WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

 

Before the first arrow pierced the apple, William Tell had the second ready to fire.

Gessler said ‘What was the second arrow for?’

Tell said ‘If I had missed, it was for you’.

From ‘The Story of William Tell’

A Swiss legend

 

If you have got as far as this page, then this book is probably aimed at you.

The authors of this book and their expert advisers from both the police and military spheres have many years of experience in the world of research, development, and application of ballistic protective body armour and helmets. They have been aware that there was no single source of information which explains in non-technical language the science and technology that is devoted to ensuring that the best possible personal protection is available for members of the military services, the police forces, or just anybody who needs this sort of protective clothing. If that is what you have been looking for, then this is it!

You may be a serving soldier or policeman who wants a better understanding of the kit that you have been provided with. You may have the responsibility within a security firm for deciding which models of armour and/or helmets should be purchased. You could be an individual, perhaps a freelance journalist or a business representative, who needs to travel to potentially dangerous areas, with a need to buy your own protective clothing. You could be interested in military or police matters in general, or you may just have an interest in unusual clothing. Even though we have taken great care not to use technical jargon or formulae, and we have tried to explain as much as possible by illustrations rather than asking you to plough through masses of text, it should even be useful to the scientist or technologist who has an interest, but perhaps limited experience, in this area. On the other hand you may have no idea what the title means and you have picked up this book in order to find out. It is for all of you.

As you read on, you will learn about the historical development of personal protection systems which are light enough to be carried or worn by an individual but which will protect him or her against ballistic attacks and some other forms of assault. You will learn something about the weapons that are used in those assaults. You will also read about the underlying research and development which is aimed at improving levels of protection even higher than they are currently. This will include descriptions of the materials that are used and how they work; how body armour and helmets are designed; how both the basic materials and the finished clothing and headwear are tested; and how to recognize armours and helmets which pass those tests

You may be surprised to learn that although all body armours look very similar in photographs, in fact they often have important differences. We will also explain why the most widely used military helmets look almost identical although they are designed independently. It may be even more surprising for the average reader, in spite of what you may have been led to believe, that most ballistic casualties in warfare are not caused by bullets or that police armour has to provide protection against weapons which are usually not even considered for the construction of a military body armour.  Why do so many soldiers in Hollywood films have their chinstraps undone? And why in modern TV and newspaper pictures of real combat situations do they not?   Why isn’t the armour that gives the highest level of protection not necessarily the best armour? Interested in finding out more? Then buy the book.

(If you need an independent recommendation, we think it is great and so do our families.)

We would like to acknowledge the invaluable advice and assistance provided by Paul Fenne and Phil Gotts. Phil has been leader of the team of scientists in the UK Ministry of Defence who are responsible for the research and other technical support relating to most UK military ballistic-protective clothing. Paul holds a similar position in respect to London’s Metropolitan Police Service, one of the largest police forces in the world. It was Paul who first saw the need for a non-technical introductory book on body armour and the chapter on knives in particular leans heavily on information and advice that he offered. Both he and Phil helped us to decide what to both include and exclude, and in addition to reading and commenting on the draft versions they were both of considerable assistance in helping us to find suitable illustrations. Paul both provided illustrations and elicited the help of Jamie Egerton who drew cartoons for the book. Phil suggested where we may find other illustrations and also gave us permission to photograph some items which may otherwise have been difficult for us to obtain. We are particularly indebted to Jamie who, with his superlative illustrations, has introduced a lighter side to the serious subject of personal protection.