Leonardo Da Vinci designs a diving suit

Leonardo Da Vinci designs a diving suit

Last updated: March 31, 2019 at 1:49 am

[ CIRCA 1500 ] Leonardo Da Vinci designs a diving suit and flexible snorkel system for breathing at depth. The snorkel is made of cane tubes joined by pig leather and reinforced with steel rings to counteract the effects of water pressure. The system is successfully tested in shallow water in the Venetian Lagoon by Jacquie Cozens in 2003 for Leonardo’s Amazing Inventions (BBC). Da Vinci also develops the first known self-contained diving system using a leather wineskin to hold air and a urination bottle within the suit for prolonged immersions. The drawings appear in his Codex Arundel. There is no evidence that the apparatus was ever built.

British Library Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts

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