Armour

For other uses, see Armour (disambiguation).

Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English), is protective clothing intended to defend its wearer from intentional harm in Combat and Military engagements, typically associated with soldiers. Armour has been used throughout recorded history, beginning with hides, Leather, and Bone, before progressing to Bronze, then Steel during the Middle Ages, to modern Kevlar and Ceramics.

Armour was also commonly used to protect war animals, such as war horses and elephants. Armour for war horses was called "barding". Armour has also been produced for hunting dogs that hunt dangerous game, such as boars. Since World War I, armoured fighting vehicles are protected by Vehicle armour.

Armour, or the armoured is also a heavily armoured military force or organization, such as heavy Infantry or heavy Cavalry (as opposed to Light infantry or cavalry). In modern Armoured warfare, armoured units equipped with tanks serve the historic role of heavy cavalry, and belong to the armoured branch in a national Army's organization (sometimes, the armoured corps). Heavy infantry have been replaced by Mechanized infantry.

History

In European history, well known armor types include the Lorica segmentata of the Roman legions, the Chainmail Hauberk of the early medieval age, and the full steel plate armor worn by later medieval knights, and a few key parts, ( breast and back plates) by heavy cavalry in several European countries right up to the first year of World War 1. (1914-15). In East Asian history, Lamellar armour and Brigandine was popular. Chinese influence in Japan would result in the Japanese adopting Chinese styles, and developing them into the 'samurai armor' used until the middle of the 19th century. This remained in use right up the the modernisation of the Japanese military, when they adopted western military uniforms and weapons.

Plate armour

Main article: Plate armour

Probably the most recognised style of armour in the world, associated with the knights of Late Medieval Europe, but continuing later through the 1500, & 1600s in all European countries. At first, while fire arms were relatively low velocity,the full suits of armor actually stopped bullets fired from a modest distance. Breast plates were in fact commonly shot as a test. The impact point would be encircled with ingraving to point it out. This was called the "proof" . It was not uncommon for a man in armour, mounted on a horse, to ride up closer to the enemy, in a tactical manuever called "The wheel", and discharge his hand-cannon or pistols right into the faces, or coverage gaps in the armour of the adversary at close range. Arrows, if still used, would seldom penetrate good plate, nor would any but the closest bullet. In effect, (and this has long been misunderstood), plate armour actually came to replace chain mail and limited plate armour because of the cannon and guns being used along with better racheting crossbows. Plate would stop all of these at a distance. Hence, guns and cavalry in plate armour were "threat and remedy" together on the battlefield for almost 400 years. For most of that period, it allowed horsemen to fight while being the targets of defending musketeers without being easily killed. Full suits of armour were actually worn by generals and princely commanders right up to the second decade of the 1700s. It was the only way they could survey the overall battlefield with safety from distant musket fire. Gradually starting in the 1660s, one plate element after another was discarded to save weight, but breast and back plates continued to be used though the entire period of the 1700s in many (heavy) european cavalry units. This continued into Nepoleonic times, & all the way to the early 20th Century. Rifled muskets from about 1750 and later, could pierce plate, so cavalry had to be far more mindful of the fire. At the start of World War 1 the French Cuirassiers, in the thousands, anachronisticly, rode out to engage the German Cavalry who likewise used helmets and armour. By that period, the shiny armour plate was covered in dark paint and a canvas wrap covered their elaborate Nepoleonic style helmets. Needless to say, by then, their armour was meant to protect only against sabres and light lances. The cavalry had to beware of high velocity rifles and machine guns like the foot soldiers, who at least had a trench to protect them. Machine gunners in that war also occasionally wore a crude type of heavy armour.

Going back to the heyday of armour in the 1400s,most parts of the human body have been fitted with specialised steel pieces, typically worn over linen or woollen underclothes and attached to the body via leather straps and buckles, with mail (maille) protecting those areas that could not be fitted with plate (the backs of the knee for instance). Well known constituent parts of plate-armour include the helm, gauntlets, Gorget or 'neckguard', breastplate, and greaves worn on the lower legs.

Typically, full-body plate armour was custom made for the individual. This was understandably a very time-consuming and expensive undertaking, costing as much as a family house or high-powered car in today’s money. As such, it was almost exclusively the luxury of the noble and landed classes, with soldiers of lower standing generally wearing cheaper armour (if at all) typically limited to a helm and a breastplate. Full plate armour made the wearer virtually impervious to sword blows as well as providing some protection against arrows, bludgeons and even early musket shot. Although sword edges could not penetrate the relatively thin (as little as 2 mm) plate, they could cause serious concussive damage via the impact. Also, although arrows shot from bows could often pierce early plate at close range, later improvements in the steel forging techniques and armour design made even this line of attack increasingly difficult. By its apex, toughened steel plate was almost impregnable on the battlefield. Knights were instead increasingly felled by blunt weapons like maces or warhammers that could send concussive force through the plate armour resulting in injuries such as broken bones, organ haemorrhage and/or head trauma. Another tactic was to attempt to strike though the gaps between the armour pieces, using daggers to attack the Knight's eyes or joints.

Contrary to common misconceptions, a well-made suit of medieval 'battle' armour (as opposed to the primarily ceremonial 'parade' and 'tournament' armours popular with kings and nobility of later years) hindered its wearer no more than the equipment carried by soldiers today. An armoured Knight (trained since his teens in its wearing) could comfortably run, crawl, climb ladders, as well as mount and dismount his horse without recourse to a crane (a myth originating from Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court). A full suit of medieval plate is thought to have weighed little more than 60 lb (27 kg) on average, considerably lighter than the equipment often carried by the elite of today’s armies, SAS patrols have been known to tab miles carrying equipment weighing well over 200 lb (91 kg).

Modern personal armour

However, as the name implies, modern ballistic armor is much less impervious to close combat weapons such as knives, due to the fact that they were not made to withstand such weapons.

See also

• Military uniforms
• Battledress
• Shield
• Military history
• Vehicle armor
• List of AFVs, Panzer
• Rolled homogeneous armour