Vests

A bullet-proof vest also known as body armor is an article of protective clothing that works as a form of armor to minimize injury from projectiles fired from handguns, shotguns, rifles, and in some cases even shrapnel from explosives such as hand grenades. more...

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Such vests are commonly worn by police forces, the military, and private security and civilians where legal. However, they are sometimes worn illegally by those that the relevant government refuses to allow body armor.

Overview

The term "bullet-proof" is a misnomer since these vests, depending on the armor level (see below) may provide little or no protection against rifle ammunition or even against handgun ammunition fired from a pistol-caliber carbine. The exception is the common .22 LR ammunition, which can usually be stopped by these vests even when fired from a rifle. These vests are usually protective against handgun ammunition fired from handguns, depending on the armor level of the vest.

Vests may be augmented with metal (steel or titanium), ceramic or polyethylene plates that provide extra protection to vital areas. These hardarmor plates have proven effective against all handgun bullets and against specific rifles using specific ammunition. Normally referred to as tactical body armor, these types of vests have become standard in military use, as soft body armor only vests are ineffective against most military rifle rounds. The CRISAT NATO standard for body armor specifies the use of titanium backing. This may be removable or sewn in.

A vest does not protect the wearer by deflecting bullets. Instead, the layers of material catch the bullet and spread its force over a larger portion of the body, absorbing energy more quickly and hopefully bringing it to a stop before it can penetrate into the body. This tends to deform the bullet, further reducing its ability to penetrate. While a vest can prevent bullet wounds, the wearer still absorbs the bullet's energy, which can cause blunt force trauma. The majority of users experience only bruising, but impacts can still cause severe internal injuries. Most vests offer little protection against arrows, ice picks, stabbing knife blows, bullets with their points sharpened or armor piercing rounds. As the force is concentrated in a relatively small area with such bladed weapons, the tip of the object can push through the weave of most bullet-resistant fabrics. Specially-designed vests are available that can provide protection against bladed weapons, and sharp objects; they are often used in prison-guard vests. There are a variety of strategies to achieve stab and slash protection. Some materials like Dyneema do offer considerable protection against these types of threats. This is important for the safety of law enforcement and prison guard personnel.

History

The oldest bullet-resistant fabric vests were made from silk. In 1881 George Emery Goodfellow of Arizona recorded that he saw 'A couple of individuals quarreling' The two combatants started shooting, and when Dr Goodfellow subsequently examined the wounds to one man he noticed that 'not a drop of blood' had come from the wound. The man had been shot through his breast pocket. The bullet had ripped though his clothes, but had failed to penetrate his silk handkerchief. Dr Goodfellow was able to extract the bullet intact from the wounded man by gently tugging the handkerchief, which was wrapped around the bullet. Intrigued, Dr Goodfellow documented various other cases of silk protecting targets from gunshot wounds, including a noted case where a man's bandanna saved his carotid artery from being severed. From his early work, many others tried to improve on the haphazard passivity of these happy accidents, and took on active research to improve the rigidity of silk based protection. At the forefront, the Rev. Casimir Zeglen of Chicago, IL developed a bullet proof vest made of silk fabric at the end of the 19th century. These expensive vests (often costing US $800 each in 1914, equal to $15,000 in 2005) were capable of stopping relatively slow rounds from black powder handguns. On June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was wearing such a silk vest, but nonetheless died when shot in the neck above the vest with a .32 ACP bullet fired by Gavrilo Princip using a handgun, starting a chain of events that quickly escalated into World War I.

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