What Leonardo da Vinci invention let a person explore underwater using a breathing tube?

Leonardo da Vinci’s diving suit was a proposed underwater outfit using a breathing tube connected to the surface.

Leonardo developed the idea in the early 16th century while considering underwater military operations. His drawings show a diver wearing a suit with a mask and a tube extending upward. The tube was intended to supply air from above the water, while related equipment could help the diver remain submerged and move underwater.

The design is often associated with Venice, although the exact historical circumstances are uncertain. Leonardo worried that the apparatus could be used for sabotage, and he reportedly kept some details private. There is no reliable evidence that he built or tested the complete suit.

Leonardo’s concept was not a self-contained scuba system. A surface-connected breathing tube limits how far a diver can travel and creates practical problems such as keeping the airway open. Modern diving equipment uses compressed gas cylinders or supplied-air systems, developed centuries after Leonardo’s sketch.