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Divers in suits on board HMS Reclaim
Photograph featuring two divers in canvas suits, both with their diving helmets off. The diver on the left is holding his diving helmet on his lap. Two sailors are standing behind them. Until the start of the Second World War, navy diving was limited almost solely to that of clearance diving i.e. the clearance of underwater obstacles and the making of repairs using the traditional canvas suit and copper helmet with an air hose to the surface. All divers worked for the admiralty or salvage contractors.
