Leonardo da Vinci’s diving suit was a wearable apparatus designed to let a diver breathe underwater.
Leonardo described the suit in the early sixteenth century while considering methods for underwater operations. His design included a mask, breathing tubes, and a system intended to keep the diver supplied with air. Some versions associated with his notes also include a bag for collecting exhaled air or managing buoyancy.
The proposal was connected to military and engineering ideas, including the possibility of approaching enemy ships underwater. Leonardo kept aspects of the project secret in his notes because he feared that underwater combat could be abused.
It was not a modern scuba system. Long breathing tubes would have created serious problems with air pressure and water flow, and the suit’s practical performance remains uncertain. Nevertheless, the drawing is an important early example of a self-contained concept for underwater breathing.