Talking about | BluTimeScubaHistory

THE ORIGIN OF THINGS

by Luigi Fabbri
Who invented the mask, the regulator, the dry suit? Where did the first underwater magazine come from? And the first diving school? Many answers can be found in the pages of this article, sometimes surprising or in contrast with those believed to be certainties.
April 2017

COLLECTIONS & COLLECTORS

by Luigi Fabbri
Some people collect all the beautiful things that belonged to the scuba diver of the past, others dedicate themselves to a few specific equipment. For a collector, however, the greatest pleasure is not only the conquest of a new piece, but the discovery of its origin, often fascinating history.
September 2017

JAPAN AND THE WATANABE-ŌGUSHI REGULATOR

by Andrea Campedelli - September 2026
Iwao Ögushi's name is almost never mentioned when delving back into the history of underwater breathing, yet his revolutionary project became a reality in 1916 when, in partnership with entrepreneur Riichi Watanabe, he began producing his unique regulator. Used for years in Japan and Russia, it was also patented in Europe and the United States.

1992 – DIVING CRUISE IN THE SUDANESE RED SEA

by Luigi Fabbri - July 2026
This article was written thirty-five years ago upon returning from a cruise to Sudan, with the fresh enthusiasm aroused by that sea extraordinarily rich in life, by the exploration of the site of Cousteau's underwater village Precontinent II with the various structures still clearly recognizable.

THE LEGENDARY MERMAIDS OF THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN

by Andrea Campedelli - may 2026
The Japanese Ama fisherwomen, sirens of the sea revealed to us by Fosco Maraini and now just a memory of a long past, are carefully recounted in this article, which highlights the beauty of their art as "women of the sea" and revives their exotic allure.

THE ITALIAN NATIONAL UNDERWATER EXPEDITION TO THE RED SEA

by Andrea Campedelli - april 2026
This is the story of the 1953 Italian Expedition that spawned the famous documentary film Sixth Continent, followed by a series of best-selling books on the same subject. The article, packed with little-known details, retraces the stages of what was a great underwater adventure, both scientific and sporting.

FROGMEN AND EQUIPMENT IN WORLD WAR II CINEMA MOVIES - 3/THE AMERICAN

by Maurizio Baldinucci - february 2026
This is the third article in the author's trilogy about the "frogmen" in action during World War II, comparing historical reality with the fiction of the many films about them. The first article focused on the Italian commandos, the second on the British, while this third installment focuses on the American "frogmen."

FROGMEN AND EQUIPMENT IN WORLD WAR II CINEMA MOVIES - 2/THE BRITISH FROGMEN

by Maurizio Baldinucci - january 2026
This is the second article in the author's trilogy about the "frogmen" in action during World War II, comparing the fiction of the many films about them with historical reality. The first article focused on the Italian commandos; this time it focuses on the "frogmen" of the British Navy. Next month, the Americans will be the protagonists.

FROGMEN AND EQUIPMENT IN WORLD WAR II CINEMA MOVIES - 1/THE ITALIANS

by Maurizio Baldinucci - december 2025
This article begins a impeccable trilogy dedicated to films about the Icursori (the "frogmen") in action during World War II. Fiction is contrasted with reality, perfectly evoked by the author, with many previously unseen images and news from the three navies involved: Italian, British, American, presented in order in subsequent months..

THE ORIGINS OF DIGITAL DIVING COMPUTERS

by Maurizio Baldinucci - november 2025
In this meticulously detailed article, the author retraces the difficult beginnings of underwater computers, starting from the studies and initial experimental phases begun in Canada in the early 1960s. This comprehensive historical reconstruction is truly unique.

A FEW WORDS ON THE BIRTH OF UNDERWATER TOURISM IN ITALY

by Franco Martini - october 2025
di Franco Martini - october 2025 In 1947, some vacationers, already passionate about diving, set out from Genoa for the Aeolian Islands. They were the first diving tourists in Italian history.

FROM HELMET DIVER TABLES TO DECOMPRESSION SOFTWARES

by Luigi Fabbri - april 2025
Dive computers have long since replaced decompression tables, of which they are the modern expression, but how did the tables come into being? This article quickly reviews their history, discoveries and motivations that led to the definition of their basic parameters

HANNES KELLER AND ALBERT BÜHLMANN - IN SEARCH OF THE DEEP (Part two)

by Andrea Campedelli - july 2025
In this second part of the article about the Keller - Bühlmann couple, the author describes the preparations for the record dive in the Ocean and the test descent that leads them to exit the bell at a depth of 100 meters. Everything works perfectly, but it will not be the same two days later in the dive at 305 meters.

HANNES KELLER AND ALBERT BÜHLMANN - IN SEARCH OF THE DEEP (first part)

by Andrea Campedelli - june 2025
At the end of the 1950s, Hannes Keller decided to dedicate himself to deep diving, convinced Dr. Albert Bhülmann to assist him and soon his "impossible" feats shook the scientific world. In 1961 he reached -222 meters in Lake Maggiore, in 1962 he reached 305 meters in a hyperbaric chamber, always with very short decompressions. Scientists and military men invited him to repeat the feat in the Pacific Ocean.

VICTOR BERGE'S DIVING APPARATUS

by Maurizio Baldinucci - december 2024
Adventurer Victor Berge embarks on ships that sail the South Seas and becomes a pearl fisherman. He finds the hard-hat diving equipment too burdensome, so he invents a full-face mask powered by the surface. Finally, in 1941 he attaches an automatic pressure reducer with mouthpiece to the mask and connects it to a tank worn on the back. Anticipating the Scuba system by years.

FARALLON'S DECOMPUTER: A MISSED COMPETITOR OF THE SOS DECOMPRESSION METER

by Maurizio Baldinucci - october 2024
The article reconstructs in detail the unfortunate history of the Decomputer by FARALLON, the only company to have attempted to compete with the Decompression Meter Dcp of the Italian company SOS, for over twenty years the undisputed protagonist in the sector of instruments for dive management.

“DO IT YOURSELF” UNDERWATER BREATHING APPARATUS SEVENTY YEARS LATER

by Maurizio Baldinucci - july 2024
In the years following the Second World War, several Americans built self-contained air breathing apparatus at home following the instructions in the Popular Science magazine of 1953. The author takes us back to those times, then tells how he in turn managed to build that device following the same indications indicated by the famous magazine.

THE MOMSEN LUNG AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF BREATHING EQUIPMENT FOR SUBMARINES CREW EVACUATION

by Maurizio Baldinucci - june 2024
Adopted by the US Navy for more than thirty years, the Momsen Lung was one of the most famous self-contained breathing apparatus designed for the evacuation and rescue of submarine crews. In this article the author traces its history and describes the evolution of this type of equipment up to today.

HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE MODERN REGULATOR - THE INVENTIONS OF ROUQUAYROL AND DENAYROUZE

by Andrea Campedelli - may 2024
Many think that the invention of the regulator can be attributed exclusively to Emil Gagnan and Yves Cousteau, yet their regulator system derives directly from what was created long ago by another French couple, Rouqueyrol and Denayrouze. This article is dedicated to them.

THE MYSTERIOUS NETTUNO II REGULATOR

by Maurizio Baldinucci - february 2024
A phantom brand and that name Nettuno II which obviously makes you think of a previous Nettuno I model, no trace in catalogs or magazines of the time. So who made this regulator? Is it a prototype left without follow-up? These are the questions that the author of this article asked himself, who as a collector and refined technician analyzed it in every detail.

AUSTRALIA - SPEARFISHING IN NEW SOUTH WALES - A BRIEF OVERVIEW

by Melven Brown - april 2023
In Australia, according to chronicles, modern underwater hunting was born in 1917, in the footsteps of aboriginal traditions dating back to very remote times. In this article, the author illustrates evolving of gears from the initial hand lance to the sophisticated spear guns, showing the cutting edge limits and rules imposed to the divers by their federation since 1948.

PIRELLI TRICHECO (Walrus) SCUBA UNIT

by Maurizio Baldinucci - march 2023
One of the very first Scuba unit developed in Italy starting from original ideas and technical solutions that did not somehow follow the scheme of the Cousteau-Gagnan CG-45 breathing apparatus, was the "Tricheco" model (Walrus in English) and produced by Pirelli, a company much better known today as a tire manufacturer. This article presents the construction and performance characteristics in detail.

MY WEBSITE AND HIS COLLABORATORS

di Luigi Fabbri - february 2023
The article highlights the importance of collaborators for the continuous expansion of this site, which thanks above all to their contributions is able to always propose new images of the past. Thus continuing to gradually reveal the entire history of diving in the early decades, full of people, facts, things often left unjustly in the shadows or forgotten.

THE FIRST ITALIAN SPEARGUNS

di Luigi Fabbri - novembre 2022
Recreational diving was born with spear guns and their history well represents that long initial period characterized by the talent of several people who become famous and, sometimes, forgotten. All of them contributed equally to our sport progression, to its development, although spear guns turned down its role as protagonist.

SO, IN ITALY WE CALLED IT …… SINGLE-STAGE

by Luigi Fabbri - february 2022
In Italy, we are the only one in the world to have called “single stage” regulators with two large, corrugated hoses around the head. Why in the otherCountries in the world they are correctly defined “double hose regulators"? The reasons are not just technical. We discover them in this article,already published in n. 70/2021 of the Italian magazine HDS Notizie.

	THE ORIGIN OF THINGS by Luigi Fabbri Who invented the mask, the regulator, the dry suit? Where did the first underwater magazine come from? And the first diving school? Many answers can be found in the pages of this article, sometimes surprising or in contrast with those believed to be certainties. April 2017
	COLLECTIONS & COLLECTORS by Luigi Fabbri Some people collect all the beautiful things that belonged to the scuba diver of the past, others dedicate themselves to a few specific equipment. For a collector, however, the greatest pleasure is not only the conquest of a new piece, but the discovery of its origin, often fascinating history. September 2017
	JAPAN AND THE WATANABE-ŌGUSHI REGULATOR by Andrea Campedelli - September 2026 Iwao Ögushi's name is almost never mentioned when delving back into the history of underwater breathing, yet his revolutionary project became a reality in 1916 when, in partnership with entrepreneur Riichi Watanabe, he began producing his unique regulator. Used for years in Japan and Russia, it was also patented in Europe and the United States.
	1992 – DIVING CRUISE IN THE SUDANESE RED SEA by Luigi Fabbri - July 2026 This article was written thirty-five years ago upon returning from a cruise to Sudan, with the fresh enthusiasm aroused by that sea extraordinarily rich in life, by the exploration of the site of Cousteau's underwater village Precontinent II with the various structures still clearly recognizable.
	THE LEGENDARY MERMAIDS OF THE LAND OF THE RISING SUN by Andrea Campedelli - may 2026 The Japanese Ama fisherwomen, sirens of the sea revealed to us by Fosco Maraini and now just a memory of a long past, are carefully recounted in this article, which highlights the beauty of their art as "women of the sea" and revives their exotic allure.
	THE ITALIAN NATIONAL UNDERWATER EXPEDITION TO THE RED SEA by Andrea Campedelli - april 2026 This is the story of the 1953 Italian Expedition that spawned the famous documentary film Sixth Continent, followed by a series of best-selling books on the same subject. The article, packed with little-known details, retraces the stages of what was a great underwater adventure, both scientific and sporting.
	FROGMEN AND EQUIPMENT IN WORLD WAR II CINEMA MOVIES - 3/THE AMERICAN by Maurizio Baldinucci - february 2026 This is the third article in the author's trilogy about the "frogmen" in action during World War II, comparing historical reality with the fiction of the many films about them. The first article focused on the Italian commandos, the second on the British, while this third installment focuses on the American "frogmen."
	FROGMEN AND EQUIPMENT IN WORLD WAR II CINEMA MOVIES - 2/THE BRITISH FROGMEN by Maurizio Baldinucci - january 2026 This is the second article in the author's trilogy about the "frogmen" in action during World War II, comparing the fiction of the many films about them with historical reality. The first article focused on the Italian commandos; this time it focuses on the "frogmen" of the British Navy. Next month, the Americans will be the protagonists.
	FROGMEN AND EQUIPMENT IN WORLD WAR II CINEMA MOVIES - 1/THE ITALIANS by Maurizio Baldinucci - december 2025 This article begins a impeccable trilogy dedicated to films about the Icursori (the "frogmen") in action during World War II. Fiction is contrasted with reality, perfectly evoked by the author, with many previously unseen images and news from the three navies involved: Italian, British, American, presented in order in subsequent months..
	THE ORIGINS OF DIGITAL DIVING COMPUTERS by Maurizio Baldinucci - november 2025 In this meticulously detailed article, the author retraces the difficult beginnings of underwater computers, starting from the studies and initial experimental phases begun in Canada in the early 1960s. This comprehensive historical reconstruction is truly unique.
	A FEW WORDS ON THE BIRTH OF UNDERWATER TOURISM IN ITALY by Franco Martini - october 2025 di Franco Martini - october 2025 In 1947, some vacationers, already passionate about diving, set out from Genoa for the Aeolian Islands. They were the first diving tourists in Italian history.
	FROM HELMET DIVER TABLES TO DECOMPRESSION SOFTWARES by Luigi Fabbri - april 2025 Dive computers have long since replaced decompression tables, of which they are the modern expression, but how did the tables come into being? This article quickly reviews their history, discoveries and motivations that led to the definition of their basic parameters
	HANNES KELLER AND ALBERT BÜHLMANN - IN SEARCH OF THE DEEP (Part two) by Andrea Campedelli - july 2025 In this second part of the article about the Keller - Bühlmann couple, the author describes the preparations for the record dive in the Ocean and the test descent that leads them to exit the bell at a depth of 100 meters. Everything works perfectly, but it will not be the same two days later in the dive at 305 meters.
	HANNES KELLER AND ALBERT BÜHLMANN - IN SEARCH OF THE DEEP (first part) by Andrea Campedelli - june 2025 At the end of the 1950s, Hannes Keller decided to dedicate himself to deep diving, convinced Dr. Albert Bhülmann to assist him and soon his "impossible" feats shook the scientific world. In 1961 he reached -222 meters in Lake Maggiore, in 1962 he reached 305 meters in a hyperbaric chamber, always with very short decompressions. Scientists and military men invited him to repeat the feat in the Pacific Ocean.
	VICTOR BERGE'S DIVING APPARATUS by Maurizio Baldinucci - december 2024 Adventurer Victor Berge embarks on ships that sail the South Seas and becomes a pearl fisherman. He finds the hard-hat diving equipment too burdensome, so he invents a full-face mask powered by the surface. Finally, in 1941 he attaches an automatic pressure reducer with mouthpiece to the mask and connects it to a tank worn on the back. Anticipating the Scuba system by years.
	FARALLON'S DECOMPUTER: A MISSED COMPETITOR OF THE SOS DECOMPRESSION METER by Maurizio Baldinucci - october 2024 The article reconstructs in detail the unfortunate history of the Decomputer by FARALLON, the only company to have attempted to compete with the Decompression Meter Dcp of the Italian company SOS, for over twenty years the undisputed protagonist in the sector of instruments for dive management.
	“DO IT YOURSELF” UNDERWATER BREATHING APPARATUS SEVENTY YEARS LATER by Maurizio Baldinucci - july 2024 In the years following the Second World War, several Americans built self-contained air breathing apparatus at home following the instructions in the Popular Science magazine of 1953. The author takes us back to those times, then tells how he in turn managed to build that device following the same indications indicated by the famous magazine.
	THE MOMSEN LUNG AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF BREATHING EQUIPMENT FOR SUBMARINES CREW EVACUATION by Maurizio Baldinucci - june 2024 Adopted by the US Navy for more than thirty years, the Momsen Lung was one of the most famous self-contained breathing apparatus designed for the evacuation and rescue of submarine crews. In this article the author traces its history and describes the evolution of this type of equipment up to today.
	HISTORY AND ORIGIN OF THE MODERN REGULATOR - THE INVENTIONS OF ROUQUAYROL AND DENAYROUZE by Andrea Campedelli - may 2024 Many think that the invention of the regulator can be attributed exclusively to Emil Gagnan and Yves Cousteau, yet their regulator system derives directly from what was created long ago by another French couple, Rouqueyrol and Denayrouze. This article is dedicated to them.
	THE MYSTERIOUS NETTUNO II REGULATOR by Maurizio Baldinucci - february 2024 A phantom brand and that name Nettuno II which obviously makes you think of a previous Nettuno I model, no trace in catalogs or magazines of the time. So who made this regulator? Is it a prototype left without follow-up? These are the questions that the author of this article asked himself, who as a collector and refined technician analyzed it in every detail.
	AUSTRALIA - SPEARFISHING IN NEW SOUTH WALES - A BRIEF OVERVIEW by Melven Brown - april 2023 In Australia, according to chronicles, modern underwater hunting was born in 1917, in the footsteps of aboriginal traditions dating back to very remote times. In this article, the author illustrates evolving of gears from the initial hand lance to the sophisticated spear guns, showing the cutting edge limits and rules imposed to the divers by their federation since 1948.
	PIRELLI TRICHECO (Walrus) SCUBA UNIT by Maurizio Baldinucci - march 2023 One of the very first Scuba unit developed in Italy starting from original ideas and technical solutions that did not somehow follow the scheme of the Cousteau-Gagnan CG-45 breathing apparatus, was the "Tricheco" model (Walrus in English) and produced by Pirelli, a company much better known today as a tire manufacturer. This article presents the construction and performance characteristics in detail.
	MY WEBSITE AND HIS COLLABORATORS di Luigi Fabbri - february 2023 The article highlights the importance of collaborators for the continuous expansion of this site, which thanks above all to their contributions is able to always propose new images of the past. Thus continuing to gradually reveal the entire history of diving in the early decades, full of people, facts, things often left unjustly in the shadows or forgotten.
	THE FIRST ITALIAN SPEARGUNS di Luigi Fabbri - novembre 2022 Recreational diving was born with spear guns and their history well represents that long initial period characterized by the talent of several people who become famous and, sometimes, forgotten. All of them contributed equally to our sport progression, to its development, although spear guns turned down its role as protagonist.
	SO, IN ITALY WE CALLED IT …… SINGLE-STAGE by Luigi Fabbri - february 2022 In Italy, we are the only one in the world to have called “single stage” regulators with two large, corrugated hoses around the head. Why in the otherCountries in the world they are correctly defined “double hose regulators"? The reasons are not just technical. We discover them in this article,already published in n. 70/2021 of the Italian magazine HDS Notizie.