Origin of the Acronym SCUBA

American military scientist Christian James Lambertsen is considered the “Father of American SCUBA.” During World War II, Dr. Lambertsen contributed significantly to re-breather research and the training of military personnel. He is credited with designing the first closed-circuit re-breather, and mixed-gas/semi-closed re-breather systems for underwater warfare use. Part of the covert underwater swimmer operation Lambertsen was affiliated with would evolve into the United States Navy’s Elite SEAL and EOD Units. 

Dr. Lambertsen demonstrated an underwater breathing device for the US Government  and Great Britain in 1942. And in 1952 Lambertsen used the term “Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus” (SCUBA) in a National Academy of Sciences paper about the device. Only the US Government was aware of his wartime SCUBA research/inventions until 1995, when this information was declassified. In 2000, the US Navy distinguished Major Lambertsen “the Father of U.S. Combat Swimming.”