Weight of Renaissance Body Armor

[Dave Beatty]

While in Germany on vacation last summer, I had occasion to visit the castle at Lahneck and they let me try on a 16th century cavalry helmet and steel breastplate.  I was astonished to discover that they weigh far less than modern US armor.  Modern Kevlar helmets weigh just a tad less than the old steel pots of the WWII through Vietnam eras (they average around 3.5 pounds) and the flak vest I wore back in the day weighed in at around 10 pounds.  I have seen the Kevlar helmet stop an AK-47 bullet fired from about 20 yards away, and my flak vest stopped a .45 caliber bullet once (thank you very much).

The antique armor was quite a bit lighter than that.  I was not able to put it on a scale, but the difference was very noticeable.

However, I kind of doubt that it would stop a bullet.

[Patrick Waterson]

Actually it was noted for stopping bullets - and was designed to do so.  Muzzle velocities were a lot less than in the 20th century, but the weight of the ammunition used was correspondingly greater.  In essence, although exact figures may be hard to come by, such armour was intended to stop bullets at perhaps 50 yards or more; within this distance a cavalryman could be on his opponent before the arquebusier could aim his piece, apply the match and have the powder take fire.

Of course, massed arquebusiers with pike cover rather spoiled the fun.

[Erpingham]

The antique armor was quite a bit lighter than that.  I was not able to put it on a scale, but the difference was very noticeable.

However, I kind of doubt that it would stop a bullet.

I have some weights for equivalent elements of a 17th "harquebussier" armour - that is standard cavalry armour worn in the ECW

Helmet 8lb 9oz (3.88kg), breastplate 10lb 15oz (4.96kg).  Your modern armour was probably all in one with back armour included (I believe they are like a medieval coat of plates?) and the backplate of this armour is 13lb 1oz (5.93kg).  Our harquebussier would have worn this over a buff coat 10lb 0 oz (4.54kg).  This armour is designed for fighting other cavalry and should stop sword cuts and possibly pistol balls (there is a buff coat in the Kelvingrove collection in Glasgow with a bullet dent in it).  As with all pre-mass production armour, quality varied and in the ECW the buying up of whatever supplies of armour that could be found in Europe probably meant all sorts of rubbish was issued.  The real bulletproof stuff was cuirassier armour - there are examples of men firing pistols at cuirassiers with barrels actually touching the armour and it failing to penetrate.

However, this is a bit out of period.  But I have plenty of weights for in period armour too 

[Dave Beatty]

Thanks for the info on weights Anthony!  While I did not actually weigh the armor I wore at Schloss Landeck, it was certainly significantly lighter than the weights you give.  At the Academy, I carried an M-1 Garand rifle quite a bit and that weighs in at 9 pounds, and the helmet I wore was no where near that.  The helmet was most certainly less than 3 pounds - less than the weight of my Kevlar helmet for sure which is what got my attention.   

As for the type of body armor I wore when I was on active duty, it was the old Vietnam style flak vest and the stuff the US Army uses now can be quite a bit heavier - up to 60 pounds by some accounts.  I'd hate to have to hike around with that much weight on my back!

Patrick, that armor might stop a lower velocity bullet as you say.  I hunt elk here in the USA with a 54 caliber black powder rifle with some success.  Elk season is next week so I'll do a test and see if I can penetrate 1/8" of steel (my old pancake griddle - that German armour was only about 1/16" thick if that) at 50 yards with a 210 grain bullet and 70 grains of powder.  I may up the powder charge just for grins.  I'll keep you posted...

[Erpingham]

Thanks for the info on weights Anthony!  While I did not actually weigh the armor I wore at Schloss Landeck, it was certainly significantly lighter than the weights you give. 

It is very much at the heavy end, I think, which suggests it may be pistol proof.  I've got weights for about a dozen late medieval/early renaissance helmets and they are in the 1.5-3.5 kg range (around 3.5-7.5 lbs). 

Good luck with the shooting.  Bert Hall's Weapons and Warfare in Renaissance Europe quotes tests with black powder weapons achieving approximately 0.1in penetration at 100m, so you should be in with a decent chance.

[Patrick Waterson]

I understand that in the 16th century it was customary for armour to be constructed with bullet deflection and slug-stopping capability in mind, and many suits were tested before being sold, a proof-mark being added to show that the armour had passed the test.  A few less scrupulous armourers were rumoured to have added the proof-mark without the test, perhaps thinking that an unsatisfied customer would not be around to complain!

In the English Civil War, the bullet-stopping capability of the armour worn by Sir Arthur Haselrig's cavalry regiment was demonstrated at Runaway Hill (Roundway Down, AD 1643) when Sir Arthur was pursued a goodly distance by a Royalist cavalry officer, who determinedly but unsuccessfully attempted to penetrate Haselrig's carapace with both sword and pistol, prompting one of King Charles I's rare jokes, namely: "Had Sir Arthur been victualled as well as fortified, he might have stood a siege!"

Old habits died hard.  Here is a suit of armour from 1686, made for King James II and complete with proof-mark.