Historical diving
13- French legislation 1992 & MT92 tables
These regulations that were published by the French ministry of labour in 1992 have been reviewed in 2012 and 2019. However, the diving tables issued by COMEX SA under the name MT-92 have not been changed in the last revisions and are still among the best decompression models. This digital document was edited by INPP (Institut National de Plongee Professionelle) in 1998.
16 - US Navy manual revision 4
This document was published on the 20th of January 1999. Note that this revision was the 1st publishing of the US navy saturation procedures.
24 - US Navy manual revision 5
This document was published on the 15th of August 2005. It is an improvement of revision 4.
30 - US Navy manual revision 6
This document was published on the 15th of April 2008. It provides major reinforcements of the surface- orientated tables with also a new presentation still used in revision 7.
6 - French trimix tables
These trimix tables seem experimental and have not been officially published. The exact date of publication is not indicated on the document. However, we can consider that they have been tested between the end of the seventies and the beginning of the eighties.
14 - J. C. Le Pechon, J. P. Imbert, J. L. Pasquier: Les nouvelles tables de plongee du ministere du travail (1992)
Presentation of the tables MT 92 This document is in French
25 - Dutch decompression tables 2005
These tables have been replaced by a new version in 2014
18 - NORSOK standards - Manned underwater operations 1999.
This document has been produced to establish a single common standard for manned underwater operations in Norway. It is continued by the current NORSOK standards that can be downloaded through the page “Diving & ROV procedures”. Unfortunately, these standards are no more available for free.
39 - Norwegian diving and treatment tables - Fourth edition (2017)
This document contains tables for diving on air or nitrox and therapeutic recompression procedures for decompression illness and other ailments requiring hyperbaric treatment. It is replaced by revision five that can be downloaded for free through their website, which link is provided in“Diving & ROV procedures”.
32 - Brazillian Navy directorate of ports and coasts - NORMAM-15/DPC - 1st review (2011).
NORMAM-15/DPC procedures propose saturations and air diving procedures. The saturation procedures are a development of the COMEX procedures and are considered among the best ones for diving operations up to 350 m for which they have been specifically developed. These procedures are those selected in the “saturation diving handbook” Diving & ROV Specialists. They are also explained in the diving study #5 CCO Ltd, “Implement NORMAM-15/DPC saturation diving procedures”. Both documents are available in Documents/Documents Diving & ROV Specialists. Note that NORMAM-15 DPC is recommended by the Diving Medical Advisory Committee (DMAC) for deep saturation diving operations.
8 - COMEX - Medical book
This medical book was considerably in advance compared to other published manuals at the end of the seventies. Note that the majority of these guidelines are still valid. It is, for example, the case of the medical tables or the principle of preventive gas reserves, which was adopted in AODC 14 and then IMCA D 050.
22 - US Navy - Salvage report space shuttle columbia
This report was prepared to document the US navy’s searches for Space Shuttle Columbia debris in the lakes of East Texas. This report identifies the challenges, techniques, and science involved in developing the most effective search solutions. Reference USN: S0300-B5-RPT-010 Date of publication: September 2003
28 - US Navy salvage report hurricane Katrina and Rita
This report documents the efforts of the U.S. Navy to respond to the Katrina and Rita hurricanes' disasters in 2005 and provides information to responders of future, similar operations. Reference USN: S0800-AC-RPT-010 Date of publication: January 2007
31 - US Navy salvage report Deepwater Horizon oil spill response
This report documents the US Navy operations during 6 months of support to the Coast Guard, Department of Interior, and Department of Justice of the united states of America, following the oil spill from the Deep Water Horizon disaster. Reference USN: S0800-AC-RPT-010 Date of publication: November 2011
37 - Brazillian Navy directorate of ports and coasts - NORMAM-15/DPC - 2nd review (2016).
This document updates the previous procedures published in 2011. The saturation procedures remain untouched.
10 - Procedures and devices for underwater cleaning of civil works stuctures - US army corps of engineers
Author: Carmela A. Keeney This report summarizes underwater cleaning procedures and devices that are appropriate to use on civil works structures. It was prepared by the US Naval Civil Engineering Laboratory, which has conducted extensive tests and evaluations of underwater cleaning techniques for waterfront structures. The cleaning systems evaluated encompassed several different types that are characteristic of those that are commercially available. The application, advantages, disadvantages, and operation of each type of equipment are discussed. Note that most recommendations of this document are still applicable today.
7 - US Navy manual - Mixed gas diving manual - 1981
This document is an extract of the US Navy manual 1981 It is revision 1 of the US Navy mixed gas diving manual (Volume 2) published in 1961. (Note that the copy is not of very good quality. A better quality one should be welcome)
38 - The Little Story of the Underwater Cutting (2016)
Author: Francis Hermans This document chronologically relates to the inventions and practices that have allowed divers to cut underwater from the beginning of the diving industry.
9 - Evaluation of the kerie cable thermal cutting equipment
Aurthor: Susan j. Trukken This paper describes experimentations undertaken by the US Navy Experimental Diving Unit in April 1984 on the CLUCAS Underwater Kerie Cable thermal cutting equipment. The purpose of these tests was to verify US Navy procedures for setting up, use, and maintenance and evaluate the hazards and proper procedural corrections.
29 - USN - Guidance For Diving In Contaminated Waters - 2008
This US Navy guidance describes the types of water contaminations encountered and how to manage them. It is superseded by a new version published in 2019 that is now authorized for public release and is available on this website (see in “Diving and ROV procedures”. However, it is helpful to keep this version in mind for comparison purposes.s with also a new presentation still used in revision 7.
26 - U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation: Diving Safe Practices Manual - 2006
The US Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) conducts a variety of underwater inspection and maintenance programs that include the use of divers. In order to ensure employee safety and regulatory compliance, Reclamation has developed this Diving Safe Practices Manual (DSPM). This document is superseded by the version published in 2021.
12 - NOAA Diving manual 1991
NOAA Diving manual is edited by the USA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the US Department of Commerce. This document is the 3rd edition. It considered scuba an acceptable means of intervention for scientific and commercial diving. It was also the case in many countries during this period. This version did not discuss the Unit Pulmonary Toxic Dose (UPTD) tables.
20 - NOAA Diving manual 2001
This document is the 4th edition of the NOAA diving manual. There are a lot of useful information in this edition that has been replaced in 2015 and then in 2017 (sixth edition)
35 - North Sea Divers
Authors: Kristin Øye Gjerde and Helge Ryggvik This book, originally published in 2009, presents the history of diving in support of the oil industry on the Norwegian continental shelf.
5 - US Navy diving manual - March 1970
US Navy refrence: NAVSHIPS 0994-001-9010. This version of the US Navy Diving manual was 1st published in September 1969 and officially released in March 1970. (Document found on Google Books - Not available on the Navsea website)
3 - Notes on the “Laurentic” salvage operations and the prevention of compressed air illness
Author: G. C. C. Damant The "Laurentic" was a 15,000-ton Atlantic liner which, during the 1st world war, was taken over by the Admiralty and converted into an armed cruiser. She was sunk by a German mine in 1917 with five million pounds in her cargo. This book relates the recovery of this essential cargo and is a fantastic testimony to the techniques used during this period. Captain Damant was a friend of John Scott Haldane and was directly involved in the studies of the first decompression table.
15 - US Navy manual revision 3 - vol. 1 (air diving) - February 1993
Reference NAVSEA: 0927-LP-001-9110 This version of the US Navy manual did not provide saturation tables (It was also found on Google books - Not available on the Navsea website)
33 - French decree of 30 October 2012 intervention procedures for diving using air or nitrogen-based mixes.
This document is the 1st part of the french decree 2012, which was the 1st modification of the decree of May 1992 - Note that the decompression table MT 92 has not been modified. This document is in French
34 - Annex of the French decree of 30 October 2012 intervention procedures for diving using air or nitrogen-based mixes.
This document is the 2nd part of the French decree 2012, which was the 1st modification of the decree of May 1992 - Note that the decompression table MT 92 has not been modified. This document is in French
21 - Recovery operation of the submarine “Kursk”
Publisher: Mammoet - Smit international This document describes the planned operations for the recovery of the Kursk, a Russian submarine that sank in an accident on 12 August 2000 with 118 crew members. The wreck of the submarine was recovered by Mammoet - Smit international in 2001.
36 - Diving techniques in use by marine biologists before 1940 with emphasis on the Dutch contribution.
Authors: Godfried Van Moorsel, Floris P. Bennema. This paper deals with techniques in use before 1940 to observe marine life or collect specimens by hand in their natural sublittoral environment. It excludes atmospheric diving with devices such as submarines and bathysphere. Also, snorkeling gear or SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) is not treated. This is predominantly a post-WWII development; before 1940, it was impossible to construct fitting facemasks, and fins were not yet commercially available.
23 - US Navy salvors’ handbook - Rev. 2004
This document, Published in 2004, has been replaced by revision 2 in 2021. it provides useful information regarding calculations and relevant practices regarding the organization of the rigging, the pumping procedures, and other necessary activities to save or recover a ship. As for the documents above, the guidelines it provides can be used for other works than ship salvage.
27 - US Navy salvage manual volume 1 - strandings and harbor clearance rev 2006
This document provides basic knowledge of naval architecture and its application to marine salvage. It was 1st published in 1989, and updated in 2006. It has been replaced by a new edition in 2013. It can be compared with the latest edition to understand the changes made by the us Navy.
1 - Report of a committee appointed by the lord commissioners of the admiralty to consider and report upon the conditions of deep water diving
Published by the British Admiralty in 1907 This book is to be considered the 1st diving manual based on Haldane’s tables. It corresponds to the order made to John Scott Haldane by the British admiralty for designing safe decompression procedures, allowing the Royal Navy divers to dive deeper than previously. Many texts are extracted from the document “The prevention of decompression illness”, the scientific paper related to the experiments that resulted in the 1st decompression table. In addition, improvements in diving equipment resulting from the test dives made by Captain Damant and Gunner Cato are explained.
2 - US Navy Department - Diving manual July 1916
The US Navy Diving Manual 1916 was the 1st document integrating Haldane’s decompression tables. While they will be modified later, this edition integrated them without modifications. As the US Navy manuals of today, this document was very rich in information. Copies of this manual are today rare, and we struggled to find one. This one has been digitalized by "Google Books".
4 - US Navy Department bureau of ships - Diving manual 1943
This manual was published to supersede the 1924 manual and covered all aspects of US Navy diving at the time, including diving on Heliox mixtures. Note that the air tables were already a modification of those published by Haldane and the British admiralty in 1907. Likethe 1916 edition, this book is scarce. This one comes from the University of Michigan and has been digitalized by Google Books
11 - Proceedings of dive computer workshop
Publisher: The American academy of underwater sciences This workshop was held in 1988. Thus, these proceedings have to be considered with the technology available at this time. Remember that the computers were far from having the power and the integration of today’s ones.
17 - A brief history of diving and decompression illness
Publisher: South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society [SPUMS] This document provides key dates of the history of diving systems and related scientific discoveries from 4500 BC to 1990.
19 - The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine - A concise history
Author: Leslie Collier This book relates the history of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, where Haldane’s research on creating the first decompression table was performed. Much other scientific research has been done on its premises later on.