Vintage Double Hose

I just got a Submarine Products Ltd. "Black prince" regulator with a metal mouthpiece that appears to come from Heinke - I doubt that the mouthpiece is original.

What is interesting is this appears to be the OEM of the Cavalero & Cie "Champion", since with the exception of the mouthpiece and the printing on the label they look identical.

Does anybody know anything about either the Submarine Products Ltd. "Black prince" or the Cavalero & Cie "Champion"? If I get a chance I'll post pictures of my Black prince in the next few days.

Michael

The Black Prince was the last of the Submarine Products double hose regulators. (Twin hose, if you are British, and the Black Prince is British.) The others were: Sea Lion, Sealion II, Super Sealion, and the Atlantis. All were single stage and made of brass. The Black Prince was plastic.

To be correct the Black Prince should have a plastic mouth piece. The earliest Submarine Products Sealion had a metal mouth piece, and also had small non-return valves. Snorkel valves can be used to replace them, but the cart wheels have to be drilled out for the larger stems. The first Heinke 'horn', the MkI, also had a metal mouth piece, so your metal mouth piece could be either one. Without seeing it, it may even come from a La Spirotecnique Mistral or even an early Aqua Lung. Like most Submarine Products, breathing with the Black Prince was difficult. However it was reliable and did not deserve the nickname 'black death' it was given.

The Black Prince was sold by Cavalero with their own label on it, but it was the same, to the best of my knowledge. I have never disassembled a Cavalero and I gave my Black Prince to a friend, so I can't go back and look.

I hope that helps.