Today, body armor is an integral part of a soldier’s equipment. But it was not always so. For a long time the soldier on the battlefield was protected only by the thin fabric of a uniform or tunic.

Body armor is a means personal protection, designed to protect a person (mainly his torso) from the effects of firearms and bladed weapons. It is made from various materials, the main feature of which is the ability to withstand the impact of a bullet, shrapnel or blade.

Nowadays, the value of a soldier’s life has increased many times over, so the creation of new, more reliable and advanced types is being carried out in many countries around the world. Very serious funds are spent on these developments.

There are different body armor, they are divided into classes: a light body armor will protect you from a pistol bullet, a knife and shrapnel, and heavy army body armor can stop a Kalashnikov assault rifle bullet. A concealed body armor vest can be worn under clothing, which is great for intelligence officers and bodyguards.

How effective are body armor on the battlefield? To give one example, according to statistics kept by the US Army, the use of body armor by military personnel reduced the number of injuries by 60%.

However, before talking about new developments, a few words should be said about the history of this personal protective equipment.

A little history

Around the middle of the 16th century, the development of firearms led to the fact that plate armor could no longer provide sufficient protection for a fighter. In addition, at this time Europe was moving to massive conscription armies, which were quite problematic to provide with high-quality armor. Only cuirassiers and sappers remained equipped with armor.

After the advent of machine guns and the improvement of artillery, troops began to suffer terrible losses. The problem of protecting infantrymen has become more acute. And then the military again remembered the cuirasses.

The revival of cuirass began at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1905, the Russian military department ordered 100 thousand cuirasses from France. However, the foreign product turned out to be of poor quality and did not provide a sufficient level of protection for the soldier. There were also domestic developments in this area, and they were often superior to their foreign counterparts.

Many variations of cuirass were developed during the First World War. Almost all countries participating in the conflict did this. Cuirasses were most often equipped with sapper and assault units. Reviews for this remedy have been very mixed. On the one hand, the cuirass really protected against bullets, shrapnel and bayonet strikes, but on the other hand, its protective properties depended on the thickness of the metal. Light armor was practically useless, and too thick armor made it difficult to fight.

During the First World War, the British created something similar to modern body armor. It was called the Dayfield body shield, but this protective ammunition was not purchased by the British army. Those who wished could purchase it with their own money, and the body shield cost a lot. It was made of thick fabric; four compartments on the chest housed armored shields that held shrapnel and pistol bullets well. In addition, the shield was quite comfortable to wear.

Clever businessmen made good money on body shields; very often a family gave all their savings to protect their husband, father or son at the front.

Also worth mentioning is the Brewster Body Shield or “Brewster Armor” - a protective set that consisted of a solid helmet and cuirass. It provided good protection from bullets and shrapnel, but at the same time weighed 18 kg.

Development of body armor and cuirasses continued in the 30s and during the next world war, but it was never possible to create a truly light, comfortable and reliable body armor. We can mention the bulletproof steel breastplate, which was developed for assault brigades in the USSR, as well as special anti-fragmentation vests created for bomber crews in the UK.

In his modern form body armor appeared in the early 50s, they were invented by the Americans and first used during the Korean War. They calculated that most injuries occur due to the impact of shell and mine fragments, which do not have too much kinetic energy. To protect against these factors, a body armor was created from several layers of high-strength fabrics - nylon or nylon.

The first mass-produced body armor, the M1951, was produced in quantities of 31 thousand pieces; it was made of nylon and could be reinforced with aluminum inserts. The weight of the bulletproof vest was 3.51 kg. Its creators did not set themselves the task of holding bullets, but it did a good job of protecting the fighter from shrapnel.

The massive distribution of body armor in the US Army began during Vietnam War. The standard American army body armor of that time was the M-1969 (3.85 kg), made of nylon threads.

At the same time, the Americans began developing personal protective equipment for airplane and helicopter pilots.

In the 70s, the first body armor, Barrier Vest, was created in the United States for employees. law enforcement.

In the USSR, the first 6B1 body armor was accepted for supply in 1957, but it was never put into mass production. It was planned to launch its mass production only in the event of a major war.

After the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan, the entire 6B1 stock was immediately transferred to the active army. However, this body armor turned out to be too heavy for difficult mountain conditions. It was decided to develop a new means of protection that would be lighter. This work was carried out by specialists from the Moscow Steel Research Institute. IN as soon as possible they created the first generation Soviet body armor 6B2, which went through the entire Afghan war.

The main protective element of the 6B2 was small titanium plates placed in special pockets. The bulletproof vest reliably protected against shrapnel, but an AK-47 bullet penetrated it at a distance of 400-600 meters.

In a few years Afghan war Several body armor have been developed. The main direction of their improvement was to increase the protective characteristics. The Dushmans extremely rarely used artillery and mortars; the majority of injuries to Soviet soldiers were caused by small arms.

In 1983, the first Soviet bulletproof vest 6B3T appeared, in 1985 - 6B5 "Beehive", a universal bulletproof vest, which, depending on the configuration, could provide different level protection.

In the West, the development of body armor followed a slightly different path. The war in Vietnam can be called traditional (unlike Afghanistan) and the number of shrapnel wounds significantly exceeded losses from small arms. Therefore, the Americans were in no hurry to develop bulletproof vests. In addition, in the mid-70s, a new promising material for soft body armor, Kevlar, began to be produced on an industrial scale.

In the early 80s, a new soft Kevlar body armor - PASGT - was supplied to the American army. This body armor remained the main one for the American army until 2006. However, after the start of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Americans faced the same problem as before Soviet troops in the 80s. For counterinsurgency operations, a bulletproof vest was needed that provided protection against small arms fire.

The first such body armor was the RBA, adopted by the US Army in the early 90s. Its main protective elements were small ceramic tiles placed in a vest made of nylon fabric. The weight of the bulletproof vest was 7.3 kg.

In 1999, the US Army received the OTV bulletproof vest, which protects against shrapnel. When installing additional protective panels, this body armor can also withstand machine gun bullets.

In 2007, MTV bulletproof vests with anti-fragmentation protection were accepted for supply to the US Army.

After the collapse of the USSR, work on new types of personal protection was frozen for many years. In Russia they were returned to them only in 1999. As part of the Barmitsa program, a whole range of body armor of various classes and characteristics was developed.

General structure and classification of body armor

For the production of modern body armor, various high-strength materials are used. Typically these are synthetic threads (so-called ballistic fabrics), metals (titanium, steel) or ceramics (aluminum oxide, boron or silicon carbide). If previously body armor could be divided into “soft” (anti-fragmentation) and “hard” (for protection against bullets), now this is not easy to do.

Modern body armor usually has a modular structure, which allows you to enhance the protection of certain areas with the help of special armor inserts. A light body armor may not have armor inserts and serve only as protection against knives and bullets from short-barreled weapons. But it can be used as a concealed body armor, which is perfect for law enforcement officers, bodyguards, and cash collectors.

Any body armor should be comfortable and practical to use, its fabric elements should be highly durable, comply with its protection class (more on this below) and at the same time have as little weight as possible.

We can name the following areas in which body armor is currently being improved:

1. Manufacturers began to move away from the idea of ​​​​creating a universal body armor suitable for any “occasion”. Instead, highly specialized means of protection are being created.
2. Increasing the level of protection and reducing the weight of the product. This is achieved through the use of more advanced materials and improved design of body armor.
3. Differentiation of protection level for different zones.
4. Introduction into body armor of protection against non-ballistic factors of damage: fire or electric current.
5. The trend is towards increasing the protection area. IN latest models Bulletproof vests usually have protection for the shoulders, collar area and groin. Side protection is practically mandatory feature body armor of the latest models.
6. They try to include elements into the design of body armor to accommodate weapons, ammunition, medicines and other things needed by a soldier - such as dry rations.

The main criterion for choosing a body armor is its protection class. It depends on what kind of bullet or fragment it can withstand. However, not everything is so simple here either. Here are the most common types of body armor protection classifications:

• GOST R 50744–95/1999. This standard for body armor was adopted by the Russian State Standard in 1999.
• GOST R 50744–95/2014. Russian standard adopted by the State Standard of Russia in 2014.
• CEN is a pan-European standard.
• DIN is the standard for the protection of body armor of the German police.
• NIJ is the body armor standard of the American National Institute of Justice.

Now let's look at several classes of body armor protection in accordance with different standards.
GOST R 50744–95/2014 (Russia):

• 1 class. Must protect against a Stechkin pistol bullet (APS) 9x18 mm with a steel core (Pst). Bullet speed 345 m/s, distance 5 meters.
• 2nd grade. Pistol "Vector" (SR-1), cartridge 9x21 mm, lead bullet with a speed of 400 m/s, distance 5 meters.
• 3rd grade. Body armor of this class should protect against a bullet from a 9x19 mm Yarygin pistol with a heat-strengthened steel core. Bullet speed 455 m/s, distance 5 meters.
• 4th grade. Should provide protection against a shot from an AK-74, 5.45x39 mm cartridge, bullet with a heat-strengthened steel core, bullet speed 895 m/s, distance 10 meters. And also from a shot from an AKM, cartridge 7.62x39 mm, bullet with a steel heat-strengthened core, speed 720 m/s, distance 10 meters.
• 5th grade. SVD rifle, cartridge 7.62x54 mm, bullet with heat-strengthened steel core, speed 830 m/s, distance 10 m.
• 6th grade. Body armor of this class must withstand a shot from an OSV-96 or V-94 rifle of 12.7 mm caliber. Cartridge 12.7x108 mm, bullet with a heat-strengthened steel core. Speed ​​830 m/s, distance 50 meters.

Body armor protection classes from the US National Institute of Justice (NIJ):

What's next?

What will body armor look like in the foreseeable future? It is difficult to give an exact answer to this question. There are several interesting developments that could become a reality in the coming years.

Spider Web Body Armor

Americans are doing similar research. It has long been known that spider silk is one of the strongest compounds in nature. It is slightly inferior to Kevlar, but much more elastic than the latter. The US Military Department has allocated 100 thousand dollars to continue the research, and if they are successful, the scientists will be allocated another million dollars.

Liquid body armor

Another interesting direction in the field of creating perfect armor is the development of body armor based on a special gel, which turns into a solid state upon impact. Thus, it seems to absorb the energy of a bullet or fragment.

Similar work is being carried out in several countries at once, and the developers promise to demonstrate practical results in the near future. In physics, such gels are called “non-Newtonian liquids.”

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

“You don’t understand anything about this! Better not interfere! I myself!” - Surely every woman has heard similar phrases from men more than once in her life when it comes to connecting an Internet modem, a car malfunction, or indeed anything more complex than a cutting board. Are the concepts of “woman” and “technology” really incompatible? The correspondent, having established the female authorship of many purely “male” things, became convinced that in fact women are not as helpless and clueless as they sometimes want to seem, and their inventions are the best one example.

A circular saw

American Tabitha Babbitt invented a prototype of a circular saw in 1810. A weaver by trade, she once watched her brothers hard at work cutting thick logs with a double-handled saw, working in a back-and-forth fashion. Babbitt noticed that the wood was cut only when the saw moved forward; nothing happened in the opposite direction except a waste of energy. After some time, the woman came up with and made a saw with a circular blade, which made it possible to cut logs twice as fast, because every movement had a meaning.

It was not possible to patent the new product, because the inventor was a member of a religious community that denied material wealth. But Tabitha Babbitt's saw received high praise from users. It soon began to be widely used in the sawmill industry around the world.

Windscreen wipers

Mary Anderson, who came to visit New York in winter at the beginning of the 20th century, was shocked by both the snowfall and the fact that the driver of the tram in which she was traveling was forced to get out of the car almost every minute during bad weather to wipe the windshield from the snow. In 1903, a woman invented the first windshield wipers (special holders on the windshield on a spindle that removed dirt from the glass) - and received a patent for this invention.

Now the driver only had to turn a special handle in the car to significantly improve his visibility. Despite the obvious benefits, widespread use is new car device received only 10 years later.

Colored flares

US resident Martha Coston, together with her husband, developed the creation of some kind of signaling system for the navy in dark time days. The husband died without finding a worthy and acceptable method, and Martha was forced for 10 years to bring to fruition the initial developments with the help of pyrotechnics that appeared at that time, as well as consultations with specialists. The result was colored flares, which were immediately used by the US Navy during the Civil War.

During the entire period of hostilities, Coston produced and sold at cost to the US Navy about 1,200,000 flares, but for them she was paid only $15,000 instead of the promised $1,200,000. In her autobiography, the inventor said that the American military refused to pay her the entire due amount, because she was a woman and they didn't take her seriously.

Muffler for car

The very first cars did not have mufflers, so the “ancient” cars emitted a terrifying roar, scaring not only passers-by, but also horses, which at that time were still the main form of transport. Public outrage and protest grew in direct proportion to the increase in the number of cars on the roads.

But in 1917, salvation was found: the American Dolores Jones, who, like everyone else, hated the constant noise on the street, invented and applied the first soundproof filter in history to cars, thanks to which it was possible to reduce the level of noise and civil discontent.

WiFi

Hedy Lamarr is known as the first Hollywood actress to appear on the big screen completely naked. But while this achievement may seem dubious to some, the idea of ​​“frequency scanning” that she patented is certainly one that is now widely acclaimed.

Lamarr, having starred in the famous “Ecstasy,” soon married a weapons manufacturer and plunged headlong into experiments in the field of physics. In 1941, she presented her development, a technology for noise-resistant radio transmission, to the US National Council of Inventors, and donated the issued patent to the American government.

Hedy Lamarr's invention was used in 1962 American missiles, and since 1991 formed the basis mobile communications and Wi-Fi. Lamarr refused the remuneration, since she did all the work “out of personal motivation to help the world,” and the fee she received for nude scenes in the film ($30 million) lasted her until the end of her life.

Silicone

Sculptor Patricia Bellings, wanting to extend the life of her creations, experimented for eight years to find a super-strong material that could be added to cement to prevent it from crumbling. The girl was prompted to research by the story of her plaster sculpture of a swan, which she carefully sculpted over several months, but could not save - it crumbled. In 1970, Bellings finally came up with and manufactured the material she needed - industrial silicone. In addition to reliability, the material also turned out to be resistant to fire.

Body armor

All body armor is based on the material Kevlar, which was invented in 1971 by Dr. Stefania Kwolek. She worked all her life for the large chemical company DuPont. After many years of experiments and experiments, the chemist was finally able to obtain a new synthetic fiber, which in its properties was five times stronger than steel and more flexible than nylon.

Dishwasher

Such a complex mechanism as the dishwasher was also invented by a woman. But this did not happen because someone really didn’t like washing dishes, as many might think. In fact, Josephine Cochrane wanted to come up with a way to wash dishes without breaking them. The developed machine washed the dishes with a strong stream of water and did not violate its integrity in any way. In 1886, Cochrane received a patent for her invention, but the actual benefits of the dishwasher in the household were recognized only 40 years later.

Snow blower

The idea for the first snowblower was submitted by an ordinary secretary, Cynthia Westover, back in 1892. The girl, who was sensitive to her shoes, had to walk to work through snowy streets every day in winter. Patience ran out, and Cynthia came up with and made drawings of the first primitive snowblower, which captured snowdrifts from passing paths and “sprayed” them around. The theoretical development was quickly adopted and appreciated by industrialists. Soon the first snow removal machines appeared, which immediately won everyone’s love.

Periscope for submarines

Surprisingly, a device that allows you to measure the distance to objects observed from a submarine - a periscope - was also invented by a woman. Sarah Mather came up with this device back in 1845 and patented her idea.

British scientists, having surveyed 200,000 women from seven European countries, compiled a rating of the best, in their opinion, inventions of the 20th century, regardless of the gender of the author. The ten most useful things that have appeared over the last hundred years are:

• birth control pills;
• bra;
• washing machine;
• tampons;
• pregnancy test;
• disposable diapers;
• Mascara;
• jeans;
• semi-finished products;
• contact lenses.

What do you think is the best and most useful thing the 20th century gave us? Let's discuss in the comments.

Natalia Nazarenko

The term "inventor" is usually associated exclusively with men. However, quite a lot important inventions was made by representatives of the fairer sex. It’s just that in our traditionally “male” world this is modestly kept silent. But among the "female" inventions - a circular saw, a car muffler, a periscope for submarines, body armor.

So, here is a list of the most notable women's inventions.

Astrolabe.

Who has not heard about the most ancient astronomical instrument, with the help of which scientists measured the coordinates of celestial bodies. But much less is known about the fact that the Greek Hypatia of Alexandria invented the astrolabe in 370 BC. Meanwhile, this amazing woman was simultaneously a philosopher, astronomer and mathematician...

Periscope for submarines.

And this invention, which determines the distance to observed objects, was, surprisingly, created by a woman. The periscope was patented in 1845 by Sarah Mather.

A circular saw.

The first example of such a saw was created in 1810 by Tabitha Babbitt. Before this, logs were sawed using a two-handed saw, and when it moved forward, the log was sawed, and if it moved backward, then nothing happened to the tree... The circular saw made it possible to avoid this waste of effort and energy and subsequently became widely used in the sawmill industry.

Car wipers".

Oddly enough, we owe their appearance to a woman. It was a certain Mary Anderson. In 1903, she drew attention to a driver who, during a blizzard, was forced to stop the car almost every minute to get out and shovel snow from the windshield.

Car muffler.

By the middle of the second decade of the twentieth century, there were already enough cars that their noise began to bother people. El Dolores Jones helped solve this problem when she invented the acoustic filter for cars in 1917.

Dishwasher.

It appeared back in 1886. The author of the invention was Josephine Cochrane. The woman discovered that when washing by hand, dishes often break. As a result, she lost several plates from her favorite china set. Then Josephine thought about creating a special device that would wash dishes efficiently, but would not harm them. She succeeded, but the invention was recognized only forty years later.

Canned meat.

They were invented, by the way, by our compatriot Nadezhda Kozhina. She first demonstrated the method of preparing such canned food in 1873 at the World Exhibition in Vienna. For which Kozhina received a medal.

Champagne "Veuve Clicquot".

The name of this pink champagne was given in honor of a very real woman, Nicole Barbier Clicquot, who in 1808 developed the "remuage" technology, which allows you to get rid of alcoholic drink from sediment and make it crystal clear, which significantly improves its quality.

Bra.

The patent for this familiar item of women's clothing was patented in 1889 by the Frenchwoman Herminie Cadolle, the owner of a corsetry workshop. The first such product was called “le Bien-Etre” (“well-being”). The bra cups were supported by two satin ribbons, and the structure was attached to the back

Diapers.

The first waterproof diapers were made in 1917 by housewife Marion Donovan. Before this, there were only rubber sliders for babies, which compressed the skin and caused diaper rash.

Body armor.

The basis for bulletproof vests is Kevlar, a synthetic material that is five times stronger than steel. And it was developed in 1965 by Dr. Stefania Kwolek.

Silicone.

Who would have thought that this material was invented... by a sculptor! It was a woman named Patricia Billings, who set out to protect her creations from destruction. In 1970, she succeeded in creating an airtight plaster. In addition, the material turned out to be resistant to fire.

Since ancient times, man has tried to protect himself from arrows, swords, and darts. Armor has come and gone many times, with various versions of cuirasses, shells, chain mail and armor replacing one another. Firearms greatly undermined the armor position. Carrying a piece of iron on yourself has become almost pointless. However, the inventors were in no hurry to give up.

One of the prototypes of the modern vest was invented by the Koreans. Myeonje Baegab (면제 배갑, 绵制背甲), the first soft body armor. After the invasion of French forces in 1866, the people of the Joseon Kingdom discovered that Western rifles were superior to anything they had on this moment. The ruler of the state ordered something to be done urgently.

By 1871, at the beginning of the US military intervention, the Koreans had the first body armor. It consisted of multi-layered cotton fabric (there were from 13 to 30 layers), it was extremely uncomfortable, and it was hot to fight in it. But perhaps the biggest problem was the lack of fire resistance - a shot from a cannon caused several Korean soldiers to burn at once, who were hit by shrapnel. One of the copies of Myeonje Baegab was captured by the Americans and taken to the Smithsonian Institution, where it is still on display in the local museum.

Myeonje Baegab

People did not give up trying to protect themselves from gunfire. One of the most interesting prototypes of body armor was the armor of Ned Kelly, an Australian bandit. In 1880, the British Crown offered 8,000 pounds for the leader of the gang - the equivalent of $2 million today. Ned and his brothers were dressed in personally forged armor. She weighed 44 kg. The bullets literally bounced off her. One small minus - the arms and legs were not protected. He was the one who let Kelly's gang down.

Meanwhile, in the early 1880s, in Arizona, Dr. George Emery Goodfellow, one of the pioneers of modern forensic medicine, discovered during an autopsy that a bullet that had struck a folded silk handkerchief had become lodged in the fabric and in the body. didn't come in. He described this case, and, subsequently, the doctor’s notes were used by the man who can rightfully be considered the inventor of modern body armor - Casimir Zeglen.

George Emery Goodfellow

Kazimir had a strange profession for the inventor of a bulletproof vest. He was neither a merchant, nor an ordinary inventor, nor a military man. Zeglen was a Catholic priest. The inventor of the vest was born in Poland. In 1890, Kazimir, at the age of 21, left for America. He ended up in Chicago, where he headed a parish that had about 4,000 parishioners - mostly Poles. In 1893, the mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison, was shot dead by a classic “disillusioned” killer, Patrick Eugene Prendergast (he expected to receive good post and was extremely upset by the refusal. Kazimir had previously asked the question: how can you save a person from a bullet? After killing the mayor, he resumed his youthful attempts to create cloth armor.

Casimir Zeglen

For several years the priest experimented with various materials: metal shavings, horsehair, moss and much more were rejected, until finally he came across the notes of an Arizona doctor. They revealed to him the magnificent properties of silk. The material has been found. All that remains is to find a way to weave the desired vest. He visited factories in Germany and Austria, famous for their progressive technologies, and finally the required method was found.

The multi-layer silk of Zeglen's design could stretch and absorb the energy of a bullet. Newspapers of the time noted that Zeglen's bulletproof vests and coverings successfully resisted ordinary lead bullets at close range, and steel and dum-dum bullets from afar. To dispel all doubts, Zeglen arranged a public demonstration. In 1901, his Polish friend Borzikovsky shot his servant at point-blank range with a pistol. Then Zeglen himself demonstrated his invention to the public. They shot at him from a distance of eight steps, and not a single bullet reached him.

Photo taken of Zeglen's bulletproof vest testing in 1901.

Today, ballistic fabrics based on aramid fibers are the basic material for civilian and military body armor. Ballistic fabrics are produced in many countries of the world and differ significantly not only in names, but in characteristics.

Abroad, these are Kevlar (USA) and Tvaron (Europe), and in Russia - a whole series of aramid fibers, noticeably different from American and European ones in their chemical properties. What is aramid fiber? Aramid looks like thin yellow spider web fibers (other colors are very rarely used).

Aramid threads are woven from these fibers, and ballistic fabric is subsequently made from the threads. Aramid fiber has very high mechanical strength.

In its modern form, body armor appeared in the early 50s; they were invented by the Americans and first used during the Korean War. They calculated that most injuries occur due to the impact of shell and mine fragments, which do not have too much kinetic energy. To protect against these factors, a body armor was created from several layers of high-strength fabrics - nylon or nylon.

The first mass-produced body armor, the M1951, was produced in quantities of 31 thousand pieces; it was made of nylon and could be reinforced with aluminum inserts. The weight of the bulletproof vest was 3.51 kg. Its creators did not set themselves the task of holding bullets, but it did a good job of protecting the fighter from shrapnel.

Marine wearing M1951 body armor.

Mass distribution of body armor in the US Army began during the Vietnam War. The standard American army body armor of that time was the M-1969 (3.85 kg), made of nylon threads.

Bulletproof vest M-1969

In the USSR, the first 6B1 body armor was accepted for supply in 1957, but it was never put into mass production. It was planned to launch its mass production only in the event of a major war.

After the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan, the entire 6B1 stock was immediately transferred to the active army. However, this body armor turned out to be too heavy for the harsh mountain conditions. It was decided to develop a new means of protection that would be lighter. This work was carried out by specialists from the Moscow Steel Research Institute. In the shortest possible time, they created the first generation Soviet body armor 6B2, which survived the entire Afghan war.

Body armor 6B1

Body armor 6B2

The main protective element of the 6B2 was small titanium plates placed in special pockets. The bulletproof vest reliably protected against shrapnel, but an AK-47 bullet penetrated it at a distance of 400-600 meters.

Over the course of several years of the Afghan war, several body armor were developed. The main direction of their improvement was to increase the protective characteristics.

In the West, the development of body armor followed a slightly different path. The war in Vietnam can be called traditional (unlike Afghanistan) and the number of shrapnel wounds significantly exceeded losses from small arms. Therefore, the Americans were in no hurry to develop bulletproof vests. In addition, in the mid-70s, a new promising material for soft body armor, Kevlar, began to be produced on an industrial scale.

In the early 80s, a new soft Kevlar body armor - PASGT - was supplied to the American army. This body armor remained the main one for the American army until 2006. However, after the start of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Americans faced the same problem as the Soviet troops faced in the 80s. For counterinsurgency operations, a bulletproof vest was needed that provided protection against small arms fire.

PASGT

The first such body armor was the RBA, adopted by the US Army in the early 90s. Its main protective elements were small ceramic tiles placed in a vest made of nylon fabric. The weight of the bulletproof vest was 7.3 kg.

In 1999, the US Army received the OTV bulletproof vest, which protects against shrapnel. When installing additional protective panels, this body armor can also withstand machine gun bullets.

In 2007, MTV bulletproof vests with anti-fragmentation protection were accepted for supply to the US Army.

In 1983, the first Soviet bulletproof vest 6B3T appeared, in 1985 6B5 “Beehive” - a universal bulletproof vest that, depending on the configuration, could provide different levels of protection.

6B3T

6B5 "Beehive"

Now in the USA they use different kinds body armor, such as IMTV or CIRAS, but we now have the 6B43 “Zablo” model.

The American IMTV body armor is a modification of the MTV body armor, in which the developers tried to take into account some of the claims and wishes of the Marines. As a result, the changes affected only some minor design details that increase wearing comfort, the quality of fit to the figure (especially height), and make it easier to put on and take off. Wherein total weight body armor decreased very little. As for the area and quality of IMTV protection, it remained at the MTV level.

6B43 "Visor"

The “Visor” project replaced the “Beehive” series in the 90s and has dozens of basic and special modifications. The 6B43 “Vasor” series was put into service in 2010 and became a kind of response to American developers of body armor, who created diversity in the American armor “market”.

Russian developers from St. Petersburg NPF "Techinkom" have significantly improved performance characteristics. Body armor 6B43 v complete modification consists of 4 sections that provide complete protection to the military body: a chest plate, a back plate and two side plates. The plates are attached with adjustable connections with fastex fasteners in the shoulders, at waist level, which allows you to customize the model according to height and build.

Since ancient times, man has tried to protect himself from arrows, swords, and darts. Armor has come and gone many times, with various versions of cuirasses, shells, chain mail and armor replacing one another. Firearms greatly undermined the armor's positions. Carrying a piece of iron on yourself has become almost pointless. However, the inventors were in no hurry to give up. One of the prototypes of the modern vest was invented by the Koreans. Myeonje Baegab (면제 배갑, 绵制背甲), the first soft body armor. After the invasion of French forces in 1866, the people of the Joseon Kingdom discovered that Western rifles were superior to anything they currently had. The ruler of the state ordered something to be done urgently. By 1871, at the beginning of the US military intervention, the Koreans had the first body armor. It consisted of multi-layered cotton fabric (there were from 13 to 30 layers), it was extremely uncomfortable, and it was hot to fight in it. But perhaps the biggest problem was the lack of fire resistance - a shot from a cannon set several Korean soldiers on fire, who were hit by shrapnel. One of the copies of Myeonje Baegab was captured by the Americans and taken to the Smithsonian Institution, where it is still on display in the local museum. Myeonje Baegab
People did not give up trying to protect themselves from gunfire. One of the most interesting prototypes of body armor was the armor of Ned Kelly, an Australian bandit. In 1880, the British Crown offered 8,000 pounds for the leader of the gang - the equivalent of $2 million today. Ned and his brothers were dressed in personally forged armor. She weighed 44 kg. The bullets literally bounced off her. One small minus - the arms and legs were not protected. He was the one who let Kelly's gang down.
Meanwhile, in the early 1880s, in Arizona, Dr. George Emery Goodfellow, one of the pioneers of modern forensic medicine, discovered during an autopsy that a bullet that had struck a folded silk handkerchief had become lodged in the fabric and in the body. didn't come in. He described this case, and, subsequently, the doctor’s notes were used by the man who can rightfully be considered the inventor of modern body armor - Casimir Zeglen. George Emery Goodfellow Kazimir had a strange profession for the inventor of a bulletproof vest. He was neither a merchant, nor an ordinary inventor, nor a military man. Zeglen was a Catholic priest. The inventor of the vest was born in Poland. In 1890, Kazimir, at the age of 21, left for America. He ended up in Chicago, where he headed a parish that had about 4,000 parishioners - mostly Poles. In 1893, the mayor of Chicago, Carter Harrison, was shot by a classic “disappointed” killer - Patrick Eugene Prendergast (he expected to get a good post after another victory for the mayor and was extremely upset by the refusal. Casimir had previously asked the question - how can you save a person from a bullet? After killing the mayor, he resumed his youthful attempts to create cloth armor.Kazimir Zeglen For several years the priest experimented with various materials: metal shavings, horsehair, moss and much more were rejected, until finally he came across the notes of an Arizona doctor. They revealed to him the magnificent properties of silk. The material has been found. All that remains is to find a way to weave the desired vest. He visited factories in Germany and Austria, famous for their progressive technologies, and finally the required method was found. The multi-layer silk of Zeglen's design could stretch and absorb the energy of a bullet. Newspapers of the time noted that Zeglen's bulletproof vests and coverings successfully resisted ordinary lead bullets at close range, and steel and dum-dum bullets from afar. To dispel all doubts, Zeglen arranged a public demonstration. In 1901, his Polish friend Borzikovsky shot his servant at point-blank range with a pistol. Then Zeglen himself demonstrated his invention to the public. They shot at him from a distance of eight steps, and not a single bullet reached him. Photo taken of Zeglen's bulletproof vest testing in 1901. Today, ballistic fabrics based on aramid fibers are the basic material for civilian and military body armor. Ballistic fabrics are produced in many countries of the world and differ significantly not only in names, but in characteristics. Abroad, these are Kevlar (USA) and Tvaron (Europe), and in Russia - a whole series of aramid fibers, noticeably different from American and European ones in their chemical properties. What is aramid fiber? Aramid looks like thin yellow spider web fibers (other colors are very rarely used).
Aramid threads are woven from these fibers, and ballistic fabric is subsequently made from the threads. Aramid fiber has very high mechanical strength. In its modern form, body armor appeared in the early 50s; they were invented by the Americans and first used during the Korean War. They calculated that most injuries occur due to the impact of shell and mine fragments, which do not have too much kinetic energy. To protect against these factors, a body armor was created from several layers of high-strength fabrics - nylon or nylon. The first mass-produced body armor, the M1951, was produced in quantities of 31 thousand pieces; it was made of nylon and could be reinforced with aluminum inserts. The weight of the bulletproof vest was 3.51 kg. Its creators did not set themselves the task of holding bullets, but it did a good job of protecting the fighter from shrapnel. Marine wearing M1951 body armor.
Mass distribution of body armor in the US Army began during the Vietnam War. The standard American army body armor of that time was the M-1969 (3.85 kg), made of nylon threads. Bulletproof vest M-1969 In the USSR, the first 6B1 body armor was accepted for supply in 1957, but it was never put into mass production. It was planned to launch its mass production only in the event of a major war. After the outbreak of hostilities in Afghanistan, the entire 6B1 stock was immediately transferred to the active army. However, this body armor turned out to be too heavy for the harsh mountain conditions. It was decided to develop a new means of protection that would be lighter. This work was carried out by specialists from the Moscow Steel Research Institute. In the shortest possible time, they created the first generation Soviet body armor 6B2, which survived the entire Afghan war. Body armor 6B1
Body armor 6B2 The main protective element of the 6B2 was small titanium plates placed in special pockets. The bulletproof vest reliably protected against shrapnel, but an AK-47 bullet penetrated it at a distance of 400-600 meters. Over the course of several years of the Afghan war, several body armor were developed. The main direction of their improvement was to increase the protective characteristics.
In the West, the development of body armor followed a slightly different path. The war in Vietnam can be called traditional (unlike Afghanistan) and the number of shrapnel wounds significantly exceeded losses from small arms. Therefore, the Americans were in no hurry to develop bulletproof vests. In addition, in the mid-70s, a new promising material for soft body armor, Kevlar, began to be produced on an industrial scale. In the early 80s, a new soft Kevlar body armor - PASGT - was supplied to the American army. This body armor remained the main one for the American army until 2006. However, after the start of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Americans faced the same problem as the Soviet troops faced in the 80s. For counterinsurgency operations, a bulletproof vest was needed that provided protection against small arms fire. PASGT The first such body armor was the RBA, adopted by the US Army in the early 90s. Its main protective elements were small ceramic tiles placed in a vest made of nylon fabric. The weight of the bulletproof vest was 7.3 kg.
In 1999, the US Army received the OTV bulletproof vest, which protects against shrapnel. When installing additional protective panels, this body armor can also withstand machine gun bullets.
In 2007, MTV bulletproof vests with anti-fragmentation protection were accepted for supply to the US Army.
In 1983, the first Soviet bulletproof vest 6B3T appeared, in 1985 6B5 “Beehive” - a universal bulletproof vest that, depending on the configuration, could provide different levels of protection. 6B3T
6B5 "Beehive"
Now in the USA various types of body armor are used, such as IMTV or CIRAS, but we now have the 6B43 “Vazor” model.
The American IMTV body armor is a modification of the MTV body armor, in which the developers tried to take into account some of the claims and wishes of the Marines. As a result, the changes affected only some minor design details that increase wearing comfort, the quality of fit to the figure (especially height), and make it easier to put on and take off. At the same time, the overall weight of the body armor decreased extremely insignificantly. As for the area and quality of IMTV protection, it remained at the MTV level. 6B43 "Visor"
The “Visor” project replaced the “Beehive” series in the 90s and has dozens of basic and special modifications. The 6B43 “Vasor” series was put into service in 2010 and became a kind of response to American developers of body armor, who created diversity in the American armor “market”. Russian developers from the St. Petersburg NPF "Techinkom" have significantly improved the tactical and technical characteristics. The fully modified 6B43 body armor consists of 4 sections that provide complete protection to the military body: a chest plate, a back plate and two side plates. The plates are attached with adjustable connections with fastex fasteners in the shoulders, at waist level, which allows you to customize the model according to height and build.