Oragian of Armor

When primitive people began to use weapons, they were faced with new problems. Their bodies needed more protection. They learned to use shields of wood or tough animal hide to protect themselves from the enemy's clubs or stone axes. This was the earliest armor. Later the ancient Egyptian and Assyrian soldiers wore heavy cloth jackets or shirts to add to their protection. These were made of many layers of quilted linen.

Metal Armor
The first metal armor was made of bronze. It was probably used by the Greeks about 20001800 B.C. They hammered bronze into helmets to protect their heads. They also covered their wooden shields with thin metal sheets. The Romans were the first to make wide use of iron for armor. Roman soldiers protected their bodies with leather vests covered with thin strips of bronze or iron. Sometimes they covered their legs with metal shin guards. Helmets shielded the head. Roman helmets had broad, curving metal sidepieces to protect the cheeks. Brims came down to cover the forehead and the back of the neck. Steel was not used in armor much before the Middle Ages. Armor made of steel was even stronger and more flexible than that made of iron. Whole suits of steel protected the medieval knight from head to toe. Sleeves, shin guards, and even gloves with jointed fingers were carefully shaped from thin metal plates. Hinges, joints, and rivets fastened the suits to make them flexible. Helmets had movable visors, or lids that dropped over the face when fighting began. Some knights wore flexible armor of chain mail. Such armor was made of hundreds of tiny steel rings linked together to form a kind of steel cloth. Shirts of chain mail slipped over the head and reached to the knees. Plate armor had to be carefully fitted to the body. The armorer heated the metal and shaped it with tools. Working like a tailor, the armorer measured, tried on, and shaped again. Sometimes beautiful designs were etched into the steel. The shield was usually decorated with inlaid metal in several colors. Full armor had many disadvantages. Because it was so expensive to make, only the well-to-do noble or knight could afford a suit of armor. Even worse was its great weight. A special servant or knight-in-training called a squire had to help the knight put on his armor and mount his horse. Drawings from the Middle Ages show knights being hoisted onto their horses by derricks or cranes. If the knight was thrown to the ground by his enemy, he was usually unable to struggle to his feet. His opponent could then easily kill him with his sword or spear.

The Decline of Armor

Gunpowder (invented centuries before by the Chinese) reached Europe about the end of the Middle Ages. A foot soldier with a gun could now pierce the heaviest armor that a man was able to carry on his body. Armor began to lose its usefulness. However, early explorers of the American continent continued to use armor against Indian arrows. But by the time of the American Revolution, armor appeared only in fancy-dress uniform.

Armor in Modern Form

In the two world wars, metal helmets were used to protect the head and neck from pieces of flying metal. Fliers in World War II and in Korea wore thick coveralls padded with fiberglass. These gave protection from cold as well as from shell fragments. Some police officers wear armor in the form of bulletproof vests. Still another type of modern armor is the protective helmet such as those worn by construction workers or motorcyclists. Today a new type of armor has been designed to help astronauts explore outer space. Space suits are thickly padded and fit snugly from neck to toe. A helmet, covering the entire head, is fitted with earphones, microphones, and a supply of oxygen. With such protection astronauts can face the great strains of rocket launching and space travel. As long as people must protect their bodies against enemy weapons and the forces of nature, they will try to design better armor. James Hoerger John F. Kennedy School (Great Neck, New York) "Armor." The New Book of Knowledge. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. tracks and armor give tanks tactical mobility, the ability to maneuver in the face of the enemy, but conflict with other sorts of mobility. On the operational level, heavy-tracked vehicles tend to damage prepared roads, and long motorized marches impose a heavy logistical and maintenance burden; so for long overland moves tanks often travel on specialized wheeled transporters. Water obstacles present a problem because tanks often are too heavy for local bridges. Bridging equipment is thus a necessary component of armored forces. At the same time, all tanks are designed to ford water obstacles to some extent. Some types of tanks, especially those made in the former Soviet Union, can even be fitted to submerge completely using a snorkel to obtain air for engine and crew. Still other types of tanks have a limited amphibious capability. Some lighter vehicles, such as the Soviet PT-76 developed in the 1950s, float on their own account, at some cost in protection, however. Heavier vehicles, such as the U.S. Sherman DD of World War II, have been fitted with auxiliary flotation devices such as pontoons or flotation screens. Waterborne propulsion may be either by means of the tracks or separate propellers or waterjets. (See BridgeMilitary Bridges.) Protection Heavy-armor protection is arguably the characteristic quality of tanks, setting them apart from other combat vehicles and governing their employment. Tank armor has traditionally been steel, although some light tanks have used aluminum. Recent MBTs, such as the United States's M1 Abrams series, have used advanced composite armors incorporating plastics, ceramics, and exotic metals with great success, especially against the chemical-energy warheads used in infantry antitank weapons. Tank armor is thickest at the front of the vehicle; side, top, and rear protection varies according to the anticipated threat. The external configuration of tanks also influences their protection, with much work going into making tanks difficult targets to hit effectively. For example, the orientation of tank armor makes a difference in armored protection. Sloping the armor presents awkward angles for incoming projectiles. If they strike at shallow angles, they may glance off; if the strike is closer to the perpendicular, the sloped armor presents an effectively greater thickness of armor to be penetrated. The internal arrangement of tanks can also contribute to their protection. Keeping stores of fuel and ammunition low in the vehicles helps safeguard them from the likely paths of penetrating hits. Separating these stores from the crew as much as possible helps prevent casualties from secondary fires.

Haworth, W. Blair., Jr. "Tank." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2012.

Knights, Knighthood, and Chivalry

Knights were the highest class of fighting men in Europe during the Middle Ages. There were other classes of fighting men, such as the lowly foot soldiers. But the knights, who fought on horseback, were the aristocrats of the battlefield. Their whole way of life was based on warfare. The great heroes of the time, both in story and in fact, were knights. Songs and verses told of the brave deeds of the great mounted warriorsRoland, King Arthur, Lancelot, and Edward the Black Prince. The high position of the knights was partly due to the fact that during the early Middle Ages, kings and central governments had little real authority. Power belonged to the best fighters. The man who had horses and heavy arms and knew how to use them had a great advantage. For these reasons knights were usually the most powerful men in every neighborhood. Weaker men had to put themselves under the protection of knights. Even kings depended on their services. From their walled and moated castles the more powerful knights ruled the nearby countryside. They honored no law but their own, and they freely made war against their neighbors. A knight did as he wished because no one else was powerful enough to stop him. At best, a knight-lord might keep some sort of order in his land and protect his people from bandits. At worst, a knight himself was little better than a bandit. The Knight's Horse A knight's horse was probably the most valuable thing he owned, for his skill as a fighting man depended on a good mount. A well equipped knight had several horses. He might have a heavy charger for tournaments, a fast courser for battle, a palfrey for travel, and a packhorse to carry his arms and other equipment. The war-horse was the important one. Knights gave their horses names and regarded them almost as companions-in-arms. Stories about the great hero-knights almost always tell of their horses. Poets composed verses about the beauty and strength of the knights' good steeds. The Knight's Arms The armor worn by knights differed from one century to another during the Middle Ages. A knight in the year 1100 had much lighter armor than one in 1400. In the earlier time a well-armed knight wore a long, heavy cloth or leather garment, which covered most of his body. Over this he wore chain maila network of linked iron ringscalled a hauberk. It had a hood that fitted over the head and protected the neck. On his head a knight wore a steel helmet, which sometimes had a metal nose protector. In later times the body armor was made of strong metal plates. The helmets had heavy visors that could be lowered to cover the face. The body armor weighed at least 55 pounds (25 kilograms). Knights carried light wooden shields for protection. These were covered with hide and edged with metal. Each knight had his own emblemsometimes a beast, such as a dragon, bear, or lion painted on his shield. This emblem was called his coat of arms. A young knight hoped to make his coat of arms famous by showing it on many battlefields. The knight's chief weapons were his lance and sword. The lance, a long pole with a pointed steel head, was for use when the knight was on horseback. The knight pointed his lance straight ahead and rode at full speed against his enemy, trying to run him through or to knock him off his horse. When two knights rode at full speed against each other, their lances struck with such force that the weapons were often shattered.

A knight valued his large, heavy sword almost as much as he did his horse. He used his sword after his lance had been shattered or when he had been forced to dismount. The blade was made of fine, hammered steel. The handle, or hilt, often was decorated with gold and precious stones. The hilt might also contain a relic of some saint. This might be a thread from his robe, a lock of hair, or even a fragment of his bones. Such relics were regarded as holy, and the knight hoped they would bring him special protection. In addition to their lances and swords, knights fought with battle-axes, iron-headed war clubs called maces, and iron balls swung on chains, called flails. All these weapons required the use of a great deal of strength. Making Warfare Pay Battles among the knights were not as frightful as one might think. For one thing, many of the battles were between small groups, often just a few hundred men, and the fighting lasted only a few hours. A knight was less interested in killing his enemies than in capturing them. A captured enemy could be held for ransom (payment of a stated price). It was by capturing enemies rather than by killing them that knights made war pay. The amount of ransom varied according to the wealth and importance of the captive. When King John II (131964) of France was taken prisoner at the battle of Poitiers (1356) during the Hundred Years' War, his English captors quarreled about who had taken him. But the king assured them that there was no need for argument, "for I am so great a lord as to make you all rich." Because knights were professionals fighting for profits, warfare was something like a game in which the opponents probably knew each other well. An account of the battle of Brenville in 1119 explains that although 140 men were taken prisoner, only three lost their lives. This was partly because they were well protected by armor. But it was also because the knights on each side were known to each other as old comrades, and so "there was no slaughter." The common soldiers, however, did not always treat war in this spirit, perhaps because they had so little to gain from it. When the English defeated the French at the battle of Crcy in 1346, the English king and his knights were distressed because "certain rascals" had killed the French knights as they lay helpless on the ground, weighed down by their heavy armor. The English knights would much rather have taken them alive and held them for ransom. The Sport of the Knights The warfare of the knights was like a game, and their games were like war. Hunting was probably their most common sport. Riding through forest or swamp after deer, wolves, and wild boars was good training for a fighting man. Spearing a boar while riding horseback was somewhat like tilting with a lance. Chess was a popular indoor game. Perhaps it appealed to the knights because it called for making moves like those on a battlefield. The sport most like battle was the tournament, or tourney. For many years it remained more like a battle than a sport. Tournaments later became mock battles in which knights fought with flattened lances and blunted swords. Gaily dressed crowds of ladies and gentlemen cheered on the knights as bright-colored banners fluttered over the field. The object of a tournament was about the same as that of a battleto capture an enemy and collect ransom. Knights were not supposed to injure their opponents, but in a sport so much like battle, accidents occurred and serious injuries were not uncommon. From time to time churchmen tried to do away with tournaments. Most people, however, thought that a knight could not shine in war if he had not

been prepared for it in tourneys. Chivalrythe Knight's Code Both tournaments and wars had certain rules and customs, which knights were expected to follow. When one knight took another one captive, he was supposed to treat his captive as an honored guest even if they had been bitter enemies. During the Hundred Years' War, King Edward III (131277) of England captured a group of French knights on the last day of the year 1348. That very night he entertained them with a New Year's Eve party. According to custom, one knight was not supposed to attack another without warning. This enabled his opponent to prepare himself for battle. Thus King Robert Bruce of Scotland was following knightly practice when he sent word to King Edward in 1327 that he would "enter England and devastate the country by fire." A surprise attack would have been unworthy of a true knight. Why did knights pay attention to these rules and customs? It was mostly a matter of mutual advantage. The knight who held a captive today might himself be captured on another day. It was to every knight's advantage that warning be given before an attack. If this had not been the custom, no knight could have left his castle without wearing his heavy, uncomfortable armor. These rules of behavior were called the Code of Chivalry. The word chivalry comes from the French word chevalier, which means "horseman." Chivalry simply means the rules and customs of the horsemen or knights. The Squire Stricter training began when a boy reached 14 and became a knight's squire, or shield bearer. It was his job to look after the knight's arms. He had to keep the helmet, chain mail, and sword polished and free from rust. He cared for the knight's horses. He accompanied his lord in battles and tournaments. The young squire spent a great deal of time with sword and lance. He accustomed himself to wearing armor. He ran, jumped, and even turned somersaults while wearing a coat of mail. He practiced leaping into the saddle while fully armed. The squire, like the page, continued to serve the lord and ladies of the household. He helped his lord to dress. He waited on table, carrying dishes and carving meat. Such services were not thought to be beneath the dignity of a young gentleman. On the contrary, people believed that it was proper that the squire should learn to obey before he governed. Otherwise he would not be able to appreciate the nobility of his rank when he became a knight. Receiving the Knighthood When a squire reached the age of 20, he might be made a knight. If he had shown himself especially worthy, the ceremony would take place on a battlefield. In such cases the squire knelt before his lord, who pronounced him a knight and then gave him a stout blow with his open hand or the flat side of his sword. Perhaps the blow was a sign that the new knight was able to take the blows of battle. Less often a squire might receive the title of knighthood in another wayone that, by the 14th century, had become an elaborate ceremony. It began with a ceremonial bath, a sign that he was washed clean of all past misdeeds. Those knighted in this fashion were known as knights of the bath. After bathing, the young man went to church, where he spent the night praying and thinking about his duties.

The next morning he returned to the castle for the main ceremony. Older knights helped him put on his new armor and fasten on his sword. He knelt before his lord, who declared him a knight and gave him the blow. The new knight then gave a demonstration of his ability to ride and use arms. Often a tournament was held in which the young man had a chance to show what he could do. Celebrations like this were very expensive and were paid for by the family of the young knight. They also were expected to give him a landed estate. If a family could not provide a knighthood and land for their son, he had to remain a squire all his life. Some squires sought service with rich knights. Others wandered about seeking their fortunes. A number became mercenaries, or hired soldiers, who played an important part in the wars of the later Middle Ages. Kenneth S. Cooper George Peabody College

Cooper, Kenneth S. "Knights, Knighthood, and Chivalry." The New Book of Knowledge. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2012.
Battleship, a large, heavily armored warship equipped with long-range guns for use against other ships and against targets ashore. Long considered the primary arbiters of naval power, battleships have been superseded in that role by other vessels. Technical Development The battleship evolved in the late 19th century through the combination of several elements: the steam engine and the screw propeller for locomotion; armor plating to protect against enemy gunfire; largediameter guns housed in rotating turrets; and devices to control the aiming of the guns. The watershed event in battleship development was the building of H.M.S. Dreadnoughta 20th-century "capital ship," or, the key warship in a fleetcompleted by the British in 1906. Much more potent than previous battleships, it revolutionized warship construction by mounting a main battery comprising guns of uniform size (12 inches, or 30 cm, in diameter) rather than a mixture of sizes, as in its predecessors. A related type of capital ship was the battle cruiser. Like the battleship, it had large-diameter guns, but it had thinner armor. The thinner armor enabled it to move faster than a battleship but made it more vulnerable to enemy weapons. These two types of capital ships experienced something of an amalgamation with the development in the late 1930s of fast battleships (27 to 33 knots maximum speed) that did not sacrifice armor protection. Battleship guns in the 19th century were often 10, 12, or 13 inches (25, 30, or 33 cm) in diameter, with ships approximately 400 feet (120 meters) in length and displacing 10,00012,000 tons. Gun sizes increased in the 20th century to 14, 15, and 16 inches (36, 38, and 41 cm), capped by the 18.1-inch (46-cm) guns mounted on the 70,000-ton, 862-foot (263-meter)-long, 27-knot Yamato class built by Japan. The largest and fastest U.S.-built battleships are the four of the Iowa class: 16-inch (41-cm) guns, 887 feet (270 meters) long, 58,000 tons, 33 knots. In line with speed and armament advances, armor gradually grew thicker, sometimes approaching 20 inches (50 cm). The ability of battleships to survive an attack was also enhanced by internal compartmentation to control flooding. Secondary batteries were mounted with smaller guns than the main battery, and in later years battleships were equipped with large numbers of light antiaircraft guns. Battleships use ammunition in the form of cylindrical projectiles with a point at one endessentially very large bullets weighing as much as 2,0003,000 pounds (9001,360 kg) each. A projectile for a main battery gun is fired by igniting bags of powder put into the gun barrel behind the projectile.

Stillwell, Paul. "Battleship." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 19 Jan. 2012.
Armor, a covering to protect the body from injury by weapons. It may include a shield borne by the wearer. Primitive armor probably was made of hides and wood. This article is concerned with metal armor, particularly the type worn by European warriors. The steps in the perfection of armor may be traced from its beginning in the Bronze Age, through the thousand years when mail made of iron rings was most in use, to the era of knights clad in plate armor. For connoisseurs, the finest period of the armorer's art occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries. But armor faded in importance as firearms became increasingly powerful and battle tactics changed, in the 17th century, from assaults by heavily armored troops to fast cavalry skirmishes. During the 18th century, armor became obsolete except for ceremonial occasions. History Bronze Age Armor The earliest metal used for armor was bronze. Sumerian warriors of about 2500 B.C., wearing small conical helmets and cloaks apparently of leather or cloth with discs of metal attached, are represented in an inlaid panel in the British Museum. A limestone stele of about the same date in the Louvre shows other Bronze Age soldiers wearing conical helmets with nose bars surprisingly similar in shape to helmets worn in 1066 A.D. by the troops of William the Conqueror. An Egyptian wall painting of about 1500 B.C. shows in detail an armored garment of a type later known as a jazeran, which consisted of a cloth tunic entirely covered with overlapping bronze scales arranged in horizontal rows. Armor of this type was flexible yet gave good protection. It continued in use, especially in eastern countries, until nearly modern times, with iron scales replacing the bronze. Its disadvantages were, first, that its entire weight hung from the shoulders and, second, that a dagger or arrow point could penetrate between the scales. As metallurgical skill developed and bigger pieces of bronze could be worked, it became possible to make larger helmets, shield coverings, breastplates, and other pieces of body armor. Soon after 1000 B.C. bronze armor of high technical and artistic quality was available. A Greek helmet of the 6th century B.C. now in the City Art Museum of St. Louis, Mo., afforded not only good protection for head and face, but it was also a magnificent work of art. Its silver crest was presumably a commander's insignia. The soldier in the ranks wore breast- and backplates, greaves, which covered his shins, and a helmet with nose and cheek pieces and a crest of horsehair directly above the skull piece. His arms and thighs were bare. He carried a large shield of round, elliptical, or hourglass form, of wood and leather with a bronze rim. The Etruscans developed armor much like that of their colonial Greek neighbors in southern Italy. Both, in turn, influenced the emerging Roman civilization technically and artistically. More than 500 years after the Greek helmet shown above, a Roman bronze helmet (also shown) with face mask was ornamented with projecting busts in the round. This is now in Nijmegen, Holland. The mask itself is the surprisingly beautiful face of an idealized warrior. Introduction of Iron Iron first appeared about 400 B.C. and was well known by the beginning of the Christian era. It was difficult to produce and consequently expensive, so it was used at first only for small, important pieces such as lance points and sword and dagger blades. By the time of the Roman emperors, however, iron and steel (iron containing a small percentage of carbon which permitted it to be hardened and tempered) was readily available. The armor of legionary soldiers in the 2d century B.C. consisted of rings or pieces of chain sewn on a leather undergarment. By the end of the 1st century B.C., iron scales were similarly applied to leather, and by the 2d century A.D., overlapping horizontal iron strips were riveted or sewn to leather or cloth. During the centuries after the fall of Rome (476 A.D.), both mail of interlocked rings and defenses of iron or

steel plates, including scale armor and metal-studded cloth and leather, continued to be used. Garments were made of the jazeran type already mentioned. Others were made of scales held together by lacing only. Still others were of scales or of scales combined with larger plates riveted inside a cloth or leather garment. Defenses of this type were used in Scandinavia in the 14th century and in Italy and elsewhere in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were known as brigandines. The Age of Mail In central and western Europe, from the 11th century onward, mail of linked rings was predominant. When actually going into battle the mailed knight put on an iron helmet over his mail hood. At first this was a relatively small domed cap. It consisted of a circular rim around the head at the forehead, four vertical strips rising to meet at the top of the head, metal plates filling the spaces between them, and a bar descending from the forehead over the nose. Later these were replaced by largerusually flat-topped and more or less cylindricalhelmets covering the face as well as the rest of the head. Only a horizontal slit was left for vision, with various smaller openings below it for ventilation. After the latter part of the 12th century the suit of mail was reinforced here and there by additional defenses of quilted fabric, leather (both raw and hardened by cooking in oil), and metal plates. Usually the knees were the first parts to receive these additions, followed by the shins, elbows, and breast. The trunk portion of the body was most frequently protected by a "coat of plates" of the brigandine type. Additional small defenses of plate were applied to cover the joints of the shoulders, elbows, and knees. All were worn over the mail tunic (hauberk) and leg coverings (chausses). Additional defenses for arms and legs appeared. At first these were simple strips of metal attached by straps or lacings, but later they became complete tubular defenses opening on hinges (the inside of the thighs, however, was left unarmored for convenience in riding). Gauntlets, with overlapping finger scales, came into common use along with defenses of plate for the upper part of the foot. Collars of plate were added to protect the neck. On his head the knight wore a basinet style of helmet over his hood of mail, or the basinet alone with a neck-guard (camail) of mail attached to its lower edge and hanging down past the neck opening of the hauberk. For a major battle, a great heaume was worn over the basinet. This was solid plate armor, and covered head, face, and neck down to the shoulders. There was, of course, no official shape for heaumes. Some were flattopped, some rounded, and some almost pointed. Knights sometimes wore, instead of any of these forms, a simple, rather broad-brimmed iron hat. During the second half of the 14th century the various pieces of plate armor which had been added to the knight's defenses began to coalesce. The separate pieces protecting the forearms, elbows, and upper arms joined to form a single arm defense; the thigh, knee, and shin guards formed a complete covering for each leg. Breastplates and backplates added horizontal lames (narrow plates) to protect the lower abdomen, and pendant plates, in addition to leg armor, to protect the upper thigh. As plate armor became more complete, the necessity for a full suit of mail beneath it vanished. In the 15th century, mail was usually confined to relatively small areas at exposed jointsarmpit, elbow, crotch, and kneealthough shirts or short shouldercapes of mail might be worn instead of plate armor when immediate battle was not expected. Types of Plate Armor The so-called "Gothic" armor produced in the 15th century and in the first years of the 16th is the finest of all to the connoisseur. From the military standpoint it afforded the best combination of security and practicability; from the metallurgical standpoint it showed the greatest skill in manipulating a most intractable material; and esthetically it combined beauty of form without sacrifice of utility. The best Gothic armor was made of a metal that, on the inner surfaces of the plates, was a soft, tough iron, almost of the quality of wrought-iron. Yet the exterior surface had been changedby exposure to free carbon under great heat and subsequent quenchingto a steel of glasslike hardness. It was not a rolled sheet metal of uniform thickness, such as is used today for containers and automobile bodies. Rather, each part of a suit of armor was formed from a lump of metal hammered from the center toward the edges until the proper shape was attained. Thus the metal would be thickest at the most exposed part and thinnest at the

edges. There was no standard type of 15th century armor. Although the best specimens that have survived are of plain polished steel, there is ample evidence that armor was sometimes painted or chemically colored. Furthermore, it frequently had cloth or leather riveted to its plates, either inside or out. Variations in style ranged from the utilitarian to the most wildly fanciful. The piece of armor which varied most in design was the helmet. This could be the steel hat, or chapel-defer; a salade, or bowl-type covering coming down to the mouth, with a slit at eye-level level for vision; a barbute, deeper and more cylindrical, resembling a classical Greek helmet; a basinet, large and heavy, resting on the shoulders and having a movable visor in front of the face; or an armet, a small helmet completely enclosing the head, with a visor that could be raised to reveal the upper part of the face, and two hinged sidepieces enclosing the lower face and chin. If a helmet of the salade type was worn there was usually also a separate chin guard or mentonnire, attached to the top of the breastplate. With the armet there might or might not be a neck protection of mail. Inside the helmet there might be a padded cap, or the helmet itself might have a lining of cloth attached by rivets around the lower edge of the metal. The same functionprotection against chafing and temperature (for armor could get very cold in winter or hot in summer)was served by padded cloth undergarments. These garments also had laces attached, to which the arm and leg units of the armor were tied. The laces passed through eyelets in leather tabs riveted to the top edge of the defenses. In addition to the helmet, a suit of armor consisted of six main units: one for the trunk, another for the shoulders and neck, two for the arms, and two for the legs. Each of these in turn consisted of several smaller parts, connected either by being riveted to leather strips or by a series of interlocking studs, keyhole slots, and rotatable turning pegs. The trunk armor had a breastplate and a backplate, united by straps at the shoulders and sides. To the lower edge of each were attached horizontal lames which, sliding over each other, gave flexibility at the waist. This was accomplished by a rivet in the upper lame passing loosely through a slot in the lower one, allowing them to slide and permitting a certain amount of bending. To the lowest lame were attached tuilles (flat plates) or tassets (short groups of lames), which hung down over the tops of the leg armor. The shoulders were protected by separate pauldrons, usually attached to a neck guard or colletin which might fit under or over the breast- and backplates. The arm guards consisted of a tubular defense, or rerebrace, for the upper arm; an elbow guard, pivoted to it front and back; and a forearm guard, or vambrace, also pivoted to the elbow guard. Each of these pieces might have one or more sliding lames at top or bottom for flexibility, but the three were usually attached to each other, and put on as a unit. The vambrace was generally made in two pieces, held together by a hinge with a spring catch so that it could be opened as the hand was passed through it and then clasped snugly around the forearm and wrist. The hands were protected by separate gauntlets, of hinged and sliding lames, and finger plates riveted to leather straps. The leg armor was similar to that of the arm, except that the armor for the upper leg was open on the inside of the thigh. As with the arm, flexibility was provided by sliding lames at the top of the thigh, above and below the knee, and at the ankle. The feet were guarded by sabbatons or sollerets of hinged and sliding lames which covered the top of the foot only, but had a leather strap or sole to hold the plates in position. In addition to all these pieces many armors had also a pair of circular rondels hung from the shoulder straps of the breast- and backplates, or from the pauldrons, which gave extra protection to the shoulder joint. Further protection at the shoulder and elbow joint, the crotch, and the inside of the knee joint was usually given by mail. This might take the form of small pieces sewn to the undergarment, of sleeves or legs, or of an entire garment of mail worn under the plate armor. The Art of the Armorer Such a suit of armor would weigh from 55 to 65 pounds (2530 kg), yet it was not particularly uncomfortable. Of course, it had to fit perfectly. The joints had to come at exactly the right places, and few adjustments were possible. This accounts for one of the common misconceptions about armor. The curator

of an armor collection often hears the inquiry: "Weren't the people who wore armor as a rule quite a lot smaller then men today?" It is true that men today are generally larger than their European forebears, but not very much. The misconception arises because much of the armor now on exhibition in museums is the outgrown armor of young men. Their arms and legs grew so long that the joints no longer worked properly; their bodies grew too stout for their old breastplates. Therefore, they hung their old armor on the wall of the ancestral castle and ordered a new suit to fit their adult stature. And, in all probability, they were buried in it. It was the outgrown armor which was preserved, unscarred by battle. Another popular misconception is that armor was tremendously hampering; that a man, once fallen, could not rise without the aid of a derrick. Nothing could be further from the truth. Armor was practicalit had to be; men trusted their lives to it. Except in the case of mail, armor did not bear all its weight on the shoulders. The weight, which in total was no more than a modern soldier's field kit, was well distributed over the body. An armored man could lie down, rise again, climb stairs or a ladder, run (not very fast), descend a rope hand over hand (but hardly climb it, unless he were exceptionally strong). Any competent knight was expected to be able to run alongside his horse and vault into the saddle without using the stirrup. The principal sources of armor were northern Italy and southern Germany. In a general way, the Italians preferred smooth, polished armor; its beauty was derived from excellence of form alone. The German armorers excelled in flutings, scallopings, and the addition of brass borders and ornaments. Among the great Italian armorers were the Missaglia family of Milan, Paulo and Filippo Negroli, Pompeo della Chiesa, and Bartolommeo Campi. Among the Germans were Wolf of Landshut, Jrg and Lorenz Helmschmied of Augsburg, Conrad Seusenhofer of Innsbruck, Coloman Colman, Matthus Frauenpreiss, and Kunz Lochner. Excellent armor was also made in France, Spain, and England. Influence of the Renaissance As the 16th century wore on, styles in armor changed markedly. The chaste simplicity of the early Italian armor gave way to a decoration of parallel flutings favored by Emperor Maximilian I (14591519) of Austria and such armor was named after him. The pointed toes of Gothic foot defenses were replaced by exaggeratedly broad toe coverings. The salade helmets became less popular, and were replaced by closed armet or burgonet helmets, whose lower edges interlocked with the outturned top edge of the colletin. This type of helmet became a virtual turret which could be turned in any direction without exposing an opening at the neck. Arm defenses developed a similar rotating joint below the shoulder, and the increasing use of sliding lames made armor ever more flexible and comfortable. In the most expensive armor, lames were also added at elbow and knee joints, eliminating the need for mail. As armor improved mechanically it also acquired increasingly elaborate decoration, though at the sacrifice of the simple beauty of the Gothic period. With the flowering of the Renaissance, armor sometimes developed curious and fanciful tendencies. Helmets were made with grotesque face masks. Whole suits of steel were made to copy civilian cloth costume, with its puffed and slashed doublets and tight hose. Renaissance decoration was applied to armor in many ways. The surfaces might be etched with acid to form a roughened background to areas which had been protected from etching by acid-proof varnish. Gold was applied to the steel surface by evaporating gold amalgam, by burnishing gold leaf or wire onto a heavily roughened surface, or by inlaying gold into the steel. And, by the use of hammer and chasing tool, the surface of the armor might be embossed with designs in relief. But magnificent as this embossed decoration was, it deprived the armor of one of its principal advantages: the smoothness of surface that easily deflected a spear point or arrow. However, since such embossed armor was far too costly to be used for other than ceremonial purposes, this loss of practicality was not too serious. With the 17th century there appeared two factors which radically affected the development of armor. One was a great improvement in the power and effectiveness of hand firearms (which had been in existence through the whole period of plate armor). The other was a change in cavalry tactics, favoring lightly-armed, swift-moving bands of skirmishers. More powerful bullets required thicker armor to resist them; fast cavalry skirmishing called for lighter riders on lighter, faster horses. So armor developed in the direction of thick, strong, bullet-proof breastplates and helmets, increased flexibility from the use of sliding lames in place of solid plates, and the gradual elimination of arm and leg defenses.

Tournament Armor Armor was fundamentally equipment for military activity. But there was one kind of armor intended only for sportfor the knightly tournament, one of the most exacting and exciting sports man has ever engaged in. And just as today's Olympic pistol champion uses a weapon which a soldier might deem fantastically impractical, so tournament contestants of the 15th and 16th centuries wore armor especially designed for that one purpose. Often, it would be grotesque and awkward for any other use. There were many different kinds of tournaments, and there was tournament armor to fit each different set of rules. For some tournaments the knight could be suitably outfitted by merely exchanging his regular helmet for a special model and by adding two or three reinforcing pieces over his regular war armor. Other types of tournaments were so violent and dangerous that a special suit of armor had to be worn, with a huge helmet solidly bolted to breast- and backplates. Such a suit might weigh 90 to 100 pounds (4145 kg), but it needed to be worn for only a short time. Thomas T. Hoopes Saint Louis Art Museum Modern Armor Body armor is provided for the head, torso, and feet of military personnel to reduce the number of killed and wounded. The high percentage of casualties from grenade, mine, and shell fragments in the Korean War indicated the need for armor, but it had to be light enough for a foot soldier to wear in battle. Effectiveness Within the weight limitation the most efficient modern armor materials provide protection against relatively small fragments with velocities ranging from several hundred to a few thousand feet per second, depending on their mass and shape. First used extensively during the Korean War, such armor was credited with reducing combat casualties by as much as 20%. Protection against small-arms fire (caliber .30 [7.62-mm] and caliber .50 [12.7-mm] bullets and armorpiercing projectiles) cannot be provided unless weights of from 10 to 20 pounds per square foot (48.897.6 kg/sq meter) can be borne, as is sometimes possible with air crew personnel or others engaged in sedentary work. (See Ammunition; Bullet.) The armor material used for a particular application is selected for its relative effectiveness in protecting against anticipated missiles. The construction and contour of the garment are influenced by the nature of the material, the climates in which it may be used, and the shape of the part of the body to be protected. Armor materials protect against flying fragments by absorbing their kinetic energy. Types of Armor Armor for ground forces consists of a sleeveless torso jacket with detachable groin armor, a helmet (the most universally used item), and special boots. Any or all may be issued, depending on the mission.

Torso Armor. The United States armed services have five types of torso armor, four of which are designed to protect against fragments. Three of these were designed for the foot soldier or marine. Torso armor for aviators is similar in construction and material to the infantry jacket but weighs considerably more, since a pilot can bear more weight and needs the additional protection. Materials used in jackets for fragmentation protection include nylon fabrics, titanium, specially treated fiber staples, and Doron, a laminate of glass fabric bonded with a polyester resin. These are used singly or in combination. Protection against small-caliber armor-piercing projectiles requires about seven times as much weight per unit of area as is used in fragmentation torso armor. In practice the area of coverage is reduced. The resultant

protective armor, used by air crews involved in low-altitude missions and close ground support, weighs about 25 pounds (11.5 kg) and consists of a hard outer surface to break the steel core of the projectile and a ductile backing to absorb the kinetic energy of the resulting fragments. Steel with a hardened surface is used to protect against these projectiles. For applications involving a low concentration of hits, a more efficient armor was developed, consisting of a hard ceramic backed by a plastic reinforced with glass fiber. Helmet. The helmet for U.S. infantry consists of a nonmagnetic steel outer shell supported by a resinbonded nylon fabric liner. The fabric, the same as that used in jackets and groin armor, is made of highstrength nylon yarn. The combination of the steel shell and bonded nylon liner provides almost the same protection as that of the foot soldier's torso armor. Most designs are similar except for the suspension system and the liner, which is omitted in some types. Special helmets have been designed for aviators, crew members of tanks, and communications personnel. Their functions require equipment that could not be accommodated in the infantry helmet, such as earphones, microphones, and tinted transparent sun visors. (See Helmet.) Shoes. Armored boots or shoe attachments protect against spikes and antipersonnel mines. A sheet material, usually metal, is so shaped as to deflect much of the shock wave generated by an antipersonnel mine, thus reducing the damage. History of Modern Armor The development of firearms and the necessity for mobility on the battlefield led to the abandonment of body armor in the 1600s and 1700s, but the development of fragmentation ammunition for use against military personnel and aircraft in the 20th century signaled body armor's return. The first item reintroduced was the helmet, worn in most major armies by the end of World War I. During World War II the United States pressed for the development of materials and designs for fragmentprotection garments. Most materials were evaluated in battlefield trials near the end of that war. Armored vests, used extensively by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps during the Korean War, have been standardissue items since then. The recognition, development, and use of superior fragment-armor materials would not have been possible without the theoretical studies and concurrent development of laboratory evaluation techniques by government scientists. Nylon armor fabrics and Doron were developed through cooperative efforts of various laboratories of industry and of the U.S. Department of Defense. Several titanium alloys of almost identical quality resulted from independent efforts of industry and government during the 1950s. Armored footwear research and development, garment design, and the introduction of the nylon laminate helmet liner were entirely government efforts, although industry produced prototypes and materials. Ceramic composite armor was introduced by American industry. Wilfred J. Ferguson U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

"Armor." Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2012. Web. 19 Jan. 2012.

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