Not really…but got you to look, right?
My colleague Bryant Jordan ran across this photo and passed it along to Defense Tech just to show how very far we’ve come with ballistic protection.
According to a caption from the archival section at Corbis, these garcons are French soldiers of the Army Ordnance Department showing off the test articles of their WW I-era body armor.
I can’t even see what this is made of, but it sure looks like cold rolled steel and leather. I’m digging the groin protector and the jaunty dude on the right with a 45 hole right in his junk.
Also, what gives on the 1984-esque eye shades built into the helmet?
I went on The Google for this one and came up empty. But I did run across a FAS entry that references the US Army’s experimentation with body armor. It was called the Brewster Body Shield (sure beats “Interceptor”) and looked more like a bad 1950s B movie robot costume than a combat ready ballistic outfit.
But it could stop bullets…
The Brewster Body Shield, was made of chrome nickel steel, weighed 40 pounds, and consisted of a breastplate and a headpiece. This armor would withstand Lewis machinegun bullets at 2,700 f.p.s. but was unduly clumsy and heavy.
I’ll say. Makes Dragon Skin look positively featherweight by comparison (I’m just pulling your leg Murray).
It’s interesting to see how body armor technology has evolved, and no doubt we still have a long way to go. But pictures like this offer a glimpse of what was state of the are nearly 100 years ago.
– Christian
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
Curse you, I was just getting my hopes up
Nice, Christian. Was getting anxious if there is some new interesting stuff goin on and than this :D
Use Google/babel or other translate to see more on this armor at:
http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/telegraph/technics/376/
This reminds me of The Kelly Gang Story… With 96lbs of armor each. I don't think they were going to be called " The speedy gang".
"Joe Byrne's suit was the only one without an apron to protect the groin and thighs, as a result he died from a shot to the groin."… Words to learn from.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Kelly#Kelly_Gang…
http://www.nfsa.gov.au/img/nedkelly3_NFSA.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/0e/Ned…
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b…
I keep expecting the guy in the Brewster Body Shield to say: "None shall pass."
Take a closer look at the two photographs.
For the general disinformation:
The Lewis machine-gun came in two different calibres:
1) One, the .303 British, with a top muzzle speed of 2.770 f.p.s.,
2) and the other calibre, the (U.S. American) .30-06 Springfield, with a top muzzle speed of 2.900 f.p.s. .
3) But Wikipedia indicates the Lewis gun's muzzle speed as being only 2.440 f.p.s., and doesn't add in which calibre.
4) And the original "GlobalSecurity.org" article, on which this "Defense Tech" article is based, says that the Lewis machine-gun produced a bullet speed of 2.700 f.p.s., and doesn't mention if the bullet-stopping tests were performed at point blank or not.
Is everything perfectly unclear now?
I just LOVE bad ballistics…
Wikipedia is the world's foremost single source of bad information.
Foremost? Not even close..
The WW-1 Italian Army used something similar against the Austrians. Except theirs were not tested prior to being fielded for operational use.
Emilio Lussu wrote served in the Sardinian Brigade during the war and he wrote a book later with that title. He recounts the Division CG bringing up 18 sets of armor that he called the Farina Cuirass. 18 men were chosen to put on this armor and were then lifted over the top of the trench and sent toward the Italian lines. All 18 were killed or wounded immediately by Austrian MG fire.
Not sure what the Austrians were using or what the caliber and muzzle speed was. The cuirasses as I recall were made in the Farina Body Shop which in later years became famous for designing Ferraris.
The armor wearing Italians were lifted over over the top of the trench and sent toward the Italian lines where they were all killed or wounded by Austrian MG fire.
Sounds to me like the Italians must have been severely disorientated.
Sorry Zandor – that was me who got dioriented.
Nah… you have got it wrong… the Palestinians tend to be those that use human shields. Gun installations in hospitals etc.
Hence why they always complain that they are targeting “civilian” targets.
If there is no such country as Palestine why are there all of these Palestinians running around causing trouble in Israel, the Gaza Strip etc.
Perhaps there was a country called Palestine?
Where is it now? What happened to it?
Was it something akin to what happened to Carthage?
If there ever was a Palestine, what is it called now?
The first "Palestine" was a Roman Term after the Romans conquered the Jewish people.
Palestine originated from the Romans.
The quote on quote "country called Palestine" was never a country. Before it was Israel, it was the British Mandate of Palestine, and before that it was owned by the Turks. A country? No.
Isn't it nice the when prophecies come true?
The Palestine province is now called Israel.
Check your facts.
That armor is French cuirass issued to cavalry. It was intended to stop a lance or sabre not a bullet, which is why those are full of holes).
Within a few weeks of the start of the war they stopped wearing them since they were useless.
Brewster body armor was designed to stop a bullet but too heavy to be of practical use.
Germans used something similar called, MG gunner's armor, to protect gunners from shrapnel.
Freefallingbomb…
I tried to do this privately with the email you provided on the sign in, but it bounced back, so I have to do this publically. I like having you in the discussion on Defense Tech and I don’t like nit picking people’s comments generally, but I cannot abide comments like this:
"Jewish body armour is lighter, and much more effective than that at stopping bullets, even rockets: It consists of lots of Palestinian babies."
Please, man, stop these kinds of comments. If you don’t, I’m going to have to block your IP address and I just don’t want to do that…
Also, please use Tiny URLs for your links. The long ones you’re putting into your comments are breaking the Moveable Type template…
Thanks,
Senator McCain says, “ Sticks and stones may break my bones but the words of that ‘rogue’ Palin will never hurt me. That is, as long as I’m wearing the new, ‘Republican’ brand body armor. That’s right guys, it’ll even protect you against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, bank failures, car makers going bankrupt, massive unemployment and all the evils of socialized medicine. That is just as long as you keep your credit cards in your wallet, inside your vest with the flap down and the button closed. Oh yeah, you might want to marry somebody that’s Looaaaded too.
So take it from me, former naval aviator, beer drinker and an all good guy. Buy ‘Republican’ brand body armor and we might find another use for all those clunkers we turned in this year”.
Guys, look at the one in the middle. He's either got a huge wag o chewin tabacco in his mouth orrrr. "Corr! It's really im! Tis himself! Standin there like is 'royal highness'. Blimey! Ah must be going daft. Must be all tha 'hanthrax' shots I got when I was in the regiment. Now what was the name again? The OLLLlD Gaurd? The 3rd Herd? The Fleet of Foot? Crikey, help me out someun".
Should wikipedia Ned Kelly.He used armour that worked in 1880…until the police shot him in the legs that were unprotected.
I suppose if they designed heavy armor that came with rollers, they could move along and look like the Daleks of Dr. Who.
They did. They're called "tanks".
Steel "vests" and "breastplates" were widely advertised during the U. S. Civil War. They were effective against the low velocity soft lead bullets of the day, but were entirely to heavy and awkward and were discarded early in a soldiers first long march.