ENZA BUCHER AND HER EQUIPMENT
We are at the time of the 1952 Italian Underwater Expedition to the Red Sea aboard the vessel Formica, intended for scientific, technical, and sporting purposes. The expedition will be remembered as the Sixth Continent, after the title of the film released in 1953, produced by Bruno Vailati and directed by Folco Quilici.
The photos on this page show the film poster and two images of Enza Bucher, Raimondo Bucher's first wife and an Italian spearfishing champion, during the days of rehearsals and training prior to departure.
The images depict Enza Bucher, posing with great ease despite the large dry suit without valves making her look awkward. Otherwise, she is fully equipped with other classic equipment from that glamorous era, though difficult to identify individually. An unrecognizable round mask, probably Squalo Bucher Pirelli fins, camera in a handcrafted case, two-hose regulator equipped with a diverter unit where the narrow V-shaped connection of the corrugated hoses may suggest an English origin, long aerator tube for breathing on the surface.
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In the second photo we see her on the shore with a curious headdress and two other pieces of equipment: an Aro, perhaps a military-derived Pirelli G50, and a speargun that leaves you perplexed. It is believed to be the CO2-powered Tum Turbocaccia designed by engineer Boris Andina, with a line collector tube fitted under the barrel. This system, however, has never been successful in Italy, but is found on several historic French and American spearguns.
All things collectors would love to have in their collections, pieces of considerable historical and perhaps economic value. Who can accurately identify them?
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