DESCO Abalone Divers Helmet

The DESCO "Lightweight" series of helmets are of the same materials and constructions as their heavier brothers. They have considerably less weight and volume than the "heavies". All share the Lightweight (Sponge) pattern breastplate and top shell, with modifications to suit varying customer and market demands.

The Abalone Divers Helmet features a Mark V style double spring adjustable tension exhaust valve. All windows have guards secured by screws. Breastplate loops are standard. The non-return is integrated into the air inlet elbow. Communications is optional. Helmet is available in Tin plated or polished finish. Shipping weight approximately 39 lbs.

Options for lightweight helmets:

Communications system Cat. No. 21300
Spitcock P/N 29035
Breastplate loops P/N 21149 (standard on Abalone)

Helmet shown with optional features.

In 1997 DESCO in cooperation with The Historical Diving Society produced twenty 60th Anniversary Abalone Diving Helmets. Each helmet bears a numbered Sterling Silver breastplate tag and bas relief helmet tags on the brailes.

History

The Abalone and Agar helmets have caused us some confusion over the years. We have old photos of the Abalone taken in July of 1946 with a single spring exhaust on a banana tube like the Mark V. In our Agar photo file we have photos of a helmet with Abalone windows and what we call an Agar exhaust valve. The nametag also has Abalone stamped in the model box. Just to muddy the waters another photo shows what we would recognize as a Abalone (substituting a Mark V exhaust) but the tag is stamped Agar.

Abalone Abalone Agar 1967 catalog page

photo dated 1-46 photo dated 1-46 photo of back dated 7-46

The 1945 pricelist shows the Sponge and the Abalone helmets. The Sponge was $220.00 and the Abalone was $242.50. All you collectors can begin to weep now if you like. There is no listing for the Agar helmet. In the 45 catalog they show the Sponge helmet and list it as a Sponge, Pearl, and Abalone Diver's helmet. This was at the end of the war. The diving market was facing the prospect of a glut of surplus military gear flooding the marketplace. We believe there was tinkering going on to hit upon the best combination of features to appeal to diverse diving applications. DESCO didn't produce a new catalog between 1946 and 1957. The 1957 catalog didn't even mention the lightweight helmets. In the mid 1960s before the Fifields bought the company DESCO published a four brochure which did list the lightweight helmets "Lightweight Helmets - Three models - Sponge Divers, Agar Divers, and Abalone Divers. The first catalog published by DESCO after Mr. Fifield bought the company devoted a full page to the Lightweight helmets. It gave good descriptions of each model (less so the Agar). The Abalone photo used was the old file photo with the single spring exhaust valve on the banana body. It didn't quite jibe with the text but you would have to be fairly knowledgeable and sharp eyed to catch it. We cannot say positively when someone pronounced "this is a Abalone helmet, and this is a Agar helmet".

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