This Fine Helmet Has Been Sold. Thank You!   SIEBE GORMAN ROYAL NAVY DIVE HELMET Shallow Water & Deep Water Rig Included      

 

Stand Not Included!

 

Presented is an authentic 6 bolt, 3 light Siebe.Gorman Royal Navy pattern helmet from the mid 1930's era . It was previously owned by a professor of microbiology who used it off the coast of California for deep water under water research, and in the Gulf of Mexico where it was used with special weights as a shallow water rig. It has been handed down in the same family for the past 50 years and this is the first time it is being offered for sale. The original brails have gone missing and recent replacements have been fitted.

 

Shallow water weights

Front and back weights

Note missing spitcock handle

A few minor dents

CONDITION and MARKINGS: The helmet originally was tinned, but over the years had become oxidized, and had mostly worn off. This distracted from the overall appearance of the bonnet and breast plate. It was recently polished.

 

The worn  tag reads Siebe Gorman & Co. Ltd., Submarine Engineers, London, Patent. The breast plate has number 9534 stamped on the inside back neck ring. The bonnet number, 9529, appears on the back inside of its neck ring. These numbers are 300 lower than the "Boots" Serveno helmet we sold last year which was owned by that family for 46 years. The air passages inside are intact, the relief valve works, and the front door opens. The spit cock was mounted upside down by the factory and its handle is broken off.  There is a telephone elbow on the back with a large size hex cap marked "telephone", but the inside speaker is missing. All the port lights are in excellent original condition. There are numerous small dents on this helmet which attest to the service it performed over a career of underwater research. The brails are recent replacemets and are marked "Front".

 

DIMENSIONS OF HELMET: 19" H x 14 1/2" W   WEIGHT 48 lbs

BRIEF HISTORY: Augustus Siebe the German-born founder of the firm which bears his name (1788-1872) is considered "the father of diving". Siebe's 'closed' diving helmet, first produced in 1840, allowed divers to dive safely to greater depths than ever before. Attached to a rubber suit, it became the 'Standard Dress' that revolutionized diving and made the underwater worker an essential part of both salvage operations and civil engineering. Many of the great building projects of the Victorian era - bridges, tunnels and lighthouses still in use today - could not have been built without divers.

 

Siebe's design was so successful that it remained in use, essentially unchanged, until 1975. However, the Royal Navy required one of their own design, and the British Admiralty requested a helmet made to their specifications which used heavier materials in 1938. This was the Royal Navy six bolt helmet, as seen in this offering. The rest of the "Jake" was standard commercial equipment, except for the front weight which had a light fitted to it, to aid the diver. The chest weights weigh about 40lbs. each and are tied down to stop the helmet rising from the diver’s shoulders. The weights are hung from weight hangers on the front of the breast plate.

 

The  Royal  Navy set  out   to  extend   the limits of deep diving and established a world depth record, in 1948, of 540-feet wearing a Seibe Gorman helmet of this design, but incorporating  a Davis Injector system, flexible dress, and  used the  fast dwindling  supplies of  American Lend-Lease helium. Petty-Officer Bollard set the depth record that was to last eight years. Not until 1956 would the baton pass to another.

 In October of that year, Senior Commissioned Boatswain George  Wookey, descended to a depth of 600-feet, setting record for a helmeted diver wearing flexible dress that still stands.

 

SHIPPING & PACKING: The cost of shipping, packing, handling, and insurance to your destination, is an additional charge. You may email us beforehand to get these costs. We price our shipping honestly, but we expect to be reimbursed for the nominal cost of packaging materials and handling.

 

OUR GUARANTEE OF SATISFACTION: If not completely satisfied with your purchase it may be returned, if without damage, within five days of receipt in its original condition and packaging. Return items must be insured for their full value. A prior email authorization by us for the return is required. Unfortunately, no refund can be made for the cost of shipping, packaging and handling unless we are at fault.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS WELCOME, but contact us first. We have customers in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Chile, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Nova Scotia, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, USVI and the Eastern Caribbean. 

ACCEPTED FORMS OF PAYMENT are Bank wire transfer, cashier's check, money order, or personal check in which case the item will be held until cleared. No credit cards or PayPal accepted on big ticket items. TO READ OUR COMPANY POLICES IN DETAIL CLICK HERE .

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