The suit of Chester E. Macduffee is a fantastic suit to see. Although Macduffee patented 4 inventions and pictures of the actual diving suit are still available it is very strange nothing could be found about the inventor. I hope when you have any additions to this story you send it to me because the information could otherwise get lost!
In the book from Hermann Stelzner there are some references to Macduffee.
The name of the inventor is often written in different ways. Stelzner calls him Macduff. He is also called McDuffie – MacDuffie – MacDuffy – Macduffie but the true name of the man was Macduffee.
Stelzner in his book TAUCHERTECHNIK wrote:
Macduffs ADS was tested in 1915 in Long Island Sound. It was made like the “Hanseatische”from aluminum alloy and weighted about 250 kilo. The cylindrical joints mounted on ball bearings allowed movement in one direction only. They do not appear to be watertight due to the fact Macduffee implemented a waterpump in the suit. This pump was able to pump water from the leg section into the sea. The pump operated on compressed air supplied from the surface. The used air from the pump then expanded into the suit and was used by the diver for breathing. ( Robert H. Davis Stated the pump was driven by electricity) The suit was equipped with a 12 section-gripper mounted on one arm and a electric light on the other arm. Also a hook is seen on a picture. Macduffee’s suit reached 65 meters of waterdepth in 1915!
Gary L. Harris wrote in his book Iron Suit:
Credit for constructing the first suit to utilize ball bearings as the medium to provide movement to a joint and also to act as the load-bearing surface must go to a Mr. Mac Duffie, who tested his formidable-looking A.D.S. to a depth of 214 feet in Long Island Sound, New York. MacDuffie’s suit resembles a science fiction robot more than an A.D.S.
| US 989530 | Submarine Armor | 11 april 1911 |
| US 989531 | Attachement for submarine Armor (pump) | 11 april 1911 |
| US 989532 | Means for holding electric conductors/airtubes | 11 april 1911 |
| US 989533 | Valve for use with Submarine diving Apparatus | 11 april 1911 |
| US 989534 | Submarine diving apparatus | 11 april 1911 |
| 11 april 1911 |
A number of similarities with the ADS by Enos B. Petrie are striking. The characteristic square viewing windows however, make it easy to recognise the MacDuffee atmospheric diving suit.
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!