Leonardo da Vinci designed a diving suit for underwater exploration. His concept included a mask, breathing tubes, and a means of supplying air to a diver below the surface.
The design appears in Leonardo’s studies of water and underwater movement, produced during the Renaissance when military engineers and inventors were interested in harbor defenses. Some accounts connect the idea with plans for covert underwater activity near enemy ships, although the practical historical use of the suit is uncertain.
Leonardo’s design should not be confused with a modern scuba suit. It lacked the compact compressed-air cylinders, regulators, and materials that made twentieth-century scuba diving practical. The concept is nevertheless notable because it anticipated several basic elements of later diving equipment, including a face covering and an air supply routed from above the water.