In what year was the vest invented? Inventions of women who changed the world

People all over the world are trying to improve body armor based on new materials, but, according to experts, today the limit of protection has already been reached

- Lviv tailor Bogdan Pisarchuk in the summer of 1891 (according to other sources - 1887) invited the public and journalists from various newspapers to a demonstration of protective clothing that was not pierced by bullets - tells FACTS Lviv historian Lev Siminchko. “First, they put the body armor on a mannequin, which they immediately began firing at from powerful Austrian rifles at that time. The bullets did not penetrate the defense! Then the inventor put the shell on himself, and they shot at him with considerable force. close range volunteers already have five guns. Bogdan didn’t have a scratch left on his body! Unfortunately, further fate The invention is unknown, as is why it did not find its application in the Austrian army. However, there is no doubt that the first body armor was very similar to modern ones - it was made using metal plates connected by layers of fabric.

Warriors Ancient Rome marched in bronze cuirass even before our era. Of course, a cuirass cannot be called a body armor, but it was still protection. In the Middle Ages, knights had chain mail, later it was strengthened by “brigantine” - metal plates under the cloth. By the end of the 14th century, chain mail began to be replaced with armor. But years passed, and the armor became ineffective against bullets and buckshot. Moreover, weapons were rapidly developing - fragmentation grenades, rapid-fire rifles, and machine guns appeared.

In 1886, Russian soldiers hid behind steel shields with shooting windows, but, as it turned out, the shields were easy to shoot through even with a rifle. The Japanese made an attempt to make more reliable protection, but their shields were too heavy. Then they returned to the cuirass again. It could withstand a 7.62 mm bullet from a revolver from a distance of a couple of tens of meters. What if the metal is thickened? So, by the beginning of the First World War, fairly reliable armor made of steel alloys appeared in the armies of Russia, France, the USA, and Germany. But everyone had the same problem - too thin ones were easily penetrated, and it was impossible to move normally in thick ones.

— More or less decent body armor appeared in 1965, when an American company developed the synthetic material Kevlar, as well as special ceramics, — continues Lev Siminchko. — With the start of the war in Afghanistan, the USSR began to mass produce body armor that could protect against shrapnel and pistol bullets. The protection was then modified many times, adding modules based on fabric structures, titanium, ceramics and steel, using boron carbide along with corundum and silicon carbide. In addition to general-arms models, the armies and special services of many countries have many specific protective equipment in service: from pilot kits to similar space suits armored suits for sappers, reinforced with a special frame, which must withstand not only fragments, but also a blast wave.

Based on new materials, body armor is improved almost every year all over the world. Of course, you can put a plate on your chest that will withstand the impact of a very large caliber bullet. The bullet will not pierce the armor, but the kinetic energy will tear the insides of the fighter, break all the bones, so much so that the doctors will no longer help. That is, today the limit of protection of body armor has been reached.

The term "inventor" is usually associated exclusively with men. However, many important inventions were 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 rid the alcoholic drink of sediment and make it crystal clear, which significantly improved 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's 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 by a classic “disappointed” killer - Patrick Eugene Prendergast (he expected to get a good post after another mayoral victory 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.

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 coatings 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 his modern form body armor appeared in the early 50s, they were invented by the Americans and first used during Korean War. They calculated that most of injuries occur due to exposure to fragments of shells and mines, 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 Research Institute of Steel. 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 for supplies American army A new soft Kevlar body armor arrives - PASGT. 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. 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. 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.

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

A bulletproof vest is a personal protective equipment 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, fragment 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 firearms led to the fact that plate armor could no longer provide sufficient protection to the 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 in turn of XIX-XX 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 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.

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.

At the same time, the Americans began developing individual funds protection 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 the shortest possible time, they created the first generation Soviet body armor 6B2, which went through the entire Afghan war.

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. 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 that, depending on the configuration, could provide different levels of protection.

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.

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:

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.
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.
Differentiation of protection level for different zones.
Introduction into body armor of protection against non-ballistic factors of damage: fire or electric current.
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.
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

They do not emit a warlike roar, do not sparkle with a surface polished to a mirror shine, they are not decorated with plumes and embossed coats of arms - and are often completely disguised under jackets. But today, without this unsightly-looking armor, it is simply unthinkable to send soldiers into battle or ensure the minimum security of VIPs...

History of the emergence and development of body armor

Who first came up with the idea of putting armor on a warrior to protect him from a fatal blow from the enemy is still a controversial issue.

In ancient times, hoplites (heavily armed ancient Greek infantry), like the warriors of Ancient Rome, wore bronze cuirasses, and these cuirasses had the shape of a muscular human body, which, in addition to aesthetic considerations and psychological impact on the enemy, could also strengthen the structure, since these changes in the section play the role of improvised stiffeners.
In terms of strength, bronze at that time was definitely more effective than iron, due to its viscosity, because humanity had only just begun to fully comprehend the basics of metallurgy and the properties of metals, and steel armor plates were still fragile and unreliable.

Bronze armor, including solid cuirasses, was used in the Roman army until the beginning of our era. The disadvantage of bronze was its high cost, therefore, in many respects, the Roman army owed its victories to the superiority of its infantry in terms of armor protection against an enemy who did not have effective protection against cold and throwing weapons.
The fall of Rome also led to the decline of the blacksmith's craft. In the Dark Ages, the main and almost only armor of knights was chain mail or scales. It was not as effective as a cuirass, and quite inconvenient due to its weight, but it still made it possible, to a certain extent, to reduce losses in hand-to-hand combat.

In the 13th century, the so-called “brigantine”, made of metal plates lined with cloth, began to be used to strengthen chain mail.

Brigantines were somewhat similar in design to modern body armor, but the quality of the materials available at that time and used in their manufacture did not allow effective protection from a direct, piercing blow in close combat. By the end of the 14th century, chain mail began to be replaced by more effective armor, and the brigantine became the lot of the poor warriors who made up the light infantry and archers.

For some time, knightly cavalry, well protected by steel armor, was an almost ideal means of deciding the outcome of any battle, until firearms put an end to its dominance on the battlefield.
The heavy armor of the knight turned out to be powerless against buckshot and often only aggravated bullet wounds - bullets and buckshot, piercing the thin steel breastplate, ricocheted off the armor, inflicting additional fatal wounds.

There was only one way out of this situation - thanks to the imperfection of firearms, connected with the pace and accuracy of shooting, only the speed and maneuverability of the cavalry could save the situation, which means that the heavy armor worn by the knight was already a burden.
Therefore, only the cuirass remained the main armor of the cavalry of the 16-17th centuries, leading to the emergence of a new type of combat cavalry units - cuirassiers and hussars, whose swift attacks often turned the tide of historical battles. But with the improvement of military affairs and the modernization of firearms, this “armor” ultimately turned out to be a burden.

Cuirasses, undeservedly forgotten for several decades, returned to the Russian army only in 1812. On January 1, 1812, the highest decree was issued on the production of this safety equipment for the cavalry. By July 1812, all cuirassier regiments received a new type of cuirass, made of iron and covered with black paint.

The cuirass consisted of two halves - the chest and the back, fastened with two belts with copper tips, riveted to the back half at the shoulders and fastened on the chest with two copper buttons. For privates, these support belts had iron scales, for officers - copper.
The edges of the cuirass were lined with red cord, and the inside was lined with white canvas lined with cotton wool. Naturally, such protection did not hold a bullet, but in close combat, hand-to-hand combat or in a horse fight, similar look armor protection was simply necessary. Subsequently, with a decrease in the effectiveness of this protection, the cuirass eventually remained in the army only as an element of ceremonial clothing.

The results of the Battle of Inkerman (1854), in which Russian infantry were shot as targets at a shooting range, and the stunning losses of George Edward Pickett’s (1825-1875) division in the Battle of Gettysburg (1863), literally mowed down by the fire of the northerners, forced commanders think not only about changing traditional battle tactics.
After all, the soldier’s chest was protected from deadly metal only by the thin cloth of his uniform.

As long as the battles consisted of an exchange of musket volleys followed by hand-to-hand threshing, this did not cause much concern. But with the advent of rapid-fire artillery, which covered the battlefield with shrapnel and fragmentation grenades, rapid-fire rifles, and then machine guns, the losses of the armies grew monstrously.
The generals had different attitudes towards the lives of their soldiers. Some respected and took care of them, some considered death in battle honorable for a real man, for some soldiers were simply consumables. But they all agreed that excessive losses would not allow them to win the battle - or even lead to defeat. Particularly vulnerable were the soldiers of the infantry battalions going on the attack and the sapper companies operating on the front line - on whom the enemy concentrated his main fire. Therefore, the idea arose to find a way to protect at least them.

"Harvest of Death" One of the most famous photographs by American photographer Timothy O'Sullivan (1840-1882), taken on the day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Photo: Timothy H. O'Sullivan from the Library of Congress archives

She was the first to try to return the old reliable shield on the battlefield. In 1886, steel shields designed by Colonel Fisher, with special windows for shooting, were tested in Russia. Unfortunately, they were too thin and turned out to be ineffective - since they were easily shot through by new rifles. But the Japanese, who used British-made steel shields during the siege of Port Arthur, had another problem.
Having dimensions of 1 m by 0.5 m and sufficient thickness, these shields weighed 20 kg - so it was simply impossible to attack with them. Subsequently, the idea arose of placing similar heavy shields on wheels, which was transformed into the creation of armored boxes-carts - having climbed into which, the infantryman moved, pushing off with his feet. These were ingenious, but of little use, designs, since such a cart could only be pushed to the first obstacle.
Another project turned out to be promising - a return to the use of cuirass (shell). Fortunately, the idea was right before my eyes, since at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries it was still part of the ceremonial uniform of cuirassier regiments. It turned out that even a simple old-style cuirass (intended for protection against edged weapons) from a distance of a couple of ten meters can withstand a 7.62 mm bullet from a Nagant revolver. Accordingly, some thickening of it (to reasonable limits) could protect a person from something more powerful.
Thus began the revival of cuirass. It should be noted that Russia responded to the Japanese shields by ordering 100 thousand infantry cuirasses for its army from the French company Simone, Gesluen and Co. However, the delivered goods turned out to be unusable. Either the company cheated, or Paris was interested in the defeat of the Russians - which entailed an even greater involvement of Russia in debt bondage to French banks.

The protective equipment of the domestic design turned out to be reliable. Among their authors, the most famous is Lieutenant Colonel A. A. Chemerzin, who made cuirasses from various steel alloys he developed. This talented man can undoubtedly be called a father Russian body armor.
“Catalogue of armor invented by Lieutenant Colonel A. A. Chemerzin” is the name of a brochure published in printing and sewn into one of the files stored in the Central State Military-Historical Archive. It provides the following information: “Weight of shells: lightest 11/2 pounds (pound - 409.5 g), heaviest 8 pounds. Unnoticeable under clothes. Armor against rifle bullets, not penetrated by a 3-line military rifle, weighs 8 pounds. The shells cover: the heart, lungs, stomach, both sides, spinal column and back against the lungs and heart. The impenetrability of each shell is tested by shooting in the presence of the buyer.”
The “Catalogue” contains several test reports of shells carried out in 1905-1907. One of them reported: “In the presence of HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY THE GOVERNMENT EMPEROR, on June 11, 1905, a machine gun company fired in the city of Oranienbaum. They fired from 8 machine guns at an alloy shell invented by Lieutenant Colonel Chemerzin from a distance of 300 steps. 36 bullets hit the shell. The shell was not broken and there were no cracks. The entire variable composition of the shooting school was present during the test.”
The shield-shell that the Sormovo Factory Society offered during the First World War.

The armor was also tested in the reserve of the Moscow Metropolitan Police, upon whose order they were manufactured. They were fired at at a distance of 15 steps. The shells, as noted in the act, “turned out to be impenetrable, and the bullets did not produce any fragments. The first batch turned out to be manufactured quite satisfactorily.”
The report of the reserve commission of the St. Petersburg Metropolitan Police stated: “The test gave the following results: when shooting at the chest and dorsal armor, covered with thin silk fabric, the first weighed 4 pounds 75 spools (spool - 4.26 g) and the second 5 pounds 18 spools , covering the chest, stomach, sides and back, bullets (Browning), having pierced the material, are deformed and make a depression on the shell, but do not pierce it, remaining between the material and the shell, and no fragments of the bullet fly out.”
By the beginning of the First World War, cuirasses had become fashionable in Russia. The metropolitan police were equipped with them to protect them from the knives of criminals and the bullets of revolutionaries. Several thousand of them were sent to the army. Civilians who were afraid of armed robbery, despite the high prices (from 1,500 to 8,000 rubles), also became interested in cuirasses for concealed (under clothing) wear. Alas, along with the first demand for these prototypes of civilian body armor, the first crooks appeared who took advantage of them. Promising that their goods could not be shot through even by a machine gun, they sold cuirasses, which, to put it mildly, did not withstand any tests.

In the first days of 1918, the French artillery and technical department tested old cuirasses at the Fort de la Peña training ground. The soldiers, covered with a metal shell, were shot with a pistol, rifle and machine gun with quite encouraging results. With the outbreak of the First World War, cuirasses and similar means of protection were used not only by Russia, but also by other countries.
The American Army experimented with armor for its troops on the Western Front of World War I

IN German army helmets with special mounted armor were used. The pins of the additional protection fastenings on a standard German helmet caused the enemy only gloating judgments about the “hornedness” of the Kaiser’s army, when the product itself, although it protected from direct hit bullets, but simply could not withstand the energy of a bullet strike cervical vertebrae soldier, making the hit fatal in any case.

Testing other elements of armor protection in action showed their advantages and disadvantages. Of course it was good protection torso - from its vital organs. However, the durability of the cuirass depended on its thickness. Too thin and light did not protect at all from standard rifle bullets and large fragments, while the thicker one weighed so much that it became impossible to fight in it.
German "body armor" 1916

However, research in the field of personal armor protection of infantry was not limited to the end of the First World War.
Creations of Italian military thought during the First World War

A relatively successful compromise was found in 1938, when the first experimental steel breastplate, CH-38 (SN-1), entered service with the Red Army. As the name implies, it protected the soldier only from the front (chest, stomach and groin). By saving on back protection, it became possible to increase the thickness of the steel sheet without overloading the fighter.
But that's it weak sides Such solutions showed themselves during the Finnish Company, and in 1941 the development and production of the CH-42 (CH-2) bib began. Its creators were the armor laboratory of the Institute of Metals (TsNIIM) under the leadership of M.I. Koryukov, one of the authors of the famous Soviet helmet, which is still in service today.
Steel bib CH-38 (CH-1)

CH-42 consisted of two plates three millimeters thick, upper and lower - since in a solid breastplate a soldier would not be able to help but bend or crouch. It protected well from shrapnel and from machine gun fire (at a distance of over 100 meters), although it could not withstand a shot from a rifle or machine gun. First of all, they were equipped with army special forces groups - assault engineer brigades (SHISBr). They were used in the most difficult areas: the capture of powerful fortifications, street battles. At the front they were called “armored infantry”, and also jokingly “crayfish”.
Soldiers usually put this “shell” on a padded jacket with the sleeves torn off, which served as an additional shock absorber, despite the fact that the breastplate had a special lining on the inside. But there were cases when the “shell” was worn on top of a camouflage suit, as well as on top of an overcoat.

According to reviews from front-line soldiers, the assessment of such a bib was the most controversial - from flattering reviews to complete rejection.
But after analyzing the combat path of the “experts”, you come to the following paradox: the breastplate was valuable in the assault units that “took” large cities, but negative reviews They came mainly from units that captured field fortifications. The “shell” protected the chest from bullets and shrapnel while the soldier was walking or running, as well as in hand-to-hand combat, so it was more necessary in street fighting.

However, in field conditions, assault sappers moved more on their bellies, and then the steel breastplate became an absolutely unnecessary hindrance. In units that fought in sparsely populated areas, these breastplates migrated first to battalion and then to brigade warehouses.

In 1942, an armored shield measuring 560x450 mm, made of 4 mm steel, was tested. Usually it was worn on a belt behind the back, and in a combat situation the shooter placed it in front of him and inserted the rifle into the provided slot. Fragmentary information has been preserved about the so-called “soldier’s armor” - a 5-mm steel sheet measuring 700x1000 mm and weighing 20-25 kg with edges curved inward and, again, a hole for a rifle. These devices were used by observers and snipers.
In 1946, the CH-46, the last steel breastplate, entered service. Its thickness was increased to 5 mm, which made it possible to withstand a burst from a PPSh or MP-40 type machine gun at a distance of 25 m, and for greater convenience for the fighter, it consisted of three parts.

The steel cuirass had three disadvantages: heavy weight, inconvenience when moving, and when a bullet hits, there are splinters of steel and splashes of lead, injuring its owner.
It was possible to get rid of them thanks to the use of fabric made of durable synthetic fibers as a material.

The Americans were among the first to create a new means of protection. During the Korean War, they provided their soldiers with multi-layer nylon vests. There were several types of them (M-1951, M-1952, M-12, etc.), and some had the cut of a real vest - fastened in the front. They were powerless against bullets, and in general were originally intended to protect the crews of military equipment from small fragments. That is why they covered the soldiers only to the waist. Somewhat later, bulletproof vests began to be issued to those soldiers who fought on “their own two” (that is, infantry). To do this, they were lengthened and protective collars were added. In addition, to enhance protection, metal plates began to be placed inside the body armor (sewn in or placed in special pockets).

With these body armor, the United States entered into Vietnam War. An analysis of the losses of the American army showed that 70-75% of wounds were fragmentation, with the majority in the torso.
To reduce them, it was decided to put all the infantry in body armor, which saved many American soldiers and officers from injury, or even death. The emergence of the especially durable synthetic material Kevlar, developed in 1965 by the American company DuPont, as well as special ceramics, allowed the United States to begin producing body armor that could somehow protect its soldiers from bullets.

First domestic body armor made at the All-Union Institute of Aviation Materials (VIAM). It began to be developed in 1954, and in 1957 it received the 6B1 index and was accepted for supply to the USSR Armed Forces. About one and a half thousand copies were made and stored in warehouses. It was decided to launch mass production of body armor only in the event of a threatened period.

The protective composition of the BZ was a mosaic of hexagonal plates made of aluminum alloy, behind which there were several layers of nylon fabric and a batting lining. The vest protected against bullets of the 7.62x25 cartridge fired from a submachine gun (PPSh or PPS) from a distance of 50 meters and shrapnel.

In the initial period of the war in Afghanistan, a number of these armored vehicles ended up in units of the 40th Army. Although the protective characteristics of these body armor were considered insufficient, their operation gave positive experience. In February 1979, the Central Committee of the CPSU held a meeting on equipping OKSV units in Afghanistan with Personal Armor Protection. Representatives of the Steel Research Institute present at the meeting proposed to create a vest for the army using the design solutions of the ZhZT-71M body armor vest previously developed by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The first experimental batch of such body armor was sent to Afghanistan in March 1979. In 1981, the body armor was accepted for supply to the USSR Armed Forces under the name 6B2 (Zh-81).
Its protective composition consisted of ADU-605-80 titanium armor plates with a thickness of 1.25 mm and a ballistic screen made of TSVM-Dzh aramid fabric.

With a mass of 4.8 kg, the BZ provided protection from shrapnel and pistol bullets. He could no longer resist the bullets of long-barreled small arms (bullets from the 7.62x39 cartridge pierced the protective composition already at distances of 400-600 meters).
By the way, an interesting fact. The cover of this bulletproof vest was made of nylon fabric, and it was fastened with the then newfangled “Velcro.” All this gave the product a very “foreign” look. Which gave rise to numerous rumors that these BZ were purchased abroad - either in the Czech Republic, or in the GDR, or even in some capital country...

The war going on in Afghanistan required equipping the army with more reliable means of individual armor protection, providing protection from small arms bullets at real ranges of combined arms combat.

Two types of such body armor were developed and accepted for supply: 6B3TM and 6B4. The first used titanium armor plates ADU-605T-83 with a thickness of 6.5 mm, the second used ceramic ADU 14.20.00.000, made of boron carbide. Both body armor provided all-round bulletproof protection against bullets from the 7.62x39 PS cartridge from a distance of 10 meters.
However, the experience of military operation has shown that the weight of such protection is excessive. So, 6B3TM weighed 12.2 kg, and 6B4 - 12 kg.

As a result, it was decided to make the protection differentiated: the chest section was bulletproof, and the back section was anti-fragmentation (with titanium armor panels similar to those used in the 6B2 vest. This made it possible to reduce the weight of the vests to 8.2 and 7.6 kg, respectively. In 1985, such bulletproof vests were adopted for supply under the indexes 6B3-01 (Zh-85T) and 6B4-01 (Zh-85K).

When creating these body armor, an attempt was made for the first time to combine protective functions with the ability to carry combat equipment. The special pockets of the vest covers could accommodate 4 magazines for AK or RPK, 4 hand grenades, gas mask and radio station.

Based on the accumulated experience, it was decided to make a unified body armor, which, having a single design, could be equipped various types armored elements and provide protection various levels.
This vest was accepted for supply in 1986 under the designation 6B5 (Zh-86). It was decided to leave the rest of the body armor accepted for supply with the troops until they complete replacement(in fact, BZ 6B3-01 managed to fight in both the first and second Chechen campaigns).
The final series of Russian vests of the first generation is the 6B5 series of body armor. This series was created by the Steel Research Institute in 1985 after conducting a series of research works to determine standardized standard means of personal armor protection.
The 6B5 series was based on vests already developed and in use and included 19 modifications, differing in the level of protection, area, and purpose. Distinctive feature This series is based on a modular design principle of protection. those. each subsequent model in the series could be formed from unified protective units. The latter included modules based on fabric structures, titanium, ceramics and steel.

The 6B5 body armor was adopted for service in 1986 under the designation Zh-86. The new vest was a case in which soft ballistic screens made of TSVM-DZh fabric, etc. were placed. circuit boards, in the pockets of which armor plates were placed. The following types of armor panels could be used in the protective composition: ceramic ADU 14.20.00.000, titanium ADU-605T-83 and ADU-605-80 and steel ADU 14.05 with a thickness of 3.8 mm.
Early models of body armor had covers made of nylon fabric in various shades of green or gray-green. There were also batches with covers made of cotton fabric with a camouflage pattern (two-color for the KGB and Air Force units of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, three-color for the Airborne Forces and Marine Corps).
After the adoption of the general military camouflage pattern “Flora”, the 6B5 body armor was also produced with the same camouflage pattern.

The 6B5 bulletproof vest consists of a front and a back, connected in the shoulder area with a textile fastener and a belt-buckle fastening for height adjustment. The front and back consist of covers in which fabric protective pockets and blocks of pockets and armor elements are located. The protective properties are maintained after exposure to moisture when using water-repellent covers for protective pockets.
The body armor is equipped with two water-repellent covers for protective pockets, two spare armor elements and a bag. All models of body armor are equipped with a fragmentation collar. On the outside of the body armor cover there are pockets for vending machines and other elements of weapons. There are bolsters in the shoulder area that prevent the gun belt from slipping off the shoulder.
During the turbulent 90s, the development of army personal protective equipment stalled, and funding for many promising body armor projects was curtailed. But rampant crime in the country gave impetus to the development and production of personal armor protection for individuals. Demand for them in these early years greatly exceeded supply.
It is no coincidence that in Russia, companies offering these products began to appear like mushrooms after rain. After only 3 years, the number of such companies exceeded 50. The apparent simplicity of body armor brought a lot of amateur companies, and sometimes outright charlatans, into this area.
As a result, the quality of body armor that flooded the Russian market has dropped sharply. While evaluating one of these “body armor,” experts from the Steel Research Institute once discovered that it used ordinary food-grade aluminum as protective elements. Obviously, such a vest did not protect from anything other than being hit by a ladle.
Therefore, in 1995, a significant step was taken in the field of personal armor protection - the appearance of GOST R 50744-95 (link), which regulates the classification and technical requirements for body armor.
Progress did not stand still, and the army needed new body armor. The concept of BKIE (basic set of individual equipment) appeared, in which body armor played a significant role. The first project of the BKIE “Barmitsa” contained the theme “Visor” - a new army body armor to replace the body armor of the “Beehive” series.

Within the framework of the “Visor” theme, body armor vests 6B11, 6B12, 6B13 were created and put into service in 1999. Uncharacteristically for the Soviet period, these body armor were developed and produced by a significant number of organizations and differ significantly in their characteristics. Body armor 6B11, 6B12, 6B13 are produced or were produced by the Research Institute of Steel, TsVM Armokom, NPF Tekhinkom, JSC Kirasa.
In general, 6B11 is a body armor of the 2nd protection class, weighing about 5 kg. 6B12 - provides protection for the chest according to the 4th protection class, for the back - according to the second. Weight - about 8 kg. 6B13 - all-round protection of the 4th class, weighing about 11 kg.
Boron carbide, together with corundum and silicon carbide, is still used today for the manufacture of body armor Russian army. Unlike metals, these materials, when hit by a bullet, do not create fragments - which surgeons then have to pick out, but crumble into safe “sand” (like car glass).

In addition to several basic general-arms (infantry) models, the army and special services also have an innumerable number of specific ones: from protective kits for pilots to armored suits for sappers that look like space suits, reinforced with a special frame - which must withstand not only fragments, but also a blast wave. You can’t do without some oddities: in fact, body armor has always been “cut out” for men, but now women are joining the army en masse, whose figure, as you know, has some differences.
Meanwhile, in the production of body armor they promise to make another revolution. For example, the Dutch company Heerlen announced the development of Dyneema SB61 fabric made from polyethylene fiber, which, according to it, is 40% stronger than Kevlar.
And specialists from the University of Delaware and the US Army Research Laboratory (USA) proposed a completely original “liquid armor”. Their experimental sample is a Kevlar fabric impregnated with STF material - a mixture of microscopic quartz particles and polyethylene glycol. The point of the innovation is that quartz particles, having penetrated the fabric fibers, replace inconvenient insert armor plates.

As in the case of military cuirasses, after the appearance of body armor in the army, civilians also wanted to have them. The excitement for them arose immediately after the Korean War - soldiers returning home told many fantastic stories about “magic vests”.
As a result, a myth arose that a simple fabric bulletproof vest is completely impenetrable. Moreover, tales appeared about certain “armored shirts” - which turned out to be a common scam.
Judge for yourself: the shirt is made from just one layer of fabric, which is not enough even to protect against a miniature Browning.
To protect yourself, you should wear at least a Kevlar padded jacket.

Typical civilian body armor is classified as class 1-3. The first, made of several layers of fabric, protects against bullets from pistols such as PM and Nagant - but no more! In addition, it can easily be pierced by a stiletto or an awl, which passes through the Kevlar fabric, pushing its fibers apart (like through the links of chain mail).
The second class includes fairly thick, dense vests, reinforced in the most vital places with thin inserts (usually metal). They are designed for TT pistol bullets and pistol models chambered for 9 mm.

The third class consists of less comfortable body armor equipped with armor plates. They are designed to protect against shots from light machine guns - there is not a Kalashnikov automatic assault carbine, but submachine guns such as PPSh, Uzi, Kochler-Koch, etc. All three classes are concealed body armor that is worn under a shirt, sweater, or jacket. If you wish and have additional funds, they will be made to order for you, in any style and color.
Quite often, customers ask for them to be made in the form of a regular suit vest or women’s corset, sometimes to be disguised as a jacket or jacket. This is necessary mainly for aesthetic reasons, so as not to shock others - if its owner is a public figure.

It should be noted that body armor has a wider range of owners than it seems at first glance. For example, in Israel they are sometimes ordered for children - for obvious reasons. And in the UK they want to put body armor on police dogs.
The fourth and fifth classes of body armor are already classified as professional, combat - and they are intended for the army, police, and special services. These thick and rather heavy “shells” that are worn over the suit promise that your body armor will protect not only from fragments of a grenade exploding nearby, but will also withstand a bullet from a Kalashnikov assault rifle, M-16, and even a sniper rifle. But not at point-blank range, but from a distance of several hundred meters, and a simple one, and not with an armor-piercing core - which passes through the Kevlar threads just like an awl and pierces the plates.
Theoretically, a plate can be inserted into a bulletproof vest that can withstand even a bullet from a heavy machine gun. But this will not save the soldier in any way. And that's why.

Armor, be it steel, Kevlar or composite, only delays a bullet or fragment: only part of its kinetic energy is converted into heat during inelastic deformations of the vest and the bullet itself. However, the momentum remains. And when a pistol bullet hits a bulletproof vest, it causes a blow that can be compared to a good hook from a professional boxer. A bullet from a machine gun will hit the armor plate with the force of a sledgehammer - breaking ribs and knocking out the insides. That is why, even under steel cuirasses and breastplates, soldiers put padded jackets or homemade pillows under their steel cuirasses and breastplates - to at least somehow soften the blow. Now shock-absorbing pads made of porous spring materials are used for this. But they help only partially.

It’s not hard to imagine what will happen when hit by a 12.7 mm bullet. It is unlikely that even the most experienced surgeon can mend a poor fellow with minced lungs and a crumbling spine. That is why increasing the bullet resistance of a bulletproof vest is only advisable up to a certain point - beyond which it is simply better not to tempt fate.

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