Heinke was a series of companies that made

diving equipment Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers to make diving activities possible, easier, safer and/or more comfortable. This may be equipment primarily intended for this purpose, or equipment intended for other purposes which is found ...

in London, run by members of a Heinke family.

Timeline

Heinke Hans Hass Diving Mask and Snorkel Tube

*1786: Gotthilf Frederick Heinke was born in Messeritz, Prussia.: He arrived in London in 1809 and worked initially as a

victualler A victualler is traditionally a person who supplies food, beverages and other provisions for the crew of a vessel at sea. There are a number of other more particular uses of the term, such as: * The official supplier of food to the Royal Navy in ...

to build up capital *1812: He married Sarah Smith, who bore him three sons and two daughters. *1816: John William Heinke (son of Gotthilf Frederick) born. *1818: Gotthilf Frederick Heinke opened an ironmongery shop business in London. *1818: Charles Edwin Heinke (son of Gotthilf Frederick) born. *1819: Gotthilf Frederick Heinke got a workshop at 103

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street in the West End of London links Oxford Street with Albany Street and the A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. A commercial street including some embassies, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the west. ...

in London since 1819. *1820: Gotthilf Henry Heinke (son of Gotthilf Frederick) born. *1839: Gotthilf Frederick Heinke opened a second premises at 3

Old Jewry Old Jewry is a one-way street in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It is located within Coleman Street ward and links Poultry to Gresham Street. The street now contains mainly offices for financial companies. The ...

, London. *1840: John William Heinke married Louisa Margaret Leathart.

Start of making diving helmets

*1844: Around then Charles Edwin Heinke made his first diving helmet. Inspired by William F. Saddler, Heinke started using solid

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

for diving helmets'

breastplate A breastplate or chestplate is a device worn over the torso to protect it from injury, as an item of religious significance, or as an item of status. A breastplate is sometimes worn by mythological beings as a distinctive item of clothing. It is ...

s, instead of copper sheet. Heinke's diving helmets had three similarly-shaped circular windows. They did not have the outer protective grills as in other helmets; thus they had better visibility for divers, and it was easier to keep the windows clean. Heinke's main competitor was

Siebe Gorman Siebe Gorman & Company Ltd was a British company that developed diving equipment and breathing equipment and worked on commercial diving and marine salvage projects. The company advertised itself as 'Submarine Engineers'. It was founded by Au ...

who also made diving helmets, and Heinke constantly tried to improve on designs. He introduced an additional exhaust valve on the front side of the breastplate, which is now called the "peppermill" because of the holes in its cover. This exhaust made it possible for the diver to ascend and descend much faster. *1845: He brought in the "Pearler" helmet, with a square-pattern mould-cast (instead of oval and beaten) copper helmet. He became famous with this style. Their square breastplate made it easier for the diver to bend forwards to look for

pearl oyster ''Pinctada'' is a genus of saltwater oysters, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Pteriidae. These pearl oysters have a strong inner shell layer composed of nacre, also known as "mother of pearl". Pearl oysters are not closely related to e ...

s on the seabed. The idea was later copied by companies such as Siebe after Siebe took over Heinke, and even by

Morse Diving Morse Diving was an American manufacturer of diving equipment Diving equipment is equipment used by underwater divers to make diving activities possible, easier, safer and/or more comfortable. This may be equipment primarily intended for this ...

in the USA. *1858: Around then the addresses in Great Portland Street were renumbered: 103 became 79. *1852: Starting then, William Robert Foster and others ran a firm 'Foster and Williams' supplying

diving dress Standard diving dress, also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, deep sea diving suit or heavy gear, is a type of diving suit that was formerly used for all relatively deep underwater work that required more than breath-hold duration, which ...

es and air hose at 87 Grange Road,

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham ...

, London. *1858: Gotthilf Frederick Heinke applied for British citizenship, and was granted it. *1863: Some members of the Heinke family (including Frederick William Heinke (son of John William Heinke) started a firm "Heinke Brothers", 78-78

, London, "Submarine Engineers"; that firm lasted until 1867. *1869: Charles Edwin Heinke died after being in ill-health for 2–3 years *1870: John William Heinke died from

congestion of the liver Congestive hepatopathy, is liver dysfunction due to venous congestion, usually due to congestive heart failure. The gross pathological appearance of a liver affected by chronic passive congestion is "speckled" like a grated nutmeg kernel; the dar ...

after an 11-month illness. These two deaths disorganized company business. *1871: Frederick William Heinke and one William Griffin Davis AICE formed a new firm 'Heinke & Davis' at 176

, London. It moved to 2 Brabant Court, Philpot Lane, London. It was bankrupt by January 1879. *1871: Gotthilf Frederick Heinke died *1871: Gotthilf Henry Heinke became a sleeping partner in the business and took on a partner William Foster to manage the business; they started a new business 'C.E.Heinke & Co, Submarine Engineers'. *1880: Frederick William Heinke was forced to seek work in North America, but died of a fever in 1883 in Tecomabaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. *1884: Gotthilf Henry Heinke retired for ill health, and sold his company to William Foster and Robert Fox (his brother in law) who had also become involved in the business, but continued to live on the upper floor of 79 Great Portland Street till his death in 1899

20th century

*1902: Robert Fox died. 'Foster and Williams' was merged into 'C.E.Heinke & Co, Submarine Engineers'. *1904: The lease on Great Portland Street expired. Production was moved to Foster and Williams's premises. *1905: The company got 10,000 more square feet of work area. *1905: All Heinke helmets made until 1905 had the butterfly style wingnuts; after that regular wingnuts were used. *1922: C.E.Heinke & Co, Submarine Engineers became a limited company 'C.E.Heinke & Co Ltd, Submarine Engineers', making a good living from

standard diving Standard diving dress, also known as hard-hat or copper hat equipment, deep sea diving suit or heavy gear, is a type of diving suit that was formerly used for all relatively deep underwater work that required more than breath-hold duration, which ...

equipment.

WWII and after

*WWII blitz: Many company records were lost. *1950: After this date the firm's fortunes declined, as with

. *Mid to late 1950s: the firm starts making "Heinke-Lung" aqualungs, Delta

dry suit A dry suit or drysuit provides the wearer with environmental protection by way of thermal insulation and exclusion of water, and is worn by divers, boaters, water sports enthusiasts, and others who work or play in or near cold or contaminated ...

s, Dolphin and Falla

wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. It ...

s, Hans Hass

diving mask Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

s, swimming fins and snorkel tubes. *1958: Heinke donated the Heinke Trophy to the

British Sub-Aqua Club The British Sub-Aqua Club or BSAC has been recognised since 1954 by UK Sport as the national governing body of recreational diving in the United Kingdom. The club was founded in 1953 and at its peak in the mid-1990s had over 50,000 members d ...

(BSAC). This trophy is awarded annually to the BSAC branch judged to have done the most to further the interests of its own members and of the BSAC. *1961: The firm was incorporated into

. The last Heinke diving helmet went out of production in 1961. A few helmets were given the tag of "Siebe-Heinke", but eventually the name Heinke completely disappeared. *1967-1968: Siebe Gorman stops using the tradename 'Siebe Heinke'. Unlike Siebe Gorman, who had only one series of serial numbers for their diving helmets, except for the last productions (which were meant most probably for the Russian Navy), Heinke used many series of serial numbers for them. Recent discovery: A fisher in southern sea of Myanmar recently claimed discovery a right side of diving shoe labeled G. F. Heinke 42 ft deep in the sea, early September of 2022. It weighs about 5 kgs and is 13 ft long.

References

External links

HeinkeC.E.HeinkeLink to early 1950s advertisement for a Heinke-Lung (aqualung made by HeinkeSimilar
with

Hans Hass Hans Hass (23 January 1919 – 16 June 2013) was an Austrian biologist and underwater diving pioneer. He was known mainly for being among the first scientists to popularise coral reefs, stingrays, octopuses and sharks. He pioneered the making o ...

and

Lotte Hass Lotte Hass (born Charlotte Hildegard Baierl; 6 November 1928 – 14 January 2015 (age 86)) was an Austrian underwater diver, model and actress. She was the second wife of the Austrian naturalist and diving pioneer Hans Hass (1919–2013), and work ...

Heinke LungsHeinke Dolphin WetsuitHeinke Delta Dry SuitHeinke Falla Wetsuit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heinke, Charles Diving equipment manufacturers Diving engineering Defunct companies of the United Kingdom Manufacturing companies based in London Underwater diving in the United Kingdom