Monday, March 16, 2009

The History of Body Armor

By Jacob Williams

In the history of the world there have been many disputes that have led to world wide wars. Starting with the use of metal as a weapon, men have also discovered that metallic structures can save lives. Throughout recorded history, man has invented various different body armor structures from several different materials. Body armor is mainly created to protect the wearer against projectiles while at war, or to protect in any other dangerous situation.

The middle ages proved that knights and soldiers were benefiting from wearing metal body armor during battle. When guns and projectiles wear invented in the 1500's, it was discovered that metal body armor would not protect against the new weapon. The only materials that were proven to stop bullets were trees, walls, dirt, and other natural occurring barriers.

When many knights and nobles have purchased their new breast plates, they demanded the kind that is bullet-proof. In this light, armor makers tend to sell armors with dent on it as a proof that the armor has been tested to effectively protect against early bullets. Francesco Maria della Rovere is the man behind the very first bulletproof vest. In 1538, he was commissioned by Filippo Negroli to create more of his prototype vests. In 1561, a man named Maximilian II, who happens to be an emperor, was recorded to have tested this body armor against actual gun fire.

The idea behind the creation of bulletproof vests or clothing is believed to have originated from the soft body armor of the medieval Japanese warriors. This soft armor was made from silk. In 1880s, Dr. George Goodfellow of Arizona investigated the weaknesses of the soft vests, which he then compared to the gambesons 18-30 layers of fabric which is used to protect against arrow penetration during the medieval times. With that, the oldest tested bullet-resistant clothing or vest was made from silk. Thanks to Goodfellows research, Rev. Casimir Zeglen of Chicago, IL has developed a silk bullet proof vest that is capable of stopping slow rounds of bullets released from black powder guns. It was then very expensive, with each vest amounting to US $800 in 1914. The value is comparable to todays worth of US$15,000. This version of bulletproof vests has been successfully recognized all over the world for its ability to save lives. As many years have passed, the design and materials used for bulletproof jackets continuously improved to keep up with the advancing technologies on weapons and bullets. With the promising study conducted on spider silk and nano based armor in 2005, we can expect lighter and more effective bulletproof vests, jackets and clothing in the future.

Today, body armor is called bulletproof or bullet-resistant clothing. Modern bulletproof vests have been created to minimize, not remove, injury caused by handgun, rifle, and shotgun blasts. With that, its commonly worn by military, police, security, VIP's, and now civilians. With the recent rise of urban conflicts the demand for civilian bulletproof clothing has increased dramatically. Bulletproof clothing can offer a civilian security and comfort in dangerous neighborhoods. - 15437

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