Simon Meinesz' WID

Simon Meinesz was a Dutch shipowner and had an oyster farm in Nieuwpoort, Belgium. At the end of the 19th century he invented his 'appareil à air comprimé'. A wheeled device was pulled over the waterbed by a tugboat. Air was pressed from the tugboat to the device, causing the material to come into suspension and be carried away by the current. In order to strengthen a current, the preferred tugboat had to be propelled by a screw.

It could therefore be considered a 19th century precursor of a Water Injection Dredger.

In 1882 he requested a patent in Belgium, which was granted.

It is not known whether the device was actually built and worked.

References:
1883 – Albert Bandsept, "Notice sur l'appareil à air comprimé de M. Meinesz, Bulletin Technologique (de la Société des Anciens Elèves de l'Ecole Nationale des Arts et Métiers), 1983, p.745-755, plans 26 et 27. Précurseur des WID., expérience à Nieuport validée par l'administration belge

Source: https://patrimoine.ensam.eu/

Information from: Etienne Roger, industrial historian (Toulouse).