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

[David Wilson]

Thank you for the positive feedback, JMBL. As for books about fins, you are right that such equipment receives undeservedly scant attention in diving manuals both ancient and modern. When it comes to fin monographs, it all depends what you are looking for in such publications. If you are looking for a history of fin development, read the three-part series "A short history of fins" by @Sam Miller III published in Historical Diver No. 3 Summer 1994, No. 4 Spring 1995 and No. 5 Summer 1995.

If I am after fin specification and performance criteria, I turn to my copy of "Comparative evaluation of swim fins" by W. G. Fischer at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (Washington, D. C. 1 March 1957), which can be downloaded from https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0780665.pdf. Yes, it's more than 60 years old and the fins the author reviewed were discontinued long ago, but it's a thorough piece of work and the benchmarks used apply just as much to today's fins as yesteryear's. By way of example, he criticises mid-1950s manufacturers for the vagueness of their descriptions when it comes to defining fin material. I once came across a modern manufacturer's boast that his fins were made from "space-age materials" without elaborating on what they were. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose !

You might also contact French-Canadian Yves Clercin, whose Facebook page is at Yves Clercin. He has researched fin development in depth, including the patent travails of their modern inventor Louis de Corlieu.

Keep your eyes open too for "fin roundups" in diving magazines if you want to stay ahead of the game in modern fin science and technology. You have already hinted at one fin-specific problem by drawing a distinction between "swimming" and "diving" fins. Fins have indeed become much more specialised lately, claiming as they often do to serve a single function such as freediving, underwater hunting, snorkelling, scuba diving, swim training etc, while mid-twentieth-century fins were "universal" devices designed to be used in a whole range of aquatic settings and activities because money was so much scarcer back then and most people could only afford to buy a single pair.

 

[Popgun Pete]

The ability to walk in fins, albeit a short distance such as shuffling out backwards while watching the surf as you exit is another factor which is influenced by your type of diving. The long freediving fins with lengthy thin blades are best for going over the side of a boat as if you are standing on the bottom and turn your feet they can easily catch and trip you up, while shorter ribbed fins don't have such problems. Some fins are easily damaged by contact with a rock strewn bottom, whereas rubber fins bar a few scuffs and scratches are largely unaffected.

 

[David Wilson]

Thank you for all the input and the likes. If there's any lesson to take away from an analysis fin development, it's that individual models not only have advantages but also disadvantages and that there is no such thing as a fin that will meet the wants and needs of all. Lose the sales hype and maximise the amount of data available so that the would-be purchaser can make a reasoned judgement. And never be a prisoner of the fickle conventional wisdom of the day when it comes to equipment choice; tomorrow is bound to bring new dogmas to shackle us with and close our minds.

And now we proceed to what is likely to be the thread finale. Let us begin today with the Pirelli Libelle fins. Here are some auction images:

These fins deliver something of a mixed message when it comes to determining the nationality of their intended end-users. "Made in Italy" and "Galleggiante" (Italian for "floating") are clearly visible on the base of these fins, while the word "schwimmend", German for "floating", is embossed above the Pirelli logo on the top of their foot pockets. Pirelli is an international company exporting all over the world and with branches in many countries, of course, but my wild surmise is that these fins were actually manufactured by Pirelli for a German niche tourist market. The name of the model "Libelle" is also German for "dragonfly":

The German word for this insect has an interesting etymology: "Latin lībella (“(carpenter’s) level”), from its ability to stay level when hovering" (Wiktionary). It certainly seems a good choice for a floating fin whose main purpose will be snorkelling on the surface of the Mediterranean in proximity to an Italian beach. I haven't found the product in any Pirelli catalogue yet, so I cannot date it.

 

[David Wilson]

Next up is the Pirelli Acquastream. John has already identified my source of information about this Pirelli fin, Luigi Fabbri's "museo virtuale":

The tabulated information about this exhibit traces the fins to 1971, describes the fins as having four ribs for reinforcement and two buckles for heelstrap adjustment. A while ago, I mentioned that Pirelli Acquastreams look a little like open-heel versions of the "Pro-Dives", top left below:

No more information about Acquastreams forthcoming, unfortunately, as they never appeared to the best of my knowledge in a Pirelli catalogue.

 

[David Wilson]

And last, but not least, we come to those Fara I and Fara II fins "carried", but not manufactured, by Pirelli in its 1970s Ulixes catalogue below:

Italian: "Cod. 66431000. FARA FIN I. La Fara Fin I è il più efficace sistema di autopropulsione finora sviluppato. Una
imbracatura flessibile, allacciata al polpaccio, permette, grazie ad una angolazione ottimale, di scaricare sulla pala della pinna tutta la potenza muscolare della gamba, senza sforzo alcuno per la caviglia ed il piede. Pinna ideale per immersioni profonde e per lavori subacquei. Cod. 66431001. Fara Fin II. La Fara Fin II è ormai una pinna molto affermata sul mercato internazionale. I longheroni laterali, la morbidezza della pala conferiscono una spinta notevole, con uno sforzo muscolare ridotto al minimo. La regolabilità è data da una coppia di molle in acciaio temperato che trattengono una fascia posteriore in neoprene, per un maggiore confort."
Rough translation: "Ref. No. 66431000. FARA FIN I. The Fara Fin I is the most effective self-propulsion system developed thus far. Fastened at an optomal angle to the calf, the flexible harness enables all the muscular power of the leg to be delivered to the blade of the fin without any effort on the part of the ankle or the foot. An ideal fin for deep diving and underwater work. Ref. No. 66431001. Fara Fin II. The Fara Fin II is now a well-established fin on the international market. The side members, the softness of the blade provide significant thrust with minimum muscular effort. Adjustability derives from a couple of tempered-steel springs with a neoprene band at the rear for greater comfort."

Here is the Fara-Fin I in a 1975 Farallon catalogue:

and the Fara Fin II in a 1970s Collins and Chambers of London catalogue:

The two designs are certainly innovative, the first with their strange leg supports that did not stand the test of time and the second incorporating stainless-steel spring heel straps for adjustability and ease of donning. Thank you, John, for explaining the science and performance so much better than I ever could. Intermediate Physics was taught so badly through unexplained theory at my 1960s secondary school that I could not wait to drop it after first enjoying the basics of the subject introduced by way of practical experimentation. My decades of teaching since then have confirmed to me that no subject should ever be taught so unimaginatively and with so little empathy or respect for the learner.

That's plenty for today and I'[ve come to the end of the Mares-Pirelli basic gear thread. Next time, midweek, I'll start a new thread reviewing what might be lesser-known Italian manufacturers of such underwater equipment. I am minded to begin with manufacturers who were around during the 1950s, starting with the "Atlantic" brand. This will be an odyssey for me as well as others as I already have the sources but have not yet organised the history of these minor businesses into a coherent form. Stay safe, keep well in the meantime.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

Thank you DRW for those last posts. Here's the update on my Fara-Fins. I had one with a real problem, a broken support. The photos below show how I have dealt with it. I first used a two-part epoxy to glue the two sides together, then wrapped it with a new, water-activated wrap (FiberFix Repair Wrap) to ensure that it would be permanently fixed. I then glued the insert onto it, but found that was too much, and so took it off. The lost photo shows the two fins, one with an unmodified angle, the other with the modified angle. It doesn't look like much, but it places the fin in a much more hydrodynamic position during the stroke.

SeaRat