Book Review

Review

L. Tobin and M. Iremonger, Modern Body Armour and Helmets: An Introduction, Argos Press, Canberra, 2006.

Reviewed by Richard Mountford

This a book that your reviewer wished he had read 20 years ago when he first took a serious interest in body armour and helmets. Nevertheless, Lawrence Tobin and Michael Iremonger have now produced a gem – a book that genuinely has something for everyone with an interest in ballistic (and knife) protection. Those readers new (or newish) to personal ballistic protection need to start at Chapter 1 on page 1 while those with some confidence in their understanding of this complex subject can probably safely start at Chapter 3 on page 35. Even the most experienced should start at Chapter 6 on page 87 where the thorny subject of Test Methods is explored with simplistic clarity. Your reviewer found the final Chapter on technical details at page 121 of the greatest value as it answered the questions he was always too shy (or maybe too embarrassed) to ask.

It is a work that pays equal attention to the needs of the military on the one hand; and the police and other security services (border guards, security and cash-in-transit staff, etc) on the other. The military’s primary requirements for fragment and high velocity bullet protection are carefully balanced with police priorities for low velocity bullet and knife protection, and in both cases the analytical preparation required for a proper threat analysis is rightly stated with some emphasis.

A historical section provides a fascinating introduction to the book, exploring the development of personal protection from the Stone Age to the Second World War, Korean and Vietnam wars. It traces the use of leather, steel, silk and nylon based materials leading to the more recent adoption of new materials such as Kevlar and ceramic faced plates that offer increased protection at a reduced weight.

The threats are covered clearly with careful differentiation between dangers to military and police wearers of ballistic only or ballistic/knife protection. Fragmentation, bullet and knife attack technologies are explained with copious photographs. Many readers will find the section on bullets of particular interest. The figure of 59% of injuries to soldiers being caused by fragments (as opposed to bullets or other injuries) is lower than that more frequently quoted by casualty reduction analysts.

Body armour receives the majority of attention in the book, and rightly so: military body armours are different from police body armours, but both have serious wearability issues that the authors, with a single exception, tackle head on. The exception is a lack of detail on body heat management when body armour is worn in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius which is a very real problem being solved slowly – it should have had more than a mention. However, chapters 3, 4 and 7 provide clear and easily understood semi-technical information on materials and mechanics, designs and selection of body armours respectively. Highlights include a simple description of the very complex subject of fragment/bullet energy absorption by soft textile armours and ceramic faced hard armour plates, the many conflicting aspects of body armour design, and the importance of proper threat analysis to determine the protection level/wearability balance.

Helmets are covered too briefly in a chapter entitled Head & Face Protection, with just eleven pages covering factors affecting design and sadly almost nothing on helmet manufacturing technologies. However, the mechanics of a ballistic impact on a helmet are graphically described in an earlier chapter while helmet testing is mentioned later in the book.

Who needs a copy of this book at their elbow? Certainly every user, particularly those with a responsibility for the safety of those under their command, and the designers and manufacturers in the ballistic/knife protection industry. And all those tasked with setting requirements. And most certainly the decision makers who will spend taxpayers hard earned money. To illustrate this last point, your reviewer once asked the contracts officer of a small rural police force why a KR3 stab protection level body armour (one level higher than the capital city) had been selected – answer “just to be on the safe side!” And similarly the contracts officer of a large police force was asked why a contract order for 700 body armours had been signed, and replied that this would provide two to go into the boot of each police car – the inevitable question about the genders of the occupants and their sizes was met with silence! Not only will readers of this book never ask such questions, but they will have gained a profound knowledge of the basics (and a good bit beyond) of body armour and helmet systems and technologies.

Brigadier (retired) Richard Mountford introduced body armour into the British Army in 1990. For the past 14 years he has been an international consultant specialising in personal protection.

Modern Body Armour and Helmets: An Introduction can be ordered online through Argos Press at:

http://www.argospress.com/books/mba/index.htm