Augustus Sieves
Augustus Siebe (* 1788 in Saxony, † April 15, 1872 in London ) came to England after 1815 as a Prussian or Saxon participant in Wellington's armed forces against Napoleon . He eventually settled in Soho , London, as a technician / engineer . With the Siebe-Gorman company he founded, he developed the first helmet diving suits :
- 1819 - Development of the open diving helmet. The air escapes into the water under the shoulder piece or the suit vest. Ultimately a further development of the classic diving bell. If the diver bends over or if there is no air supply, the helmet runs full of water.
- 1838 - Development of the closed diving helmet. The suit, which is waterproof except for the hands, is connected to the shoulder piece or directly to the helmet. Lead weights for chest and back as well as lead shoes complete the equipment.
The new equipment was first used for a larger company in 1839. Her Majesty's divers pioneered the work of the warship Royal George , which sank in the shipping lane off Spithead in 1782 . The work ended after six years of activity with the demolition of the wreck located at a depth of 20 meters. By then, 32 divers under 5 officers had worked on the wreck and, among other things, recovered an admiral's sword. The "two-man principle" of diving today comes from the work on the "Royal George".
The diver William Walker worked with a device of this type from 1906 to 1911 on or under the foundation of Winchester Cathedral . He received a royal award for his work, which made it possible to secure parts of the foundation. A bust in the cathedral reminds of him to this day.
Inadequate knowledge of diving physics and diving medicine at that time and other local errors caused by the increasing spread of helmet diving for an initially alarmingly high number of accidents among sponge divers in the Mediterranean.
The helmet diving equipment is widespread with changes and modernizations until today and forms the cornerstone of the development of today's diving.
After developing helmet diving equipment, Siebe-Gorman also produced some early rebreather and diving equipment for the British Navy. Soon after the Second World War , the company reoriented itself and expanded its product range. After various company acquisitions and mergers, the name Siebe has not been part of the company name since 1999.
The residential and commercial building from 1680, in which Siebe lived and worked from 1830 until his death, at Denmark Street No 5 , WC 2, in Camden Town in London, has since been awarded the Blue Plaque .
Museum reception
In Wiener Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum is a completely preserved dipping system Siebe Gorman, consisting of the diving helmet, the suit with lead weights and the hand-operated air pump, issued. The system was used from 1910 by the Austro-Hungarian Navy for work under water.
Web links
- Blue Plaque for Diving Pioneer ( Memento from November 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ^ Army History Museum / Military History Institute (ed.): The Army History Museum in the Vienna Arsenal . Verlag Militaria , Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-69-6 , p. 165
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Sieve, Augustus |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Siebe, August |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British entrepreneur of German origin |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1788 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saxony |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 15, 1872 |
| Place of death | London |