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

[David Wilson]

J-shaped snorkels with one-piece rubber elbow mouthpieces were common enough in their day, e.g. the Typhoon T4, made in England during the 1970s:

They are still available today if you know where to look. Here are some modern-ish examples:

AQA Rubber (Japan)

Escualo BC (Mexico)

Francis Mitrio (Italy)

Francis Semplice (Italy)

Problue SN-1087 (Taiwan)

Seac Classic

Wettie Cookie

 

[David Wilson]

Next in line is the 302 breathing tube, pictured here in the 1962 Barakuda catalogue. The model remained in production from 1962 to 1973:

German: "Schnorchel mit starrem Bogen ohne Ventil Nr. 302 DM 1,85."
Rough translation: "Snorkel with rigid elbow without a valve No. 302: DM 1.85."

So another J-shaped category sub-type. This breathing tube comprises a rigid open-topped valveless barrel, straight at the upper end and curved at the lower end. A short-necked mouthpiece is fitted to the air-demand end, a mask-securing strap to the middle section and a top protector to the air-supply end.

In the 1964 catalogue, the 302 reappeared at the same price of DM 1.85 and with the option to buy a spare mouthpiece at 60 pfennigs. 1966 brought a change of stock code from 302 to 802 and a price rise from DM 1.85 to DM 2.50. Other price fluctuations followed for the complete snorkel, namely 1967: DM 2.85. 1968-1969: DM 1.95. 1973: DM 2.95.

 

[David Wilson]

Snorkels with rigid J-shaped barrels and short-necked mouthpieces were also common enough in their day, e.g. the Typhoon T1, made in England during the 1950s and 1960s:

They are still available nowadays if you know where to look, but in fewer numbers than J-shaped snorkels with flexible combination mouthpieces and elbows:

Kievguma Tube (Ukraine)

Sommap Commando (France)

That's my contribution for today. Back at the weekend with another couple of Barakuda snorkels.

 

[David Wilson]

...And here are the promised next set of Barakuda snorkels from the 1960s. First the 303, which remained in production from 1962 to 1967:

German: "Schnorchel mit flexiblem Bogen und Klappventil Nr. 303 DM 3,85."
Rough translation: "Snorkel with flexible elbow and lever valve No. 303: DM 3.85."

So this model resembles the Barakuda 301 in being shaped like a letter "J" and fitted with a combination rubber mouthpiece and elbow. What makes it different from the 301 is the presence of a "lever valve" (Barakuda's choice of translation for "Klappventil", which is elsewhere rendered into English as "flutter valve" or "flap valve". Other snorkel manufacturers' catalogues call this valve a "Cressi valve" or a "Gamma valve" in deference to Luigi Ferraro, inventor of Cressi Rondine fins and Pinocchio masks, who served as one of Italy's "Gamma" combat swimmers during World War II and patented the valve for use in a combined snorkel and mask in 1957:

I'd be interested in hearing any alternatives for "Gamma", "Cressi", "lever", "flap" or "flutter" as a designation for this kind of valve.

 

[David Wilson]

The Barakuda 303 snorkel rose in price to DM 4.85 in 1963, when the valve sold separately at DM 3.10. In 1966, the model stock code changed from 303 to 803 and vanished from the catalogue altogether after 1967.

The hinged valve design has been so successful over the years that the world's only older-generation snorkel-mask still in production is fitted with this valve:

A practical advantage of the valve is that it comes with a short curved section of tubing that can be easily fitted to a standard open-topped snorkel. Just one 303/803 snorkel lookalike exists nowadays, the "Semplice con valvola" model made by the Italian Francis company and quite hard to locate for purchase:

 

[David Wilson]

I defined the Barakuda 303/803 snorkel as the lever-valved counterpart of the 301 snorkel, which also came with a one-piece rubber elbow mouthpiece. By way of contrast, the 302 snorkel came with a short-necked mouthpiece:

The 302 had a lever-valved equivalent called the 305:

German: "Schnorchel mit starrem Bogen und Klappventil Nr. 305 DM 3,85."
Rough translation: "Snorkel with rigid bend and lever valve No. 305: DM 3.85."

This model only lasted a single year: 1962. Other contemporary manufacturers' models include the Cressi Caraibi:

Next time we'll have a closer look at the Barakuda snorkels numbered 304 and 306, which came with different valves.

 

[Akimbo]

I was always appalled that so many impractical snorkels and snorkel-masks were introduced to the market, even as a pre-teenager. One would think that diving with prototypes would proceed investments in engineering, tooling, production, and marketing.

 

[David Wilson]

One of the lessons I learned while researching these threads is that underwater hunting to put food on the table hugely influenced basic equipment design, including snorkels, in the early days. This pursuit would presumably have involved spending long periods afloat on the surface, watching what was going on below, identifying potential prey, making brief forays downwards to approach and catch the quarry. So the earliest snorkels and snorkel-masks were primarily designed for spearfishing in the Med or the Pacific and not for the recreational exploratory breath-hold diving activity that followed during the 1950s.

My first snorkel for recreational underwater swimming was a J-shaped device whose alloy barrel was topped with a ball-valve. It served its purpose because from the start I understood what its limitations were as well as its benefits. I no longer have that snorkel, but I was delighted recently to win a similar Typhoon T1 breathing tube on eBay in pristine condition, topped with a splash cap. The alloy barrel made the device almost indestructible, while one of the modern contoured plastic and silicone snorkels I have in my collection shattered into tiny sharp fragments when I accidentally stepped on it a month ago. It has been my own experience that older gear seems relatively simpler, more substantial and hence more durable, which is one of the reasons why I enjoy collecting historical equipment and researching its development against the national backgrounds where it was produced.

 

[Akimbo]

I always assumed that the C-shaped snorkels with ping-pong ball stoppers were intended for children and the rapid growth in the home swimming pool market in the US. It is hard for me to imagine freediving spearfisherman using one without sawing the top off.

 

[David Wilson]

One of the most expensive and complex snorkel masks ever constructed was the Pirelli Nereide worn by the two spear-fishermen above, probably in the 1950s:

It was definitely intended for adult underwater hunters. Note the snorkel-mask recommendation "Built-in snorkel masks are the best" in Cornel Lumière (1956) Beneath the seven seas. London: Hutchinson:

Other authors of the period recommended snorkel-masks for people with respiratory ailments. Of course, even in the 1950s, there was some disagreement about the safety and efficacy of snorkel-masks. Snorkel-masks certainly later became the preserve of young and inexperienced swimmers and there was a reprehensible lack of information and advice at the time about how to use them properly, keep safe and understand their limitations.