Cousteau-Gagnan Demand Valve (Aqua-Lung) 1943

[Arturo]

Aqua-Lung was the original English name of the first open-circuit, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (or "SCUBA") to reach worldwide popularity and commercial success. This class of equipment is now commonly referred to as a diving regulator or demand valve. The Aqua-Lung was invented in Paris during the winter of 1942–1943 by two Frenchmen; the engineer Émile Gagnan and Naval Lieutenant ("lieutenant de vaisseau") Jacques Cousteau.

On the stamp depicted a diver with aqualung and ferry SS Stella sank in 1899. For more info about Stella See Topic: “Stella” by shipstamps and John Sefton.

For centuries human beings have been fascinated with the concept of being able to “breathe” underwater while exploring the deep blue sea. After years of somewhat crude inventions ranging from goggles to snorkels to “diving bells,” technology began to advance and inventors devised equipments. Christian Lambertson designed a breathing system for the U.S. military in 1939. Lambertson’s system, designed for the miltary’s SCUBA program (for “Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus)” was somewhat successful, but divers were injured or killed frequently from oxygen toxicity.

Shortly thereafter, in 1943, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan invented a system that would revolutionize the world of deep-sea exploration and push diving into the mainstream, allowing people around the world to become exposed to a magical oceanic wilderness they had been unable to experience before. The system is known as the “Aqua-lung.”

Cousteau was born June 11, 1910, in Saint-Andre-de-Cubzac, France, near Bordeaux. He was well-traveled thanks to his lawyer-father, who moved often and took his family with him on frequent trips. Cousteau was a restless student but an avid swimmer with an interest in film and natural technical ability. In 1930, he was admitted to France's Naval Academy. He served in the navy and later entered naval aviation school, but after a car accident at age 26 he was transferred to sea duty and began a rigorous swimming program to regain strength in his arms.

During World War II, he served as a spy for the French Resistance and was decorated with the Legion of Honor at the war’s conclusion. Meanwhile he pursued an interest in sea exploration and managed to make several underwater films during wartime. He also met fellow Frenchman and engineer Emile Gagnan, with whom he collaborated on creating a machine that he hoped would turn him into somewhat of a “man-fish” underseas. Oxygen and air-pressure regulation, he knew, would be key.

Emile Gagnan was born in Burgoyne, France, in 1900. He earned a technical degree and began working as an engineer for L’aire Liquide, with specialization in high-pressure pneumatic design. With Cousteau he began working to create a demand-valve for what was to become the Aqua-lung system. A similar type of valve had been used in gas-generator engines and Gagnan imagined it would also be useful in regulating air supply in a variable pressure environment. His theory was correct, and this valve would be a central component of the Aqua-lung’s demand regulator, which adjusts air pressure automatically and supplies air as a diver needs it, so that air pressure inside a diver’s lungs match the pressure of the water. This would prove a critical and groundbreaking safety feature.

After a few unsuccessful attempts, Cousteau and Gagnan perfected a device that was incredibly safe, reliable and easy to use. This would change the diving scene forever. The Aqua-lung was first sold in France in 1946. By 1951, Aqua-lung systems were being sold in England and in Canada. U.S. distribution rights were acquired in l952 and U.S. Divers launched to great success. Air Liquide, a French company, bought U.S. Divers in 1958 and changed the name to Aqua Lung America, which became part of Aqua Lung International, established by Air Liquide in 1988 and now the world’s largest diving company. The Aqua-lung system is now part of virtually every set of modern SCUBA gear in the world, with thousands upon thousands of units sold, and recreational scuba diving has become an international phenomenon.

Alderney 1998, S.G.?, Scott: ?

Source: http://www.reefscuba.com/inventors.htm

Source: Cousteau.org

Source: Aqualung Corporate Website

Source: Canadian Geographic Magazine Article