The underwater invention Leonardo da Vinci described for enabling a diver to breathe below the surface was a diving suit.
Leonardo’s notes from the early sixteenth century include a design for an underwater breathing apparatus. The concept used a full suit connected to the surface by breathing tubes, allowing a person to remain underwater while air was supplied from above. It also included features intended to help the diver see and move underwater.
The design is sometimes described as a precursor to modern diving equipment, but it was not the same as a self-contained scuba set. Modern scuba equipment carries compressed breathing gas, whereas Leonardo’s concept depended on a surface connection. The design’s practical operation would also have faced serious problems involving air pressure, tube collapse, and carbon-dioxide buildup.
Leonardo may have imagined military or engineering uses, including underwater work near enemy ships. The surviving notes show that he understood several challenges of underwater exploration, even though there is no firm evidence that he built and tested the suit.