Old Spanish Helmet (1910-1925)
12 bolts, 4 windows, complete, good condition, no marks, weight 20,120 kg, Spanish frigate scrapping origin -Ferrol -Spain (1910-1920)
Description
Siebe Gorman valve -moth-closing-, short maltese cross, Heinke side windows, front window with reliefs, round upper window with protective grille, breaker-type spittoon, centered frontal threads.
In order to date these primitive or ancient Spanish helmets, we have to
give a brief description of the appearance of classical or helmet diving in Spain.
In the month of July 1847, he arrived at the port of Ferrol, in northern Spain, at aboard the merchant frigate, Jorge Juan, the first classic diver team SIEBE GORMAN model, for the Spanish Navy, until that date the
diving was done freediving.
 Fig 1: "Astilleros Ferrol" |
In 1866 the modern ROUQUAYROL equipment is introduced
DENAYTOUZE, imported from France, these will be for the frigates
TETUÁN-type battleships built in the Ferrol shipyard (1863).
 Fig 2: "Fragata acorazada tetuan" |
In 1875, CABIROL equipment was imported, of French origin, lighter
and economic together with English HEINKE equipment.
From this moment on, only the Spanish Navy will be allowed to
use of classic diving equipment, which will be installed on board their diving boats
war.
In 1923 the first decompression chamber was acquired, also SIEBE
GORMAN, which will be installed aboard an auxiliary barge, and will be in
operation until 1979. It is only at the beginning of 1922, that the ship of KANGURO salvage, the HALDANE tables will be introduced, at the beginning of the 1926, abandoning the slow rise method of PAUL BERT.
We allow ourselves this small introduction to the history of classic diving in Spain, its introduction to the Spanish Navy and the location of this equipment in their warships, in the absence of a specialized ship
As we have indicated, in Spain the English brand SIEBE GORMAN predominates,
being the Navy the one that will impose all the norms adjusted to this model, that is to say as a safety standard, the valves and windows with grilles, as well as those of the air pumps.
The rise of the civil shipyards of Ferrol, Bilbao, especially in northern Spain and its distance from the Navy Diving Center in Cartagena, facilitate the introduction of Spanish helmet models copied or modified from those mentioned English SIEBE GORMAN, as well as some air pumps, introduced into civil estates (ports, dry docks, etc.) or in the Navy ships themselves, make them appear without identifying marks and various elements, such as the windows, spittoon etc., of other French models, only in the North of Spain.
I will call these Spanish helmets «Old Spanish Helmets» and we will date them with a generic date 1910-1930 in the absence of further information.
since, from this date, the helmets will appear properly Spanish —Carbonell(1948)-Nemrod(1935)-Spirotechnique(1963)— as known brand, manufacture and origin.
