"In 1917, the German firm Neufeldt and Kuhnke built two atmospheric diving suit models based on their patented ball and socket joint, which utilized ball bearings to transfer the pressure load. The German Navy tested the second-generation suit to 530 feet (161m) in 1924, but limb movement was very difficult and the joints were not "fail-safe."

Even so, the suit afforded intervention at previously unheard of depths. The German Navy reportedly had several Neufeldt and Kuhnke suits, called "Panzertaucher" (armored diver), during World War II, which later found their way into allied hands after the war. There are unconfirmed reports that the Russian Navy even built copies.

The Neufeldt and Kuhnke suit had joints at each shoulder, one at each thigh and ankle and small ball joints for the mechanical "pincers." The joints were sealed by means of a rubber skirt that attached to the socket and slid over the ball. Separation and mobility of the ball and socket joint was achieved by ball bearings between the two. The waist of the suit included a ballast tank that could be filled with water or blown clear with compressed air.

The Neufeldt and Kuhnke suit achieved its fame as a valuable assistant in the salvage of gold and silver boullion from the S.S. Egypt, an 8,000-ton Peninsular and Oriental liner that sank in May of 1922 while outward bound from London to Bombay. Though the suit was relegated to a mere observation chamber at the depth of the Egypt, it was used successfully to direct the mechanical grabs that tore their way to the bullion in the strongholds below. To reduce the chance of leakage, the suit was first simplified to one joint at each shoulder and two in each leg, and later the suit was completely replaced by an even simpler observation-only chamber. Over $1 million in gold and silver was recovered with the help of the Neufeldt and Kuhnke suit. There is at least one surviving Neufeldt and Kuhnke suit on display at the Museum of Man-in-the-Sea in Panama City, Florida."