Boatman, Inc.

In 1975 Marvin C. Boatman of ‘Boatman Incorporated’ from Houston Texas patented his ‘Armet F.R.S. 1000’ diving helmet. The name ‘Armet’ comes from 15th century knights helmet from the south of Europe, even though the knights version was built out of 4 parts, covering the knights head, the ‘Armet’ diving helmet from Boatsman was built from 2 parts but it also covered the wearers head entirely. The helmet had a hinged faceplate which was rather a complete mask, a lot like the Kirby Morgan ‘Clamshell’ helmet. Also it had a smaller volume and was lighter then other helmets on the market at the time. In 1979 the US Navy tested the helmet. Even though the helmet met all Navy specifications it was not adopted because the Navy already used the USN MK I Mod O Mask back then.

‘DiveScrap’Index

the scrapbook of diving history