopfband. Best.-Nr. 140700, DM 26.95."
Rough translation: "MARINA, black. A compensator mask with purge valve, plastic snap-on rim, safety glass and a wide, adjustable head strap. Order No. 140700, DM 26.95."

The Barakuda Marina comes with a high price tag for a plastic-rimmed model, although it would have been a fashionable article for its time.

That's enough for today. I'll be back in a few days' time with the remainder of the new Barakuda compensator masks of 1970s.

 

[WeRtheOcean]

Looks like I came late to this thread, 11 pages late! I was intrigued on page 1, the Barakuda fins, at first, appeared to be modeled after the shape of an actual barracuda's tail -- the logo even emphasized it by picturing a barracuda with the tail circled. But a few pictures later, they had evolved into the symmetrical fins we see today. What was the reasoning behind the different shapes?

 

[Sam Miller III]

Almost exact copies of the American "Churchills" designed and produced by Owen Potter Churchill
in 1939 and still being produced some where in the world today as "Churchills>"

SDM

 

[David Wilson]

Looks like I came late to this thread, 11 pages late! I was intrigued on page 1, the Barakuda fins, at first, appeared to be modeled after the shape of an actual barracuda's tail -- the logo even emphasized it by picturing a barracuda with the tail circled. But a few pictures later, they had evolved into the symmetrical fins we see today. What was the reasoning behind the different shapes?

I'm guessing you're referring to these images of Barakuda Originals:

As Sam says, the design shows the influence of Owen Churchill, whose US-patented fins were imported to the UK to support the war effort during WWII and were copied there by the Dunlop Rubber Company for British combat swimmers:

I'm no scientist, so I can't offer a scientific explanation for the shift from asymmetrically-bladed fins with "left foot" and "right foot" embossed on them to symmetrical ones that could be worn on either foot. I suspect the "dismal science" of economics played a part because tooling was expensive. And let's not forget that the early manufacturers were not averse to copying their competitors' design concepts as they had once copied Louis de Corlieu's and Owen Churchill's. Another factor may have been the arrival of full-foot fins in general, and the Cressi Rondine in particular, which were welcomed on the pebbly beaches of the Mediterranean and soon became the professional fins of choice in Europe during the late 1950s and the 1960s with a price to match, while open-heel fins were considered less than luxurious except within the military.

 

[David Wilson]

OK, revenons à nos moutons, and let's explore the final page of diving masks in the 1973 Barakuda catalogue. "Brillenträgermasken" means "spectacle wearer's masks". We'll omit the first few foreign imports and leap to the Baravista, model no. 34.

German: "BARAVISTA, Brillenträgermaske. Die Brillengläser liegen in einer Ebene und ermöglichen so eine unverzerrte Sicht. Leichtes Auswechseln der Plangläser gegen Korrektionsgläser. DM 29,85. Best.-Nr. 1 607 00."
Rough translation: "BARAVISTA spectacle wearer's mask. The spectacle lenses lie in one plane, thus allowing undistorted vision. Plain lenses are easily replaced with corrective lenses. DM 29.85 Order No. 1 607 00."

We met the Baravista in an earlier contribution to this thread:

I mentioned how the name of this diving mask evolved: "Bara" from "Barakuda" and "Vista" suggesting field of vision. The 1967 version has a very different appearance and lacks provision for corrective lenses. Meeting divers' additional needs was a priority of Barakuda, as witness the supply of fins for lower-lamb amputees also mentioned earlier in this thread. It was not the first diving equipment manufacturer to cater for spectacle wearers, though, when we recall how the French firm Hurricane introduced an "optical" mask in 1947:

 

[David Wilson]

Let's move on to the Barakuda Optica, no 35 on the page:

German: "OPTICA, schwarz. Druckausgleichsmaske mit Sicherheitsglas und Kunststoff-Sprengrahmen. DM 24,90. Best.-Nr. 1 603 00. Einsatz für optische Gläser. Best.-Nr. 1 608 00."
Rough translation: "OPTICA, black. Compensator mask with safety-glass lens and plastic snap-on rim. DM 24.90. Order No. 1 603 00. Insert for optical lenses. Order No. 1 608 00."

So a compensator mask that may be modified to take optical lenses for spectacle wearers.

 

[David Wilson]

Final Barakuda diving mask of the day is the Monda, no. 38 on the page under the heading of "Schwimm- und Badebrillen", German for "swimming and bathing goggles":

German: "MONDA. Brillenförmige Druckausgleichsmaske mit Nasenerker. Sehr kleiner Totraum. Sicherheitsglas. DM 18,90."
Rough translation: "MONDA. Goggle-shaped compensator mask with nose recess, very low dead space, safety-glass lens, DM 18.90."

Though meant for "swimming and bathing", this mask's low volume draws comparisons with many of today's models.

That's enough for the moment. I'll be back later with a review of Barakuda snorkels.

 

[David Wilson]

As promised, on today to the Barakuda range of snorkels. 1953 is the earliest Barakuda catalogue I have access to and the only breathing tube it features is the following model:
Ger

German: "Barakuda-Schnorchel. Mit Hilfe des Barakuda-Schnorchels (auch Tauch- oder Atemrohr genannt) kann man unbeschränkte Zeit eben unter der Wasseroberfläche verweilen, um das Leben unter Wasser zu beobachten. Das mit Beißlappen versehene Mundstück gewährt einen festen Sitz. Ein Ballventil am Einatemstutzen verhindert durch automatisches Verschließen das Eindringen von Wasser. Preis mit Ventil:
Rough translation: "Barakuda snorkel. The Barakuda snorkel (also called diving or breathing tube) enables you to stay indefinitely just below the surface of the water and observe life under water. The mouthpiece comes with a bite plate to ensure a secure fit. A ball valve on the air inlet prevents water ingress by closing automatically. Price with valve:"

So Barakuda's first snorkel was shaped like a letter "S" and fitted with a ball-in-a-cage shut-off valve at the supply end of the barrel to prevent water from entering when the diver submerged. As such, it resembled other companies' "double bend" models of the 1950s equipped with ball valves, e.g. the Typhoon T2 breathing tube made in England by E. T. Skinner & Co. and illustrated below in Peter Small's 1957 book Your Guide to Underwater Adventure:

This Typhoon breathing tube model was the first snorkel I ever owned.

 

[David Wilson]

The Barakuda catalogue of 1954 introduced a valveless snorkel as an alternative to the ball-valve model:

German: "Barakuda-Schnorchel. Mit Hilfe dieses sogenannten Tauch- oder Atemrohres kann man unbeschränkte Zeit eben unter der Wasserfläche verweilen und in Verbindung mit einer Tauchmaske oder -brille das Leben unter Wasser beobachten. Die notwendige Atemluft bezieht der Schwimmer durch den Schnorchel. Das Gerät ist aus leuchtend farbig-eloxiertem Leichtmetallrohr gefertigt, mit Mundstück und automatisch funktionierendem Ballventil versehen. Preis mit Ventil: 5,85. Preis ohne Ventil: 4.10. Ausführung: verschiedene leuchtende Farben."
Rough translation: "Barakuda snorkel. This so-called diving or breathing tube enables you to stay indefinitely just below the surface of the water and observe life under water in conjunction with a diving mask or goggles. The necessary breathing air is drawn by the swimmer through the snorkel. The device is made of brightly coloured anodised light-metal tubing, fitted with a mouthpiece and a ball valve, which operates automatically. Price with valve: DM 5.85. Price with no valve: DM 4.10. Finish: a variety of bright colours."

Curiously, the new J-shaped valveless model is never mentioned in the product description and its pricing comes almost as an afterthought. No reference either to the new figure-of-eight snorkel keeper attaching the breathing tube to the diving mask strap. I suppose the catalogue writers deemed a picture to be worth a thousand words and hence the caption required minimal revision. So the wording of the description remained unchanged in 1955 and 1956 except for the pricing. The cost of the valved version reduced by 1 mark to DM 4.85 during those years, while the price of the valveless model descended to DM 3.85 in 1955 and to DM 2.85 in 1956.

 

[David Wilson]

The 1957 Barakuda catalogue saw a subtle change in Barakuda's snorkel offerings:

German: "Barakuda-Schnorchel. Mit Hilfe dieses sogenannten Tauch- oder Atemrohres kann man unbeschränkte Zeit eben unter der Wasserfläche verweilen und in Verbindung mit einer Tauchmaske oder -brille das Leben unter Wasser beobachten. Die notwendige Atemluft bezieht der Schwimmer durch den Schnorchel. Das Gerät, ist aus leuchtend farbig-eloxiertem Leichtmetallrohr gefertigt, mit Mundstück und automatisch funktionierendem Ventil versehen. Preis mit Ventil DM 4.85. Preis ohne Ventil DM 2.85."
Rough translation: "Barakuda snorkel. This so-called diving or breathing tube enables you to stay indefinitely just below the surface of the water and to observe life under water in conjunction with a diving mask or goggles. The necessary breathing air is drawn by the swimmer through the snorkel. The device is made of brightly coloured anodised light-metal tubing, fitted with a mouthpiece and a ball valve, which operates automatically. Price with valve: DM 4.85. Price with no valve: DM 2.85."

So the 1957 product description follows the text and the pricing of the 1956 catalogue verbatim. Now look at the leftmost image of the snorkel with the valve, which has received a makeover. We have to wait until 1959 for a closer inspection of this revamp:

German: "Der BARAKUDA-SCHNORCHEL dient den Taucher zur Atmung während er an der Oberfläche schwimmend durch die Tauchmaske das Leben unter der Wasseroberfläche beobachtet. Das Ventil schließt die obere Schnorchelöffnung bei Eintauchen gegen Eindringen von Wasser ab. Geübtere benutzen das ventillose Schnorchelrohr und blasen nach dem Auftauchen das eingedrungene Wasser mit der restlichen Atemluft hinaus. Material: farbiger Kunststoff. Der BARAKUDA-SCHNORCHEL ist vierfach verwendbar:
1) Ohne Ventil mit geradem Rohr für Geübte.
2) Wie vorstehend, jedoch mit aufgesetztem Kopfbogen zum blubberfreien Abtauchen.
3) Bei tiefer Rückenlage, durch Umstecken des Mundstückes auf das gerade Rohrende.
4) Für weniger Geübte durch zusätzliches Aufstecken des Ventils.
Preis: Schnorchel kompl. mit Ventil DM 4,85. Schnorchel ohne Ventil DM 2,60. Einzelteile: Ventil sep. DM 2,25. Mundstück sep. DM -,75. Kopfbogen sep. DM -,60.
Rough translation: "The BARAKUDA SNORKEL enables the diver to breathe as he swims at the surface and observes through his diving mask the life under the surface of the water. When submerged, the valve shuts off the aperture at the top of the snorkel, preventing water ingress. After returning to the surface, experienced divers who use the valveless snorkel tube will blow out the ingressed water along with the remaining breathed air. Material: coloured plastic. The BARAKUDA SNORKEL can be deployed in four ways:
1) Experienced divers remove the valve from the straight end of the tube.
2) As above, but attach header to dive bubble-free.
3) When lying on the back in a deeper position, attach the mouthpiece to the straight end of the tube.
4) Less proficient divers attach the valve.
Price: Snorkel complete with valve: DM 4.85. Snorkel with no valve: DM 2.60. Spare parts: Valve sold separately: DM 2.25. Mouthpiece sold separately: DM -.75. Header sold separately: DM -.60.

So the situation clarifies. The S-shaped double-bend breathing tube of 1953-1956 has gone, while the J-shaped snorkel has stood the test of time. The latter is now available either as a valveless standalone or as a model with a valve now shaped to fit on the top of a straight tube. The text refrains from detailed description of the "header" (Kopfbogen), but we do learn that there should be no bubbles when diving if the "header" is attached to the top of the barrel. Would anybody hazard an explanation of this device? And what do you make of the idea of lying on your back below the surface and continuing to breathe by attaching the mouthpiece to the straight end of the snorkel while maintaining the curved end above the surface of the water?

I'll leave matters there for today and continue with my review of the Barakuda range of snorkels when the weekend comes around.