Bulletproof vest

A bullet-resistant vest (body armour or body armor (U.S.)) - is an article of protective clothing that works as a form of armour to minimize injury from projectiles fired from handguns, shotguns and rifles . They are commonly worn by police forces, the military, and private security and civilians where legal. However, they have sometimes been misused by criminals.

History

The oldest bullet-resistant fabric vests were made from silk. These expensive vests (often costing US $800 each in 1914) were capable of stopping relatively slow rounds from black powder handguns. On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was wearing such a silk vest, but nonetheless died when shot in the neck above the vest with a .32 ACP bullet fired by Gavrilo Princip using a handgun, starting a chain of events that quickly escalated into World War I.

Related Topics:
Silk - 1914 - Black powder - June 28 - Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria - Austro-Hungarian - ACP - Gavrilo Princip - Handgun - World War I

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During World War I, 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 2,700 ft/s (820 m/s), but was clumsy and heavy at 40 pounds (18 kg). Another type of body armor was designed in February 1918 by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This breastplate was based on certain armor of the 15th century, weighed 27 pounds (12 kg), and was considered to be very noisy and restricting of the movements of the wearer. A scaled waistcoat of overlapping steel scales fixed to a leather lining was also designed; this armor weighed 11 pounds (5 kg), fit close to the body, and was considered comfortable.

Related Topics:
Brewster Body Shield - Lewis Gun - Metropolitan Museum of Art - 15th century

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During the late 1920s through the early 1930s, criminals in the United States began wearing less-expensive vests made from cotton padding and cloth. These early vests were capable of generally protecting against handgun bullets such as .22, .25, S&W .32 Long, S&W .32, .380 ACP, and .45 ACP traveling at slower speeds of up to approximately 1000 ft/s (300 m/s). This led to the development of the .357 Magnum cartridge for the use of law enforcement agents such as the FBI to overcome these vests.

Related Topics:
United States - .22 - .380 ACP - .45 ACP - .357 Magnum - FBI

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In the early stages of World War II, some work was performed in the United States on designing body armor for infantrymen, but most models were too heavy, incompatible with existing equipment, and restricted the mobility of the wearer. For these reasons, development of infantry body armor was discontinued and attention was diverted to the development of "flak jackets" for aircraft crews. These flak jackets were made of nylon fabric and only capable of stopping flak and shrapnel, not the .38 Special or .357 Magnum bullets. The Japanese produced a few types of infantry body armor during World War II, but they did not see much use. 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.

Related Topics:
World War II - Infantry - Flak jacket - Nylon - Shrapnel

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During the Korean War several new vests were produced for the United States military, including the M-1951 (Chriss Body, 2002), "a vast improvement on weight, but the armor failed to stop bullets and fragments very successfully" (Military, 2004). For these reasons, Kevlar came into the picture. But Kevlar too had its failures because if "large fragments or high velocity bullets hit the vest, the energy could cause life-threatening, blunt trauma injuries" (Military, 2004). So the Ranger Body Armor was developed, which again was an improvement over the previous armor but still had its flaws: "it was heavier than the anti-fragment armor already worn by the infantry and offered less protection" (Military, 2004).

Related Topics:
Korean War - M-1951 - Ranger Body Armor

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The newest armor issued by the United States military is known as Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System. While it has its flaws, it protects the wearer from most low- to mid-velocity threats. Modern bullet-resistant vests made from Kevlar were tested by United States police forces in 1975. Since then several new fibers for bulletproof fabric have been developed besides Kevlar, such as DSM's Dyneema, Akzo's Twaron, Toyobo's Zylon (now controversial, as new studies report it that degrades rapidly, leaving wearers with significantly less protection than expected), or Honeywell's GoldFlex. These newer fibres are advertised as being lighter, thinner and more resistant than Kevlar, although they are much more expensive.

Related Topics:
United States military - Interceptor Multi-Threat Body Armor System - Police - Dyneema - Twaron - GoldFlex

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