Basic gear from the Polish People's Republic

[David Wilson]

A new thread focusing this time on the production of basic diving gear in Poland during the era of the People's Republic [Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL], which ran from 1952 to 1990.

Between the early fifties and the late eighties, Poland was subject to a Soviet-backed communist régime and effectively became a satellite country of the USSR. More information can be found in the Wikipedia article at Polish People's Republic - Wikipedia.

During the 1970s I toured several East European countries. One of the countries I visited was Poland. I have a vague memory of a display of fins and masks in the sports department of a large store somewhere in the capital Warsaw, but I cannot remember any details from that event four decades ago.

Fortunately for this thread, there are several online sources of information about basic underwater swimming equipment made in Poland. All of them are written in Polish, which is a Slav language related to Russian, Ukrainian, Czech and Bulgarian. Like Czech, Polish uses the Roman alphabet, while Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian use the Cyrillic alphabet. If I quote Polish sources in subsequent messages, I will provide a rough tranjslation into English.

In my next posting I will concentrate on the Polish STOMIL rubber company responsible for the manufacture of diving equipment during the era of the People's Republic.

 

[David Wilson]

As promised, the second contribution to the thread will focus on the STOMIL plant in Grudziądz (above). Here is a brief history of the company, which I have translated from the original Polish at samolotypolskie.pl - Grudziądzkie Zakłady Przemysłu Gumowego "Stomil".

At the beginning of 1945, during the fighting for Grudziądz, the factory was destroyed by 70%. Using the remnants of the raw material left by the occupier, the production of plantar plates was launched in August that year. Until 1950, textile-rubber footwear, work boots, rubber adhesives and rubberized fabrics were produced. In the years 1945-1951, the factory has different names. The above organisational status persisted until 1969, when the Grudziądz plant was renamed Grudziądzkie Zakłady Przemysłu Gumowego. In 1970, the plant received the name: Grudziądzkie Zakłady Przemysłu Gumowego “Stomil”. From 1950 to 1980, there was a period of intensive expansion of the Plant. At the same time, the production methods were modernised and production of new products was launched, such as felt-lined rubber footwear; pneumatic boats and mattresses; life rafts; new types of soles; beach footwear by PVC injection method; swimming fins and masks; and apparel for scuba divers. As new buildings were put into use, the process of equipping them with modern machines and equipment was progressing. This enabled the introduction of newer and more efficient production methods.

Another source at Od kaloszy do pontonu. Z dziejów przemysłu gumowego w Grudziądzu - Aktualności - Muzeum w Grudziądzu brings the history of STOMIL up to date:

With the fall of communism in Poland and the related economic crisis, there was a catastrophic decline in production at the factory. An attempt was made to halt this decline by splitting the plant into smaller companies in 1994-1995. Unfortunately, the remedial measures did not bring the expected effect and individual companies were liquidated within a few years. Eventually, at the end of 2001, the company’s bankruptcy was announced, ending the almost 80-year activity of the largest industrial plant in the history of Grudziądz.

After the factory closed, an exhibition was held to commemorate the company's contribution to Polish industrial history. The following video tours this exhibition: Be sure to watch out for the mannequin wearing a STOMIL wetsuit and fins in the video:

Here's another image of STOMIL diving gear, from a Polish Special Ops display:

This picture provides a clearer view of the fins as well as illustrating the FOKA drysuit (on the left), which was made by STOMIL. I will provide further information about the FOKA drysuit in my next message before moving on to basic gear.

 

[David Wilson]

As promised, an introduction to the FOKA drysuit manufactured by Polish rubber company STOMIL in the city of Grudziądz on the Vistula River in northern Poland. You can see where it is on the map posted in the first message in this thread.

Stomil FOKA Drysuit

The picture above is an exhibit from a former online Polish diving history museum that can still be viewed in a web archive at Historia Nurkowania - Szkoła nurkowania, Kursy nurkowania, Nurkowanie…. The FOKA suit in the image is a one-piece 1950s version, described thus when roughly translated from the original Polish: "a watertight diving suit made of rubberised fabric with sleeves, torso and legs footed with shoes. Sleeves are sealed with rubber cuffs or gloves." It came with a separate hood with built-in mask.

There was also a two-piece 1960s version of the FOKA. On the Polish web, there are accounts posted by individuals who used the two-piece FOKA and are willing to share their experiences. At Szkolenie płetwonurków w 6 Pomorskiej Dywizji Powietrzno-Desantowej w latach od 1959 do lat 70-tych - w PLUS-MINUS - Szczecinecka Gazeta Internetowa - historia nurkowania swobodnego - płetwonurkowania na terenie Szczecinka i okolic, there are the reminiscences of one man who learned to dive during his military service starting in 1959. Here are a couple of pictures showing the suit being worn:

The accompanying text reads along the following lines when translated: I am demonstrating this FOKA suit from 1964 in the photograph on the left (above). The suit consisted of trousers with a rubber skirt [1], jackets with a rubber skirt [2] and a hood with a mask and a mouthpiece [3]. In the photograph, you can also see a pair of primitive fins [4]. The FOKA suit was supposed to be a watertight (dry) suit. Rubber skirts were used to seal the lower and the upper part of the suit, which can be clearly seen on the photograph from 1963 (photo on the right). In practice, any inaccuracy when rolling these skirts together caused leaks into the interior of the suit. Under the suit, due to the loss of heat (cold), underwear, woollen socks, a camel wool sweater and a woollen head covering were worn. The hands were protected with woollen gloves and rubber gloves. The suit included “duckbill” or leaf valves for venting the suit. There were five of them: one each on the arms and legs and one valve on top of the hood.

Vintage diving appears to be alive and well in Poland if the "FOKA Project" at Nurkowanie podlodowe roku !!! - PROJEKT "FOKA" - Nurkowa Polska is anything to go by. Here is one hardy modern individual, Sebastian Łepkowski, dressed from head to toe in vintage Polish diving gear, including a one-piece FOKA drysuit, in preparation for an ice-dive:

The web page not only supports the project report with great photographs but also with an outstanding video (below) of the vintage ice-dive itself. Enjoy!

​

In my next posting I will focus on the production of Polish fins during the era of the People's Republic, beginning with those manufactured by Stomil.

 

[Seahuntjerry]

Thanks for the research and posting this nice article!

 

[flyboy08]

Yes, thank you...very interesting!

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, guys, for all the comments and "likes" you gave to my message about Polish drysuits. It makes it all worthwhile when I receive such a positive response. I'll proceed to a review of the Polish People's Republic era fins featured in most of the images I have posted so far, the Stomil Komandoski. There appear to be two versions of these fins: symmetrical and asymmetrical.

Stomil Komandoski fins - Symmetrical

Stomil Komandoski fins - Asymmetrical

Asymmetrical Komandoski fins came with obliquely cut blades, enabling the wearer to have the two pointed ends either in the centre or at the sides, depending on which fin was worn on which foot. The name "Komandoski" is Polish for "Commando", suggesting a military connection and more particularly an association with special forces and combat swimmers, which is unsurprising considering that most diving equipment manufactured in the Soviet Union and its satellite countries was originally intended for use by the armed services.

Both versions of the Komandoski fell into the Soviet "semi-open" heel category, insofar as they featured a heelstrap and an extended footplate. The strap could be adjusted for length using the buckles on either side of the footpocket opening. The extended foot platform provided some heel protection when walking over rough terrain. The lacing ensured that the foot pocket could also be adjusted for width.

The blade was reinforced by two prominent central ribs on the top and bottom and by tall side rails, suggesting that the Komandoski was a relatively stiff fin, powerful enough to propel a combat swimmer in full gear. The top or the bottom of the fin was embossed with the manufacturer's logo (STOMIL) and the country of origin:

and the tip of the fin was stamped in ink by the Quality Control department:

The Komandoski was available in either black or green. Its appearance reflects the influence of other East European and Soviet fins, e.g.
Soviet Tyulen fins (lacing)

East German Hydroslip fins (symmetrical fin shape)

Hungarian Tihany fins (asymmetrical fin shape)

We'll move on next to another Stomil fin model, the Raja.

 

[iamrushman]

thanks for sharing such interesting photos and subject.....i cant help but smile at the fins/ flippers with the shoe strings for added comfort...very amusing but effective.

 

[David Wilson]

I'm grateful for the positive feedback, iamrushman. Let's move on to another fin made by the Polish rubber company Stomil, the Raja.

Stomil Raja fins

The Raja is an open-heel fin with a non-adjustable strap. The side rails and the two central ribs radiating from the toepiece of the foot pocket on the top and bottom of the fin suggest that this was a stiff-bladed model. At least three sold colours were available: red, green and light blue.

The inspiration behind the appearance of the Raja fin may well have been the Hans Hass fin, which can be seen (or perhaps it is a Polish replica) in this Polish military museum display underneath a pair of Komandski fins:

The Hans Hass fin was originally manufactured by the Semperit company in Dr Hass's native country of Austria. Production transferred later to Germany and England, where it was made by Heinke of London:

The basic resemblance between the Raja and the Hans Hass is there, although the latter featured one central rib instead of two and the fin tip is convex rather than concave.

If the picture below from another online Polish diving museum is to be believed, a closer Hans Hass replica may have been made in the early years by a company in Poland's capital Warsaw:

See: Płetwy firmy Spółdzielnia Pracy Społeczność - Warszawa - Zabytki techniki ocalić od zapomnienia | 2018. Here's another picture from the same online museum showing the Hans Hass replica and the Raja fins together:

Next up will be a review of a third Stomil fin, the Sprint, which is a full-foot, closed-toe model.

 

[David Wilson]

As promised, another Stomil fin from the era of the Polish People's Republic. This one is full foot fitting with a closed toe.

Stomil Sprint fins

The images above from an auction site show the fins at various angles, but they are relatively low-resolution, so here are a couple of close-ups:

On these images you can see more clearly the name of the manufacturer (Stomil) and the name of the product (Sprint). The fins have long and wide blades with concave tips, suggesting a powerful fin requiring strong leg muscles. In appearance they resemble Ukrainian Akvanavt (Акванавт) fins, which may still be in production in the capital city Kiev:

During Soviet times, the YaRTI rubber factory in the city of Yaroslavl manufactured a Russian replica of the Akvanavt called the "Skat":

However, the Polish Sprint fin (pictured above as an exhibit in an online Polish diving museum) featured a "toecap" topped with a drainhole. Purchasers could either swim with these toecaps intact if the fins were a perfect fit, or they might cut off the toecaps, leaving the toes exposed for better fitting comfort.

There are still several Polish fins to review, some apparently unbranded, others embossed with manufacturers' markings other than Stomil's.

 

[David Wilson]

The next two fins to be reviewed do not appear to come with markings. My hunch is that they are Polish in origin, but I don't have definitive proof. I am going to present both of them in this posting as there is so little information available about them.

Unbranded Polish(?) closed-heel fin

These no-name fins have a passing resemblance to Mosrezina Model No. 7 fins made in the Russian capital Moscow during the Soviet era:

The plain blades, the closed toes, the drain holes atop the foot pockets are all shared features.

The second unbranded fin of possible Polish provenance is open-heel and comes with an adjustable heelstrap.

Unbranded Polish(?) open-heel fin

As can be seen from the images above, the fins have twin buckles for the adjustable strap and the blade has a centre rib on the top side only of the blade. A distinctive feature is the foot opening, where the sole extends a little further than the topside of the foot pocket without providing full coverage for the base of the heel. This characteristic is also found in Polish-made "Gumar" fins, which will be the subject of the next posting.