Western Xia mail armour

Armour (British English) orarmor (American English; seespelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contactweapons orprojectiles duringcombat, or from a potentially dangerous environment or activity (e.g. cycling, construction sites, etc.).Personal armour is used to protect soldiers andwar animals.Vehicle armour is used onwarships,armoured fighting vehicles, and some mostly ground attackcombat aircraft.

A second use of the termarmour describesarmoured forces,armoured weapons, and their role in combat. After the development ofarmoured warfare,tanks andmechanised infantry and their combat formations came to be referred to collectively as "armour".

Etymology

Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour with Two Pages byParis Bordone

The word "armour" began to appear in the Middle Ages as a derivative ofOld French. It is dated from 1297 as a "mail, defensive covering worn in combat". The word originates from the Old Frencharmure, itself derived from theLatinarmatura meaning "arms and/or equipment", with the rootarmare meaning "arms or gear".^[1]

Personal

Armour has been used throughoutrecorded history. It has been made from a variety of materials, beginning with the use of leathers or fabrics as protection^[2] and evolving throughchain mail and metal plate into today's moderncomposites. For much ofmilitary history the manufacture of metal personal armour has dominated the technology and employment of armour.

Armour drove the development of many important technologies of the Ancient World, including woodlamination, mining,metal refining, vehicle manufacture, leather processing, and later decorative metal working. Its production was influential in theindustrial revolution, and furthered commercial development of metallurgy and engineering. Armour was the single most influential factor in the development offirearms, which in turn revolutionised warfare.

History

TheDendra panoply,Mycenaean Greek armour, c. 1400 BC

Significant factors in the development of armour include the economic and technological necessities of its production. For instance,plate armour first appeared inMedieval Europe when water-powered trip hammers made the formation of plates faster and cheaper. Also, modern militaries usually do not equip their forces with the best armour available because it would be prohibitively expensive. At times the development of armour has paralleled the development of increasingly effective weaponry on the battlefield, with armourers seeking to create better protection without sacrificing mobility.

Well-known armour types inEuropean history include thelorica hamata,lorica squamata, and thelorica segmentata of theRoman legions, themailhauberk of the early medieval age, and the full steel plate harness worn by latermedieval andrenaissanceknights, and breast and back plates worn by heavy cavalry in several European countries until the first year of World War I (1914–15). Thesamurai warriors of feudal Japan utilisedmany types of armour for hundreds of years up to the 19th century.

Early

Wooden statue ofGuan Yu in mountain pattern armour, 16th c.Ming dynasty

Cuirasses andhelmets were manufactured in Japan as early as the 4th century.^[3]Tankō, worn by foot soldiers andkeikō, worn by horsemen were both pre-samurai types of earlyJapanese armour constructed from iron plates connected together by leather thongs. Japanese lamellar armour (keiko) passed through Korea and reached Japan around the 5th century.^[4] These early Japanese lamellar armours took the form of a sleeveless jacket, leggings and a helmet.^[5]

Armour did not always cover all of the body; sometimes no more than a helmet and leg plates were worn. The rest of the body was generally protected by means of a largeshield. Examples of armies equipping their troops in this fashion were the Aztecs (13th to 15th century CE).^[6]

In East Asia many types of armour were commonly used at different times by various cultures, includingscale armour,lamellar armour,laminar armour,plated mail,mail,plate armour, andbrigandine. Around the dynastic Tang, Song, and early Ming Period, cuirasses and plates (mingguangjia) were also used, with more elaborate versions for officers in war. The Chinese, during that time used partial plates for "important" body parts instead of covering their whole body since too much plate armour hinders their martial arts movement. The other body parts were covered in cloth, leather, lamellar, or Mountain pattern. In pre-Qin dynasty times, leather armour was made out of various animals, with more exotic ones such as the rhinoceros.

Mail, sometimes called "chainmail", made of interlocking iron rings is believed to have first appeared some time after 300 BC. Its invention is credited to theCelts; theRomans are thought to have adopted their design.^[7]

Gradually, small additional plates or discs of iron were added to the mail to protect vulnerable areas. Hardened leather andsplinted construction were used for arm and leg pieces. Thecoat of plates was developed, an armour made of large plates sewn inside a textile or leather coat.

13th to 18th century Europe

Early plate in Italy, and elsewhere in the 13th–15th century, were made of iron. Iron armour could becarburised orcase hardened to give a surface of harder steel.^[8] Plate armour became cheaper than mail by the 15th century as it required much less labour and labour had become much more expensive after theBlack Death, though it did require larger furnaces to produce largerblooms. Mail continued to be used to protect those joints which could not be adequately protected by plate, such as the armpit, crook of the elbow and groin. Another advantage of plate was that a lance rest could be fitted to the breast plate.^[9]

The small skull cap evolved into a bigger true helmet, thebascinet, as it was lengthened downward to protect the back of the neck and the sides of the head. Additionally, several new forms of fully enclosed helmets were introduced in the late 14th century.

Heavily armoured riders and theirbardedwar horses, 16th century

Probably the most recognised style of armour in the world became theplate armour associated with theknights of the EuropeanLate Middle Ages, but continuing to the early 17th centuryAge of Enlightenment in all European countries.

By about 1400 the full harness of plate armour had been developed in armouries of Lombardy.^[10] Heavy cavalry dominated the battlefield for centuries in part because of their armour.

In the early 15th century, advances in weaponry allowed infantry to defeat armoured knights on the battlefield. The quality of the metal used in armour deteriorated as armies became bigger and armour was made thicker, necessitating breeding of larger cavalry horses. If during the 14–15th centuries armour seldom weighed more than 15 kg, then by the late 16th century it weighed 25 kg.^[11] The increasing weight and thickness of late 16th century armour therefore gave substantial resistance.

In the early years of low velocity firearms, full suits of armour, or breast plates actually stopped bullets fired from a modest distance. Crossbow bolts, if still used, would seldom penetrate good plate, nor would any bullet unless fired from close range. In effect, rather than making plate armour obsolete, the use of firearms stimulated the development of plate armour into its later stages. For most of that period, it allowed horsemen to fight while being the targets of defending arquebusiers without being easily killed. Full suits of armour were actually worn by generals and princely commanders right up to the second decade of the 18th century. It was the only way they could be mounted and survey the overall battlefield with safety from distant musket fire.

The horse was afforded protection from lances and infantry weapons by steel platebarding. This gave the horse protection and enhanced the visual impression of a mounted knight. Late in the era, elaborate barding was used in parade armour.

Later

Elements of a Light-Cavalry Armor, c. 1510

Gradually, starting in the mid-16th century, one plate element after another was discarded to save weight for foot soldiers.

Back and breast plates continued to be used throughout the entire period of the 18th century and through Napoleonic times, in many European (heavy) cavalry units, until the early 20th century. From their introduction,muskets could pierce plate armour, so cavalry had to be far more mindful of the fire. In Japan armour continued to be used until the end of the samurai era, with the last major fighting in which armour was used happening in 1868.^[12]Samurai armour had one last short lived use in 1877 during theSatsuma Rebellion.^[13]

Though the age of the knight was over, armour continued to be used in many capacities. Soldiers in the American Civil War bought iron and steel vests from peddlers (both sides had considered but rejected body armour for standard issue). The effectiveness of the vests varied widely—some successfully deflected bullets and saved lives, but others were poorly made and resulted in tragedy for the soldiers. In any case the vests were abandoned by many soldiers due to their weight on long marches as well as the stigma they got for being cowards from their fellow troops.^[14]

At the start of World War I, thousands of the FrenchCuirassiers rode out to engage the German Cavalry. By that period, the shiny armour plate was covered in dark paint and a canvas wrap covered their elaborate Napoleonic style helmets. Their armour was only meant for protection against edged weapons such asbayonets,sabres, andlances. Cavalry had to be wary ofrepeating rifles,machine guns, andartillery, unlike the foot soldiers, who at least had atrench to give them some protection.

Present

Today,ballistic vests, also known asflak jackets, made of ballistic cloth (e.g.kevlar,dyneema,twaron,spectra etc.) and ceramic or metal plates are common among police forces,security staff,corrections officers and some branches of the military.

The US Army has adoptedInterceptor body armour, which uses Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts (ESAPIs) in the chest, sides, and back of the armour. Each plate is rated to stop a range of ammunition including 3 hits from a7.62×51 NATO AP round at a range of 10 m (33 ft).^[15]Dragon Skin is another ballistic vest which is currently in testing with mixed results. As of 2019, it has been deemed too heavy, expensive, and unreliable, in comparison to more traditional plates, and it is outdated in protection compared to modern US IOTV armour, and even in testing was deemed a downgrade from the IBA.

The British Armed Forces also have their own armour, known as Osprey. It is rated to the same general equivalent standard as the US counterpart, theImproved Outer Tactical Vest, and now theSoldier Plate Carrier System andModular Tactical Vest.

The Russian Armed Forces also have armour, known as the 6B43, all the way to 6B45, depending on variant. Their armour runs on the GOST system, which, due to regional conditions, has resulted in a technically higher protective level overall.

• 

  Medieval German helmet.

• 

  Early Modern horse armour on display atMetropolitan Museum of Art inNew York.

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  Plate armour

• 

  Riot police with body protection against physical impact. It does not provide very much protection against firearms, however.

Vehicle

The first modern production technology for armour plating was used by navies in the construction of theironclad warship, reaching its pinnacle of development with thebattleship. The firsttanks were produced during World War I. Aerial armour has been used to protect pilots and aircraft systems since the First World War.

In modern ground forces' usage, the meaning of armour has expanded to include the role of troops in combat. After the evolution ofarmoured warfare,mechanised infantry were mounted in armoured fighting vehicles and replacedlight infantry in many situations. In modern armoured warfare, armoured units equipped with tanks andinfantry fighting vehicles serve the historic role ofheavy cavalry,light cavalry, anddragoons, and belong to the armoured branch of warfare.

History

Ships

HMS Warrior during her third commission between 1867 and 1871

The firstironclad battleship, withiron armour over a wooden hull,Gloire, was launched by theFrench Navy in 1859^[16] prompting the BritishRoyal Navy to build a counter. The following year they launchedHMS Warrior, which was twice the size and had iron armour over an iron hull. After thefirst battle between two ironclads took place in 1862 during theAmerican Civil War, it became clear that the ironclad had replaced theunarmoured line-of-battle ship as the most powerful warship afloat.^[17]

Ironclads were designed for several roles, including as high seas battleships,coastal defence ships, and long-rangecruisers. The rapid evolution of warship design in the late 19th century transformed the ironclad from a wooden-hulled vessel which carried sails to supplement its steam engines into the steel-built, turreted battleships and cruisers familiar in the 20th century. This change was pushed forward by the development of heavier naval guns (the ironclads of the 1880s carried some of the heaviest guns ever mounted at sea),^{[citation needed]} more sophisticated steam engines, and advances in metallurgy which made steel shipbuilding possible.

The rapid pace of change in the ironclad period meant that many ships were obsolete as soon as they were complete, and that naval tactics were in a state of flux. Many ironclads were built to make use of theram or thetorpedo, which a number of naval designers considered the crucial weapons of naval combat. There is no clear end to the ironclad period, but towards the end of the 1890s the termironclad dropped out of use. New ships were increasingly constructed to a standard pattern and designated battleships orarmoured cruisers.

Trains

An armoured train from 1915

Armoured trains saw use during the 19th century and early 20th century in the American Civil War (1861–1865), theFranco-Prussian War (1870–1871), theFirst andSecond Boer Wars (1880–81 and 1899–1902), thePolish–Soviet War (1919–1921), theFirst (1914–1918) andSecond World Wars (1939–1945) and theFirst Indochina War (1946–1954). The most intensive use of armoured trains was during theRussian Civil War (1918–1920).

Armoured fighting vehicles

Ancientsiege engines were usually protected by wooden armour, often covered with wet hides or thin metal to prevent being easily burned.

Medievalwar wagons were horse-drawn wagons that were similarly armoured. These contained guns or crossbowmen that could fire through gun-slits.

The first modernarmoured fighting vehicles werearmoured cars, developed circa 1900. These started as ordinary wheeled motor-cars protected by iron shields, typically mounting amachine gun.^[18]

During the First World War, the stalemate oftrench warfare during on theWestern Front spurred the development of the tank. It was envisioned as an armoured machine that could advance under fire from enemy rifles and machine guns, and respond with its own heavy guns. It utilizedcaterpillar tracks to cross ground broken up by shellfire and trenches.

Aircraft

With the development of effectiveanti-aircraft artillery in the period before the Second World War, military pilots, once the "knights of the air" during the First World War, became far more vulnerable to ground fire. As a response armour plating was added to aircraft to protect aircrew and vulnerable areas such as engines and fuel tanks.Self-sealing fuel tanks functioned like armour in that they added protection but also increased weight and cost.

Present

TheUS Military'sM1 AbramsMBT usescomposite,reactive, andcage armour

Swebor-brand high-strength low alloy steel plate, showing both sides, afterplastic deformation from defeatingprojectiles inballistics testing. Note: When exposed to fire, steel first expands and then loses its strength, exceeding critical temperature at 538 °C (1,000 °F) perASTM E119 unless treated withfireproofing.

Tank armour has progressed from the Second World War armour forms, now incorporating not only hardercomposites, but alsoreactive armour designed to defeatshaped charges. As a result of this, themain battle tank (MBT) conceived in theCold War era can survive multiplerocket-propelled grenade strikes with minimal effect on the crew or the operation of the vehicle. Thelight tanks that were the last descendants of thelight cavalry during the Second World War have almost completely disappeared from the world's militaries due to increased lethality of the weapons available to the vehicle-mounted infantry.

Thearmoured personnel carrier (APC) was devised during the First World War. It allows the safe and rapid movement of infantry in a combat zone, minimising casualties and maximising mobility. APCs are fundamentally different from the previously used armouredhalf-tracks in that they offer a higher level of protection from artilleryburst fragments, and greater mobility in more terrain types. The basic APC design was substantially expanded to aninfantry fighting vehicle (IFV) when properties of an APC and a light tank were combined in one vehicle.

Naval armour has fundamentally changed from the Second World War doctrine of thicker plating to defend againstshells,bombs and torpedoes. Passive defence naval armour is limited tokevlar or steel (either single layer or asspaced armour) protecting particularly vital areas from the effects of nearby impacts. Since ships cannot carry enough armour to completely protect againstanti-ship missiles, they depend more on defensive weapons destroying incoming missiles, or causing them to miss by confusing their guidance systems withelectronic warfare.

Although the role of the ground attack aircraft significantly diminished after theKorean War, it re-emerged during theVietnam War, and in the recognition of this, theUS Air Force authorised the design and production of what became theA-10 dedicated anti-armour andground-attack aircraft that first saw action in theGulf War.

High-voltage transformer fire barriers are often required to defeatballistics from small arms as well as projectiles fromtransformer bushings andlightning arresters, which form part of large electricaltransformers, perNFPA 850. Such fire barriers may be designed to inherently function as armour, or may bepassive fire protection materialsaugmented by armour, where care must be taken to ensure that the armour's reaction to fire does not cause issues with regards to the fire barrier being armoured to defeat explosions and projectiles in addition to fire, especially since both functions must be provided simultaneously, meaning they must be fire-tested together to provide realistic evidence of fitness for purpose.

Combat drones use little to no vehicular armour as they are not manned vessels, this results in them being lightweight and small in size.

Animal armour

Horse armour

A 16th-century knight with a horse in full barding

Body armour forwar horses has been used since at least 2000 BC. Cloth, leather, and metal protection covered cavalry horses in ancient civilisations, including ancient Egypt, Assyria, Persia, and Rome. Some formedheavy cavalry units of armoured horses and riders used to attack infantry and mounted archers.^[19] Armour for horses is calledbarding (also spelledbard orbarb) especially when used by Europeanknights.

During the lateMiddle Ages as armour protection for knights became more effective, their mounts became targets. This vulnerability was exploited by theScots at theBattle of Bannockburn in the 14th century, when horses were killed by the infantry, and for theEnglish at theBattle of Crécy in the same century wherelongbowmen shot horses and the then dismountedFrench knights were killed byheavy infantry. Barding developed as a response to such events.

Examples of armour for horses could be found as far back asclassical antiquity.Cataphracts, withscale armour for both rider and horse, are believed by many historians to have influenced the later European knights, via contact with theByzantine Empire.^[20]

Surviving period examples of barding are rare; however, complete sets are on display at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art,^[21] theWallace Collection inLondon, theRoyal Armouries inLeeds, and theMetropolitan Museum of Art inNew York. Horse armour could be made in whole or in part ofcuir bouilli (hardened leather), but surviving examples of this are especially rare.^[22]

Elephant armour

Model of an armoured elephant at theRoyal Armouries Museum

War elephants were first used in ancient times without armour,^[23] but armour was introduced because elephants injured by enemy weapons would often flee the battlefield. Elephant armour was often made from hardened leather, which was fitted onto an individual elephant while moist, then dryed to create a hardened shell.^[24] Alternatively, metal armour pieces were sometimes sewn into heavy cloth.^[25] Laterlamellar armour (small overlapping metal plates) was introduced.^[26] Full plate armour was not typically used due to its expense and the danger of the animal overheating.^[27]

See also

• Battledress
• Bomb suit
• High-voltage transformer fire barriers
• Linothorax
• Powered exoskeleton
• Rolled homogeneous armour

Notes

References

External links

• Media related toArmour at Wikimedia Commons
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