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MK V history
The most prestigious diving helmet of all time.
Designed from 1915-1916
The key person in the Mark V story is U.S. Navy Gunner G.D. Stillson. In 1912 he submitted a report to the Bureau of Construction and Repair, condemning the U.S. Navy's methods of diving and its equipment.
Fortunately the U.S. Navy authorities agreed with the Gunner, and in 1914 he assembled a group of U.S. Navy divers and various diving apparatus. Through trial and error Stillson and his divers test dove all the available diving helmets including the Europeans. With the knowledge gained from these dives and input from various Navy and commercial divers, Stillson set the criteria that he felt was essential to produce the best all around diving helmet for the U.S. Navy.
They then set a series of tests, the results would eventually standardize diving in the U.S. Navy and produce the 1916 U.S. Navy Diving Manual. Prior to publication of the diving manual, Stillson produced a document: "The Report on Deep Diving Tests 1915", and in the pages of this report the Mark V is born.
A diagram appeared in the report with the notation "helmet for diving apparatus." This was the beginnings of the U.S. Navy Mark V. It is not known if any helmets of this design entered production. The design went through a number of modifications, and evolved into the helmet that appears in the 1916 U.S. Navy Diving Manual, title "Diving Helmet Mark V."
The earliest versions had a screw on front view port the final version has a hinged front port for quick opening. The valve angles were changed and the air hose inlet angles were changed.
It has no ear equalization device. The diver had to jack his jaw in order to equalize. It is obvious that the diver could not swim, with 17.5-LB shoes. If the diver got stuck in a hole he would have to blow up the suit till he would start to become positively buoyant. The only problem was the valve to inflate the suit is on his chest and in order to overcome the weight, the suit would
fill so much that it would force his arms to pop out to the sides (just like in the cartoons). It would take all his strength to keep his hand on the valve. Then if he put too much air in the suit he would start a rapid accent. The diver would have to release air with his chin valve.The best way to handle the situation is to not get stuck in a hole.
As with every air hat, the diver had to ventilate every so often to ensure no Co2 buildup.
Gear weight:
Helmet 54#, shoes 17.5# ea. belt 83#, dress 18.5#
Total gear on diver 190#.
The helmet is still being manufactured and in use today. Many of the hats were destroyed by the navy when the became obsolete. Nearly all the early hats have been pulled in by collectors.
The full size replica we offer is one of the best unit I have seen. This is the perfect gift for any diver.