Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century France

[David Wilson]

The second Hurricane fin for review today is called the "Super". The product name suggested that was meant to offer more in the way of comfort and features than the Record did.

Hurricane Super

The Super appears at the bottom right of the advertisement above. The Société Hurrisport introduced the “Super” fin in 1957 with an acknowledgement to the French swimming fin inventor Commandant Louis de Corlieu and the Edouard Godel diving equipment manufacturer that succeeded him.

Around the same time, Godel discontinued their “Propuls” fin (above), which was based on de Corlieu’s original patented design and had proved very popular with recreational divers on the French Riviera since the early 1950s. The Société Hurrisport may have intended the “Super” fin to resemble and replace the original “Propuls”, while Godel developed a new and more robust version of the “Propuls” for professional and military divers. In 1960, the “Super” fin was distributed in Italy by Aziende Riunite Minetto & Figlio, the country’s sole agent for Hurricane products.

Time for some images of actual Hurricane Super fins.

Hurricane Super fins are one of the few models crediting the French naval officer Louis de Corlieu with the invention and patenting of swimming fins. De Corlieu dubbed his fins "propulseurs de natation", or "swimming propellers", which he originally intended to be a device for lifesaving at sea. We'll take a closer look at these prototypes when we get to de Corlieu's successor Edouard Godel.

In the meantime, "revenons à nos moutons" and observe that Hurricane Supers came with extended soles designed to protect the base of the heel when walking in these fins on the pebbly shores and rocky beds of the Mediterranean Sea. From the 1950s to the mid-1960s, European diving equipment companies would often manufacture open-heel fins in two versions: (a) a basic model leaving the heel exposed and (b) a "super" model protecting the heel with an extended foot-plate. By way of illustration of this principle:

Typhoon (UK) Surfmaster open-heel fin with no extended foot-plate.

Typhoon (UK) Clubmaster open-heel fin with extended foot-plate.

Britmarine (UK) Clipper open-heel fin with no extended foot-plate.

Britmarine (UK) Penguin/Model B open-heel fin with extended foot-plate.

And for АлександрД's benefit:

«Мосрезина» ("Mosrezina") (USSR) Модель № 1 (Model No. 1) open-heel fin with no extended foot-plate.

«Мосрезина» ("Mosrezina") (USSR) Модель № 2 (Model No. 2) open-heel fin with extended foot-plate.

Soviet diving manual authors came up with several handy terms to define (a) an open-heel fin with no extended foot-plate: открытая ласта (open fin) and (b) an open-heel fin with an extended foot-plate: полузакрытая ласта (semi-closed fin) or полуоткрытая ласта (semi-open fin). By the way, the Russian for a full-foot or closed-heel fin is закрытая ласта (closed fin).

That's it for today. I'll be back in a few days' time to review the other two Hurricane fin models: Gouvernail and Fusée. They have a more unusual design than the Record and the Super.

 

[David Wilson]

As promised, a review of Hurricane Gouvernail and Fusée fins. The Gouvernail first.

Hurricane Gouvernail fins

The French roughly translates: "“PALMES À GOUVERNAIL” (Rudder fins) are covered by a Hurricane patent. Like “RECORD” fins, they come in three sizes: H. 16 — A small size (your children will be delighted). H. 17 — A medium size. H. 18 — A large ADJUSTABLE size. Moulded in pure lastex (sic; do they mean "latex"?), these are luxury fins. Their streamlined design lets you swim with effortless speed. Their carefully designed foot pocket will not harm your kicking and the rudder they are fitted with (a Hurricane patent) ensures you swim in a straight line at a champion’s pace.

The image above is from an early Barrakuda catalogue. This German diving equipment manufacturer also imported fins, including the Hurricane Gouvernail. The German roughly translates: "HURRICANE-GOUVERNAIL. Ivory coloured. Angled, hollow blade with a vane on top. Adjustable heel strap. Heelpiece to protect the foot available separately. Made from a high-quality rubber compound. An elegant and versatile swim fin. “Petite”. European size 36-38. Price: DM 23.85 (Barakuda, 1960). “Moyenne”. European size 39-41. Price: DM 25.85 (Barakuda, 1960). “Grande”. European size 42-44. Price: DM 27.85 (Barakuda, 1960). Spare heelstrap. Price: DM 0.80 each. Protective heelpiece with fitted retaining strap. Price: DM 1.50 each."

Here are some real-life pictures of these fins:

And here is the author’s line drawing of Hurricane “Gouvernail” fins in James Aldridge’s 1955 title Undersea Hunting for Inexperienced Englishmen (London: Allen and Unwin). This book was quite influential in its time and was even translated into Russian!

That "gouvernail", or rudder, running up the blade and the foot pocket and designed to "steer" the fin inevitably reminds me of Duck Feet, which had the same feature:

The resemblance, may, however, just be a coincidence. Unless anybody knows different...

 

[David Wilson]

Now for Hurricane Fusée fins.

Hurricane Fusée fins

Rough translation from the French: "Drawing inspiration from American rockets blasting into the stratosphere, Hurricane has been successful in developing truly revolutionary swimming fins that provide opportunities for substantial speed at a minimum expense of energy. As slightly positive buoyancy is a feature of these “Super Palme Fusée” fins, swimmers can devote all their strength to fast propulsion. Moulded in latex (sic; do they mean "latex"?), “Super Palme Fusée” fins come with an adjusting device enabling them to adapt instantly to any Continental European shoe size between 36 and 44.

Here's an image of the fin exhibited at a Polish diving museum:

It does look like a rocket, doesn't it? The unusual design may have inspired Dunlop's Aquafort fin here in the UK:

The pronounced rib or rudder on the blade also reminds me of two other fin models we have covered in previous threads, the first Australian and the second British:

So the Hurricane Fusée's influence may have spread as far as the antipodes! Here's French graphic designer and cartoonist Albert Dubout's take on the Fusée:

That's it for Hurricane, which was a pioneering French diving equipment company in its day and vanished without trace during the 1960s. I'll be back, as usual in a few days' time, when I'll be embarking on another French diving equipment company, probably S.F.A.C.E.M. (French: Société de Fabrication d’Articles de Chasse d’Exploitation Sous-Marine; English: Company manufacturing hunting articles for underwater use). This Nice-based firm was perhaps better known by its brand name "Marin".

 

[David Wilson]

Christmas and New Year are now behind us and it's time to move on from Hurricane to another French diving equipment company: S.F.A.C.E.M. If you want to read ahead of what I post here about this enterprise based in Nice on the French Rviera, please feel free to download my "catalogue reconstruction" of the S.F.A.C.E.M./Marin brand at https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw7z_4bLjOOET3RhM0JpaDlDTG8.

Between the 1950s and the 1970s, S.F.A.C.E.M. (French: Société de Fabrication d’Articles de Chasse d’Exploitation Sous-Marine; English: Company manufacturing hunting articles for underwater use) made Marin brand spearfishing gear at 34, rue Ribotti in the city of Nice on the French Riviera. The business was sold to Scubapro in 1977, fuelling the concern of other French diving equipment manufacturers about creeping globalisation.

The Marin brand is associated with Roland Forjot, whose father Maxime moved to Nice for the sake of his son’s health, swam in the Mediterranean every day and patented a diving mask in 1938 dubbed “l’œil marin” (the marine eye), which may have inspired the name of the brand.

In the late 1950s, Roland Forjot patented a diving mask (prototype image below) with finger wells enabling ear pressure to be equalised by pinching the nostrils. Soon afterwards, Marin launched a series of masks incorporating this innovative feature, which was widely copied by other manufacturers.

Over the years, the Marin underwater range grew and came to include one plain mask, three compensator masks, a combined full-face mask and snorkel, a fin with extended footplate and adjustable heel strap, a fin with full foot coverage, a weight belt, a wetsuit and several models of harpoon gun.

S.F.A.C.E.M. exported its Marin brand diving masks, fins and spearguns to other countries. During the 1960s, Marin products appeared regularly in the underwater equipment ranges of Lillywhites of London, Peter Sport of Milan and Tauchtechnik of Eckenförde. The Marin Stabilizator (below) was one of the French masks imported to the United States by Healthways. S.F.A.C.E.M. also teamed up with Scubapro, which had established a presence in France in 1968. Scubapro eventually took over S.F.A.C.E.M.

This was also the mask I purchased when I joined my university sub-aqua club in the mid-1960s. Mine was in a version made in France by the Nice company on behalf of the British diving equipment manufacturer E. T. Skinner (Typhoon). Note the word "TYPHOON" embossed on the skirt of the mask above.

 

[David Wilson]

Although the Marin brand is mainly associated with diving masks featuring the company's patented nostril-pinching ear-clearing compensators, there was a plain oval mask in its range.

Marin Standard mask

Marin Standard Mask. Oval mask without compensator or drain valve. Price: £2 5s 0d (Lillywhites, 1968-1971.)

 

[David Wilson]

We'll review one more Marin brand mask today, this model featuring the patented ear-clearing finger wells and dubbed the "Decompressor".

Marin Decompressor mask

Marin Decompressor Mask. Oval mask with patented compensator holds facilitating ear clearing for pressure equalisation.

That's all for the moment. When I resume in several days' time, I'll be focusing on the Marin brand's most famous mask, the Stabilizator.

 

[David Wilson]

We'll complete the range of Marin diving masks today. Let's begin with the most iconic model, the Stabilizator.

Marin Stabilizator mask

When the mask was advertised by Peter Sport in Rome in 1960, the caption read as follows (my rough translation from the Italian): "Stabilizator Mask. With built-in compensator. Stainless steel rim. High visibility safety glass. MARIN product."

When Marin exported Stabilizator masks to other countries, it occasionally supplied the product embossed with the distributor’s own label. By way of illustration, the Typhoon brand name of the British underwater equipment manufacturer E. T. Skinner appears in raised letters on the Stabilizator mask skirt below:

A Marin Stabilizator mask was reviewed in a 1965 report on masks and snorkels compiled by the Consumers’ Association. The test results were as follows:
Type: Mask with compensators.
Model: Marin Stabilizator FMT 31.
Made in: France.
Price: £1 17s 6d.
Faceplate glass: Toughened.
Comfort: Good.
Vision: Medium.
Getting water out: Easy.
Comments: Tended to mist up. The most popular mask with compensators but no drain valve was the Marin Stabilizator without the drain valve. Good value for money if you want only compensators.
Consumers’ Association (1965) “Masks & snorkels”, Which? Vol. 8, 5 August 1965, pp. 230-235.

You may have noted from the images that earlier Stabilizators featured a top screw while later ones did not. As for the key feature, the compensator, the design is very similar to the ear-clearing device on the Ukrainian Akvanavt mask:

 

[David Wilson]

The Marin Stabilizator also came in a version enhanced with a drain valve. Marine either supplied this model complete with its drain valve or left the job of mounting the drain valve to diving equipment manufacturers importing and carrying the mask. The drain valve edition of the mask was sometimes given the name "Super Stabilizator" or "Stabilizator D".

Marin Stabilizator mask with drain valve

A typical Lillywhites catalogue caption read: "Marin Super Stabilizator / Stabilizator D Mask. Super quality oval mask in black rubber, compensator holds for pressure equalisation, and expelling valve for easy clearing." Price: £2 1s 6d (Lillywhites, 1963-1965); £2 5s 0d (Lillywhites, 1966); £2 6s 0d (Lillywhites, 1967-1968) £2 14s 0d (Lillywhites, 1968-1971).

A Marin Stabilizator D mask with compensators and a drain valve was reviewed in a 1965 report on masks and snorkels compiled by the Consumers’ Association. The test results were as follows:

Type: Mask with compensators and drain valve.
Model: Marin Stabilizator FMT 31/D.
Made in: France.
Price: £2 4s 9d.
Faceplate glass: Toughened.
Comfort: Good.
Vision: Medium.
Getting water out: Easy.
Comments: Drain valve very good. Good value for money. An efficient mask, and would be satisfactory if you get used to the drain valve being let into the faceplate.
Consumers’ Association (1965) “Masks & snorkels”, Which? Vol. 8, 5 August 1965, pp. 230-235.

The following advertisement in the January-February 1964 issue of France’s diving magazine L’Aventure Sous-Marine highlights the Super Stabilizator mask’s unique feature, namely the ability to clean the inside of the lens while submerged. The drain valve is raised slightly with one finger, admitting a little water to be exhaled after the glass is rinsed.

 

[David Wilson]

The final model for review today is the Marin Scubavision (or Scuba Vision) diving mask.

Marin Scubavision mask

Here is a translation of the German description of this mask in a Tauchtechnik catalogue: "SCUBAVISION. Luxury diving mask with a particularly large field of vision. High quality rubber. Offers an immaculate fit. Safety glass lens. Easy to access finger wells for pressure equalisation. Colour black." and Here's the Lillywhites catalogue verdict: "Marin Scubavision. The premier mask of the Marin range with exceptionally good panoramic vision. Compensator holds, and water expelling valve. Black rubber fitted with toughened glass." Price: £3 5s 0d (Lillywhites, 1965); £3 8s 0d (Lillywhites, 1966); £3 6s 0d (Lillywhites, 1967-1968); £3 12s 6d (Lillywhites, 1968-1971); DM 29.80 (Tauchtechnik, 1969).

The name "Scubavision" highlights the "wide-view" aspect of the mask arising from the breadth of the rounded rectangular lens lens relative to the window of the Stabilizator.

So that's it for Marin diving masks. I recently added a Marin Standard mask to my collection, the one without a compensator, and I'm amazed at the softness of the face seal after what must be 50 years. It's often said that rubber will inevitably perish after a few years, but this certainly isn't the case with my mask. I guess it's down to the quality of the rubber compound used as well.

Next time we'll take a closer look at Marin breathing tubes.

 

[David Wilson]

Topic of the day: Marin snorkels. And a note of caution. The two models to be showcased remain tentative in their provenance.

Marin snorkel

The image and caption derive from a 1960s Scubapro catalogue. Scubapro collaborated with SFACEM and eventually tooked over the Nice firm. Whether this model ever appeared in the Marin range I cannot say for certain for lack of printed evidence, but the product name might suggest so.