Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Mares and Pirelli

[David Wilson]

The Pirelli Teti survived until the mid-1970s.

1974

Italian: "TETI. 1) Facciale circolare con ghiera metallica. Perfetta tenuta ed adattabilità al viso. Imballo di spedizione: scatole da 10 pezzi."
Rough translation: "TETI®. Circular faceplate with metal band. Perfect seal and fit for face. Shipping packages: packs of ten pieces."

To finish off, here is an undated but probably mid-1970s monochrome picture of the Teti:

Same caption as before.

And there we leave it for today and for Pirelli snorkel-masks. The next matter arising in this Pirelli half of the thread will be the company's range of fins and we shall move on to that subject during the coming week. We'll start with the Superga model that saw military service during World War II on the feet of Italian Navy "Gamma" combat swimmers. Until then, stay safe and well.

 

[David Wilson]

As promised, we are moving on to Pirelli fins now, beginning with the Superga model.

When it comes to the name "Superga", however, a little prehistory is necessary. Nowadays, "Superga" probably conjures up the image of a certain Italian brand of canvas shoes:

and rubber boots:

The Superga company was founded in 1911 in Turin, Italy, when Walter Martiny started manufacturing rubber-soled footwear marked with the Superga logo. In the early 1940s, the now prominent company diversified its production range, not only making gas masks for the war effort, but also manufacturing rudimentary swimming fins for Italy's combat swimmers, based on French naval officer Louis de Corlieu's 1930s propulseurs de natation (swimming propellers) patent:

As you can see, this military fin was an uncomfortable fixed-heel affair. Doubtless influenced by Owen Churchill's innovative asymmetrical fin patent States-side, Superga later brought out a similarly shaped version of its own with each fin marked either "destro" (right) or "sinistro" (left) to inform the user which one belonged on which foot. This arrangement meant that the longest edge of the blade went on the outside.

This picture shows surviving real-life specimens of the earlier and the later Superga styles:

The asymmetrical Superga fin remained in production after the cessation of hostilities, appearing in three fittings, piccolo (small), media (medium) and grande (large). It may come as a surprising fact that the asymmetrical Superga was the only fin to appear in Cressi's first post-war (1947) catalogue:

 

[JMBL]

Swimming, or diving with those fins... Ouuuuuuuuuuuch !

 

[David Wilson]

Ouch indeed, JMBL!

In 1951, the Italian Superga company merged with rubber manufacturer compatriot Pirelli. Both firms had collaborated over the years in diving equipment production, if the underwater gear illustrated in the following Pirelli magazine image from 1949 is anything to go by:

Fabio Vitale included the now "Pirelli Superga" fins in his HDS Notizie review of early-1950s fins:

Italian: "1) SUPERGA PIRELLI. Questa pinna, a tallone non protetto, deriva direttamente da quelle usate dai sommozzatori italiani e inglesi nell’ultimo conflitto mondiale. Prodotte nei numeri dal 37 al 44 ed in due diverse mescole, una PESANTE in gomma nera o azzurra ed una GALLEGGIANTE in gomma verde o blu."
Rough translation: "1) PIRELLI SUPERGA. This fin, with no heel protection, is a direct derivative of the ones used by Italian and British divers in the last world war. Made in (Continental European) sizes 37-44 and in two different compounds: black or light-blue NON-FLOATING rubber and green or dark-blue FLOATING rubber."

Here is the Pirelli Superga in the Rex-Hevea underwater hunter's vademecum of 1954:

An English translation of sorts is provided within the text of the three pages above, tracing the history of the Superga from its military versions used by the Italian "Gamma men" and later copied for British combat swimmer use during World War II to its civilian reincarnation of the early 1950s available in a variety of colours, sizes and buoyancies. Note the many references to foot comfort when describing the new commercial model!

The Superga duly reappeared in the 1958 edition of the Rex-Hevea vademecum:

This page too comes with an English translation of sorts, emphasising the longevity of the Superga design in wartime military service and the fitness for purpose of the available colour, size and buoyancy options for civilian use, particularly underwater hunting, towards the end of the first full decade of world peace.

Here, finally for today, are the two Superga pages in an undated, though probably also 1950s, edition of the Rex-Hevea vademecum. The caption is on page 42 above, the illustration on page 43.

Italian: "Superga: Costruisce pinne del tipo a «calzata fissa» che cioè non sono adattabili a tutti i piedi ma che hanno uno stampo per determinate misure; essendo di gomma e quindi non rigide come le scarpe, sono state studiate 4 calzate tra le quali ognuno troverà quella giusta: inoltre costruisce due tipi di pinne de cui l’uno «galleggiante» in gomma leggera e verde e l’altro «pesante» in gomma nera: come già detto per i pescatori sono consigliabili quelle pesanti."
Rough translation (mine): "Superga: “Fixed-heel” design fins that will not fit all feet but are moulded to fit certain foot sizes. Being made of rubber and are therefore not as rigid as shoes are, they come in four fittings, enabling everyone to find the right size to fit them. Two types of fins are available, one made of lightweight green “floating” rubber, the other black “non-floating” rubber. As we have mentioned already, non-floating ones are recommended for fish hunters."

I shall complete my review of Pirelli Superga fins at the weekend. In the meantime, keep safe and well.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, as always, guys.

We'll continue where we left off midweek with the Pirelli Superga fin at the eve of the 1960s. Here is the product in the 1959 catalogue:

Italian: "«SUPERGA» di gomma con cinghiolo fisso, galleggianti; nei colori blu e verde, come disponibili".
Rough translation: "Rubber 'SUPERGA' with fixed strap, floating; colours, as available, blue and green".

No change then from 1958.

1960

Though no change in the wording of the product description, the advent of the new decade ushers in a 200-lire price hike for each of the four fittings.

1963

While the green option remains available, the "blu" (dark blue) version has now lightened in colour to "azzurro" (light blue), matching the other fins in the then Pirelli range. Prices have fallen to 1960 levels again.

 

[David Wilson]

1965

Italian: "SUPERGA di gomma con cinghiolo fisso. Colori: azzurro, verde, secondo la disponibilità".
Rough translation: "Rubber SUPERGA with fixed strap. Colours: light blue and green, subject to availability".

Prices have yoyoed back upwards to greet the second half of the decade. The reference to the positive buoyancy of the fins has gone.

1966

No change in description or price in what was the final appearance of the Pirelli Superga.

We'll finish where we started with the original second, asymmetrical, version of the Superga. The exhibit below is from the wonderful Museo torinese delle attività subacquee [Turin museum of underwater activity], which you can visit without leaving the comfort of your chair at home, where you can access its historical diving equipment collection online. How I wish every bricks-and-mortar museum of diving worldwide would follow suit and photograph its exhibits, posting the images on its website for us all to enjoy under lockdown!

Museum caption: "Superga. Pinne corte in gomma della Superga del 1940 color verde scuro, asimmetriche con le indicazioni "Sinistro e destro" per la calzabilità. Pala trapezoidale con righe sia sul davanti che sul dietro.Scarpetta con cinghiolo non regolabile e chiusa davanti. Nr matricola 10063. Nr. piede 39-40. Lunghezza pinna 46 cm. Lunghezza scarpetta cm. 25".
Rough translation: "Superga. Short rubber fins made by Superga in 1940, dark green and asymmetrical with 'Left' and 'Right' markings for ease of fitting. Trapezoidal blade, ribbed both front and back. Foot pocket with non-adjustable strap and closed toe. Serial number 10,063. (Continental European) shoe size: 39-40. Fin length: 46 cm. Foot-pocket length in cm: 25."

All this reminds us of the military wartime origins of the Pirelli Superga. When equipping British combat swimmers with fins for World War II operations, Dunlop Special Products may have modelled their design on the Superga fins worn by captured Italian "Gamma" Men or salvaged by standard dress divers at the sites of mined wrecks. The first cargo of Owen Churchill fins from the USA to the UK ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, thanks to German U-boats, prompting Dunlop to start production before the replacement shipment of fins eventually arrived.

A couple of examples of post-war military fins fashioned after the Superga (and Churchill) design:

Dunlop Special Products (UK)

Barakuda "Original" (West Germany)

And there we stop for today. Back midweek with another Pirelli fin, probably its flagship model the "Alcione". Until the, stay safe and stay well!

 

[David Wilson]

Many thanks, АлександрД, Akimbo and Sam, for the likes.

There remain a couple of Pirelli fins to review before we emabrk on the company's flagship model, the Alcione. First, an adjustable version of the Superga. Below the relevant pages of the 1954 edition of the Rex-Hevea Spearfisherman's Vademcum:

The fin itself appears at the bottom right of page 77 and the product description in the middle of page 78 above. Note how the adjustable fin resembles the original fixed-strap version in having asymmetrical blades, worn with the longest sides on the outside and marked "left" and "right" for the user's guidance when putting them on. Note too how they differ from the fixed-strap Superga in having not only a buckle-adjustable strap but also an extended sole to protect the wearer's heel. At that time, many fins manufactured on the shores of the Mediterranean came with such heel protectors, which would have enhanced the comfort of underwater hunters wearing their fins across stony beaches on their way down to the sea in quest of their prey.

Here are a couple of images of what may be actual Pirelli adjustable Superga fins:

 

[David Wilson]

So much for the adjustable Pirelli Superga. The second model for consideration is the Pirelli Junior fin, which Fabio Vitale mentions in his review of early-1950s fins:

Italian: "JUNIOR PIRELLI. A cinghialo regolabile e tallone non protetto sono state studiate e costruite appositamente per i delicati piedi dei bambini. Sono costruite sia nel modello pesante in gomma nera o azzurra che galleggiante in gomma blu scuro o verde. Numero unico 33/36."
Rough translation: "PIRELLI JUNIOR. Adjustable strap and unprotected heel. Specially designed and made for children’s delicate feet. Non-floating black or pale blue rubber model or floating dark blue or green rubber model. One size only: 33/36."

Oh, the old-world charm of the "children's delicate feet" reference! The two versions of the fin, one non-floating black or pale blue, the other floating dark blue or green, gave options to parents contemplating their children's fin usage either in a swimming pool or at the beach. Although the adjustable strap allowed for children's growing feet, the absence of an extended sole would have meant no protection for those "children's delicate" heels.

The earliest dated source I have found so far for the Pirelli Junior fin is the Rex-Hevea vademecum of 1958:

The wording is close to what Vitale wrote about the Pirelli Junior in his survey of early-1950s fins, right down to the mention of "children's delicate feet". To highlight further the model's appropriateness to the young of the species as a time when child-friendly fins were still relatively few in number, a selling point is the softness of the rubber in direct contact with the skin. Children's wetsuit booties and fin socks had not yet appeared on the retail horizon.

 

[David Wilson]

And so we come to the Alcione, which I called Pirelli's flagship fin in recognition not only of its longevity in production but also of its "cloners" abroad, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, as the saying goes. I shall be returning to both reasons for fame at a later date.

"Alcione" is Italian for "Alcyone". In Greek mythology, Alcyone or Halcyone (Ancient Greek: Ἀλκυόνη) and Ceyx were a wife and husband who incurred the wrath of the god Zeus. Alcyone was the daughter of King Aeolus of Aeolia. She was a Thessalian princess and later queen of Trachis. Ceyx was the son of Eosphorus. Alcyone and Ceyx married and were very happy together in Trachis. According to one account, they often sacrilegiously called each other "Zeus" and "Hera". This angered Zeus, so while Ceyx was at sea, the god threw a thunderbolt at his ship. Soon after, Morpheus, the god of dreams, disguised as Ceyx, appeared to Alcyone as an apparition to tell her of his fate, and she threw herself into the sea in her grief. Out of compassion, the gods changed them both into common kingfishers, or "halcyon birds", named after her. Find out more by reading Wikipedia's Alcyone and Ceyx article. The picture above is entitled "Alcyone and Ceyx transformed into Halcyons".

So the name "Alcione" conjures up not only an ancient romance but also the image of a kingfisher, making these fins royally suited to speed today's underwater hunters on their way. They made their début around 1958, if the Rex-Hevea vademecum of that year is to be believed:

As before, the information about the Alcione is available in Italian and in an English of sorts. Note how it is Pirelli's first attempt at a full-foot fin design, when such closed-heel fins were deemed the top of the line professional choice for swimmers and divers around the Mediterranean. Of course, having been patented in the early 1950s and copied around the world, the Cressi Rondine had stolen a march on such newcomers as the Pirelli Alcione, which resembled the Rondine in having symmetrical offset blades but differed from the latter in enclosing the entire foot, including the toes, as the Mares Natator did below in the 1954 edition of the Rex-Hevea:

The difference between the Pirelli Alcione and the Mares Natator was more cosmetic in nature, the former having a blade with a centre rib and a concave tip.

Here is the Alcione in the 1959 Pirelli catalogue:

There we have the Alcione on the second page above both on the feet of the model above and separately on the extreme right below. The caption on the first page informs the would-be buyer that the fin floats and comes in blue or green, subject to availability, in half-a-dozen child and adult sizes. For the budget-minded, there was an alternative sandal-style model coloured blue or green in two children's sizes and made of plastic with a rubber strap.

1960

Italian: "«ALCIONE» di gomma a scarpetta, galleggianti, di nuovo disegno per una migliore adattabilità al piede ed un più elevato rendimento; nei colori blu e verde, come disponibili".
Rough translation: "'ALCIONE', rubber, with full foot pocket, floats, a new design for a better foot fitting and a higher performance; in blue and green, as available".

The plastic version was also there in its two children's sizes. Note the oval line on the outside where the toes go on the inside; a change will appear there in later versions of the Alcione.

That's plenty for today. I shall be reviewing the development of the Pirelli Alcione fin from 1963 to the mid-1970s next time, at the weekend. In the meantime, stay well and keep safe.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks, JMBL, АлександрД and Sam, for the likes.

Now to resume the Pirelli Alcione fin saga from where we left off. Here is the fin in 1963:

Italian: "ALCIONE (m. r.) di gomma. Galleggiante a scarpetta con punta aperto per una megliore adattabilità al piede ed un più elevato rendimento; nei colori azzurro, giallo e nero, come disponibili. ALCIONE (m. r.) di plastica per ragazzi. Con cinghiolo regolabile di gomma, nei colori azzurro e verde, come disponibili."
Rough translation: "Rubber ALCIONE®. Floating full-foot fin with open toe for better foot fitting and higher performance; colours: light-blue, yellow and black, subject to availability. Plastic ALCIONE® for youngsters. With adjustable rubber strap; colours: light-blue and green, subject to availability."

So the Pirelli Alcione remains available in two versions: a dearer all-rubber option with complete foot coverage and an open toe in a range of seven child and adult sizes and a cheaper plastic option with an open heel and an adjustable rubber strap available in just two child sizes. Earlier full-foot all-rubber Alcione fins came with closed toes.

Pirelli also published an English-language catalogue in 1963. Here are the fin pages:

The "new improved design" mentioned in the product description may have referenced the innovations of a toe opening and an offset blade, which contributed to comfort and performance.

1965

Italian: "ALCIONE (m. r.) di gomma. Galleggiante, a scarpetta con punta aperto per uno morbido alloggiamento del piede. Consentono scioltezza di movimenti ed elevato rendimento. Colori: azzurro, giallo e nero, seconda la disponibilità. ALCIONE (m. r.) di plastica. Con cinghiolo in gomma, regolabile. Per regazzi. Colori azzurro, verde, seconda la disponibilità."
Rough translation: "Rubber ALCIONE®. Floating, full-foot fin with open toe for softer foot accommodation and high performance. Colours: light-blue, yellow and black, depending on availability. Plastic ALCIONE®. With adjustable rubber strap. Colours: light-blue and green, depending on availability."

And no, I don't know why a yellow plastic Alcione is diplayed in the catalogue picture when the caption maintains that the only available colours are light-blue and green.