Jacques Cousteau
Jacques Cousteau devoted the rest of his life to ocean research after World War II. He purchased a minesweeper called the Calypso and sailed it around the world, including the Antarctic Circle. He did experiments and collected data. These were used to design the Calypso-Phot underwater camera and SP-350 deep-sea two-man submarine.
Cousteau began his research with the creation of an apparatus for breathing called the aqualung. The aqua-lung allowed Cousteau to breath air in a controlled way, but it was restricted to shallow diving. Cousteau recognized that he needed to find the deepest parts of the oceans and a better way regulate air flow. He developed the demand regulator through his experiments, which allowed air only to move according to demand. This invention would help divers extend their air supply and avoid decompression sickness.
Yves le Prieur
Yves le Prieur, scuba diving and Yves le Prieur go back to the 1900s. In 1946, he created a fullface mask that had a loose face plate. This was to be used as a demand regulator's diaphragm. The diving regulator was his next invention.
1933 saw the invention of the first scuba diving device. This device combined the Fernez-Le-Prieur air supply system with the demand regulator invented by Denayrouze and Rouquayrol. This device changed the face of scuba diving by making underwater respirators affordable and more accessible. This was the birth of recreational diving.
Guy Gilpatric
Guy Gilpatric, a diver himself, has made many contributions to the history scuba diving. His articles in The Saturday Evening Post about scuba divers were among the first. He also wrote the first sport diving manual. His love of the sea and natural world led him to write about the Mediterranean. The book is credited as inspiring Jacques Cousteau. He would go on later to create modern scubadiving.
In the early 20th Century, the inventions of modern scuba diving gear were made. Guy Gilpatric, an American marine biologist, invented a system that allowed divers air to be breathed in without the need for surface air. Later, Yves Le Prier designed an underwater breathing system. Owen Churchill bought the system, and the scuba-rig gained rapid popularity. Guy Gilpatric then developed rubber goggles with glass lenses, face masks, snorkels, swim fins, and a high-pressure air tank.
Yves Gagnan
Divers had to rely on air hoses to reach the surface, as well as diving bells and helmets at the beginning century. Yves Gagnan (Parisian engineer) helped them to create a demand valve system. The new device offered compressed air on demand, and was capable adjusting to the water pressure. This discovery made it possible to explore all the oceans for everyone.
Gagnan was born in Burgundy, France, in 1900. After graduating college, he started working at Air Liquide. There he learned high-pressure pneumatic designing. This was the beginning of modern scuba equipment.