U.S. NAVY SHALLOW WATER
MILLER- DUNN STYLE 3
DIVINHOOD

 

DIMENSIONS OF
HELMET: 24 1/2” H x 12 1/2″ W X
12” D    TOTAL
WEIGHT 59  1/2pounds

Back weight 18
pounds Front weight 8 pounds Helmet
weight bare 33 1/2 pounds

Copyright

2013 by Land And Sea Collection.com, All Rights
Reserved
.

 

 

Presented

 

is
a shallow water 4 light Miller-Dunn Navy Divinhood
Style 3, one of the many made. But this one
was made by Miller-Dunn specifically for the Navy and not commercial use. The
Style 3 design improved on the visibility of the Style 2, and was more
strongly built, and was more comfortable to wear due principally
to the extended shoulders and
the increased visibility afforded by the additional three
ports.   It is complete in all respects and in
the same configuration delivered to the Navy. The helmet has reddish paint which has worn off
in places with some brown patina and green verdigris over.  It comes from a
retired airline pilot who has owned
it for many years and is now downsizing his
collection

.

This style helmet is one of the rugged looking of all diving
helmets and is a favorite of collectors. And is a good place
to begin a
collection.

 

Maker’s tag

Navy Serial Number L278

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MARKINGS, the tag

reads:

DIVINHOOD  Style 3

Navy Standard

U.S. 1195973 and Foreign Patents

Miller-Dunn Co. Miami, FL

NAVY SERIAL
NUMBER L278 is stamped on the main window
frame near the top on the
right side in line with the maker’s tag.

 

Dent on shoulder

Small area of solder loss

 

 

CONDITION and
MARKINGS:
This
helmet has had the glass in its ports replaced after it came out
of Navy service. The glass in the left port has a small round chip of
about 1/4 inch. There also is a portion of a seam at the rear
that has lost its solder.  Some of the screws are replacements and the screw at the top left front of the main
port is missing.
This helmet has not been modified, and except for the few replaced
parts, it is just as it was originally made for the
U.S.Navy.

THE LEAD WEIGHTS:

The front weight weighs 8 pounds and the rear
weight weighs 18 pounds. One hole on the rear plate is
slightly off and

doesn’t
line
up correctly. It needs to be re drilled. They are not original to the helmet,
but carry all the Miller Dunn markings of the period.

The studs and wing

nuts are replacements.

Inside showing the simplicity of the design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRIEF HISTORY OF
MILLER DUNN DIVING:

The Miami,
FL. company was founded around 1914 with a focus on shallow
water diving using helmets and simple equipment that did not require
special training. Its first helmet of consequence, was the No 1 Divinhood first introduced
around 1915 which was quickly adopted for use in all forms of shallow water work. The original
design was simplicity in its most fundamental sense. This was followed
by the No. 2 Divinhood which became the U.S. navy’s official shallow
water diving apparatus, and was part of the ships gear on many naval
vessels.

 

In 1939, just before the onslaught of
WW II, the No. 3 Divinhood was introduced. It was used by commercial
and navy divers worldwide for shallow water work.

During the the first days of World War
Two, only Morse and then Schrader were making dive helmets for the
navy. DESCO and Miller-Dunn went into production around 1943 with
DESCO becoming the number one producer, and Miller-Dunn making the
least. In total only about 7,000 MK V helmets were produced by all
four companies during the war years.

After the war, the need for helmets
decreased dramatically due in part to the large surplus of helmets
finding there way to the salvage equipment market. The business of
Miller-Dunn was adversely affected and the company ceased operations
sometime in the 1960’s.

 

 

 

 

Left side =”center”>=”center”>

Right
side=”center”>

 

 

This helmet is
for display only, and should not be dived unless
certified
by a competent
diving shop.

 

 

 

 

3/4 side view of right front 3/4 side view of left front