The diver’s helmet tee wrench is an essential pierce of the Standard Diver’s equipment.
It is used by the diver’s tender to tighten the breastplate nuts onto the corselet.

The breastplate nuts’ function is to hold the brails or straps over the rubber neck gasket which is secured over the corselet studs.
Due to the shape of the nuts, a specially designed tee wrench accompanies the helmet and generally each manufacturer’s style of nut has a uniquely designed wrench. The wrench may be made from brass, gunmetal or bronze or may also be made from steel. Although there are other designs such as the spanner wrench made for American Navy helmets the tee wrench is the most prolific style. Other types of spanners also exist which are of an open ended style for helmet which have hexagonal nuts to secure the bonnet to the corselet. Such styles are usually German , Russian and French but also in less numbers ,English such as the 3 bolt lightweight helmet designs by Siebe Gorman and CE Heinke.

Some tee Wrench designs also incorporate, in the handle, a simple tool to help push the rubber neck ring gasket over the stud prior to fitting the brail.

To see how the bolts are tightened using the Tee Wrench click here

 

 		   American:
Tee wrench made from cast brass, solid handle, 100 mm high x 75 mm wide.

 		   American:
US Navy Breastplate nut wrench made from gunmetal, solid handle, 150 mm long.

 		   Australian:
Tee wrench made from cast brass, hollow handle, 100 mm high x 80 mm wide.
Note made by the Australian manufacturer Robison circa 1943-1945

 		   Chinese:
Tee wrench made from cast brass, then chrome plated, solid handle, 95 mm high x100 mm wide.
Note: made in China and supplied with new Chinese TF12 helmets.

 		   English:
Tee wrench made from Iron solid handle 125 mm high and 100 mm wide.
Note made by C.E.Heinke.

 		   English:
Tee wrench made from brass or bronze with hollow handle 115 mm high x 85 mm wide.
Made by C.E.Heinke.

 		   English:
Tee wrench made from gunmetal or bronze with hollow handle 120 mm high x 90mm wide.
Note made by C.E.Heinke.

 		   German:
Open ended spanner to tighten the 3 hexagon bolts connecting the bonnet to the breastplate.
Note Spanner made by Draeger of Lubeck.

 		   Swedish:
Tee wrench made from cast brass, solid handle, 115 mm high x 100 mm wide.
Note made by the Swedish manufacturer Erik Andersson (EA).
  Origin unknown:
Tee wrench made of iron solid handle 115 mm high and 90 mm wide
Found in Tenerife but maker unknown.