Leonardo da Vinci’s diving suit was intended to allow a diver to breathe underwater.
Leonardo sketched a diving apparatus during the early 16th century, probably in connection with plans for underwater military operations. The design included a mask, breathing tubes, and a container intended to supply air to a submerged diver.
The concept is often described as an early scuba or diving-suit design, but it was not the same as modern scuba equipment. Leonardo’s system depended on surface-connected tubes or stored air, and there is no firm evidence that he built or tested it successfully.
Leonardo also considered practical problems such as buoyancy, visibility, and the need for a diver to work underwater. Some popular accounts exaggerate the design as a fully operational invention. The secure historical point is that his notebooks contain a detailed early proposal for underwater breathing equipment.