Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Italy: Other manufacturers

[dmaziuk]

A final note. Frontal snorkels are the snorkels of choice in competitive finswimming races because they are better streamlined than traditional lateral breathing tubes would be. They come nowadays with a large cushioned metal or plastic bracket to be placed against the forehead and a buckled rubber or silicone strap to be worn around the temples. The 1950s version instead had a small bracket to be attached to the screw at the top of the stainless-steel rim of an oval mask in widespread use back then.

Swimmers simply go too fast: side-mounted tube pulls on the strap and causes the mask to leak. You can't even use them with swimming goggles, they just get pulled off.

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the likes, Angelo, Jale and Iowwall, and for the posting, Dmaziuk.

Today we move on the the Technisub range of fins, starting with the Caravelle. The name "Caravelle" probably nowadays conjures up image of motor vehicle models such as the Volkswagen Caravelle or jet airliner models such as the Sud Aviation Syper-Caravelle, but originally a "caravel(le)" was "a small highly-manoeuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing windward. Caravels were used by the Portuguese and Castilians for the oceanic exploration voyages during the 15th and the 16th centuries, during the Age of Discovery". So a fin might be named "Caravelle" to highlight its speed in the water.

For humble aquatic foot appendages, Technisub Caravelles in their time wove quite a mixed tale of technological success and commercial failure. I'll let the Luigi Ferraro website do the talking: "They were presented to the market in 1963 and therefore represent one of the first articles that Ferraro designed for Technisub, the company he founded the previous year. The Caravelle fin has two characteristics that set it above all other existing fins: it is composed of a shoe and a blade that are made from different materials. The shoe is made of rubber, which, at the time, was the only material used to produce fins. The blade, however, and this is the novelty, is produced with a new material - polypropylene. This earned its inventor, Giulio Natta, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in exactly the same year that Ferraro employed it for the Caravelle fin. Blade and shoe can be easily dismantled and assembled by hand and the shoe can be used as a normal protective shoe to walk on rocks or sand. But this is not the only benefit of the Caravelle fin. Most of all, the fin ensures excellent performance due to the lightness and elasticity of the blade. Jacques-Yves Cousteau was so enthusiastic about it that he nominated Ferraro "the best fin designer in the world" and, as expected, used it for his team".

The very first plasticine Caravelle fin mock up handmade by Ferraro, according the 60s technology

Assembled Caravelle

Dismantled Caravelle​

So a revolutionary design: not only were the foot pocket and the blade made from different materials, soft and comfortable traditional rubber for the former and innovative light and elastic polypropylene for the latter, but the the separability of these two components meant that the shoe part could serve as normal beach footwear after the blade was detached. These features were both signs of things to come in the western world of fin design, what with the popularity of lightweight composite fins among today's frequent-flyer scuba divers and what with many of today's freedivers opting for fins with separable shoes and blades.

 

[David Wilson]

In 1965, the Italian diving magazine published a piece on the Technisub Caravelle:

Italian: "Rivoluzione totale nella tecnica delle pinne con le CARAVELLE. LEGGEREZZA INCREDIBILE. UN PAIO PESA GR. 530! La pala e la scarpetta, costruite separatamente, consentono l'impiego dei materiali più adatti a ciascuna delle diverse funzioni. Pala in polipropilene isotattico. Scarpetta in gomma galleggiante a durezza variabile. Congiunzione tassativa tra pala e scarpetta a pinne indossate. Il montaggio si esegue con notevole facilità. UNA LINEA FUNZIONALE, UNA FORZA DI PROPULSIONE STRAORDINARIA, UNA CONFORTEVOLEZZA ECCEZIONALE. La concezione rivoluzionaria delle "CARAVELLE" elimina la parte negativa delle pinne tradizionali cioè quella zona larga al punto di congiunzione della pala con la scarpetta, che richiede sforzo muscolare improduttivo".
Rough translation: "Total revolution in fin technology with the CARAVELLE. INCREDIBLE LIGHTNESS. ONE PAIR WEIGHS 530 GR.! The blade and the foot pocket, built separately, allow the use of the most suitable materials for each of the different functions. Isotactic polypropylene blade. Floating rubber foot pocket with variable hardness. Mandatory conjunction between blade and foot pocket while wearing fins. Assembly is carried out with considerable ease. A FUNCTIONAL LINE, AN EXTRAORDINARY PROPULSION FORCE, EXCEPTIONAL COMFORT. The revolutionary conception of the "CARAVELLE" eliminates the negative part of traditional fins, i.e. the wide area at the point of junction of the blade with the foot pocket, which requires unproductive muscular effort".

Here is the Caravelle in the 1965 Technisub catalogue:

Italian: "— Pala e scarpetto scomponibili, in materiali differenti. per assolvere integralmente a funzioni diverse. — Scarpetta in gomma per confortevole collegomento al piede. — Pala in polipropilene isotattico per ottenere massima leggerezza, scotto, nervosità, resistenza. — Risparmio di forze perché azionare una pinna tradizionole di peso doppio comporta fatico doppio. — Possibilità di nuove gomme cromotiche e di ulteriore funzionalità adottondo pale specifiche per usi specifici. — Consentono di usare la sola scarpetto per comminare comodamente su suolo disagevole. — Sono galleggianti. — Con alette direzionali per stabilizzore la pinneggiata".
Rough translation: "— Removable blade and foot pocket, in different materials. to fully perform different functions. - Rubber foot pocket for comfortable connection to the foot. - Isotactic polypropylene shovel to obtain maximum lightness, burn, nervousness, resistance. - Energy savings because operating a traditional fin with double weight involves double the effort. - Possibility of new chromate rubbers and additional functionality by adopting specific blades for specific uses. - They allow you to use just the shoe to walk comfortably on uneven ground. - They float. - With directional fins to stabilise the kick".

1968

Italian: "Facilità e rapidità di spostamento, con minor fatica e maggior comodità sono i vantaggi che l'uomo acquatico ha conseguito da quando si mette le PINNE. Apparse intorno al 1930 hanno raggiunto oggi, soprattutto in alcuni modelli, un livello tecnico notevole la cui perfezione è riassunta da: CIO’ CHE UNA BUONA PINNA DEVE AVERE. - giusta elasticità, non troppa flessibilità né troppa rigidezza. - comoda calzabilità. - qualità di materiali impiegati da cui garanzia di durata. - rendimento costantemente elevato sia in velocità che in distanza, in superficie o in profondità. - piacevole estetica. CARAVELLE. In caucciù naturale e polipropilene isotattico - la pinna più scattante e leggera del mercato mondiale - scomponibile - galleggiante - alettatura direzionale per stabilizzare la pinneggiata - possibilità di usare la sola scarpetta per camminare comodamente su barriere coralline, sassi, scogli e qualsiasi terreno disagevole - peso medio al paio gr. 600 - colore nero professionale".
Rough translation: "Ease and speed of movement, with less effort and greater comfort are the advantages that the aquatic man has achieved since putting on FINS. Appearing around 1930, they have now reached, especially in some models, a remarkable technical level whose perfection is summed up by: WHAT A GOOD FIN MUST HAVE. - right elasticity, not too much flexibility nor too much stiffness. - comfortable fit. - quality of materials used from which guarantee of duration. - consistently high performance both in speed and in distance, on the surface or in depth. - pleasant appearance. In natural rubber and isotactic polypropylene - the lightest and most agile fin on the world market - separable - floating - directional fins to stabilise the kick - possibility to use only the foot pocket to walk comfortably on coral reefs, stones, rocks and any difficult terrain - weight average per pair gr. 600 - professional black colour".

1969

Italian: "caravelle - scomponibile - galleggiante - alettatura direzionale per stabilizzare la pinneggiata - possibilità di usare la sola scarpetta per camminare su barriere coralline, sassi, scogli".
Rough translation: "caravelle - separable - floating - directional fins to stabilize the kick - possibility of using just the shoe to walk on coral reefs, stones, rocks".

So the Caravelle appeared in Technisub catalogues from the early to the late 1960s, each time with a highly detailed product description to explain how the fin operated. The underlying rationale was that the fin was well before its time in terms of technology but was hardly a best seller in the market place because it was so different from other fins of the period. There were certainly plastic fins around at the time, but they tended to be cheap products designed for children who wanted bright coloured gear or for people who could not afford to buy proper rubber fins.

 

[David Wilson]

The Technisub Caravelle was exported to other countries, both in Western Europe and in North America. Here it is in a US Diver catalogue from 1965:

Once again note, the lengthy explanation to sell the fin by listing its innovative technical features. So far as I am aware, American divers did not warm to the new product either. It took Mares ditching all its great traditional fins for the Power Plana for the composite fin to catch on un the western world, while countries such as Russia and Japan stuck with their tried and test all-rubber fins to the present day.

Worthy of mention, however, is Russia's brief flirtation with the Caravelle design:

These unnamed fins were made in the "Sport" Experimental Factory in what was then Leningrad and what is now Saint Petersburg. The detachable plastic blade closely resembles its Caravelle counterpart, including the number of ribs, although one model has a closed toe foot pocket, unlike the Caravelle. It's interesting that Soviet diving equipment developers were aware of Ferraro's designs in the early 1970s and went as far as to manufacture similar products for swimmers and divers in the USSR. Note too how the above picture shows the price (3 roubles, 50 kopecks) moulded on to the sole, signalling the absence of price fluctuations in Soviet times!

That must suffice for today. Next time, midweek, we shall move on to the Otarie fin, which may be more associated with La Spirotechnique and US Divers, but which still regularly appeared in period Technisub catalogues. Keep safe and stay well until then.

 

[Popgun Pete]

I bought this pair of Caravelle fins brand new not long after I acquired my first pair of Jetfins from the same store. Like the Jetfins they were the only pair they had which had been samples to see if they were interested in selling them. These types of exotic fins had first appeared at the Hartley’s sport store in Melbourne which was a major outlet for dive gear in those early days, but they wanted an arm and a leg for them, so it was with great pleasure that I found them in Foys a department store with only a small water sports section. After they had cooled their heels in the store for about a year I bought each set of fins for about half price. The sales folk there knew nothing about diving and less about fins. The Caravelle’s were easy to swim with and gave good thrust even in full wetsuit for ocean diving around reefs with plenty of turbulence. There had been reservations about the thin polypropylene blades on some angles slicing rather than pushing water, but in practice I noticed no disadvantages. The blades were fairly easy to pull out, but after a while I never bothered as I seldom tramped around on exposed reef in order to warm up. Because Jetfins were good for a slow cruise and were not likely to be trashed by pushing up off the bottom I set the Caravelle’s aside for body surfing as they were light to carry stuffed under one arm. The Caravelle fins were light, but not so much to be floaters so kept under when you were swimming, the detachable foot pockets being quite thick. The blade side ribs hook in around the back of the side slots in addition to block shapes engaging the frame cut-outs in the blade toe area underneath, so there was no way the blades could accidentally pull out. A great idea before its time as plastic dive fins were still decades away.

 

[David Wilson]

Thank you for the likes, Angelo and Iowwall, and for that interesting post, Pete. The Caravelle was indeed an ingenious fin design conceived with real human factors in mind, while the first composite fins made by Mares et al. seem to have been evolved more from the demands of the then new injection-moulding technology and from the requirements of the dismal science of economics for the maximum output of widgets per minute.

And now we move on to the Otarie fin, which I mentioned was more associated with La Spirotechnique, particularly as the fin was reportedly designed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau himself. This said, the Otarie appeared in many Technisub catalogues too. "Otarie" is French for "sea lion" (above) and Italian for "sea lions". Here is a Technisub ad from a 1965 issue of Mondo Sommerso:

Italian: "otarie e da oggi dopo i successi in Francia e in America anche per il pubblico italiano il comfort e le prestazioni di una pinna affermata".
Rough translation: "Otarie. And from today, after its successes in France and America, the comfort and performance of this well-established fin are available to the Italian public too".

Here is how a 1965 US Divers catalague presented the Otarie to an American audience:

Back to another Technisub ad in a 1966 issue of Mondo Sommerso:

Italian: "OTARIE. Pinne gallegianti in gomma particolarmente elastiche, comfortevoli e di ottima calzabilità - nelle misure 38-40 40-42 42-44 44-46 - da L. 2.950".
Rough translation: "OTARIE. Particularly elastic, comfortable and excellently fitting floating rubber fins - in sizes 38-40, 40-42, 42-44, 44-46 - from L. 2,950".

1967

Italian: "Le pinne OTARIE esaltate e confermate dalle vittorie di competizioni di livello nazionali e internazionali".
Rough translation: "OTARIE fins, exalted and validated by winning national and international competitions".

So these magazine articles reveal features of Otarie fins in a piecemeal manner, first their success in the French and North American marketplace, secondly their excellent wearing comfort and thirdly their superlative record in winning finswimming championships.

 

[David Wilson]

Here is the Otarie fin in the 1969 Technisub catalogue:

Italian: "Otarie - pinna per nuoto in gomma - particolarmente elastiche - confortevoli - ora per gli sportivi italiani le pinne Spirotechnique che hanno entusiasmato la Francia e l'America - nelle due versioni: GALLEGIANTE: colore azzurro - COMPETITION: colore nero".
Rough translation: "Otarie - rubber swimming fin - particularly elastic - comfortable - now for Italian sportsmen the Spirotechnique fins that have thrilled France and America - in two versions: FLOATING: blue colour - COMPETITION: black colour".

1973

The caption this time is in three languages, Italian, English and French.

In 1976, an adjustable open-heel version emerged with an apparently longer blade:

Same in 1980:

I have a pair of size 46-48 floating blue Otaries in my diving equipment collection:

They do indeed have soft foot pockets for wearing comfort and hard blades for a good turn of speed. They are also much lighter than full-foot fins normally are. For me, their outstanding features are the foot pocket length accommodating the entire foot so that the toes remain inside and do not protrude as often happens with other full-foot fins, where they act as a fulcrum when the fins are in use and eventually tear the sides of the toe openings. The toe openings are also smaller than normal, which ensures that less cold water gets into the foot pockets and chills the feet.

Enough for today. We shall return at the weekend to review the Technisub Ala, which is still sought after around the world as the underwater hockey fin of choice. Until then, keep safe and stay well.

 

[Popgun Pete]

One aspect of the Caravelle fin is it is the closest that modern dive gear has ever got to emulating De Corlieu’s original swim fin. The latter had springy sheet metal blades covered in crepe rubber and by all accounts were very efficient, however the construction was not all that practical. Later fins, and De Corlieu had a follow-up patent using different rubber compounds throughout the fin structure, used side ribs to provide the bending and energy storage spring with a flat panel in the centre as the pushing surface. This type of fin was the predominant type until rubber fins gave way to various plastic and polyurethane materials which allowed the standard layout to change, e.g. the latest Sea Wing fins with no side ribs.

 

[David Wilson]

Thank you, Angelo, for the like and Pete for the additional information about the comparability of the Caravelle with Louis de Corlieu's original "propulseurs de sauvetage".

Today we shall review the Technisub Ala, but a short digression first to mention the Technisub Animate fin, which appeared in a 1973 issue of Mondo Sommerso but may never have graced the pages of a Technisub catalogue:

Italian: "5. TECHNISUB: LE PINNE «ANIMATE » - Leggerissime, con una linea essenziale, hanno una pala molto lunga e larga, con un'anima in vetroresina rivestita di gomma. Studiate espressamente per le competizioni, queste pinne sono nate dalla collaborazione della squadra sovietica, campione mondiale di nuoto pinnato, con gli atleti del Sub Bologna".
Rough translation: "5. TECHNISUB: "ANIMATED" FINS - Very light, with an essential line, they have a very long and wide blade, with a fibreglass core covered with rubber. Designed specifically for competitions, these fins were born out of the collaboration of the Soviet team, world champions in fin swimming, with the athletes of Sub Bologna".

I have included this forgotten fin here not only because its rubber-covered fibreglass blade recalls the reinforcing ribs and bi-material construction of the earlier Caravelle. The closed toe also marks a break away from one of Luigi Ferraro's key full-foot fin features, starting with the Cressi Rondine: open toes. Toe openings were introduced to eliminate toe-pinching, which Ferraro decried in the fins he was compelled to wear as a World War II combat swimmer. Toe openings had their downside, however, admitting cold water when fins were worn over bare feet, interfering with fin blade hydrodynamics and streamlining, creating potential points of weakness at their sides that might eventually result in the softer-rubber front of the foot pocket tearing away from the harder-rubber rear of the blade, especially if the toes protruded through the aperture, acting as a fulcrum while the blade bent up and down in use.

The closed toes may also represent in nod in the direction of fin development in the Soviet Union, where competitive finswimming was a popular sport. Doubtless toe opening would have torn regularly when speed finswimming in the USSR, which is why Soviet full-foot fins often came with closed toes during the 1960s. I have been reading an article in an East German diving magazine recently where the fin designer Gans Mönke gave his Najade fins closed toes because they otherwise tended to rip at that point in use. His fin design was much admired in the USSR, where fin designers went so far as to construct a copy called the Rusalka:

East German Najade fins

Soviet Rusalka fins​

As we shall see today, Luigi Ferraro also closed the toes of his Ala fins, which were to play a different competitive role in the sport of underwater hockey.

 

[David Wilson]

The Technisub Ala itself made its début in the mid-1970s. "Ala" is Italian for "wing", hinting that this fin will help the wearer fly along in the water. Here is the Ala in 1976:

So, as the description confirms, the Ala was billed as a high-performance fin and the product of exhaustive testing. With its extended blade and its streamlined surface, it was built for speed and efficiency without sacrificing comfort. The closed toes and powerful ribs were reminiscent of Soviet competitive finswimming models developed to provide their athletes with the best chance of success in international championships. Compare the reinforcing ribs on the following closed-heel, closed-toed Soviet Mosrezina Barakuda fins:

The Ala was exported to other West European countries. Here it is in a 1978 British diving magazine advertisement:

And here it is again in 1980:

The streamlining and hydrodynamics of the Ala fin are once again described in some detail. Note as well that the full-foot fin now comes too in an adjustable open-heel version (Ala Pro) for professional divers to use while wearing boots.