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NEW

Swindell mod.3000 Mix Gas Helmet

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George O. Swindell
Diving helmet inventor drowns
Terrytown man in boating accident
Thursday, June 30, 2005
By Paul Rioux
St. Bernard/Plaquemines bureau

A 73-year-old Terrytown man who invented a widely used scuba diving helmet in the 1960s drowned Saturday in a boating accident near the mouth of the Mississippi River, authorities said.
George Swindell, an experienced offshore diver involved in early oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, drowned after he and two fishing partners were thrown overboard about 1 p.m. when their 20-foot boat capsized in choppy waters about five miles west of South Pass, said Scott Polk, a Plaquemines Parish coroner's investigator.
The other two men, George "Mark" Bezou, 60, of Kenner, and Charles Kennen, 58, of Gretna, clung to the overturned boat for more than an hour before they were rescued by members of a crewboat, Polk said.
The three men were returning from a fishing trip to the Seven Mile rigs when they encountered stiff winds and rough seas, Bezou said. The motor stalled as the boat began to take on water from 5-foot waves, he said. "I yelled, 'Grab your life jacket! We're sinking!' " said Bezou, who owns the Sunbird deep-sea boat. "We all ran to the side of the boat where the life jackets were kept, which caused the boat to flip and toss us into the water. "Kennen grabbed onto a hook attached to the overturned boat's hull. Bezou struggled to keep his head above water as Swindell grabbed him around the waist, the two survivors said in phone interviews Wednesday. "He kept pulling me under," Bezou said. "I went under so many times and swallowed so much water that I considered myself dead. "But he said Kennen reached out and pulled him to the boat with Swindell still hanging onto him. "I kept telling him to let go of me and grab the boat, " Bezou said. "Then he just sort of relaxed his grip and started floating away facedown in the water. "Bezou and Kennen said they thought Swindell had died of a heart attack and decided it was fruitless to risk death to go after him.
After rescuing Bezou and Kennen, members of the crewboat searched for Swindell and found him floating facedown in the water, unconscious. He was taken to the Coast Guard station in Venice, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, Polk said. Polk said the death has been preliminarily classified as an accidental drowning, pending results from toxicology tests. News that Swindell had drowned came as a shock to friends, who described him as an accomplished swimmer and diver. "For this to happen to such an experienced diver, it just doesn't add up," family friend George Dunn said, adding that Swindell was one of the original volunteer divers at the Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans. "He was getting up there in years. Maybe he had a heart attack. "Swindell became a licensed scuba instructor in 1954 and was foreman of a," Haupt said. "I took him to a diving convention in New Orleans about 10 years ago and it was like being with Bill Gates. Everyone was swarming around us trying to talk to him."While his invention was credited with reducing injuries and even saving lives, his friends found it ironic that something as simple as a life jacket could have saved his life. "We were a bunch of old fools out there without our life jackets," Bezou said. "It'll never happen again, but unfortunately it's too late for George."
A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Swindell enlisted in the military at age 15 after telling recruiters he was 18, Haupt said. He said Swindell's driver's license still lists his birth year as 1928, instead of the correct 1931."He said it was something he had to do. He had to serve his country," Haupt said. "He was a paratrooper in Germany. It turned out to be just one adventure in a remarkable, enormous life."

Swindell, Advanced, Beckman Diving Helmets
Initially designed and developed by George O. Swindell, the helmet was manufactured by the ‘Advanced Diving Equipment & Manufacturing Company’, a company founded by Swindell in Gretna, Louisiana USA. But in 1971 he sold his business to Beckman Instruments, Inc. in Fullerton CA 92634. At the end of 1973 Beckman sold the ‘Advanced’ helmet business to ‘Diver’s Exchange ( Divex ) It were the Divex ‘Advanced’ helmets which were supplied to the US Navy where the ‘Navy Experimental Diving Unit’ had started a program in 1970 to develop a combination air and helium-oxygen diving helmet that would be an improvement over the traditional MK5 air and helium-oxygen helmets. Part of this program was a series of evaluations of commercially available helmets. The result of the tests:

Evaluation of the Advanced ( Swindell ) Air Diving Helmet ( from NAVXDIVINGU REPORT 7-73 )

The Advanced ( formerly Swindell ) Series 2000 Model Open-Circuit Air Diving Helmet manufactured and distributed by the Diver’s Exchange, Inc of Harvey, LA was subject to evaluation testing at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit. The helmet was tested for sound levels and ventilation efficiency using specially built test manikins it was tested for diver comfort in a series of 36 manned dives. Since many of the testing methods used were new, a discussion of the procedures used as well as the results obtained is presented. The sound levels existing in the helmet were found to be into the damage risk levels under many of the conditions tested, but not so far as to preclude use of the system provided that appropriate precautions are taken.
The ventilation efficiency of the helmet was found to be generally adequate provided the air supply pressure is maintained at sufficient levels. The helmet was found to be comfortable for work rates up to and including moderate work.

Evaluation of the Advanced ( Swindell ) Helium-Oxygen Diving Helmet ( From NAVXDIVINGU REPORT 10-73 )

The Advanced ( formerly Swindell ) Model 3610 Mixed Gas Diving System manufactured and distributed by the Diver’s Exchange, Inc. of Harvy, LA was subject to evaluation testing at the Navy Experimental Diving Unit. The Model 3610 System consist primarily of a Model 3000 Mixed Gas Helmet used with a neckseal and a Model 3700 Back Pack Scrubber. The system was tested for sound levels and ventilation efficiency using specially built test manikins. It was tested for diver comfort in a series of 20 manned dives.
Since many of the testing methods used were new, a discussion of the procedures used as well as the results obtained is presented. The sound levels existing in the helmet were found to be into the damage risk levels under many of the conditions tested, but not so far as to preclude use of the system provided that appropriate precautions are taken. The ventilation efficiency of the system was found to be generally adequate for diving in the depth range of 0 to 300 fsw provided the gas supply pressure is maintained at sufficient levels.

The system was regarded by the divers as generally more comfortable then the standard USN He-O2 diving outfit. Nonetheless diver complaints of helmet and jock strap discomfort became common at work rates approximating moderate work.

Since 1988 Bob Johnson of Able Marine has supplied the Advanced 2000 air hat to commercial divers. In 1992 Bob bought the ‘Advanced’ helmet business from Divex and he currently builds and services the helmets in Coulterville Illinois 62237 USA. You can contact bob through his website: http://www.2000airhat.com/1.html The Swindell, Advanced, Beckman series 2000 Diving Helmet

Earlier Swindell helmets have a different design then the common ones, and when Beckman manufactured them the helmet was referred to as the ‘Beckman’ helmet but basically there are 2 versions and these are known as the ‘Model 2000 Air Helmet’ and the ‘Model 3000 Mixed Gas Helmet’. Both helmets could be provided with an optional commercial breastplate.

When Beckman was manufacturer, the helmet was referred to as the ‘Beckman’ helmet, not ‘Swindell’ or ‘Advanced’ helmet. Here above the ‘Beckman Air Helmet’ is shown. Even though I have not found any hard evidence ( yet ) it seems possible that the Mixed Gas version of this helmet ( shown here below ) was an initiative from the Beckman company. When Beckman bought the Swindell Advanced project in 1971 they were already building the ‘electrolung’ rebreathers.

The 2 illustrations here above show the Model 2000 Air Helmet ( left ) and the Model 3000 Mixed Gas Helmet ( right ) Both helmets could be equipped with a breastplate, the difference between them is the recirculator ports on the sides of the Model 3000 helmet.

The illustration here above left shows the Model 3700 Mixed Gas Scrubber Assembly. The illustration right shows the Model 3700 Scrubber Assembly on the Model 3000 Mixed Gas Helmet, as a set called the Model 3610 Mix Gas Diving System.

The illustration here above shows the Model 3780 Mixed Gas Scrubber Assembly with emergency Gas Breathing System.

NEW MINI - HAT Still in prototype stage. Modular design allows free flow, demand, rebreather, gas recovery or push pull systems - all with one helmet. Designed to be extremely quiet. Superb balance - light weight. Rugged design - simple to service. Choice of adjustable overpressure or double exhausts.
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