This Fine Helmet Has Been Sold. Thank you!

SIEBE GORMAN 12 BOLT DIVE HELMET CA 1960
From Famous Diver!

In 1840, August Siebe was the inventor of the deep sea diving helmet as we know it today.  His helmets are prized worldwide by collectors and divers making this helmet with its very special provenance a find.

SERIAL NUMBERS:       Bonnet 18241,        Breast Plate 19147 
TOTAL WEIGHT 48 lbs  BONNET 25 lbs     BREAST PLATE 23 lbs

 

STAND NOT INCLUDED

Copyright 2011 by Land And Sea Collection™, All Rights Reserved

 

Presented is a 12 bolt, 3 light Siebe.Gorman helmet, Circa 1960, that comes from the collection of the former owner of a famous diving company whose abbreviated resume is below. It was purchased by him in 1979 from Star Offshore, a dive company which did offshore and civil work up and down the British Coast and North Sea.

 

PROVENANCE: From the collection of a USMC 1st Force Recon veteran, who after serving two tours in Vietnam, and five years service, began a diving career that spanned four continents, and 20 years underwater experience before becoming  a manager. The next years were spent as Oceaneering Manager of the Deep Diving Bell and Saturation Systems for a large diving company.

In 1981, he founded his own deep saturation diving company specializing in 300+ meter / 12 man / split level operations serving the needs of such companies as PETROBRAS. His company holds the longest running safety track record in the world for deep diving operations to 300 meters having performed more than twenty years of safe diving operations without a FATAL ACCIDENT. The dive support vessel (DSV) “Toisa Sentinel” under his supervision has performed more than 4000 saturation dives in deep water to 300 meters without a fatal accident as well.

One of his personal missions during this period was with a US Nuclear Submarine Operations scientist in Russia where they performed confidential shallow water work off the coast of Murmansk inside the Arctic Circle. Murmansk was a central base of the Soviet Nuclear Submarine Fleet during the Cold War.  Private operations were also conducted near the naval base of Severomorsk which today is still the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet  

In 1994, his company mobilized  another vessel with a 22 man split level saturation system on the Support Vessel Toisa Sentinel. His crew on the DSV Toisa Sentinel had been operating continuously performing 24 hour day, deep diving operation for Petrobras from 1994 until 2011.

Selling his dive company in 2001, he continued with them until 2005, at which time he began a saturation diving consulting business in which he is active today.

Maker's tag

Inside bonnet, View 1

 

Bottom of breast plate

Inside bonnet, View 2

MAKER'S BRIEF HISTORY: Augustus Siebe the German-born founder of the firm which bears his name (1788-1872) is considered "the father of diving". Siebe's 'closed' diving helmet, first produced in 1840, allowed divers to dive safely to greater depths than ever before. Attached to a rubber suit, it became the 'Standard Dress' that revolutionized diving and made the underwater worker an essential part of both salvage operations and civil engineering. Many of the great building projects of the Victorian era - bridges, tunnels and lighthouses still in use today - could not have been built without divers.

 

Siebe's design was so successful that it remained in use essentially unchanged, by the Royal Navy until 1989. Born in Saxony in 1788 and trained as a metalworker in Berlin, Siebe served in the Prussian army against Napoleon before emigrating to London in 1816. He moved into 5, Denmark Street, a four-storey house dating from the 1680s, in 1830. Located in St Giles-in-the-Fields, an area which has had a long-standing connection with the metal-working trades, the property served both as his home and his commercial premises.

 

Siebe manufactured his first 'closed' diving helmet in 1840. Previously, divers had relied on 'open' helmets from which spent air had to escape beneath the rim of the helmet or below the hem of the diver's rubber jacket, increasing the risk of drowning. Siebe's 'closed' helmet was bolted onto a modified diving suit based on the open helmet dress, with divers receiving air from a pump on the surface. The suit was watertight and thus safer than earlier types of diving dress. Together with special pumps designed by Siebe, it made diving to a depth of about 25 metres possible.

 

Siebe perfected the design of his new diving suit during the salvage operations carried out between 1840 and 1843 on the warship HMS Royal George, sunk in 1782. Following this practical experience of salvage work, his company became the known source for the safest and best of diving systems.

 

Siebe's other inventions include a dial weighing machine, a paper-making machine, and a rotary water pump. In 1850, he manufactured one of the first ever ice-making machines. Siebe won numerous medals at the 1851 Great Exhibition and the 1855 Paris Exhibition, and was elected an Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1856.

 

Siebe died at 5, Denmark St in 1872. His obituary described him as "retiring, kind of heart and honourable in all his dealings." The firm went out-of-business in 1999.

CONDITION and MARKINGS:  STANDARD 12 BOLT PATTERN:
SERIAL NUMBERS: Bonnet 18241, Breast Plate 19147         ALL BRAILES: 17693

The helmet carries an old coat of lacquer which over the years has developed a pleasing golden patina of age.  A speaker is installed. The number 17693 appears on the bottom of each brail (strap). The inside neck ring of the bonnet is stamped 18241 and the breast plate, 19147. The air vents are all intact.The right side chin relief valve, spit cock handle, front door, and all wing nuts, all turn easily. There is no check valve.  Except for some minor dents and evidence of use, the helmet has all its original parts and is in very good condition.

Like all used diving gear, this is being sold for DISPLAY ONLY. It should not be dived without having passed inspection by a certified dive shop.

Working spitcock

Working valve

 

All brailes are numbered 17693

Exhaust valve and elbows

Back of helmet showing drop down lock

OUR UNCONDITIONAL NO NONSENSE GUARANTEE: If not completely satisfied with your purchase it may be returned within five days of receipt in its original packaging if without damage. Return items must be insured for their full value. Only a prior email authorization from us for the return is required. Shipping charges are  included in this offer if an error is due to our fault.

SHIPPING & PACKING: The cost of shipping, packing, handling, and insurance to your destination is an additional charge. We price our shipping honestly, but we expect to be reimbursed for the nominal cost of packaging materials and handling. Within the continental United States, a helmet will generally ship for $125.00 depending on destination and amount of insurance.
 

International buyers welcome, but inquire first.  We have satisfied customers in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Estonia, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Martinique, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Nova Scotia, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, St. Maarten, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, USVI and the Eastern Caribbean.

ACCEPTED FORMS OF PAYMENT are Bank wire transfer, cashier's check, money order, or personal check in which case the item will be held until cleared. No credit cards or PayPal accepted.          

Copyright 2011 by Land And Sea Collection™, All Rights Reserved