The History of Body Armor

Armor is, a covering made for the body that protects the user during battle. Users depended on armor to shield or to weaken strikes from the enemy until the use of gunpowder. Armor use dates back way to the stone ages.

-The early days (Stone Ages)-

Men covered up with several layers of animal hides to weaken the strikes from axes, clubs and other primitive weapons. Later on, shields made of metal were made and cuirasses (body armor made of metal or specially hardened leather). The problem men had with cuirasses was that it did not cover the head, arms or legs. Armor for these areas were first made of cloth and leather, but were not that effective at weakening or preventing blows. Armorsmiths later began to develop much more effective armor made of bronze and iron.

Shields and body armor based on the period and region were different in sizes and shapes. The Romans had 2 types of shields. One was large and oblong, and the other was small and round. The Roman helmets were small with guards for the neck and cheeks. The Greeks produced a helmet that was large, with a high crest. Both wore greaves on their legs, which are jointed pieces of armor.

-The Middle Ages-

With the fall of the Roman Empire, development of armor had to start all over again. This time, as armorers advanced through the stages up to metal, they became much better craftsmen. Soldiers in combat and the success of battles depended on the armorsmiths' craftsmenship.

The use of armor reached its peak from the 1300's to the middle of the 1500's. In the days of the crusaders, knights wore armor in full, from their heads down to their feet, with hard leather tunics underneath.

The armor at this time consisted of either plate or of chain mail, which is tiny metal rings linked together. Knights also wore full helmets with a covering for their face called a "visor." They even wore armored gloves to protect their hands called "gauntlets." With the heat of the Middle East, you can only imagine how difficult it must have been to battle covered in all that heavy armor, with a leather tunic underneath that.

Armorsmiths in the 1300's started decorating their armor with silver, gold and even precious jewels. By the 1500's, armorsmiths really put their work into their pieces by painting, engraving and etching designs on almost all exposed surfaces of the armor. Some armor was even completely covered with silver or gilding.

Once armor had advanced to the full suit, armorsmiths began now to try and strengthen the weaker points. Emperor Maximilian I developed fluted armor. Fluted armor was not only strengthened armor, but it also caused enemy strikes to slide off. Plate armor became so effective, that knights could no longer pierce it, instead they tried to just knock their enemies off their horses to gain the upperhand.

-Later developments-

Armor use sharply declined with the invention of gunpowder. One piece of armor did continue to improve and carry over into modern warfare, the helmet. Soldiers in World War I and II wore steel helmets. With the Korean War, came the much more superior laminated nylon helmets with outer coverings made of aluminum.

Armor continued to improve and will always improve. In the 1940's, the United States Army developed the bulletproof vest and a body armor made of nylon and plastic. The United States Marine Corps produced a vest made with overlapping pieces of fiber glass at the front and back, and woven nylon at the shoulders. Both body armors showed tremendous results while used in the Korean War. The armor is believed to reduce casualties down by about 9%.

Armor has been the greatest method of reducing wounds and deaths since the stone ages, and still is today. It is forever changing and improving as we learn new and better methods to improve it through war and testing.