Bulletproof vest
A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or bullet-resistant vest, is a type of body armor designed to absorb impact and prevent the penetration of firearm projectiles and explosion fragments to the torso. The vest can be either soft—as worn by police officers, security personnel, prison guards, and occasionally private citizens to protect against stabbing attacks or light projectiles—or hard, incorporating metallic or para-aramid components. Soldiers and police tactical units typically wear hard armour, either alone or combined with soft armour, to protect against rifle ammunition or fragmentation. Additional protection includes trauma plates for blunt force and ceramic inserts for high-caliber rounds. Bulletproof vests have evolved over centuries, from early designs like those made for knights and military leaders to modern-day versions. Early ballistic protection used materials like cotton and silk, while contemporary vests employ advanced fibers and ceramic plates.
History
Early modern era
In 1538, Duke Francesco Maria della Rovere, a condottiero, commissioned Filippo Negroli to create a bulletproof vest. In 1561, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor is recorded as testing his armour against gun-fire. Similarly, in 1590 Henry Lee of Ditchley expected his Greenwich armour to be "pistol proof". Its actual effectiveness was controversial at the time.During the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell's Ironside cavalry were equipped with lobster-tailed pot helmet and musket-proof cuirasses which consisted of two layers of armour plating. The outer layer was designed to absorb the bullet's energy and the thicker inner layer stopped further penetration. The armour would be left badly dented but still serviceable.
Industrial era
One of the first examples of commercially sold bulletproof armour was produced by a tailor in Dublin in the 1840s. The Cork Examiner reported on his line of business in December 1847.File:Ned kelly armour library.JPG|thumb|upright|Australian bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly's bulletproof armour, fashioned from plough mouldboards in 1880
Another soft ballistic vest, Myeonje baegab, was invented in Joseon Korea in the 1860s shortly after the punitive 1866 French expedition to Korea. The regent of Joseon ordered the development of bulletproof armour because of increasing threats from Western armies. Kim Gidu and Gang Yun found that cotton could protect against bullets if 10 layers of cotton fabric were used. The vests were used in battle during the United States expedition to Korea, when the US Navy attacked Ganghwa Island in 1871. The US Navy captured one of the vests and took it to the US, where it was stored at the Smithsonian Museum until 2007. The vest has since been sent back to Korea and is currently on display to the public.
Simple ballistic armor was sometimes constructed by criminals. In 1880, a gang of Australian bushrangers led by Ned Kelly devised their own suits of bulletproof armour. The suits had a mass of around and were fashioned from stolen plough mouldboards, most likely in a crude bush forge and possibly with the assistance of blacksmiths. With a cylindrical helmet and apron, the armour protected the wearer's head, torso, upper arms, and upper legs. In June 1880, the four outlaws wore the suits in a gunfight with the police, during which Kelly survived at least 18 bullets striking his armour.
In the 1890s, American outlaw and gunfighter Jim Miller was infamous for wearing a steel breastplate under his frock coat as a form of body armor. This plate saved Miller on two occasions, and it proved to be highly resistant to pistol bullets and shotguns. One example can be seen in his gun battle with a sheriff named George A. "Bud" Frazer, where the plate managed to deflect all bullets from the lawman's revolver.
In 1881, the Tombstone, Arizona physician George E. Goodfellow noticed that Charlie Storms, who was shot twice by faro dealer Luke Short, had one bullet stopped by a silk handkerchief in his breast pocket that prevented that bullet from penetrating. In 1887, he wrote an article titled "Impenetrability of Silk to Bullets" for the Southern California Practitioner documenting the first known instance of bulletproof fabric. He experimented with silk vests resembling gambesons that used 18 to 30 layers of silk to protect the wearers from penetration.
Kazimierz Żegleń used Goodfellow's findings to develop a silk bulletproof vest at the end of the 19th century, which could stop the relatively slow rounds from black powder handguns. The vests cost US$800 each in 1914,.
A similar vest made by Polish inventor Jan Szczepanik in 1901 saved the life of Alfonso XIII of Spain when he was shot by an attacker. By 1900, US gangsters were wearing $800 silk vests to protect themselves.
First World War
The combatants of World War I started the war without any attempt at providing the soldiers with body armor. Various private companies advertised body protection suits such as the Birmingham Chemico Body Shield, although these products were generally far too expensive for an average soldier.The first official attempts at commissioning body armor were made in 1915 by the British Army Design Committee, Trench Warfare Section in particular a 'Bomber's Shield'; "bomber" being the term for those who threw grenades rather than grenadier. The Experimental Ordnance Board also reviewed potential materials for bullet and fragment proof armor, such as steel plate. A 'necklet' was successfully issued on a small scale, which protected the neck and shoulders from bullets traveling at with interwoven layers of silk and cotton stiffened with resin. The Dayfield body shield entered service in 1916 and a hardened breastplate was introduced the following year.
The British army medical services calculated towards the end of the War that three quarters of all battle injuries could have been prevented if an effective armor had been issued.
The French experimented with steel visors attached to the Adrian helmet and 'abdominal armor' designed by General Adrian, in addition to shoulder "epaulets" to protect from falling debris and darts. These failed to be practical, because they severely impeded the soldier's mobility. The Germans officially issued body armor in the form of nickel and silicon steel armor plates that was called Sappenpanzer from late 1916. These were similarly too heavy to be practical for the rank-and-file, but were used by static units, such as sentries and occasionally machine-gunners. An improved version, the Infanterie-Panzer, was introduced in 1918, with hooks for equipment.
The United States developed several types of body armor, including the chrome nickel steel Brewster Body Shield, which consisted of a breastplate and a headpiece and could withstand Lewis Gun bullets at, but was clumsy and heavy at. A scaled waistcoat of overlapping steel scales fixed to a leather lining was also designed; this armor weighed, fit close to the body, and was considered more comfortable.
Interwar period
During the late 1920s through the early 1930s, gunmen from criminal gangs in the United States began wearing less-expensive vests made from thick layers of cotton padding and cloth. These early vests could absorb the impact of handgun rounds such as.22 Long Rifle,.25 ACP,.32 S&W Long,.32 S&W,.380 ACP,.38 Special and.45 ACP traveling at speeds of up to. To overcome these vests, law enforcement agents began using the newer and more powerful.38 Super, and later the.357 Magnum cartridge.Meanwhile, the Dunrite Bulletproof Vest, produced by Detective Publishing Company Chicago, was used by some members of law enforcement. The vest itself was made of wool, but its protection came from of metal.
Vests of that sort were often stolen or obtained in other ways by gangsters. One Dunrite Bullet Bullerproof Vest was found in the back of Bonnie and Clyde's car.
Second World War
In 1940, the Medical Research Council in Britain proposed the use of a lightweight suit of armour for general use by infantry, and a heavier suit for troops in more dangerous positions, such as anti-aircraft and naval gun crews. By February 1941, trials had begun on body armour made of mangalloy plates. Two plates covered the front area and one plate on the lower back protected the kidneys and other vital organs. Five thousand sets were made and evaluated to almost unanimous approval – as well as providing adequate protection, the armour didn't severely impede the mobility of the soldier and were reasonably comfortable to wear. The armor was introduced in 1942 although the demand for it was later scaled down. In northwestern Europe, The 2nd Canadian Division during World War II also adopted this armour for medical personnel.The British company Wilkinson Sword began to produce flak jackets for bomber crews in 1943 under contract with the Royal Air Force. The majority of pilot deaths in the air were due to low-velocity fragments rather than bullets. The Surgeon General of the United States Air Force, Colonel M. C. Grow, who was stationed in Britain, thought that many wounds he was treating could have been prevented by some kind of light armor. Two types of armor were issued for different specifications. These jackets were made of nylon and capable of stopping flak and fragmentation, but were not designed to stop bullets. Although they were considered too bulky for pilots using the Avro Lancaster, they were adopted by the United States Army Air Forces.
In the early stages of World War II, the United States also designed body armor for infantrymen, but most models were too heavy and mobility-restricting to be useful in the field and incompatible with existing required equipment. Near the middle of 1944, development of infantry body armor in the United States restarted. Several vests were produced for the US military, including but not limited to the T34, the T39, the T62E1, and the M12. The United States developed a vest using doron plate, a fiberglass-based fibre-reinforced plastic. These vests were first used in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.
The Soviet Armed Forces used several types of body armour, including the SN-42. All were tested, but only the SN-42 was put in production. It consisted of two pressed steel plates that protected the front torso and groin. The plates were 2 mm thick and weighed 3.5 kg. This armour was generally supplied to assault engineers and tank desantniki. The SN armour protected wearers from 9×19mm bullets fired by an MP 40 submachine gun at around, and sometimes it was able to deflect 7.92 Mauser rifle bullets, but only at very low angles. This made it useful in urban battles such as the Battle of Stalingrad. However, the SN's weight made it impractical for infantry in the open. Some apocryphal accounts note point blank deflection of 9mm bullets, and testing of similar armour supports this theory.