Template:POTD protected/2007-11-20

Divers preparing to recover bodies from the wreck of the Northfleet in the English Channel, a major shipwreck of 1873. Of the 379 people aboard the ship, 293 died, including 41 women and 50 children, with only one woman and two children surviving. The outfits used are the standard diving dress, the basic diving equipment from its invention in 1837 until replaced by the rise of SCUBA and other modern diving outfits in the 1960s. On the left of the picture, one of the support crew is tightening the wingnuts that connect the helmet to the canvas suits, creating a watertight seal that protects the helmet from flooding.

Image credit: Illustrated London News