John MacLeod diver from Glascow patented his invention in 1895. His invention consists of a metal diving suit in which an upper part fits over the shoulders and on which the helmet is screwed. The chest piece connects to a metal part that fits around the legs and gives enough freedom to walk. Over these metal parts, several waterproof parts made of rubber are put on to make the suit watertight. The air supply consists of an inlet and an outlet hose which can be regulated by two taps mounted on the chest plate. The helmet is preferably equipped with three windows of window glass, one removable and two fixed. The removable one is for the mouthpiece and has a moulded rim around the glass which is screwed to a rim fitted to the helmet. This mouthpiece is the first to be unscrewed when the diver surfaces and the last to be put on before descending.
With this new invention, according to MacLeod, a diver can descend to great depths because the air pressure is almost eliminated and the body is protected from the water pressure by means of the body armour which is made of a material heavy enough to bear an external pressure of 150 pounds per sq. Inch (10.3 bar = 93 metres depth). The diver’s legs and arms are the only parts exposed to the full water pressure and these can be protected by donning additional flannels when the diver is able to descend safely to depths of 200 feet (60 metres) or more.
The armoured rubber air and escape pipes are made of the best materials and inlaid with the best steel wire, so that they are able to withstand external high pressure.
The air can be supplied by an ordinary air pump, either single or double acting, as very little pressure is required.
It is a repeat of a problematic design, as the diver’s upper body is exposed to atmospheric pressure and the lower body and arms are exposed to 10 bar. A human being can only sustain this for a short period of time and will experience circulatory problems as a result. The suit is in fact a semi atmospheric suit, but not complete.
MacLeod patented his suit in 1895 with patent GB189521155 and John lived form 1856-1928 (not confirmed)
Therebreathersite was founded by Jan Willem Bech in 1999. After a diving career of many years, he decided to start technical diving in 1999. He immediately noticed that at that time there was almost no website that contained the history of closed breathing systems. The start for the website led to a huge collection that offered about 1,300 pages of information until 2019. In 2019, a fresh start was made with the website now freely available online for everyone. Therebreathersite is a source of information for divers, researchers, technicians and students. I hope you enjoy browsing the content!