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

[David Wilson]

The Como remained in the Barakuda catalogue until 1973. Here's the entry in the 1967 edition:

I don't need to interpret the caption, whose text is virtually identical to the wording of the 1962 catalogue entry. So just one change, and surprise surprise, it's a price hike of DM 1! In 1968, the price rose again to DM 4.85.

And here's the mask's final appearance in 1973:

German: "COMO barakudablau (dt). Eine vollwertige Tauchmaske für unsere Jugend, mit großer Sichtscheibe und Sprengrahmenhalterung. Der Maskenkörper besteht aus Weich-PVC und gewährleistet guten Sitz. Das Kopfband ist verstellbar. 4,95: COMO, komplett mit BUZ-Scheibe, Best.-Nr. 1 102 00. 1,05: Ersatzscheibe BUZ, Best.-Nr. 1 102 11. 1,25: Sprengrahmen, Best.-Nr. 1 102 30. -,85: Nackenband, Best.-Nr. 1 102 01."
Rough translation: "COMO Barakuda blue (German). A full-featured diving mask for our young people fitted with a large lens retained by a snap-on rim. The mask body is made of soft PVC and a good fit is guaranteed. The head strap is adjustable. DM 4.95: COMO, complete with BUZ (Barakuda Shatterproof) lens, order no. 1 102 00. DM 1.05: Spare BUZ lens, order no. 1 102 11. DM 1,25: Snap-on rim, order no. 1 102 30. DM 0.85: Head strap, order no. 1 102 01."

So a 10-pfennig rise for the model at DM 4.95 with lower prices for replacement parts (lens, rim and strap).

That's enough for today. Another mask next time, probably the Barakuda Kompress, which is a compensator model. Stay tuned!

 

[David Wilson]

Time for a closer look at the Barakuda Kompress diving mask, which made its début in 1964:

German: "K O M P R E S S * * diese neukonstruirte Druckausgleich-Maske gestattet durch den ringförmigen Faltenbalg, mühelosen Druckausgleich ohne Beeinträchtigung der Dichtigkeit. Nr. 140, DM 10,85."
Rough translation: "KOMPRESS** The concertina bosses of this newly designed compensator mask enables pressure to be equalised effortlessly without compromising watertightness. No. 140, DM 10.85."

This model was Barakuda's first compensator mask. It appeared half-a-dozen years after the original French Beuchat Compensator mask below:

Beuchat's patent was finally published in 1960:

States-side, US Divers introduced the similarly-featured Aqua-Pressure as a "special mask" in 1959:

 

[David Wilson]

The Barakuda Kompress catalogue entry was updated in 1966:

German: "KOMPRESS, schwarz. Diese bemerkenswerte Druckausgleichmaske mit dem Balg-in-Balg-Prinzip hat sich bereits unzählige Freunde erworben, die den Dichtsitz, das Blickfeld und die stabile Qualität zu schätzen wissen. Das besondere Merkmal der Konstruktion besteht vor allem im mühelosen Druckausgleich ohne Beeinträchtigung der Dichtfähigkeit. Best.-Nr. 131. DM 15.85."
Rough translation: "KOMPRESS, black. This remarkable "concertina-style" compensator mask has already won it countless friends, who appreciate its watertightness, its field of vision and its consistent quality. Its distinctive design feature mainly rests on the ability to equalise pressure effortlessly without impairing watertightness. Order No. 131. DM 15.85."

Note the price hike from DM10.85 to DM15.85 within two years, suggesting that this model indeed rode high in the popularity stakes from the start. Its final appearance was in 1973:

The Kompress entry caption on the catalogue page above contained the same wording as the 1966 version, a further price rise to DM19.80 and an offer of spare parts, namely a lens at DM2.60, a snap-on rim at DM1.60 and a head strap at DM2.00.

So much for Barakuda's first compensator mask. We'll move on to another model next time, probably the Barakuda Baravista.

 

[Sam Miller III]

David
An interesting point
I wonder when the established companies began producing split head straps (bands )?

The American made Wide View, which was the standard of the SoCal diving community was designed and developed Art Brown for his company Spearfisherman, which was acquired for a short tine by Pacific Molded Products PMP and finally marketed by Voit -- had a single strap head band.

Many of the local divers including me modified the mask attachment for a spilt head strap (band).

The question is who first began splitting the head bands ? at the time the split head straps/bands appeared on the local market I recall we had been splitting the Wide View band several years previously...

I suspect it will require considerable research -- Certainly don't research this trivia -- just a thought between friends

Sam

 

[David Wilson]

David An interesting point I wonder when the established companies began producing split head straps (bands )? Sam

I won't presume to comment on when split head straps appeared States-side, Sam, but I do have some insights about the matter when it comes to continental Europe.

Let's begin with patents. Marseilles gear manufacturer Georges Beuchat filed patent FR1095781 (Attache pour masque de plongée et de natation) for a split mask head strap on 17 March 1954, drawings below:

The patent can be downloaded from Espacenet - Original document.

In 1956, Maxime Forjot, proprietor of the Nice-based Douglas company and pre-war inventor of a diving mask enclosing the nose and worn with a frontal snorkel, filed patent FR1149068 (Perfectionnements aux masques sous-marins) for multi-split mask head straps, drawings below:

So much for patents. Cressi has two masks with split straps on page 9 of the Italian company's 1953 catalogue, one with and one without an integral snorkel:

So commercially made split mask head straps were marketed as long ago as 1953 in southern Europe. Using more than one strap to secure a diving mask can be seen in the following image:

It appeared in the first underwater hunting book published in France in 1940 by Raymond Pulvénis.

 

[David Wilson]

On to the Barakuda Baravista. You can see how the name of this diving mask evolved: "Bara" from "Barakuda" and "Vista" suggesting field of vision. With hindsight, the name may sound amusing, recalling as it does this scene,

but I digress, because nobody would have known what a "barista" was back in 1967 when the Baravista was launched:

German: "BARAVISTA. Eine neue Druckausgleichmaske mit ausgebildetem Nasenerker und besonders großem Blickfeld, die sich durch einen außerordentlich angenehmen und dichten Sitz auszeichnet. Neuheit 1967. Best.-Nr. 150. DM 29.85."
Rough translation: "BARAVISTA: A new compensator mask with a projecting nose recess and a particularly large field of vision. It features an exceptional level of comfort and watertightness. A new product for 1967. Order No. 150. DM 29.85."

This design inevitably recalls the Cressi Pinocchio of 1953, worn below by its inventor Luigi Ferraro:

The Baravista appeared in two further Barakuda catalogues: 1968 and 1969. Here's the model's final appearance:

Note the 3-Mark price reduction, which probably signalled the company's desire to dispose of older stock as mask technology moved forward.

 

[David Wilson]

Another Barakuda mask to début in 1967 was the "Lipari", named after the largest of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the northern coast of Sicily in southern Italy:

German: "LIPARI, barakudablau. Eine vollwertige Tauchmaske, die sowohl für Jugendliche als auch für Erwachsene geeignet ist. Sie besitzt das größte Blickfeld aller unserer Masken in dieser Preislage. Die Manschette ist aufgewölbt, so daß auf jugendlichen Gesichtsformen ein ebenso dichter wir auch angenehmer Sitz gewährleistet ist. Die Scheibe wird durch einen Sprengrahmen gesichert. Best.-Nr. 104. DM 5.85."
Rough translation: "LIPARI, barakuda blue. A fully-featured diving mask suitable for both teenagers and adults. It has the largest field of vision of all our masks in this price range. The skirt is arched to guarantee an equally watertight and comfortable fit on a teenager's face. The lens is secured by a snap-on rim. Order No. 104. DM 5.85."

So a plain, non-compensator mask whose selling points were its budget price tag, its relatively wide field of vision and its claim to fit both adolescent and adult face sizes and shapes. Unlike the expensive Baravista, the Lipari remained on sale from 1967 to 1973, priced at DM 6.85 in 1968, DM 7.15 in 1969 and DM 8.90 in 1973. Final catalogue appearance below:

The Lipari caption on the catalogue page above contained the same wording as the 1967 version and an offer of spare parts, namely a safety-glass lens at DM 2.45, a snap-on rim at DM 1.25, a head strap at DM 0.85 and a replacement Barakuda shatterproof plastic lens at DM 1.05.

That's it for today. Next time we'll take a closer look at a couple of short-lived Barakuda diving masks first marketed in 1968: Bermudas and Coronado.

 

[David Wilson]

On to the Barakuda Bermudas diving mask.

German: "Bermudas mit SIGLA-Scheibe. Best.-Nr. 128. DM 20,85. Neuheit 1968."
Rough translation: "Bermudas with safety-glass lens. Order No. 128. DM 20.85. New for 1968."

The caption and illustration above come from the 1968 Barakuda catalogue. The mask is very tersely described when compared to the amount of detail found in other Barakuda mask descriptions: just the lens material, order number and price, which is on the high side for a Barakuda model. The Bermudas, which appears to be another plain oval mask with a metal rim and top screw, was conspicuous by its absence from the 1969 and subsequent Barakuda catalogues.

 

[David Wilson]

Like the Bermudas, the Barakuda Coronado mask was a one-year wonder:

German: "CORONADO. Druckausgleichmaske mit Ausblasventil. Best.-Nr. 140. DM 22,85. Neuheit 1968."
Rough translation: "CORONADO. Compensator mask with exhaust valve. Order No. 140. DM 22.85. New for 1968."

The Coronado appears to the compensator and purge version of the Bermudas. Equipped with the same metal rim and top screw but enhanced with finger wells for ear-clearing purposes and fitted with a purge valve to expel residual water from the interior. The mask never made it to the 1969 or subsequent Barakuda catalogues.

The 1973 Barakuda catalogue came with many new diving masks that I will start reviewing next time.

 

[Sam Miller III]

David
It is October time to set up the Beir Stube and enjoy October fest
Your review of the German mask is just in time..

As you know I have been following your posts with great interest.
It appears to me that all early mask were made from the same mold or developed from the same blue prints - with only a very few exceptions they appear to be very close cousins.
Certainly an eye opener to the past

Keep then coming certainly appreciated
Sam