Basic gear from the mid-twentieth-century Federal Republic of Germany

[David Wilson]

Back to the Barakuda trange of snorkels and today's offerings came with ball valves. Let's begin with the 304 model:

German: "Schnorchel mit flexiblem Bogen und Stromlinienventil Nr. 304 DM 3,85."
Rough translation: "Snorkel with flexible elbow and streamlined valve No. 304: DM 3.85."

So the 304 resembles the 301 in having a combination rubber bend and mouthpiece at the lower end and a valve at the upper end. Like the lever valve, the ball valve simply fitted on the top of the straight barrel, which may be why it is dubbed a "streamline" valve.

The 304 changed its stock number to 804 in 1966 and remained on the books until 1973. During the intervening years, the colour choice varied from ivory-coloured and blue to simply ivory-coloured, while the price rose to DM 3.95 in 1969 and DM 5.85 in 1973. Now and again, the ball valve and the mouthpiece elbow were sold separately as spares.

 

[David Wilson]

The Barakuda 304 had a number of lookalikes such as the Beltran breathing tube made in Spain:

And here are a couple of unidentified models owned by Polish snorkellers:

 

[David Wilson]

The second Barakuda snorkel of the day is the 306, which is to the 304 what the 301 is to the 302 and what the 303 is to the 305:

German: "Schnorchel mit starrem Bogen und Stromlinienventil Nr. 306 DM 3,85."
Rough translation: "Snorkel with rigid elbow and streamline valve No. 306: DM 3.85."

The 306 remained in the catalogue from 1962 to 1964. It derived its J-shape from the barrel, which was topped with a ball valve and bottomed with a short-necked mouthpiece. A similar design is the Britmarine Clipper made in England:

We'll resume this review at the weekend. Stay tuned!

 

[David Wilson]

On to another couple of Barakuda snorkels. We'll begin today with a model launched in 1968 with the stock number 801, which was originally assigned to a J-shaped breathing tube introduced in 1962 as "301" and withdrawn in 1967.

German: "Starrer Bogen, ohne Ventil, Klarinettenmundstück anatomisch geformt. Neuentwicklung unter Mitwirkung Dental-Medizinischer
Sachverständiger Schnorchel Best.-Nr. 801 DM 3,85. Mundstückbogen Best.-Nr. 801a DM 2,30. Neuheit 1968."
Rough translation: "Rigid elbow, no valve, anatomically shaped clarinet mouthpiece. New development resulting from teamwork between dental and medical experts. Snorkel order no. 801: DM 3.85. New for 1968."

This design is bent at the side, giving the breathing tube a resemblance to the letter “L”. The “L” configuration reduces tubing below head level for less drag, easier clearing and effortless breathing. Such snorkels are generally in two parts: (a) Right-angled rubber elbow with a mouthpiece at one end and a straight plastic barrel attached to the other or (b) L-shaped plastic barrel with a right-angled rubber mouthpiece attached close to the bend.

The snorkel rose in price to DM 4.95 in 1969 and last appeared in the 1973 catalogue.

 

[David Wilson]

During the early 1960s, diving equipment manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic embraced the “L” design, introducing the Beuchat “Tubalux”, Cavalero “Tuba L”, Dacor “Model LST”, Spartan “L” and US Divers “Snork-L”. East German and Soviet diving equipment manufacturers were also early adopters of the “L” design in the 1960s when developing commercial snorkel models for their recreational markets:

There are several modern manifestations of the L-shaped design, e.g.:

AQA Aqua Drain (Japan)

Exquis 7328 (Taiwan)

Majorca Simple No. 2 (Greece)

Sommap Clarinette (France)

Yaroslavl' (Russia)

 

[David Wilson]

The 801 L-shaped snorkel was not the only Barakuda snorkel to be given a reallocated stock number. The other was the 805 snorkel, which was a flexible-hose breathing tube launched in 1964 to replace a model with a lever valve and a short-necked mouthpiece introduced in 1962.

German: "Schnorchel mit Faltenschlauch-Mundstückbogen und flexiblem Kunststoffrohr ohne Ventil, farbig. Best.-Nr. 305. DM 5,85.
Rough translation: "Snorkel with corrugated elbow and mouthpiece, flexible plastic tube with no valve, coloured. Order No. 305: DM 5.85."

This design is generally in two parts: a flexible corrugated rubber hose with a mouthpiece at one end and a straight plastic barrel attached to the other. When not in use, the rubber mouthpiece is designed to spring out of the way, keeping the user’s hands free.

The 305 stayed on the books until 1973. The price fluctuated from DM 5.85 in 1964 to DM 6.85 in 1966-1967, DM 6.90 in 1968, DM 7.25 in 1969 and back down to DM 5.95 in 1973. In 1968-1969 the accordion mouthpiece was available for purchase separately.

 

[David Wilson]

As for the origins of the flexible-hose snorkel, Scubapro founder Dick Bonin, who died in 2015, once claimed when interviewed “We brought out the first flexible snorkel. In Chicago, they used to sell surplus aircraft parts so I took a hose and put it on a snorkel tube, and I never forgot that. Swimaster priced it at $2.95 and everyone said we were out of our minds, but we sold them like crazy." This flexible-hose snorkel was dubbed the Bello-flex (below), whose launch was in 1959:

The Bello-flex may well have been one of the earliest American snorkels to feature a flexible corrugated rubber hose ending in a mouthpiece that dropped out of the way when it was not in use. However, the Capewell Explorer Snorkel (below) with its corrugated rubber elbow leading into its mouthpiece unit may have a prior claim, as it first appeared in 1955.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the British 1956 underwater swimming catalogues of both Lillywhites and Cogswell and Harrison of Piccadilly in London list an “Abbey” brand snorkel with a “corrugated end in rubber” (below).

Since the late 1950s, flexible-hose snorkels have occasionally appeared in the product ranges of many diving gear manufacturers, e.g. Britmarine, Cavalero, Dacor, Healthways, Mares, Scubapro, Typhoon, US Divers, Voit and White Stag. Later snorkels of this kind improved airflow by providing the corrugated hose with a smooth interior.

 

[David Wilson]

The classic flexible-hose snorkel is still around if you know where to look. Here are some modern examples of the genre:

Escualo S22 (Mexico)

Francis Corrugato (Italy)

Majorca Spiral (Greece)

Seac Corrugato

Sommap Annelé (France)

Voit Ultramarine

More Barakuda snorkels in a few days' time.

 

[David Wilson]

Today's Barakuda snorkel offerings have the common feature of an acute-angle bend between the barrel and the mouthpiece:

German: "Schnorchel ohne Ventil mit V.-Mundstück u. starr. Rohr, blau. 307. 4,85.
Rough translation: Valveless snorkel with V-shaped mouthpiece and rigid barrel. 307. DM 4.85.

The product description remained substantially the same from the introduction of the 307 model in 1964 to its withdrawal after 1973. Two exceptions were the price, which rose to DM 5.85 in 1966, to DM 5.90 in 1968 and to DM 7.75 in 1973, and the stock number, which changed from 307 to 807 in 1966.

 

[David Wilson]

The 308/808 model was a variant of the 307/807:

German: "Schnorchel ohne Ventil mit V.-Mundstück u. starrem Rohrbogen, blau. 308. 5,85.
Rough translation: "Snorkel with V-shaped mouthpiece and rigid elbow on barrel, no valve, blue. 308. DM 5.85."

This model was only available from 1964 to 1966, when the price rose to DM 6.85 and the stock number changed to 808. Its distinctive feature is the curved top, which presumably could be fitted with a valve, if desired.