1946 Cousteau Cylinders

[Bryan]

Saying these cylinders had an interesting journey to Ryan is an understatement......The real story is more like a Tom Clancy novel crossed with Wall Street I'm glad they ended up with someone I know.

From Ryan
Here is a beautiful set of La Spirotechnique tanks from 1946, the first year of production. It was reported to us that these tanks were purchased in France by American author Ernest Hemingway. We are looking for information and photos to further corroborate this history. All the pieces seem to align. I'm sure it was an interesting journey from the South of France to Ketcham Idaho. We are happy that they will be staying here with us in the Pacific Northwest.

[SurfLung]

- The two-tank connector yoke looks exactly like a Dacor that I got on Ebay. And the bottom ends look like additional valves. I wonder if there were any modifications done for use in the USA? I've never seen early Cousteau tanks up close like this. Thanks for sharing.

[gj1963]

Very interesting to see nice clear pictures of such a set. Thanks for posting.

[Bryan]

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[Sea Explorer]

These are interesting tanks. They are two independent single tanks manifolded together. This is why there is a lower reserve valve on both tanks. It is also interesting to note that each tank has a complete single tank harness. This is a difficult thing to see in the photos. If you look closely you will also see that one tank has a bushing and the other does not. There are also some variations in the machining of the tank necks. From what I know there were some evolutions/variations in these early first generation tanks. The variations in the regulators of the time are well documentented but finding samples of the tanks and harnesses from 1946 is challenging. These early tanks were painted while the later tanks were either anodized or chrome plated. I can do my best to answer questions. Thanks to Bryan for posting photos.

-Ryan Spence

[SurfLung]

- Thanks for the additional info. I didn't see the bushing nor that they were single harnesses. What an intriguing tank set... Probably mail ordered to the original purchaser who might have been thinking of multi-use. I wonder how he filled them... Maybe there's a compressor somewhere that was originally part of the set.
- I remember seeing metal tubes like fuel line on multiple tanks in some of the old Cousteau photos. The yoke on these may date them later do you think?