Lt. Col. Craig

[ScubaLawyer]

I'm sure this book has been discussed here before but I just re-read Danger is My Business. Lots of fun stuff. My dad took me to a film festival in the late 60s and I had Lt. Col. Craig sign my copy of his 1938 book. Mark

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[antique diver]

You have met most everyone of note in the diving field!
I have that book too, but unfortunately not signed.

[ScubaLawyer]

You have met most everyone of note in the diving field!

Bill, I give you permission to tell people that you know me.

Did I mention my old dive buddy Buzz Aldrin?

Mark

[antique diver]

Dang... why don't you just write a book and autograph it for me?

[ScubaLawyer]

Dang... why don't you just write a book and autograph it for me?

Bill, I assure you I am only interesting in my own mind.

[antique diver]

That's OK. I'm a legend in my own mind.

[couv]

Great book-great read. J.D. Craig had a fantastic life before he wrote that book-and another one following it. My copy is unsigned too, but still a treasure.

FWIW if you have Netflix, there is a disc available with 3 episodes of his TV series also called Danger Is My Business.

[antique diver]

Great book-great read. J.D. Craig had a fantastic life before he wrote that book-and another one following it. My copy is unsigned too, but still a treasure.

FWIW if you have Netflix, there is a disc available with 3 episodes of his TV series also called Danger Is My Business.

I remember watching that show on TV, but don't remember any specific details. Must have been in the late 50's.

[antique diver]

There are some episodes on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-kw9xp36j4

[uwstlth]

I wish Catalina was still sleepy like in that muvie... it's a zoo now.

[ScubaLawyer]

I wish Catalina was still sleepy like in that muvie... it's a zoo now.

Avalon on a winter weekday when no cruise ships are in port is still pretty sleepy. Still not like the old days though. My mom spent summers in Avalon as a kid in the 1920s and 1930s. She always says her favorite pastime was diving off the Pleasure Pier for coins the tourists would toss over the side into the bay as the Great White Steamship docked. M

[Britmarine]

The images above illustrate two publications co-authored by John Craig and Morgan Degn. The first (1965) was pitched at the American diving book market, while the target audience of the second (1967) is British. Here is the back cover of the US original and the first inside page of the British edition:

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[couv]

Thanks David,

I have "Introduction......"too. Also unsigned

J.D. Craig was also instrumental in the founding of the commercial diving company DESCO.

[Britmarine]

Thanks David,
I have "Introduction......"too. Also unsigned
J.D. Craig was also instrumental in the founding of the commercial diving company DESCO.

Thank you for pointing out the connection between J. D. Craig and Desco. I wasn't aware of the association. I've since discovered an interesting page about Desco history now archived in the Internet Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org/web/20100323034 ... istory.htm. It has the following photo of John D. Craig:


The piece also contains the following text:

A History of DESCO and the people who created it.

Known to commercial divers throughout the world DESCO was first organized in 1937 as a Wisconsin corporation under the name of Diving Equipment and Salvage Co. Its organization was the result of several events, which occurred during the preceding years.

During the early 1930's, a Milwaukee diver, Max Gene Nohl, had received national publicity as the result of his salvage operations on a sunken steamship, the "John Dwight." This brought him to the attention of a Hollywood producer, Col. John D. Craig, who was interested in the possible salvage of the torpedoed Cunard liner, the "Lusitania," which lay in 312 feet of water off the Irish Coast. At that time, no equipment or reliable techniques were available for diving operations at such a depth, and it was obvious that such a project would require both physiological experimentation and an advance in diving equipment design.

Although no actual attempt was ever made to salvage the Lusitania, its challenge caused Nohl to join forces with two other Milwaukeeans. The first was Jack Browne who was also a diver. The second was Edgar End, M.D. of the Marquette University School of Medicine who was a pioneer in the new science of hyperbaric physiology and medicine.

Max Eugene Nohl born in Milwaukee in 1910 grew to become an engineer, inventor, adventurer, and diving pioneer. Surviving the (common among young divers of the time) tin bucket and garden hose stage he went on to The Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a degree in engineering. While at MIT he designed several diving related devices. His thesis was on the design of a self contained diving suit for deep diving. After MIT Max joined the Phillips Lord expedition and spent seven months in the Caribbean.

In June of 1935 Max had his sights set on the Prohibition rum runner John Dwight. He hoped to salvage the cargo and cash assumed to be onboard. The safe proved to be empty and seawater had entered the scotch which was ruined. As mentioned above this was the time Max made his connection to John D. Craig. Craig had won many awards for underwater photography so an association with Nohl was a natural fit. John Craig owned the film rights to the sunken Liner RMS Lusitania. Nohl had already been working on diving equipment to work at the Lusitania’s depth. Additional support equipment would need to be designed and built for the project. Nohl using the suit design from his thesis as a starting point began experimentation on building the necessary gear.