Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Britain: Dunlop, Heinke, Siebe-Gorman etc

[David Wilson]

I'm starting a new thread to cover mid-20c British diving equipment manufacturers other than E. T. Skinner (Typhoon) and W. W. Haffenden (Britmarine/Clipper), who were responsible for the production of the greatest number of models of fins, masks and snorkels in the UK. We'll begin with three major players in British military, commercial and professional diving equipment manufacture operating during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s: Dunlop, Heinke and Siebe-Gorman. The latter two merged in the early 1960s.

Let's start with Dunlop. The British Admiralty contracted the Dunlop Rubber Company to supply underwater swimming equipment for the Second World War effort. In peacetime, however, Dunlop could not envisage any civilian demand for such products, discontinuing their manufacture and disposing of its surplus stocks within a short period.

In the mid-1950s, however, Dunlop re-entered the underwater equipment market as the company expanded its product lines to satisfy a growing popular demand for leisure goods. Snorkel and scuba diving was then beginning to take off as a recreational pastime on both sides of the Atlantic. The Trade Marks Journal of 25 January 1956 recorded the registration of the brand name “Aquafort” for “diving apparatus, goggles, and respiratory apparatus and masks” on behalf of the Dunlop Rubber Company Limited of Birmingham. The name “Aquafort” combined “aqua”, the Latin noun for water, with “fort”, as in “Fort Dunlop”, the common name of the original tyre factory and main office of the Dunlop Rubber Company in the Erdington district of Birmingham in England (below).

The Dunlop Aquafort range of underwater swimming equipment was manufactured between 1956 and 1962 or so by Dunlop Special Products Limited at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham and distributed by Dunlop Sports Company Limited at Allington House, 136-142 Victoria Street, London. Reproduced below is a full-page advertisement that appeared during 1956 in the then journal of the British Sub Aqua Club Neptune to launch Aquafort, highlighting the line’s flagship two-piece drysuits and the firm’s reputation as “pioneers of frogmen’s equipment”. From the outset, Aquafort was marketed as a range of cost-effective products conforming to Admiralty standards and representing state-of-the-art diving equipment design.

The Aquafort suit range eventually grew to comprise one-piece drysuits with a choice of neck-yoke entry and shoulder-zip entry; two-piece drysuits with a choice of all-rubber or cotton-stockinette linings; and two-piece neoprene wetsuits. Aquafort diving gloves, weight-belts, dive masks, breathing tubes, swim fins and other underwater accessories complemented this apparel. The decision to discontinue the Aquafort line was taken during the early 1960s. Reproduced below is a reply by Dunlop Sports Limited on 17 November 1966 to an enquiry about the availability of Aquafort products stated that the range had been withdrawn “three or four years” previously, dating the demise of Aquafort to 1962 or 1963.

During its lifetime, the Aquafort name seems to have retained a positive image among divers around the English-speaking world. In 1958 the original London branch No. 1 of the British Sub Aqua Club, including its most photogenic member Rowena Kerr, participated in a Dunlop information film entitled Horizons Below, which did much to popularise the brand. Only later, with the benefit of hindsight and newer technology, did any negative comments emerge, e.g. the reference in an Australian cave diving article to “a very uncomfortable dry suit called a Dunlop Aquafort which caused painful blood-blistering at depth because it had no inflation system to compensate for the crushing effects of the surrounding water pressure”.

We'll review next the small Dunlop Aquafort fin, mask and snorkel range.

 

[David Wilson]

Let's begin our review of the Dunlop Aquafort range of basic gear with a couple of early 1960s videos showcasing the early activities of the London branch No. 1 of the British Sub Aqua Club:
And before anybody brings this subject up, yes, the members of this London BSAC club did speak with very "posh" Received Pronunciation Queen's English accents back then. Focus, however, on the club members' Aquafort drysuits, fins, masks and snorkels as they participate in an open-water trip and a pool evening.

Here's a 1957 Dunlop Aquafort ad from the British Sub Aqua Club Triton magazine:

Note how Dunlop gives pride of place to the Aquafort drysuit range with its separate models for men and women. The ad does feature an image of Aquafort swim fins, however. More pictures below:

These fins have an unusual shape, which may have been inspired by the "Super Palmes Fusée" (Super Rocket Fins) fins designed by the French diving equipment manufacturer Hurricane, whose gear was being imported during the 1950s.

Hurricane explained the design thus: "Drawing inspiration from American rockets blasting into the stratosphere, Hurricane has been successful in developing truly revolutionary swimming fins that provide opportunities for substantial speed at a minimum expense of energy."

 

[David Wilson]

There was a second model in the Aquafort range, Dunlop Admiralty Pattern Swim Fins.

Admiralty Pattern Swim Fins

Note the initials "DSP" on the last image, which presumably stands for "Dunlop Special Products", the division of the Dunlop Rubber Company where the fins were manufactured.

The product description was as follows: "Dunlop Admiralty Pattern Swim Fins. Fits all foot sizes. Straps and foot cavity in comfortable soft rubber; blade and ribs in a stiffer compound allow a powerful stroke." Unlike the Aquaforts, these fins had asymmetrical blades. They resembled in shape the Superga fins worn by Italian combat swimmers during World War II:

That's it for today. I'll review the mask and the snorkel in the Aquafort range in my next message.

 

[Sam Miller III]

As always great historical and informative posts

re Admiralty Pattern Swim Fins
They appear to be identical to the American Churchill fins which were supplied to Great Britain during WW11 under the lend lease program. However the verbiage indicate they are patterned after the Italian WW11 fins.

As I recall based on conversations so many years ago with Owen Churchill the original black rubber fins were produced in LA by ??? rubber Co and shipped to Britain.

Sam Miller, 111

 

[JamesBon92007]

The "dive down and don all your gear" exercise brings back memories.

 

[Compressor]

Thank David. Great and enjoyable material.

 

[David Wilson]

On to the Dunlop Aquafort diving mask and breathing tube. First the mask.

Aquafort mask

This is the best image I could find, as Dunlop crucially omitted to illustrate it in the company's advertisements. Here are two others featuring the same model:

Here's Dunlop's description of the Aquafort mask: "Dunlop Aquafort Dive Mask. In black, blue and blue-mottled." The mask appears to have come with a top screw and the buckle at the back of the head instead of either side of the mask body.

 

[David Wilson]

And now we come to the Dunlop Aquafort snorkel.

Aquafort snorkel

A clearer image this time, as Lillywhites stocked this breathing tube in 1960 and the London sporting-goods store helpfully included a drawing of new products in its annual catalogue. Here is the caption: "Dunlop Aquafort Snorkel. Designed to the style approved by the experienced snorkel-divers. Polythene tube, straight type". So this model was a J-shaped breathing tube with a simple lugged mouthpiece and a mask attachment device.

That's it for the fins, mask and snorkel in the Dunlop Aquafort range. If you want to see the rest of the range, I have "reconstructed" a Dunlop Aquafort catalogue, which can be downloaded at https://tinyurl.com/y9mlv72n.

In my next posting, I'll proceed to basic gear manufactured by C. E. Heinke & Co. Here's a foretaste in the form of a Heinke advertisement for the company's fins and mask in 1960:

 

[David Wilson]

Moving on to C. E. Heinke & Co. Ltd, I left you with a Heinke ad from the early 1960s, not long before the firm's merger with its competitor Siebe-Gorman. Let's go a little further back into the company's history.

If you look up Heinke in Wikipedia at Heinke (diving equipment manufacturer) - Wikipedia, you'll find the company's long timeline, beginning with the 1809 arrival in London of a Prussian immigrant surnamed Heinke. 1844 saw the production of an improved brass diving helmet by Charles Edwin Heinke, the "C. E. Heinke" after whom the firm was named for the next hundred years or so. In 1922 the enterprise became a limited liability company, styling itself "C.E.Heinke & Co, Submarine Engineers". According to the Wikipedia article, "After (1950) the firm's fortunes declined." This is indeed true in the case of Heinke's standard "hard-hat" diving equipment, although the firm's brass helmets from the 1950s and earlier still command very high prices on the collectors' market. However, unlike Dunlop, Heinke saw a bright future in underwater swimming equipment, switching very quickly during the 1950s to production of breathing apparatus, drysuits, wetsuits and a full range of ancillary gear, including masks, fins and snorkels. The company even claimed to have created and marketed the world's first neoprene drysuit in 1957.

Let's start as usual with Heinke fins.

Yes, the text was indeed composed by the Hans Hass, who jointly licensed Heinke in London and Barakuda in Hamburg to manufacture the basic diving gear he designed. And here is the first Hans Hass fin model to appear in the Heinke repertoire:

Here's Lotte Hass wearing a red pair:

So Heinke's first Hans Hass fin was a fixed open-heel model with a symmetrical blade, available in a range of four sizes. The product description reads: "Hans Hass Swim Fins Non-adjustable type. These fins are made to the exclusive design or the famous Dr Hans Hass from a specially compounded black rubber. The foot portion is made of soft rubber for comfort whilst the blade is made from a harder mix to give maximum propulsion through the water. Sizes 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, and 10-11."

 

[David Wilson]

The fixed-heel Hans Hass fin was complemented within a couple of years by an adjustable version with the added feature of an extended foot platform to protect the heel.

Hans Hass fin (adjustable type with extended heel plates)

Product description: "Hans Hass Swim Fins. Adjustable type. Ideal for propulsion and practical work under water. Interchangeable and designed to allow equal propulsion from the up and down strokes of the legs. Suitable for use with suits. Designed by the famous underwater explorer. Adjustable type with extended heel plates. Medium 6-8, Large 8-10.

During the 1950s, fins combining adjustability with complete sole coverage were introduced to improve wearing comfort and provide better protection underfoot. This hybrid design between older, economically priced heelstrap models leaving the heel exposed on the one hand, and newer, luxury-priced full-foot closed heel models on the other hand, offered a third way to underwater swimmers with bigger but still limited budgets.

Finally, here's a page from a Heinke catalogue where both Hans Hass models appear:

These two Hans Hass fin models eventually gave way to another couple of Hans Hass models with more sophisticated features not long before Heinke's merger with Siebe-Gorman. We'll leave that for another time.