DESCO is an underwater diving

Underwater diving

Underwater diving is the practice of going underwater, either with breathing apparatus or by breath-holding .Recreational diving is a popular activity...

 equipment maker which was first organized in 1937 in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 in the USA as Diving Equipment and Salvage Co.

It was founded by:-

• Max Gene Nohl, a diver who lived in Milwaukee. In the early 1930s he had national publicity for his salvage
  Marine salvage
  Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
  
   operations on a sunken steamship, the "John Dwight".
• Col. John D. Craig, a Hollywood movie producer, a pioneer in underwater photography, who wanted to film the possible salvage of the RMS Lusitania
  RMS Lusitania
  RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner designed by Leonard Peskett and built by John Brown and Company of Clydebank, Scotland. The ship entered passenger service with the Cunard Line on 26 August 1907 and continued on the line's heavily-traveled passenger service between Liverpool, England and New...
  
  .
• Jack Browne, a diver.
• Edgar End, M.D., a pioneer in hyperbaric medicine.

Browne and Nohl designed a lightweight heliox

Heliox

Heliox is a breathing gas composed of a mixture of helium and oxygen .Heliox has been used medically since the 1930s, and although the medical community adopted it initially to alleviate symptoms of upper airway obstruction, its range of medical uses has since expanded greatly, mostly because of...

 diving suit

Diving suit

A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit typically also incorporates an air-supply .-History:...

.

On December 1, 1937 in Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...

, Max Nohl dived to 420 feet with DESCO equipment, breaking the previous record of 344 feet set by British divers in 1930.

In World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 DESCO made hardhat

Standard diving dress

A standard diving dress consists of a metallic diving helmet, an airline or hose from a surface supplied diving air pump, a canvas diving suit, diving knife and boots...

 diving gear and oxygen rebreather

Rebreather

A rebreather is a type of breathing set that provides a breathing gas containing oxygen and recycled exhaled gas. This recycling reduces the volume of breathing gas used, making a rebreather lighter and more compact than an open-circuit breathing set for the same duration in environments where...

s for the US Navy. DESCO continues in business in Milwaukee, WI. They produce 14 models of diving helmets, and related diving gear, and are representatives for Hunter Drysuits, Composite Beat Engel DeepSea helmets, and Broco Welding.

The DESCO "air hat," introduced in 1968, is still manufactured and is popular among air divers and particularly those working in contaminated environments; its free-flow, positive-pressure design affords an extra safety margin when contaminants are present. When compared with demand helmets, the air hat is simple and inexpensive to operate and maintain.

External links

• http://www.divingheritage.com/descokern.htm
• http://www.descocorp.com (information site)