Leonardo da Vinci designed a diving suit for people working underwater.
His sixteenth-century concept included a leather suit, a mask, and breathing tubes connected to a floating structure on the surface. The design was associated with military operations and the possibility of allowing divers to approach enemy ships unseen. Leonardo also considered practical details such as keeping water out and supplying air.
The apparatus was not scuba equipment in the modern sense. It did not use a compressed-air cylinder carried by the diver, and its surface-connected breathing arrangement created serious limitations. Some accounts of Leonardo’s project also mention a storage bag for urine, reflecting his attempt to think through long underwater use.
Leonardo’s diving suit belongs to a broader group of designs for military engineering and water management. It should not be confused with his submarine concepts, which were separate ideas for underwater vessels rather than wearable equipment.