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

[David Wilson]

The third and last member of the group of Barakuda snorkels featuring a V-shaped mouthpiece was introduced in 1964 as the 309:

German: "Schnorchel ohne Ventil mit V.-Mundstück u. flex. Rohr, schwarz/gelb. 309. 5,85."
Rough translation: "Valveless snorkel with V-shaped mouthpiece and flexible barrel, black/yellow. 309. DM 5.85."

As before, the product description between the snorkel's launch (1964) and last appearance (1973) stayed much the same. The stock code changed to 809 in 1966, while the price rose to DM 8.75 in 1973.

 

[David Wilson]

The preceding snorkels are reminiscent of other company's breathing tubes.

1018 Sous Marine Silent V snorkel

"Silent V" is an English translation of the French "V Silencieux", which was the name of Beuchat's flagship snorkel of the time:

Both the sharp "V"-shape bend and the accordeon-style mouthpiece of the Marseilles company's original design are present in the Sous Marine offering. Beuchat's version is reviewed in Ley Kenyon and Werner de Haas' Aqualung Diving: A Complete and Practical Guide to the Underwater World (London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1970): "Tarzan V (Silencieux). A snorkel with a slightly bent rubber tube below, linked to the mouthpiece by a V-shaped angled piece made of plastic. Water collects in the insertion so that the gurgling noise accompanying breathing is largely eliminated." Beuchat's breathing tube received mixed reviews in a Which? Consumer Report of 1965:

That's it for today. Some later Barakuda snorkels next time.

 

[DDB]

An amazing lesson. Thank you

 

[David Wilson]

Glad to be appreciated, guys! Now, as promised, some later Barakuda snorkels. We'll begin with the 100 series. First comes 101:

German: "Ohne Ventil. Farbe: rot und blau. Best.-Nr. 3 822 00."
Rough translation: "No valve. Colour: red and blue. Order No. 3 822 00."

The caption says "No valve", which begs the question what the gadget topping the snorkel might be. My tentative conclusion is that it's probably a "splash cap" designed to keep water out when just the tip of the barrel is above the surface. Here's a different example of a snorkel with a splash cap, which I won recently on eBay. It was in pristine, unused condition, a miracle as it must be half a century old:

Here's how this snorkel appeared in the contemporary literature:

The third image above is from the 1956 E. T. Skinner (Typhoon) catalogue, which identifies the model as a "Typhoon Breathing Tube Model 'T1' - tube opening protected by splash cap. Allows the wearer to breathe underwater so long as the tip of the tube remains above the surface".

And here's how the snorkel operates in practice, this from the October 1954 issue of the British Sub-Aqua Club journal Neptune:

The above image always puzzled me because I could see the air bubbles emerging from the top of the snorkel without understanding how they did so when the top of the snorkel appeared to be sealed by the blue rubber "splash cap". So I dismantled the snorkel, which I had recently won on eBay, to satisfy my curiosity.

Here's a close-up of the splash cap fitted to the top of the tube:

Note the holes punched on either side of the aluminium alloy tube. That's where the inhaled and exhaled air enters and exits the tube.

Here's the view inside the splash cap:

Note the "protuberance" at the bottom. That fits inside the opening at the top of the tube, serving as a watertight seal for the tube opening and an anchor for the splash cap. So the top end of the splash cap when fitted stops water from getting into the snorkel, while the loose-fitting open bottom end of the cap allows air to escape from those holes punched into the sides of the tube inside the cap.

Quite an ingenious design from the 1950s to keep water out of a snorkel. Of course, it only works properly if the snorkeller remains on or close to the surface.

 

[David Wilson]

And here's the Barakuda 102:

German: "Mit Ventil. Farbe: rot und blau. Best.-Nr. 3 823 00."
Rough translation: "With a valve. Colour: red and blue. Order No. 3 823 00."

If this model has a valve, I can't see it and I can only conclude that the 1973 catalogue has reversed models 101 and 102. The image portrays a snorkel with a combination elbow and mouthpiece attached to a straight barrel, i.e. the same snorkel as the 101 model but without a valve. Neither the 101 nor the 102 reappeared in later catalogues.

 

[David Wilson]

The Barakuda 103 (below) was reminiscent of the 307 (above):

German: "V-Mundstückbogen, Rohr und Mundstück aus Gummi. Best.-Nr. 383400: DM 7,95."
Rough translation: "Rubber elbow, barrel and V-shaped mouthpiece. Order No. DM 7.95."

The difference between the 103 and the 307 lies in the fact that the former is an all-rubber model. Both are a tribute to the enduring popularity of Beuchat's V-shaped snorkel with the concertina neck.

 

[David Wilson]

Last Barakuda snorkel of the day is the 104 (below). This model is reminiscent of the 305 (above).

German: "Schnorchel m. Kunststoffrohr u. Faltenschlauchmundst. Best.-Nr. 3 836 00: DM 5,95."
Rough translation: "Snorkel with plastic barrel and corrugated mouthpiece. Order No. DM 5.95."

As noted earlier, the flexible-hose snorkel was an enduring design that resonated with scuba divers who wanted to continue wearing a snorkel but liked one that dropped out of the way when they no longer needed it.

That's enough for today. Back in a few days' time with more Barakuda snorkels.

 

[David Wilson]

Some more Barakuda snorkels from 1973. First, the 105:

German: "Schnorchel 105. Plastik-Rohrschnorchel, starr, Gummimundstück, V-förmig, orangefarben. DM 3,85. Best.-Nr. 3 824 00."
Rough translation: "105 snorkel. Snorkel with plastic barrel, rigid, rubber mouthpiece, V-shaped, orange colour. DM 3.85. Order No. 3 824 00."

The description includes a nod in the direction of Beuchat's "silent V" mouthpiece that Barakuda had adopted in its earlier designs. Otherwise this model typifies the many new contoured, "wraparound" breathing tubes emerging worldwide during the early 1970s.

Dick Bonin of Scubapro filed US patent 3,603,306 on 9 April 1970 for his original snorkel design, drawing below, and the patent appeared the following year:

The concept later entered commericial production as the Scubapro Wrap Around Jet Snorkel:

 

[David Wilson]

The contoured snorkel design has proved an enduring paradigm for swimmers' breathing tubes until the present day as its shape follows the natural line of the head better. A number of such models are currently available with traditional rubber mouthpieces, e.g.

Beuchat Tubair (French)
This all-rubber contoured design has survived to the present day as the "Tubair", whose flexibility is illustrated here:

Sommap Lagon (French)

 

[David Wilson]

Finally for today the Barakuda 107:

German: "Schnorchel 107. Gummischnorchel mit in der Länge verschiebbarem Schnorchelrohr (von 22 bis 35 cm). Rohrquerschnitt 22 mm. Das Rohr ist je nach gewählter Länge flexibel. Weiches Gummimundstück. DM 8,90. Best.-Nr. 3 826 00."
Rough translation: "107 snorkel. Rubber snorkel with length-adjustable snorkel barrel (from 22 to 35 cm). Barrel cross-section 22 mm. The tube is flexible depending on the length selected. Soft rubber mouthpiece. DM 8.90. Order No. 3 826 00."

So an unusual all-rubber design enabling the snorkel barrel to be lengthened or shortened at will. Let's compare the actual and potential dimensions to what is prescribed by the variety of standards and rules governing snorkels:

The inner diameter of 22 cm certainly accords with the normative documents above other than the first version of British Standard 4532 of 1969. More to the point, it conforms to European Standard EN 1972 of 2015 and the CMAS Surface Finswimming Rules of 2017, which are currently in force.

As for the variable length between 22 cm and 35 cm, this telescopic adjustability might have been of value when the snorkel was used by both adults and children. However, the maximum length of the 107 model (35 cm) fall below the maxima prescribed for adults under standard EN 1972 of 2015 and CMAS Rules of 2017.

More Barakuda snorkels to be reviewed during the coming weekend.