5 Things You Don't Know About: Body Armor

the history of body armor stretches back thousands of years but it's been during the last 100 years but the most significant innovations in that area have occurred here's five things you don't know about body armor [Music] during the first world war practically every participating nation conducted experiments in body armor in the United States we tested our first successful pattern called Brewster body armor in 1917 invented by dr. guy Otis Brewster of Dover New Jersey the system consisted of a breastplate and a headpiece made of chrome nickel steel that was capable of stopping the bullet from a Lewis light machine gun traveling 2,750 feet per second but despite its ability to stop a bullet it was far too cumbersome and therefore far too impractical for use in the field an unfortunate fact because the vast majority of wounds suffered by soldiers of the First World War were fragmentation wounds to the head into the chest and according to a British survey published late in the war three-quarters of those wounds could have been prevented had a successful body armor system that widely available [Music] one of the more bizarre body armor innovations of the First World War was the creeper tanker these were also known as mobile personal shields and they were designed to protect the soldier from rifle and small-arms fire as well as break the stalemate and immobility of trench warfare well like dr. Brewster's armor the creeper tanks were far too heavy and cumbersome for practical news [Music] the flak jacket was developed during the Second World War to protect Royal Air Force air crewmen from the tiny bits of flying metal that were being tossed around in the sky by exploding German anti-aircraft shells in fact the term black originates from the compound German word looks like a barrack on one which simply means anti-aircraft gun the RAF subsequently shared their black jackets with the US Army and so US Army 8th Air Force air crewmen made use of them through the end of the Second World War but as a limited issue item and the aftermath of World War 2 the flak jacket continued through phases of development leading ultimately to flak jackets being distributed broadly during the Korean War and then during Vietnam but the flak jackets being worn by US troops in Vietnam were capable only of stopping the fragmentation from hand grenades mortars and artillery they were not capable of stopping employed it wasn't until the introduction of Kevlar in the early 1970s that you see the actual introduction of a true bulletproof vest one thing that visually characterizes troops fighting in the global war on terror our rigs like you see the one I'm wearing right now a rig that allows for the insert of what they call sappy place that stands for small arms protective insert and these are kevlar plates one being worn in the front one being worn in the back plates that will stop a 7.62 by 39 millimeter bullet from an ak-47 fired from his clothes away is ten feet one of the most dramatic examples of the protective power afforded by sappy plates was captured on film in July 2005 when private first class Steven [ __ ] was standing outside his Humvee in Baghdad targeted by insurgents snipers private [ __ ] was shot directly in the chest but thanks to his Kevlar sappy plates the bullet stopped short of his heart and he was able to get right back up unharmed so from sniper rifles to ak-47 this gear this body armor makes it being struck by small arms fire at close range survivable the next generation of military body armor is currently under development and rather than focusing solely on protection it incorporates new advances and enhanced physical capabilities researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Harvard University are currently developing a biologically inspired lightweight smart suit called warrior web using a system that mimics the actions of muscles and tendons warrior web allows the soldier to walk farther and to carry a heavier load without becoming fatigued fully operational suits that combine these capabilities with effective ballistics protection are expected to be ready by 2018 [Music] so it was the First World War that triggered the development of modern body armor ironically the event that triggered the First World War the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Sarajevo and June of 1914 occurred while the Archduke was wearing a silken protective vest but that vest did not save his life do you know why if so post your answer online or reach out to us using Twitter through hashtag five things you don't know

Channel: Military.com

Views: 1,894,041

Rating: 4.6562304 out of 5

Keywords: Military, Armour, Personal Armor, Kevlar (Textile)

Id: H2L21QByGHs

Length: 6min 42sec (402 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 06 2015

Reddit Comments

[u/W_I_Water]

And "Flak" is short for Flugzeugabwehrkanone (Anti-aircraft gun), to differentiate from "Pak" or Panzerabwehrkanone (Anti-tank gun).

^spelling

[u/[deleted]]

They were also remarkably heavy and utterly impossible to wear as an infantryman. They were made out of steel plates and leather. Airmen could wear them because they were only in an aircraft. Eventually smaller versions would get adopted and those would find their way into infantry hands.

[u/mercilessmagic]

Today I learned that the term "Flak Jacket" is sometimes used to describe things other than a garment used specifically by flight crews for ballistic protection during WW2, Korean, and Vietnam wars.