U.S. Naval Museum

[SeaRat]

I have just stumbled across a treasure trove of documents and photographs for us in the vintage diving community. It is the U.S. Naval Museum, which is also on-line at:


navalunderseamuseum.org/digitized-collections/

They have a lot of information on Flikr too:

flickr.com/photos/114229576@N07/albums/

navalunderseamuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NUM.2006.077.006_Vol1No1.pdf

flickr.com/photos/114229576@N07/albums/72157688122511602/

Enjoy,

John

[spirou]

Mar 13, 2024 19:00:43 GMT -8 SeaRat said:

I have just stumbled across a treasure trove of documents and photographs for us in the vintage diving community. It is the U.S. Naval Museum, which is also on-line at:


navalunderseamuseum.org/digitized-collections/

They have a lot of information on Flikr too:

flickr.com/photos/114229576@N07/albums/

navalunderseamuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/NUM.2006.077.006_Vol1No1.pdf

flickr.com/photos/114229576@N07/albums/72157688122511602/

Enjoy,

John

Tanks a lot John 

Lot's of information and pictures

Respectfully

Fred

[SeaRat]

Here is but one entry about Robert Sheats:

U.S. Naval Undersea Museum
Keyport, Washington
Processor: Darlene M. Iskra (2018) NUM.2018.024.001-.014
Robert C. Sheats Diving Collection
Creator:
Extent:
Dates:
Classification: Language:
Access:
Ownership & Copyright:
Scope and Content Notes:
Robert C. Sheats, TMCM (MDV), USN (Ret.) 7 boxes, 13 binders
1940s through 1980s
Unclassified
English
Open
The Robert C. Sheats Diving Collection is the physical property of the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum. Literary
Robert C. Sheats (b. September 30, 1915; d. March 9, 1995) was a U.S. Navy Master Diver. After his Navy retirement, he worked as a dive safety consultant in the state of Washington until his death.1 He enlisted in the Navy in 1935, qualified as a second-class diver in 1937, a first-class diver in 1939, and Master Diver in 1958. He served at NUWC Keyport (then known as the Naval Torpedo Station Keyport) from 1958 until his retirement in 1966.2 During World War II, he was captured and held by the Japanese as a prisoner of war. For three years and four months, he was imprisoned in both the Philippines and Japan. He and his group of divers were forced to dive on the Philippine National treasure sunk in Manila Bay, though through subterfuge and sabotage managed to recover only a fraction of the treasure. Sheats wrote a book, published posthumously in about this experience titled

1 Obituary of Robert. C. Sheats. Kitsap Sun. Accessed Oct 3, 2018 at
products.kitsapsun.com/archive/1995/03-14/bituaries.html

2 Poole, Lisa with Diane Robinson. Torpedo Town U.S.A. A History of the Naval Undersea Warfare Engineering Station 1914-1989. Chapter 6: From Steam to Electronics. Online at maritime.org/doc/torpedotown/chap6.htm accessed Oct 3, 2018.

3 Amazon website accessed 3 October 2018. www.amazon.com/One-Mans-War-Diving- Emperor/dp/0941332608. Originally put out by Best Publishing Company (ISBN 0941332608) rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.
1998, Emperor 1942.3 This book is not part of the collection.

One Man's War: Diving as a Guest of the Emperor 1942,
www.amazon.com/One-Mans-War-Diving-Emperor/dp/0941332608

This book is not part of the collection. Two articles written by Robert Sheats
One Man's War: Diving as a Guest of the

Two articles about the project were published in 1977 by Skin Diver magazine, and are included in Box 3. His hand-written diary from before and during his time as a prisoner of war are found in Box 6.

As a Navy Master Diver, he participated both Sealab I (1964) and II (1965) (experimental
underwater habitats) and he was a team leader for the Sealab II project. Some unclassified
project notes and information regarding Sealab I and II are included in this collection and can be
found in Boxes 5 and 6.

As a Master Diver, he collected many articles regarding diving safety, diving techniques, dive equipment and new technology of his time. This collection primarily consists of articles and Navy instructions regarding diving and diving equipment, much of it technical. However, as noted above, some personal notes as well as correspondence related to his consultant business are included in this collection.

The collection (5.5 linear feet), housed in 7 boxes, features folders in alphabetical order by content, starting with Diving Accident data and continuing through Ship Salvage notes. No special handling requirements are in place beyond normal care procedures. Also included are various NAVSEA instructions, such as the U.S. Diving Manual, Hyperbaric Chamber Ops Manual, the Ship Salvage Manual, etc. The information is a “point in time” collection of instructions and articles relevant to late 20th century diving technology.

It goes on to list the boxes of information they have from Robert Sheats.
navalunderseamuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Robert-Sheats-Finding-Aid.pdf

John

[SeaRat]

One of the divers we all probably know is Bill High. Bill did a lot for diving, and has given his collection to the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum. Here's what the museum says about his collection:

U.S. Naval Undersea Museum
Keyport, Washington Processor: Kevin B. Syltebo
Creator:
Extent:
Date Range: Classification: Language:
Access:
Ownership & Copyright:
Scope and Content Notes:
Bill High Collection
William (Bill) L. High
7 boxes and 10 binders/handbooks 1946-2000
Unclassified
English
Open

The Bill High Collection is the physical property of the U.S. Naval Undersea Museum. Literary

William (Bill) L. High (b. November 28, 1933) is a marine scientist, recreational and commercial diver, dive instructor, and author. Following his graduation from the University of Washington in 1958 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Fisheries Biology, High worked for 36 years as a marine and fisheries scientist, including at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Center (National Marine Fisheries Service) in Seattle, Washington. He began diving as a college student in 1955, after a fisheries research project required diver observation.

In the early 1970s, High led four saturation diving underwater laboratory teams as Chief Scientist: Tektite II’s First Mission/Team 1 (1970), NOAA Hydrolab’s First Mission (1971), NOAA Project FLARE (1972), and Project Helgoland (1975). He also directed operations of five major deep submersible diving programs as Project Leader.
High established himself as a knowledgeable recreational diver, leading to several civilian diving appointments. Among many positions held, he served as the first NOAA Diving Coordinator (1971), president of the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) (1976–1979), and vice president of the Underwater Society of America. He also provided expertise as a contributor to the NOAA Diving Manual, 1979 and 2001 editions.

In 1982, he founded the world’s first SCUBA cylinder inspection company, Professional SCUBA Inspectors (now Professional Cylinder Inspectors), to improve diver safety. As a diver and U.S. Naval Undersea Museum: Bill High Collection Finding Aid 1
rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.
cylinder safety expert, he trained more than 8,000 people in basic diving or specialty skills.

High has published more than 150 scientific and technical articles and received numerous industry awards, including NAUI’s Lifetime Achievement Award and acceptance into multiple diving halls of fame. High chronicled his career and experiences in a 1998 autobiography, “Beneath the Sea: A Sampling of Diving and Other Adventures.”
This collection (4 linear feet) is housed in 7 boxes, plus 10 individual binders and handbooks. Each box contains folder level holdings and some binders. No special handling requirements are in place beyond normal care procedures.
navalunderseamuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Bill-High-Finding-Aid.pdf

More recently Bill High set up the company, PSI/PCI, for "Professional Scuba Inspectors/Professional Cylinder Inspectiors, at the following website:

www.psicylinders.com

Bill also has a book available:



John