Diving in a replica Klingert suit

Two daredevils from the Warsaw Divers’ Club Association will take on an unusual challenge. To be precise, they will descend to the bottom of the Oder River wearing a faithful replica of Klingert’s wetsuit, made according to a design that is almost 220 years old! The dive will be carried out to a depth of 3 metres, and the entire event has already been approved by the Regional Water Management Board in Wrocław.

-- Advertisement --

The replica suit is made according to Karl Klingert’s design from 1797. It consists of a metal ‘helmet’ and a leather part that is a version of the ‘drysuit’ of the time. The dive is scheduled for 25 June 2016. The whole thing is expected to be quite an event for fans of history, diving and so-called retro-divers. After all, how often is there an opportunity to see diving in equipment from the 18th century?

This will be an unprecedented event, whose main objective is to recall Karl Klingert and to honour his memory with dignity. The immersion will be conducted in Wrocław, the city where the scientist lived and worked, between the Słodowa and Bielarska footbridges, the so-called “Żabia”.

Karl Heinrich Klingert was born and lived in Breslau between 1760 and 1828, where he attended the St. Mary Magdalene Protestant Gymnasium. Afterwards, he took up a job as a teacher of physics and mathematics. Among other things, he cooperated with the university’s astronomical observatory, for which he made various instruments and experimental models.

Klingert was particularly interested in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and applied physics. He conducted experiments with electricity and air. Among other things, he invented a pump to release oxygen from water, a lighter with compressed air, a lamp for underwater work, a ladder and a fire escape basket, a thermometer and a compass for blind people, a prosthetic arm, a chair for rehabilitation exercises, a wheelchair, a compressor for cylinders.

His greatest work was the first atmospheric diving suit built in 1797, which was initially intended for cleaning the Oder riverbed. Klingert also created detailed plans for another suit, this time for free diving. With his work, he contributed to the development of free diving, practised by several million people in the world today.

Source: skafanderklingerta.ppl