Leonardo da Vinci designed a diving suit for underwater exploration.
His early sixteenth-century concept included a leather suit, a mask, and breathing tubes connected to the surface. The tubes were supported by cane or bamboo and were intended to let the diver breathe while working below the water. Leonardo also included a collecting bag for bodily waste, showing that he considered the practical needs of a diver who might remain submerged for some time.
The design was associated with a proposed military use near Venice, where divers could damage enemy ships. Leonardo worried that people might use the apparatus for secret sabotage, so he did not widely publish the idea during his lifetime. It was not a modern self-contained scuba system: it depended on air from the surface and offered no reliable protection against pressure at great depth. The concept nevertheless anticipates several elements of later diving equipment.