Basic gear from mid-twentieth-century Sweden

[David Wilson]

We now head north-east in Europe from the kingdom of Denmark to the kingdom of Sweden, which may be best known nowadays as the homeland of the teenage climate-change activist Greta Thunberg, the pop music supergroup ABBA and the fictional police officer Kurt Wallander.

Famous historical citizens of this country include the man who invented dynamite, Alfred Nobel, who bequeathed his fortune to institute the Nobel Prize:

Carl Linnaeus, who formalised the modern system of naming organisms:

Astronomer, physicist and mathematician Anders Celsius, after whom the temperature scale is named.

On a more mundane level, the noun "Swede" denotes not only a citizen of Sweden but also a root vegetable originating as a cross between a cabbage and a turnip:

But I digress...

 

[David Wilson]

Sweden's best-known swim gear company nowadays is Olander Aquatic Products AB, which was started in 2003 by the finswimmer and multiple international medalist Valter Olander. By way of example, here are some colourful pairs of Olander fins:

Olander outsources production of these fins to Taiwan and Malaysia, however.

An older Swedish name in diving equipment manufacturing is Poseidon, which developed the Unisuit, the "world's first water- and gasproof neoprene dry suit" during the 1960s:

Nowadays, by way of contrast, the following Poseidon-branded fins were designed and manufactured in Taiwan:

 

[David Wilson]

To begin at the beginning, however, the first fins to be manufactured in Sweden were intended to be used by Swedish Navy divers:

The images above are from an auction site. The article's Swedish description reads: "Simfenor storlek 43-47. Av fabrikatet NAVÁL-FENAN som bla användes av svenska attackdykare på sin tid. Bra skick. Finns en litet märke/spricka på ena hälbandet." Which translates roughly to: "Swim fins size 43-47. NAVÁL-FENAN brand, as used by Swedish Navy divers in the past. Good condition. There is a small mark / crack on one heel strap."

Enough for today. We'll resume our review of early Swedish basic diving gear in a few days' time.

 

[David Wilson]

For the following information about early Swedish basic diving gear, I am indebted to the author of the blog "Ja då kanske jag hade skrudat mig så här" at stationsvakt: Ja då kanske jag hade skrudat mig så här. Writing in 2009, and here I translate, "If I had found myself 55 years back in time and had purchased my beach equipment via the Hobby-publisher Boras, then I might have dressed thus:

The caption reads roughly as follows in English: "Arne Borg model swim fins. This model is designed in consultation with Arne Borg — Sweden's greatest swimmer of all time. The swim fins are supplied with rudder fins, and because they have a hydrodynamically streamlined shape and a low weight, they give significantly higher speed than other known models."



If you have been following my other threads about basic diving gear made in mid-twentieth-century Europe, you may have noticed that these Arne Borg fins closely resemble Hurricane "Palmes à Gouvernails" (Rudder fins) made in France:

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 is also bound to remind my US readers of Duck Feet, which had the same feature:

 

[David Wilson]

At Fenor från förr - Lysekils dykmuseum, Sweden's Diving Museum website exhibits two pairs of the country's earliest swimming fins. First, "Navál Fenor", designed for navy divers and reviewed last time:

plus a pair of Arne Borg swim fins identified as "Stiga" fins:

The Swedish verb "Stiga" means "soar", "increase" or "advance", take your pick! These fins are captioned thus on the museum site (my rough translation again): "STIGA fins, probably from the early 1950s. The model is named after the Swedish swimmer Arne Borg, multiple world record holder, Olympic medallist and European Champion. These fins were used by the very first Swedish clearance divers."

I'll leave matters there for today. Back in a few days' time with the remainder of my online gleanings about basic underwater swimming equipment in mid-twentieth-century Sweden..

 

[JMBL]

Thanks for sharing

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for the postive feedback, АлександрД and JMBL. It is appreciated.

We're in the final furlong now. Once again I am indebted to the author of the blog "Ja då kanske jag hade skrudat mig så här" at http://stationsvakt.blogspot.co.uk/2009/02/ja-da-kanske-jag-hade-skrudat-mig-sa.html. This Swedish blog whose topic was "If I had found myself 55 years back in time and had purchased my beach equipment via the Hobby-publisher Boras, then I might have dressed thus" references a pair of Arne Borg webbed swim gloves acccompanying the foot fins:

The caption reads roughly in English: "Arne Borg model 'swim hands'. Designed like a glove with “webbing” between the fingers. Increases swim speed significantly."

Rubber swim gloves with membranes between the fingers appeared in a number of period underwater swimming equipment catalogues. West Germany's Barakuda had a pair on sale as early as 1954:

German: "Barakuda-Schwimmhandschuhe. Schwimmhandschuhe steigern die Geschwindigkeit und ermöglichen eine schnellere Richtungsänderung beim Tauchen. Der Handschuh ist aus weichem widerstandsfähigen Gummimaterial gefertigt und läßt sich leicht über die Hand streifen. Je nach Wunsch und Gebrauchszweck können die oberen Fingerglieder durch Abschneiden entlang dem Reißschutz-Wulstrand freigelegt werden. Hierdurch wird die Möglichkeit gegeben, mit den Händen auch andere Arbeiten unter Wasser auszuführen. Größe I (Kindergröße), Größe II (Erwachsene). Preis: 5,85. Ausführung: grün."
English: "Barakuda swim gloves. Swim gloves increase speed and enable divers to change direction more faster. Made of soft, resistant rubber materia, the glove can be easily slipped over your hand. It may suit your requirements and intended purposes to leave your fingertips exposed by cutting out along the beaded edges. This will enable you to carry out other work underwater with your hands. Size I (children size), size II (adults). Price: 5.85. Finish: green."

 

[David Wilson]

According to the blog, the Arne Borg range included a pair of goggles enclosing the eyes and excluding the nose:

Rough English translation of the caption: "Z 25686 Goggles that are perfectly manufactured. Made from prime rubber and fitted with shatterproof glass with anti-corrosion screwed-on clips, which ensures no water can penetrate. Equipped with a strong adjustable headstrap. A snug fit guarantees these goggles are watertight."

In early diving gear catalogues, e.g. Barakuda's in 1953, swim goggles appeared alongside masks covering the nose as well as the eyes:

German: "Barakuda-Zweiglas-Tauchbrille Modell 53. Bei dieser Brille wird durch einen besonderen, neuen Lamellendichtrand absolute Dichtigkeit und weicher, angenehmer Sitz ohne lästigen Druck erreicht. Die Gummi-Manschette ist so gearbeitet, daß die Sichtgläser parallel stehen, wodurch Verzerrungen unter Wasser vermieden weren. Ausführung: Leuchtend blau. Preis:"
English: "Barakuda binocular diving goggles, model 53. With these goggles, a special, new ribbed face seal ensures absolute watertightness and a soft, comfortable fit without irritating pressure. The rubber skirt is designed to keep the lenses in parallel, thereby avoiding underwater distortion. Version: bright blue. Price:"

And here's a couple of images of an early East German diver wearing goggles with underwater breathing apparatus:

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

I honestly expected it to be made of teak with conservative lines and minimalist hardware.

 

[David Wilson]

Finally, for the blog and today's contribution, a snorkel to complement the basic Swedish gear:

Rough rendering of caption into English: "Z 25695 breathing tube — Snorkel, from the famous “Barakuda” range. Made of light metal with valve and rubber mouthpiece. With this device, you can swim under water and breathe through the tube. If the air inlet in the upper part of the snorkel goes underwater, the valve shuts off automatically."

Note the reference to the West German Barakuda range of diving gear. Here it is in the 1853 Barakuda catalogue:

German: "Barakuda-Schnorchel. Mit Hilfe des Barakuda-Schnorchels (auch Tauch- oder Atemrohr genannt) kann man unbeschränkte Zeit eben unter der Wasseroberfläche verweilen, um das Leben unter Wasser zu beobachten. Das mit Beißlappen versehene Mundstück gewährt einen festen Sitz. Ein Ballventil am Einatemstutzen verhindert durch automatisches Verschließen das Eindringen von Wasser. Preis mit Ventil:
English translation: "Barakuda snorkel. The Barakuda snorkel (also called diving or breathing tube) enables you to stay indefinitely just below the surface of the water and observe life under water. The mouthpiece comes with a bite plate to ensure a secure fit. A ball valve on the air inlet prevents water ingress by closing automatically. Price with valve:"

That's enough for today and for this thread about basic gear in mid-20c Sweden. We'll be moving to another country in the next thread.