Basic gear from the Polish People's Republic

[David Wilson]

The Polish fins I intend to review today present something of a puzzle as they seem to raise as many questions as they answer. Their appearance seems to have evolved over time into a design that was replicated in a number of countries. Let's start with what was the original Gumar fin design that is the subject of today's posting.

Gumar fins

The images are from an online auction at Płetwy do pływania i nurkowania, młodzieżowe/dziecięce WYSYŁKA and if you follow the link you will find some more images of the fins. The description provides information about the dimensions of the fins: Total length - about 30cm; width from about 9.5cm to about 18.5cm. The fins are also described as "Płetwy do pływania i nurkowania, młodzieżowe/dziecięce (dla dziecka, młodzieży)", meaning they were designed for children and young people, this in lieu of a size range.

These fins are described as being "burgundy and blue" in colour and it's interesting to see such an early example of two-tone fins, which are now quite a common sight for swim training workouts. Solid colours also appear to have been available, as can be seen from the blue Gumar fins below:

In the case of the all-blue fins, the twin metal buckles have survived, but neither example comes with heelstraps. The sole pattern may have been intended to provide some anti-slip protection on wet surfaces or perhaps they were just designed as a fishscale-like decoration. Note too the opening of the foot pocket, where the sole extends a little further than the topside of the foot pocket without providing full coverage for the base of the heel. We came across this feature too in the unbranded open-heel fin showcased in the previous posting. The top and bottom of the blade comes with eight ribs for reinforcement, including the two side rails and ends in a concave tip.

Here is a further example of the Gumar fins, this time in solid black:

They come complete with their heelstraps threaded through the buckles on either side of the foot entry. So much for Gumar adjustable heelstrap fins. We'll look at the way they evolved in the next posting.

 

[David Wilson]

Moving along now to "Michałek" fins, which appear to have evolved from "Gumar" fins.

Michałek fins

This fin is pictured complete with its heelstrap threaded through the metal buckles on either side of the foot entry. The image shows one of the exhibits at the Warsaw diving museum. It can also be viewed at Płetwy MICHAŁEK - Zabytki techniki ocalić od zapomnienia | 2018.

There are a couple of differences between the Gumar prototypes and their Michałek successors. The major one is the foot entry, which no longer comes with that "indent" at the top. The minor one is the moulding of seven lines on the blade, radiating from the toe end of the foot pocket between the eight reinforcing ribs and side rails.

This design has proved to be something of a "classic" over time and around the world. The Michałek fin moulds were eventually sent to Hungary's Taurus Gumiipari Vállalat (Taurus Rubber Company), where they were rebranded as the "Martelon":

The rebranding of the Polish Michałek as the Hungarian Martelon was not particularly noteworthy in itself, as COMECON, the "common market" of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries, had resolved in 1965 to centralise the production of basic diving equipment in Hungary. In accordance with this resolution, the German Democratic Republic had handed over to Hungary the moulds for all the fins, masks and snorkels it previous manufactured domestically.

What was noteworthy was the existence of an identical design manufactured and retailed outside the eastern bloc. In the mid-1950s, W. W. Haffenden of Sandwich in the English county of Kent expanded their "Submarine" brand range of moulded rubber swimcaps to include a Submarine Clipper rubber swim fin, face mask, breathing tube and combined face mask and breathing tube. Here is an image of the interior of Sugg Sports store in central Sheffield in 1961. The photograph shows "one of the rooms where some of the sportswear was on display, including some Lee Cooper jeans and snorkeling and scuba diving equipment." The Submarine Clipper snorkelling equipment is displayed on the panel at the top right of the picture.

Although the Haffenden company replaced the name "Submarine" with the new trade name "Britmarine" in December 1962, it retained the product name "Clipper" for its adjustable open-heel fins, which were very popular in their day. I loved swimming in a blue pair during my teenage years.

Haffenden also made Clipper fins for other people. A prominent example is the "Lloyd Bridges King Neptune Marlin" fin, exported from England to the United States to satisfy the growing interest there in underwater swimming encouraged by the popular "Sea Hunt" TV series.

Note the US foot sizing within the embossed circle and the UK sizing within the embossed square. Haffenden retained the Clipper fin in its repertoire right into the early 1980s, when they replaced the natural rubber in the fins with thermoplastics. The change to the new material was not a commercial success. Haffenden ceased manufacturing underwater swimming gear altogether within a year or two and eventually went out of business.

Coming back to the puzzle, I am left wondering whether the "Michałek" fin made during the era of the Polish People's Republic was simply a copy of Haffenden's Submarine/Britmarine Clipper fin made in England from the mid-1950s to the early 1980s. If so, this confirms the fact that diving equipment manufacturers in the eastern bloc were not only aware of fin designs and developments within the socialist countries of Europe but also familiar with what was happening fin-wise in the western world, including the UK.

We'll complete our review of Polish fins with a look at Stomil hand fins in the next posting.

 

[iamrushman]

i like the scale-like pattern. it seems to be a nice detail instead of a nondescript sole....thanks for the informative posting.

 

[David Wilson]

In my last message, I promised a look at Stomil hand fins made during the era of the Polish People's Republic. Before I do that, however, I will complete the Polish foot fin series with two models that had slipped my mind. Let's start with "Murena" closed-heel fins. The Polish word "Murena" translates to "moray (eel)".

Murena fins

The Murena is a closed-heel, closed-toe fin with a drain hole on the top of the foot pocket. The blade has a concave tip and is reinforced with side rails and one centre rib on the top and with side rails and three centre ribs on the bottom.

The name "Murena" was also chosen for a post-Soviet fin made in the Russian city of Yaroslavl:

"Murena" (Cyrillic: "Мурена") is also Russian for "Muraena", a genus of twelve species of large eels in the family Muraenidae:

According to the Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moray_eel, "Moray eels' habit of keeping their mouth open is sometimes misinterpreted as a threatening posture." Well, they do look a bit fierce!

The next message will focus on what may be the last in the series of Polish foot fins: Wodnik closed-heel fins.

 

[David Wilson]

On to Polish-made "Wodnik" fins from the era of the People's Republic. "Wodnik" is Polish for "Aquarius", which must be the sign of the zodiac most associated with watery activities.

Wodnik fins

There isn't much printed documentation about these fins, which come with a closed-heel, open-toed foot pocket and a longish blade with a convex tip.

A few close-ups:

The images above provide closer views of the anti-slip heel pattern, the brand name and the European sizing information. And no, I don't know what the circled double uppercase "R" means. Can anyone help?

I think I'm done now with Polish People's Republic foot fins and can proceed to those Stomil hand fins in my next message before moving on eventually to masks and snorkels.

 

[iamrushman]

yes; these look like something i would use for snorkeling and skin diving...by the way i love the color photo of the moray eel...

 

[David Wilson]

Yes, those teeth look sharp!

On to webbed swimming gloves, or hand fins, which do not seem to have featured in the repertoire of diving equipment manufacturers elsewhere in the former Soviet bloc.

Stomil hand fins

Hand fins, or webbed swimming gloves, have had something of a chequered history, going in and out of fashion as some swimmers swore by their effectiveness as an additional propulsion aid while others dismissed them altogether. In their defence, the original modern inventor of swim fins, Louis de Corlieu, intended his lifesaving foot "propellers" to be complemented with a pair of hand fins. The image below portrays him equipped with both items at once:

Being made of flexible rubber, the gloves offered the possibility of increased speed along with the conservation of some manual dexterity. The German diving equipment manufacturer Barakuda of Hamburg offered these swim gloves from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s:

I remember seeing them on sale in the sporting goods department of West Berlin's giant KaDeWe store during the early seventies. The German-language product description above mentions their contribution to acceleration and changes in direction in the water. They came in child and adult sizes. If desired, the fingertips could be exposed if the material was carefully cut along the seams, which can be seen more clearly in the image below:

Hand fins were also marketed by Sea-Net in the early days in the United States as "Aqua Mits":

US Divers supplied "Speed Web" swim gloves resembling Barakuda's during the 1950s. Herb Taylor's Sport Diving Catalog of 1982 (St Martin's Press, New York) showcases a custom version produced by Ocean Motion Research:

Nowadays, the best-known manufacturer of webbed swimming gloves is Darkfin, whose website can be visited at Darkfin | Webbed Gloves for Surfing, Diving, Swimming, Snorkeling.

I own a pair of Darkin Power Gloves, which I have used occasionally when snorkelling.

So much for hand fins. We'll begin exploring the Polish People's Republic range of diving masks in the next posting.

 

[iamrushman]

that's an interesting history of the hand fins being used to save energy while swimming....today i see them used in pools for aqua aerobics and exercise...thanks for the interesting subject.

 

[dmaziuk]

In swimming paddles tend to outnumber gloves 4 to 1 but still: Swim Resistance Gloves at SwimOutlet.com

 

[David Wilson]

Thanks for contributing. guys. Onwards now to diving masks manufactured and marketed during the era of the Polish People's Republic. We'll start with the Stomil "Nemo" mask.

Stomil Nemo mask

The picture above can be found at Maska Nemo firmy ZPG Grudziądz - Zabytki techniki ocalić od zapomnienia | 2018. Here the mask appears as an exhibit at the diving museum in Warsaw.

The Nemo mask's prominent feature is its enhanced width, presumably designed to provide the wearer with a larger field of vision. This characteristic is reminiscent of the Aquarama mask adopted by Cousteau's team because it also enabled the divers' eyes to be more readily seen by audiences of Cousteau's films:

Like the Spirotechnique Aquarama, the Stomil Nemo came with a split strap and without a compensator.

We'll move on next to the diving mask manufactured by Gumar, whose fins were reviewed earlier in this thread.