Soviet masks: Russian models

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very interesting information...thanks for sharing and your hard work.
 
Note the date 1963. "МОСГСНХ" appears to stand for "Московский Губернский Совет Народного Хозяйства", which means "Moscow Provincial Council of National Economy".

My nitpick for the day: Городской (City) rather than Губернский (Provincial): the latter is a pre-October Revolution term and would have been a no-no in 1963. Dunno if it's back in use over there now or not.
 
Thank you, iamrushman, for the thumbs-up, and I'm very grateful to you, dmaziuk, for the correction of what "МОСГСНХ" stands for. My source for "Московский Губернский Совет Народного Хозяйства" was Ф12 and now I see that it refers to the year 1920, so the early days of the revolution. When I Googled the whole phrase again, I got a few hundred results, all referring to the first two decades of the twentieth century. When I tried "Московский Городской Совет Народного Хозяйства", the results were in the thousands and with a much later chronology, confirming your thesis that "Городской" (city, urban, municipal) fitted the political and historical context best. Please keep correcting me - I am learning so much in the process.
 
Thank you, iamrushman, for the thumbs-up, and I'm very grateful to you, dmaziuk, for the correction of what "МОСГСНХ" stands for. My source for "Московский Губернский Совет Народного Хозяйства" was Ф12 and now I see that it refers to the year 1920, so the early days of the revolution. When I Googled the whole phrase again, I got a few hundred results, all referring to the first two decades of the twentieth century. When I tried "Московский Городской Совет Народного Хозяйства", the results were in the thousands and with a much later chronology, confirming your thesis that "Городской" (city, urban, municipal) fitted the political and historical context best. Please keep correcting me - I am learning so much in the process.

Me too: I always assumed "gubernias" (same root as "governor", of course) were abolished as part of getting rid of bad old capitalist system of governance. But now I googled and it appears they were simply too big to govern effectively. According to wikipedia they got split into smaller and more manageable units in 1926 -- so indeed all your hits will be pre-1926.
 
Thank you again for this.:) The only thing that still puzzles me is the logo underneath "МОСГСНХ":
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It looks like the second letter of the Cyrillic alphabet (Б) on top of a "К" with water underneath it. I wondered what that all represents... Logo designs aren't always transparent in their meaning, though.
 
The only thing that still puzzles me is the logo underneath "МОСГСНХ":
It looks like the second letter of the Cyrillic alphabet (Б) on top of a "К" with water underneath it. I wondered what that all represents...

Not a clue, but Moscow City Council on National Economy is a sovnarkhoz (Russian wiki page on that is way more useful) which is a governing rather than manufacturing organization. So it could be a factory logo -- so why would SanHygiene use "BK" is beyond me too.
 
As promised, on to the Type II diving mask made in the Sangigiena factory in Moscow and known as "Амфибия" (Amfibiya), meaning "Amphibian".

Amfibiya
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Here is description of the mask from 1969:
Russian original: Полумаска типа «Амфибия» является одной из наиболее совершенных конструкций. Овальное стекло полумаски крепится в пазу корпуса металлическим ободком. Две выемки, имеющиеся в резиновом корпусе, позволяют зажимать нос рукой при выполнении продувки ушей, что является очень удобным. Некоторыми недостатками полумаски являются излишняя мягкость стенок корпуса и небольшие углы обзора.
Rough translation: The ‘Amfibiya’ type of semi face mask is one of the most sophisticated designs. The oval lens slots into the body of the semi face mask with a metal rim to secure it. There are two recesses in the rubber body allowing the hand to pinch the nose when clearing the ears, which is very handy. The semi face mask has certain drawbacks, namely the excessive softness of the body walls and the smallness of the angles of vision.

The Amfibiya was not just available in red:
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The name "Амфибия" can be seen on the top left of the mask above. Another means of identifying the mask is the top screw securing the metal rim, where the nut is placed on the end of the screw, exposing most of the thread. Then there are the two raised lines on the top of the mask skirt. Here, finally, is a Sangigiena Type II Amfibiya mask with a pair of Mosrezina No. 7 "Nerpa" fins:
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Next time we'll move on to historical diving masks made in Leningrad, or as it is now known, St Petersburg.
 
Not a clue, but Moscow City Council on National Economy is a sovnarkhoz (Russian wiki page on that is way more useful) which is a governing rather than manufacturing organization. So it could be a factory logo -- so why would SanHygiene use "BK" is beyond me too.

PS. "KB" usually stood for "constructors bureau", meaning design bureau. As in e.g. Tupolev's KB designed bombers and other aircraft. It's a bit of a stretch for a diving mask but it's the only meaning of "KB" that I can think of.
 
Thanks for the expansion of the acronym "KB", dmaziuk.

On to diving masks made in Leningrad, which is now known as St Petersburg. First up is the Type II made at the "Krasny Treugol'nik" (Красный треугольник) plant. "Красный треугольник" is Russian for "Red Triangle" and the enterprise's core product was footwear. Here is the factory building:
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And here is the company trade mark including the red triangle logo:
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Here is the mask I am focussing on today:

Type II
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Note the double triangle logo on the second image. Here is a contemporary description of the mask:
Russian: Подобную же конструкцию имеет полумаска типа II, но размеры у нее меньше. Полумаска также не имеет ободка, но жесткий край корпуса с пазом обеспечивает надежное крепление смотрового стекла. Корпус полумаски усилен ребрами жесткости и имеет мягкий фланец, обеспечивающий надежную герметичность. Размеры α и α1 полумаски придают ей наклонное положение на лице (см. рис. 16,6), обеспечивающее при плавании наименьшее сопротивление движению и устраняющее опасность отрыва полумаски от лица и возникновение болезненных ощущений в нижней губе (что возможно, особенно при больших скоростях движения, например при буксировке за подводным скутером).
Rough translation:The Type II is similar in design to the Type III semi face mask, but its dimensions are smaller. The semi face mask also has a rim, but the hard edge of the body with the groove secures the lens reliably. The body of the semi face mask comes with reinforced edges and a soft skirt providing a reliable seal. The dimensions α and α1 of the semi face mask position it at an angle to the face. This provides the least resistance when swimming and eliminates the risk of the semi face mask separating from the face and the risk of painful sensations occurring in the lower lip (a possibility, especially at high speed, when towing an underwater scooter, for example).

Well move on to a second mask made at the Leningrad factory, the Amfibiya. And yes, we have heard that name before in the case of fins and also in the case of masks, where a steel-rimmed version of the Amfibiya was manufactured at the Sangigiena plant in Moscow.
 
On now to the "Амфибия" (Amfibiya) mask, meaning "Amphibian". And yes, I know I've recently reviewed a Russian-made mask of the same name, pictured below:
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But that one was made in the Sangigiena factory in Moscow. The present posting is about a mask made in the Leningrad "Red Triangle" factory. It is similar to the Sangigiena mask, but it comes with a plastic, not stainless steel, rim.

Amfibiya
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The pictures below have close-ups of the embossed print on the Amfibiya mask:
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The text includes the price, the name of the mask Amfibiya, the Soviet Standard for underwater swimming masks, the Red Triangle logo, the quality control mark. The mask came in colours other than red:
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Next up will be the first in a series of Russian made masks that are not tied to a particular factory.
 

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