Armour

13 Interesting facts about Armour

1. Armour or armor is protective covering for the defence of persons, horses, (Personal Armour) and objects like vehicles, naval vessels, and aircraft (Vehicle Armour) usually during combat.
2. In the beginning, body armour or protective suits were made of materials like leather, shells, wood, and basketwork, later supplemented by metal.
3. Helmets- Tanko, worn by foot soldiers, Keiko, worn by horsemen, constructed from iron plates, were pre-samurai types, manufactured in Japan as early as the 4th century.
4. The small skull cap evolved into a bigger true helmet and then further into a fully enclosed helmet in the late 14th century.
5. Kobuksons were the first ships protected by iron armour, built in the early 15th century.
6. The plate armor of knights of the European Late Middle Ages, were the most recognised style of armour in the world.
7. Soldiers in the American Civil War bought iron and steel vests from peddlers. Some deflected bullets and some resulted in tragedy.
8. Towards the end of the 1890s, ironclad ships went out of use, new ships were increasingly constructed to a standard pattern of designated battleships or armoured cruisers.
9. Initially an innovation to aid the recovery of downed pilots, armoured cars were later put into use by the British on the Western Front.
10. Armour plating was added to aircraft to protect aircrew and vulnerable areas such as fuel tanks and the engine.
11. Today, ballistic vests, also known as flak jackets, made of ballistic cloth (e.g. kevlar, dyneema, twaron, spectra etc.) and ceramic or metal plates are common among police forces, security staff and some branches of the military.
12. Since World War II, tank armour has now incorporated not only harder composites, but also reactive armour, designed to defeat shaped charges.
13. We are always on a quest to find bigger and better ways to protect someone or something… but most of the time, the subject in protection is itself, built to kill.

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