"When Did the US Start Using Body Armor vs Rifles" Topic

I know that the flak vests were used as lend lease from the UK by aircrew during WW2.
Then in Korea the widespread use of the fragmentation vests started by ground troops. The same vest they usd through to the seventies.

They modified and made newer versions of fragmentation vests.

But,,, when did they start the widespread use vests with the rifle plates to stop or reduce rifle fire injury?

After the mid eighties for sure.

Probably were still fragmentation vests back then.

I know for sure there was an absolute scramble in 2003 to equip everyone.

In 1991 during Desert Storm, were they still using fragmentation vests or rifle plates?

How about the mid nineties in Bosnia and Kosovo?

The stuff we had in Bosnia was recycled from previous issue, so I'd say before the 90's?

As far as using them for "rifle fire", couldn't say.

Eric

In Desert Storm we wore traditional flak vests. During my 2004 tour in Iraq I was issued a flak vest but during the tour I was issued the SAPI plates.

Thanks.

Yeah, the plates that would stop intermediate rifle rounds. I think we call them Level Four these days.

Rakkasan that was pretty much what I was thinking. Developped in late nineties but not rally generally issued until sometime into about 2003-2005 during the War on Terra.

When I reported to VII Corps HQ in Stuttgart for duty in 1982, the first thing issued to me was a very heavy flak vest.

My brother, a LTC in an Apache battalion, served with the S3 shop of the Airborne Corps in the First Gulf War. He had the plate flak vest on in one photo.

In the late 1980's we were issued new fragmentation vests that matched the woodland camo pattern of the BDU. they were a much better fit for the soldier and not as heavy as the old ones we had from the Vietnam era. But the bullet proof vests, as others have mentioned, they really don't show up until the War on Terror.

+1 to Rakkasan- we wore flak vests too in the 1st Infantry Division. We were told that they wouldn't stop a round and were just good for splinters. Better than nothing I guess.

I was looking up some nformation on Yukkatube about the Soviet frag vests and was a bit surprised because they had one pattern, the 6B2 that was the equivalent to a fragmentation vest that became general issue by early Afghanistan.

Frag vest equivalent for shrapnel and such.
But surprisingly to me at least was the introduction of the 6B3 vest that was proof against intermediate rounds like the 7.62x39 that could stop or highly reduce the intermediate rifle rounds. This vest came about as a result of feedback in earl to mid Afghan period and was introduced arond 1986-7.

So, I was really surprised that they might have been ahead of the west by what ten or fifteen years in having a general issue vest with what we would call today Level 4 protection!

Gives me a big re-evaluation pause of Soviet infantry for the mid to late eightoes.

So I talked to my brother about his tours in both the First and Second Gulf Wars. Apparently their were several styles of flak vests. In his Apache he wore a cocoon styles that would protect him from larger rounds and shrapnel. He said it was heavy as well as cumbersome. He said their was a cut down version with a ‘baseball cup' style flap. Good was sitting in the tent or even driving to units from the G3 HQ.
Terrible if they very had to dismount early but good protection from IEDs.
He said that the Grunt vest was worn in operations but it they went out, a warning order brief would tell them if the needed heavier ceramic plates. The term was ‘plates in'. A common warning order factor. Even in the Cavalry we had to state special gear such as gas masks or MOP level.