Post by DavidRitchieWilson on Jun 23, 2019 6:25:05 GMT -8
I thought I'd share some images of a recent eBay acquisition, which provided me with the double satisfaction of not only obtaining an underwater swimming article made in mid-twentieth-century England and still in pristine condition, but also of solving a puzzle about the item when I saw it in use in an early photograph.
Here's what I'm talking about:
The state of the item goes to show that if a piece of equipment is made from good-quality materials and stored in a cool place (in this case a cardboard box in the attic), the rubber parts can survive for more than five decades without perishing.
Here's how this snorkel appeared in the contemporary literature:
The third image above is from the 1956 E. T. Skinner (Typhoon) catalogue, which identifies the model as a "Typhoon Breathing Tube Model 'T1' - tube opening protected by splash cap. Allows the wearer to breathe underwater so long as the tip of the tube remains above the surface".
And here's how the snorkel operates in practice, this from the October 1954 issue of the British Sub-Aqua Club journal Neptune:
The above image always puzzled me because I could see the air bubbles emerging from the top of the snorkel without understanding how they did so when the top of the snorkel appeared to be sealed by the blue rubber "splash cap". So I dismantled the snorkel to satisfy my curiosity.
Here's a close-up of the splash cap fitted to the top of the tube:
Note the loose-fitting base of the cap.
Here's the view when the cap is removed from the snorkel:
Note the holes punched on either side of the aluminium alloy tube. That's where the inhaled and exhaled air enters and exits the tube.
Here's the view inside the splash cap:
Note the "protuberance" at the bottom. That fits inside the opening at the top of the tube, serving as a watertight seal for the tube opening and an anchor for the splash cap. So the top end of the splash cap when fitted stops water from getting into the snorkel, while the loose-fitting open bottom end of the cap allows air to escape from those holes punched into the sides of the tube inside the cap.
Quite an ingenious design from the 1950s to keep water out of a snorkel. Of course, it only works properly if the snorkeller remains on or close to the surface.
Here's what I'm talking about:
The state of the item goes to show that if a piece of equipment is made from good-quality materials and stored in a cool place (in this case a cardboard box in the attic), the rubber parts can survive for more than five decades without perishing.
Here's how this snorkel appeared in the contemporary literature:
The third image above is from the 1956 E. T. Skinner (Typhoon) catalogue, which identifies the model as a "Typhoon Breathing Tube Model 'T1' - tube opening protected by splash cap. Allows the wearer to breathe underwater so long as the tip of the tube remains above the surface".
And here's how the snorkel operates in practice, this from the October 1954 issue of the British Sub-Aqua Club journal Neptune:
The above image always puzzled me because I could see the air bubbles emerging from the top of the snorkel without understanding how they did so when the top of the snorkel appeared to be sealed by the blue rubber "splash cap". So I dismantled the snorkel to satisfy my curiosity.
Here's a close-up of the splash cap fitted to the top of the tube:
Note the loose-fitting base of the cap.
Here's the view when the cap is removed from the snorkel:
Note the holes punched on either side of the aluminium alloy tube. That's where the inhaled and exhaled air enters and exits the tube.
Here's the view inside the splash cap:
Note the "protuberance" at the bottom. That fits inside the opening at the top of the tube, serving as a watertight seal for the tube opening and an anchor for the splash cap. So the top end of the splash cap when fitted stops water from getting into the snorkel, while the loose-fitting open bottom end of the cap allows air to escape from those holes punched into the sides of the tube inside the cap.
Quite an ingenious design from the 1950s to keep water out of a snorkel. Of course, it only works properly if the snorkeller remains on or close to the surface.