Leonardo da Vinci’s early diving suit aimed to let a diver breathe underwater.
In notes usually dated to the early sixteenth century, Leonardo described equipment for underwater operations. His concept included a mask, breathing tubes, and a system intended to supply air to a submerged person. The design is often associated with military or salvage work, although the surviving drawings and descriptions do not prove that Leonardo built or tested a complete suit.
Modern divers use compressed-gas cylinders, regulators, and carefully engineered buoyancy equipment. Leonardo’s proposal was therefore an important conceptual step, but it was not a self-contained modern scuba system. The pipes and air arrangements in illustrations are also sometimes mistaken for a fully working rebreather. His wider studies of hydraulics and anatomy helped him think about underwater movement, pressure, and the practical problems of operating below the surface.