The company founder Roberto Galeazzi was bon in livorno in 1882. Galeazzi’s went in to the construction business in the nineteen thirties. The first diving helmet he manufactured he called the ‘Marina’, this is also the most common Galeazzi helmet. ( in fact this helmet is still being manufactured today ) The name ‘Marina’ was given to this helmet because Galeazzi used the official navy drawings to build it, drawings which the navy supplied to all helmet makers in 1905 to create a ‘standard’. The navy calls this helmet the ‘Modello 1905’ ...
Roberto Galeazzi, La Spezia
The Galeazzi helmet ‘Modello Marina’ aka the ‘Modello 1905’. This helmet I bought in Spain in april 2010. On my way to a diving helmet collecting friend who lives there at the coast I crossed a small town at less then 20 minutes from his place. Driving out of the town center I passed by an antiques shop. With 50 km’s per hour I looked through the open door and saw something ‘looking much like a divers helmet’ standing under a table inside the shop. I had to search to find a parking place, run back to the shop to discover this fine Galeazzi helmet. I reached under the table to take a look at a paper tag which was tied to one of the small eyes on top of it and since it was marked €850 I thought that it was either a number or that someone made a mistake. I went to the shop owner and asked if the 850 was the price. I was given a complete speech about how rare these helmets are nowadays and that this beautiful piece came from the port of Barcelona etc. etc. and that the 850 was not negotiable(!) But that the old wooden stand where it was displayed on was included in the sale ... No need to say that this helmet now is part of my collection ...
The Galeazzi ‘Marina’ / Modello 1905 helmet
The Galeazzi ‘Gran Luce’ Helmet
The Galeazzi helmet Modello ‘Gran Luce’. A pleasure to dive in the clear mediterranean or Adriatic waters when having the visibility of this huge face plate. This helmet I found in Italy 4 years ago.
The Galeazzi ‘3 bolt’ Helmet
The Galeazzi 3 bolt helmet is with no doubt the rarest of them all. The exact history of this helmet is not known(*) but since the edge of the breastplate which usually holds the 12 studs has never been drilled to hold the studs this must be a genuine Galeazzi product. (* see update directly below )
The Galeazzi ‘Titano’ helmet.
The Galeazzi ‘Titano’ helmet has an interesting design. Instead of the common quarter turn interrupted threaded neck rings on the bonnet and breastplate this helmet is simply placed on the breast plate and then screwed to it with a brass ring which passes over the outside.
The Galeazzi ‘PGB’ helium / oxygen helmet.
Another rare helmet: the Galeazzi PGB deep diving helmet. Initially only 2 of these helmets were build in 1950 after a cooperation of Pirelly, Galeazzi and Belloni ( PGB helmet ) This helmet was specially designed for deep diving on a Helium Oxygen mixture. Diving on this gas is expensive so a modification was made to the helmet to reduce the volume of gas needed for the diving. Even though other manufacturers were using rebreather systems based on the Draeger injector operated venturi, this Galeazzi helmet was equipped with a demand valve and exhaust valve. So even though it was consuming less gas then a free flow helmet it was still using a lot more gas then a recirculating helmet which was equipped with a rebreather system. That is probably the reason why only 2 were built at the time. Currently these helmets are being re produced with Galeazzi where you can order them, contact: abartoli73@gmail.com
The Galeazzi ‘Marina’ and ‘Titano’ Helmet, with 12, 6 or 3 bolts
In August 2012 I was lucky enough to be given 2 old sales documents from Galeazzi, and one of these documents solves the mystery of the 3 bolt helmet. According to this document ( above ) which is written in french, Roberto Galeazzi made both the ‘Marina’ helmet and the ‘Titano’ helmet in 3 versions: the standard 12 bolt, a 6 bolt and a 3 bolt version(!) It is hard to imagine how a ‘Titano’ helmet would function with a 3 bolt neck ring, that seems impossible. But it does confirm that the 3 bolt helmet at the photograph above must be a genuine Galeazzi helmet. Do you have photographs of a Galeazzi 6 bolt helmet, either a ‘Marina’ or a ‘Titano’ then please send them to the index. Thanks.
‘DiveScrap’Index
the scrapbook of diving history
While attending the 2013 Historical Diving Meeting in Neustadt, Germany I had a chat with Giancarlo Bartoli from La Spezia Italy. His son Andrea builds the new Galeazzi helmets there. Giancarlo had brought 2 ‘new’ versions of the Galeazzi helmet. The first one is an interesting ‘poor man’s’ version of the Marina helmet. This helmet was once built at special order by italian divers who could not afford or did not want to pay for the standard Galeazzi diving helmet. The helmet is basically identical to the Marina helmet except that it has less parts built on to it: the helmet has no air-ducts inside ( according to Giancarlo the divers who used these helmets in the early nineteen fifties used a piece of carton inside the helmet to keep the air from blowing against their neck ) Neither does the helmet have fittings for communications, nor studs at the breastplate to attach weights to it. Also today the price of this model is a lot lower then what a standard Marina helmet costs, the actual price can be requested from: abartoli73@gmail.com
2013. 2 ‘new’ Galeazzi helmets: the ‘Poor Man’s Galeazzi’
A ‘poor man’s Galeazzi’ displayed at the Historical Divers Meeting in Neustadt, Germany in June 2013. Photographs David L.Dekker
The second helmet which was introduced at the meeting in Germany is a ‘4 light’ version of the Marina helmet. This helmet is also basically a ‘Marina’ helmet but with the difference that it has a top light, and it has no studs to attach weights to at the breastplate. This helmet can be ordered from Galeazzi now, the actual price can be requested from: abartoli73@gmail.com
2013. 2 ‘new’ Galeazzi helmets: the ‘4 light Galeazzi’
A ‘4 light Galeazzi’ displayed at the Historical Divers Meeting in Neustadt, Germany in June 2013. Photographs David L.Dekker
