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INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPERATING
THE OXY-HYDROGEN UNDERWATER METAL CUTTING EQUIPMENT
Published by: Underwater
Cutters Ltd – Notting Hill, London in late 1930’s
Red hard back, no deustjacket,
thirty-one printed pages
This is a full
underwater cutting manual produced by the manufacturer, done quite early
(I think) when the oxy-hydrogen underwater cutting equipment was relatively
new. There is a photo of the full underwater kit if bought as a set and
as well as cutting torches, the equipment includes a hand pump, helmet,
boots, weights and other equipment needed for the diver (see photograph
taken from the frontice photograph). Cutting underwater requires 3 gasses,
oxygen, hydrogen and air to envelope the cutting flame. The book is divided
into 8 chapters: “Introduction”, “Description of Apparatus”, “Instructions
for Assembling Apparatus”, “Adjustment of Gas Pressures”, “Execution of
Cut Underwater”, “Difficulties in Starting and Maintaining Cut”, “General
Notes” and “Practical Tips”.
Contains 6 line drawings
and 4 monochrome photographs (as well as the frontice, three of which are
of cutting flames – showing what is good and what is bad (a bit difficult
I guess in black and white). [pt] |
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COX
SUBMERGED BOLT DRIVING & PUNCHING GUN
The "Cox Submerged Bolt Driving
& Punching Gun for Ship's Plate etc" was quite a revolution in ship
repair and salvage for the diver. The gun is capable of firing it's
bolt through steel plate of various thicknesses and there was even a hollow
bolt that coule be use to "inject" air through a ship or submarine's hull.
A good example of this can be seen in the film "Morning Departure" about
an attempt to raise a sunken submarine. The diver featured in the
film is seen firing a hollow bolt into the submarine hull and attaching
an air line for the survivors.
Cox Submerged Bolt Driving
& punching Gun For Ships Plate, etc. Published by Temple Cox Development
Co Ltd, Bromley, Kent UK.
Blue-green card covers,
staple binding with one loose page - 10 pages. Publication year unknown.
Dimensions: 18.5 cms tall by 12 cms wide
This is the oldest of the
two user instructions I have for the machine and I think it was published,
maybe the late 1920's or early 1930's. Contains very simple operating
instructions for the device along with details of what the kit comprises.
The only illustration is a line diagram of a section of the loaded barrel
assembly.
Cox Submerged Bolt Driving
& punching Gun For Ships Plate, etc. Published by Temple Cox Development
Co Ltd, Bromley, Kent UK.
Salmon coloured card covers,
staple and tape binding - 40 printed pages. Publication year unknown. Dimensions:
18.5 cms tall by 12 cms wide
I think this much
improved user manual is from the late 1930's, maybe early 1940's - now
the company has a phone number "Ravensbourne 1847", not seen on the earlier,
smaller user manual. Now the user manual is a lot more comprehensive,
split into various sections giving the reader more details of the operation
of the tool and many more illustrations. Now there is a "pull out"
cross section of the tool that expands to 4 pages wide, three monochrome
photographs and a second pull out depicting "cox submarine gun air bolt
to ships plate". There is also a table showing charges to be used
for various applications (not included in the earlier manual" and a table
of spare parts lists in the back.
| Cox Submarine
Ammunition Selection Chart
This is a submersible slate
presumably to assist the diver select the correct charges for the job in
hand. Along the bottom of the slate is a ruler in imperial inches
and on the reverse is details of the manufacturer "Temple Cox Development
Co Ltd, Walters Yard, High Street, Bromley, Kent" and spaces for notes
that could be written (in pencil) underwater? [pt] |
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HANDBOOK
OF UNDERATER SWIM SUITS
Published by: The Admiralty,
London in 1944
Card covers with 43 printed
pages.
Approximately A4 landscape
in format, this book wasn’t intended as a training manual but to describe
the different types of equipment generally classified under the title of
“Under Water Swimming Suits”. When published by the Admiralty, the book
was classified as secret. It covers the use, care and maintenance rubber
dive suit used at the latter part of the war – I think as supplied by DUNLOP.
It also covers the breathing sets used at the time, namely the “Pattern
1451 Davis Submarine Escape Set”, “Pattern 3485 Salvus” and the “Amphibian
Mks I and II”. The book is divided into 9 sections and 2 appendix: “Introduction”,
“Description of Equipment”, “Accessories for Use With UWSS Gear”, “Dressing
and Undressing in the UWSS Mk I”, “Dressing and Undressing in the Mk II”,
“Entering the Water and Use Underwater”, “Care and Maintenance”, “Use of
Breathing Sets with the UWSS” and Underwater Swimming Breathing Apparatus”.
The Appendix are “Pattern Numbers of UWSS Equipment” and “Contents of Repair
Outfits”.. It is extremely well illustrated with very many line drawings.
[pt]
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OXY-ELECTRIC
ARC CUTTING UNDER WATER
Instructions - Care and
Maintenance of Equipment.
Published by Underwater
Welders and Repairs Ltd. Roath Basin, Cardiff from again I would guess
the 1950's.
Red card covers, staple
binding with 20 pages, 1 mono photograph of a set of cutting equipment.
Dimensions: 18.5 cms by 12 cms.
Runs through the equipment
and techniques required for successful under water cutting.
Foreword: "The cutting
of steel and non ferrous metals under water employing the oxy arc process
described in the following pages offers no difficulties to operators who
have been properly trained in its use......."
[ph]
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Back cover. |
SUBMARINE
PRODUCTS LIMITED.
In the mid 1950’s Lt Cdr
Hugh Oswell was a serving officer in the Royal Navy at Portsmouth and in
his spare time, he was working on improvements and modifications to existing
underwater breathing equipment – even developing his own designs.
He was assisted in producing his prototypes by Harry Biscoe who was also
based at Portsmouth but had access to engineering facilities. Some
time later, Oswell was posted to Tyneside as liason officer at Swan Hunter
shipyards.
In 1957, the Royal Navy
introduced staff reductions and Oswell took a redundancy package and that
finances his new business venture Submarine Products based at Acomb
near Hexam in Northumberland in the UK. Harry Biscoe was offered
a job which he kept for the life of the company.
Double hose diving regulators
developed and manufactured included the Sealion, Super Sealion, Atlantic
and finally the Black Prince. Many products were made by the company
including a sea scooter and a revolutionary Aquamobile Two Man Submarine
that never appeard to actually go into production but it did appear in
catalogues.
In the mid 1960’s, the factory
moved to a new purpose built factory at Bridge End in Hexam where amongst
other things they developed a plastic moulding business with products from
plastic boat hulls as well as regulators and other equipment for SCUBA
and fire fighting. Equipment was supplied to the world, including
Australia, India, Korean, and Jordanian navies.
Further developments came
with them manufacturing the Aquarius single hose range of regulators.
In the mid 1980’s their
contract with the Royal Navy came up for renewal and was awarded to rival
company Sabre Air Products. The company struggled along for a short
time but the receivers were called in mid 1989.
Lt Cdr Hugh Oswell eventually
moved to France and sadly died in 1997, [pt]
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on images to enlarge. |
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UNDERWATER
CUTTING AND WELDING
Charles Kandel.
Published by Craftsweld
Equipment Corporation, Long Island City 1, New York.
No publication year given
but I would assume late 40's.
Tan card covers, staple
binding with 14 pages, 3 illustrations of cutting and welding torches.
Dimensions: 18.5 cms by 13.5 cms.
This booklet runs through
the pros and cons of oxy-acetylene and oxy-hydrogen gas cutting and electric
cutting utilising hollow carbon, tubular steel or tubular ceramic electrodes
plus metallic arc cutting with solid steel electrodes. Also underwater
electric welding. One section lists common applications for both cutting
and welding while another history section gives Captain Edward Ellsberg
a mention for developing the first practical under water cutting torch
in 1925 which was used in the raising of the U.S. Submarine S-51 the following
year.
(See Ellsberg's book - "On
the Bottom").
[ph]
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WELDING
UNDER WATER - THE PEILLON PROCESS
Instructions - Care and
maintenance of equipment.
Published by Underwater
Welders and Repairs Ltd. Roath Basin, Cardiff from I would guess the 1950's.
Blue card covers, staple
binding with 16 pages, 1 mono photograph of a set of welding equipment.
Dimensions: 18.5 cms by 12 cms.
Runs through the equipment
and techniques required for successful under water welding.
Foreword:
"This booklet will
serve to introduce to you the most interesting and important developments
in the science of welding that have occurred since the development of the
electric arc. Until very recently, the limitation was that the process
could only be used in the medium of air. That barrier has now been removed
by the development of the Peillon process of under-water arc welding".
Later in the text we learn
that, " The arc when struck...... creates its own highly efficient shield
of super-heated steam and gas......" [ph] |
