AJ Morse & Son

AJ Morse & Son In 2016 DESCO Corporation purchased the assets of Morse Diving Inc. DESCO is offering products unde In 1837, Fletcher & Morse Co. A few years later Mr. Andrew J. J.

opened at the corner of Water and Congress Streets in Boston Massachusetts. The company began as a manufacturer of brass goods for the marine industry. Fletcher retired from the firm. Andrew Morse began making diving helmets and air pumps. In 1864 the company name was changed to Andrew J. Morse & Son. Near by in Boston Alfred Hale, manufactured his own dive hats using Morse parts during this time. Morse died in 1881 his son William F. Morse took over. The company expanded into manufacturing valves, fittings, nozzles, and water cannons for firefighting. In 1905 William Morse retired and management of the company was given to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Mark A. Lawton. They incorporated the company and Inc. was added - Andrew J. Morse & Son Inc. The 1910 Morse catalog lists 221 High Street as the company address. In 1916 Morse and the A Schrader's Son company began manufacture of the US Navy Mark V Diving Helmet. The company was sold in 1939 to William Farrell (owner of McKee Pile Diving Company), who continued to operate it in Boston, incorporated as the Morse Diving Equipment Company in 1940. In 1970 they moved the operation to Hingham Street in Rockland, MA, 20 miles south of Boston. Ken Downey was hired by the company in 1978 as a machinist. In 1985 the US Navy decommissioned the Mark V Diving Helmet. Morse Diving Equipment manufactured its replacement, the Mark XII Surface Supplied Diving System for the Navy. In 1993 the Mark XII was superseded by the Mark 21 Diving Helmet. Morse continued to manufacture the Mark XII as a commercial diving helmet. Ken Downey and his wife Donna purchased the company in 1998. In 2014 Morse was sold to Mr. Watson Roby Holland and shortly there after the company suspended manufacturing operations. Mr. Holland contacted DESCO Corporation to explore having DESCO construct helmets for Morse as the ability of the firm to produce helmets had deteriorated. After careful consideration Mr. Holland determined operation of the company was no longer viable. Morse Diving Incorporated declared bankruptcy in 2015. DESCO Corporation purchased the assets of Morse Diving in January of 2016. DESCO manufactures Morse diving helmets under the A. Morse & Son name. The assets of the company were in poor condition and much work was done to allow construction of new helmets. AJMS helmets are constructed using castings made from original or newly replaced Morse patterns. DESCO is committed to offering authentic A J Morse & Son diving helmets. At the time of its bankruptcy Morse Diving was the 412th oldest business in the United States that was in continuous operation.

Another bit of AJMS history to add to the files. The Griffin Museum of Science & Industry has in their collection Morse ...
10/02/2025

Another bit of AJMS history to add to the files. The Griffin Museum of Science & Industry has in their collection Morse Shallow Water Diving Helmet. It is an early one with the smaller faceplate. I'm going to reach out to them and see if it has a serial number.

Made by the Andrew J. Morse and Son Company, this sixty-two-pound diving helmet was intended for depths of less than forty feet. The company was founded in 1837 in Boston, Massachusetts, as a marine brassware-making company before making diving helmets and suits.

08/29/2025

Discover the stories of MK V divers in our new exhibit, “Behind the Faceplate,” now open! Introduced in 1916, the 200-pound MK V diving rig was the Navy’s standard deep sea diving system until the early 1980s. Generations of Navy divers shared the experience of diving the MK V, tackling the challenges of their eras with expertise and ingenuity.

“Behind the Faceplate” looks inside the iconic copper helmet to tell stories of MK V divers across the decades. Explore their remarkable feats as innovators, salvage experts, and leaders through historic artifacts, personal stories, and hands-on interactives.

We wonder what Andrew Morse would have thought about an early 20th century helmet and air pump made by his company divin...
08/29/2025

We wonder what Andrew Morse would have thought about an early 20th century helmet and air pump made by his company diving in the 21st century to celebrate the centennial of an event that changed the diving world.

I had a reminder today to do my due diligence when working on a project. On Saturday LMCDO did demnostration dives at Do...
08/22/2025

I had a reminder today to do my due diligence when working on a project. On Saturday LMCDO did demnostration dives at Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay. We were commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first mixed gas dives. We tried to use as much period correct gear as we could. We had AJMS four light commercial helmet 1769 which was made in 1911. We also has AJMS #3 air pump S/N 866 made in 1904. The pump got a complete overhaul (not a restoration) and she worked admirably. For our purpose she made plenty of air. One if the items I wanted to replace was the information card in the pump lid. I had the text and graphics from photos of a few cards. DESCO has a large format color laser printer that will print to 11" x 17". I don't know what the correct dimensions are supposed to be but I figured close enough. This week while putting things away I noticed a discrepancy on the card. It said a two cylinder pump. I have clear recollection of overhauling three cylinders so what gives. I went to the 1910 catalog and it shows a #3 pump with two cylinders. I began to doubt the identification tag on the pump but it looks like it has been there since day one. Since the pump is 1904 and I have a photocopy of the 1904 catalog I checked it. In 1904 the #3 air pump had three cylinders. Another thing was in 1904 Morse was on Congress street. In 1910 they were on High street. I pulled the old card out of the pump and am making a new card to replace it.

The moral of the story: Do the homework and you will only have to do the job once.

Welcome home to the Kissel ladder truck. AJMS having been a manufacturer of firefighting equipment we wholly heartedly s...
08/05/2025

Welcome home to the Kissel ladder truck. AJMS having been a manufacturer of firefighting equipment we wholly heartedly support preserving the history of this noble profession.

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2450 S Commerce Drive
New Berlin, WI
53151

Opening Hours

Monday 6am - 2:30pm
Tuesday 6am - 2:30pm
Wednesday 6am - 2:30pm
Thursday 6am - 2:30pm
Friday 6am - 2:30pm

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