Navy Diver

In 1535, Guglielmo de Loreno developed the first diving bell. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that the use of mixed gases, full face masks, underwater voice communication, propulsion systems and computers became more common. In fact, many of those advancements were pioneered by the Navy. One group, the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU), is responsible for helping design and test new equipment and underwater systems for use in a number of different applications.

SCUBA

An acronym for Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. Oxygen or mixed gas (used in deeper depths) is inhaled and carbon dioxide is exhaled in the form of bubbles. Because the diver is not tethered to an air supply, access to tight locations is easier. SCUBA equipment includes:

• Air cylinders
• Face mask and swim fins
• Life preserver/buoyancy compensator
• Weight belt and weights
• Submersible pressure gauge, wrist watch and depth gauge

Surface-Supplied-Air Diving Systems:

Divers tethered to a surface-supplied-air diving system can achieve dives in up to 190 feet of seawater (FSW) in air diving and 300 FSW in mixed-gas diving. Air is supplied via an air compressor or high-pressure air flasks. A surface-supplied-air diving system can permit a diver to stay down for a longer period of time than a SCUBA system would allow.

Portable Surface-Supplied-Air Diving Systems:

There are several ways to deliver surface-supplied air to a diver.

The portable, self-contained, surface-supplied-air life-support system can be configured to accommodate more than one diver operating at different depths. The system includes:

• Control console assembly
• Volume tank assembly
• Medium-pressure air compressor (optional)
• Stackable compressed-air rack assemblies

The Flyaway Dive System is a portable, self-contained, surface-supplied-air life-support system designed to support dive missions to 190 FSW and 300 FSW in mixed-gas diving. Compressed air is contained in nine floodable volume composite flasks.