Maurice Fernez

Maurice Fernez (30 August 1885 – 31 January 1952) was a French inventor and pioneer in the field of underwater breathing apparatus, respirators and gas masks. He was pivotal in the transition of diving from the tethered diving helmet and suit of the nineteenth century to the free diving with self-contained equipment of the twentieth century. All Fernez invented apparatus were surface-supplied but his inventions, especially his mouthpiece equipped with a one-way valve, inspired the scuba diving pioneer Yves le Prieur. He was also a talented businessman who created a company to manufacture and sell the breathing apparatus he invented, and expanded its range of products to include gas masks, respirators and filters.

Invention of the Fernez Breathing Apparatus After a traumatic accident during childhood play when he was thrown into water and injured his foot, which left him with a lifelong limp, Fernez became fascinated with creating a device which would enable a swimmer to stay under water for a few minutes to help save drowning people. This should be a light and simple device which could be quickly put into action, unlike the heavy traditional equipment of diving suit and massive metal helmet. From 1905 Fernez experimented with devices for breathing underwater.

Fernez's first idea was a rubber balloon connected to the swimmer's mouth with a tube. The idea was that this would provide a reservoir of air which could be breathed in and out. But Fernez quickly realised that this worked for only two or three breaths. His next idea was to use a flexible rubber tube connecting the diver's mouth to an air intake on the surface supported by a float. Fernez registered a patent on this invention on 14 May 1912, which was granted on 22 July 1912. The swimmer's end of the tube had a T-shaped mouthpiece, one side connected to the air hose through a one-way (non-return) valve, the other side to an exhaust with a "duck bill" check valve. Fernez's idea was that the diver's normal inhalation would be sufficient to draw air down the tube through the one-way valve, and his exhalation to expel used air through the exhaust. with an air tank doing away with the need for the tube connecting the diver to the surface. Fernez accepted the offer enthusiastically. In 1933 le Prieur dropped all of the three Fernez patented features used on their co-invention (the goggles, the nose-clip and the one-way valve mouthpiece). He replaced them by a full face mask of his invention, directly air-supplied from the tank, so, as of 1933, all of le Prieur's subsequent patents used the mask and were called by the name of appareil Le Prieur ('Le Prieur apparatus').

The Fernez Company In 1912 Fernez set up a company to mass-produce his equipment, which was very successful because it was a fraction of the price of a traditional diving suit, and was also simple, compact, lightweight, easily portable and quick to put into operation - a few minutes compared to the half an hour a traditional helmet diver would take to get ready. The set of equipment was contained in a wooden box and weighed 12 kg, and cost 200 francs. It sold to many countries, and Fernez became so well known that he once received a letter addressed simply to "Monsieur Fernez - France".