Much
of the information contained in the following article is available
from the U.S. Army Natick Laboratories Technical Report 69-43-CE
and U.S. Army TM 10-8470-202-13, "Operation and Service Instructions Ground and Aircrew Body
Armor".
The
"Chicken Plate"
The need for body armor capable of defeating large caliber
armor piercing rounds became a priority with the advent of "airmobile"
combat as evidenced in Vietnam. Helicopter and recon aircraft
crew members originally made due with body armor developed for
ground forces, namely the Nylon M-1952 vest and the Nylon/Doron
M-1955 vest. However, these vests were designed to stop fragments
only and did a rather poor job of stopping high velocity and large
caliber ammunition.
Armor capable of defeating armor piercing rounds became viable
in 1962 with a new composite ceramic. The first armor for aircrewman
was designed with small, flat plates of ballistic ceramic formed
into the shape of a torso. This early armor was designed to rest
on the pilots thighs or on a support attached to the seat between
his legs. Still, this armor was not suitable for crew members
whose jobs required them to move about the cabin (door gunners).
This armor also had a lack of protection where the edges of the
plates met.
Finally, a vest which could be comfortably worn by all crew members
was designed. This vest is the "Armor, Small Arms-Fragmentation
Protective", "Body Armor, Aircrewman", or, as known
by macho pilots, and hereafter referred to as the "chicken
plate". This was a new design which used a monolithic ceramic
(one piece) which was molded to match torso contours. The chicken
plate was made in two versions; One with a front plate only for
pilots and copilots, and a second version with front and back
plates for crew members who did not sit in armored seats. The
vests are capable of defeating 30 caliber armor piercing ammunition
and are designed for use in aircraft without ejection seats.
The
ceramic plates are faced with a layer of ballistic Nylon as a
spall shield to reduce bullet fragments. The back of the plates
are faced with a reinforced plastic. So, if you see one of these
plates, you never actually see the ceramic. You only see the spall
shield and the plastic. The chicken plate was made in 3 different
ceramic compositions:
- Aluminum
Oxide (heavy weight)
- Silicon
Carbide (medium weight)
- Boron
Carbide (light weight)
The weight difference is about 3 pounds per
plate per ceramic composition. The Army used only vests made from
Aluminum Oxide, while the Air Force, Navy and Marines used all
three. The vests were made in 3 sizes: Short,
Regular, or Long. These are
sized according to the wearer's height. A size Long vest with
front and back plates made from Aluminum Oxide weighs about 30
pounds.
The carrier for the plate(s) is made of from OD green nylon/cotton.
The front plate version has a mesh back. Both versions feature
a wide, wrap around waist band which secures with Velcro to the
front of the vest. The carrier has a pocket in the front (and
rear for 2 plate version) which holds the ceramic plates. Additional
spall protection is provided by a half inch of ballistic nylon
felt which is permanently attached inside the pockets. Early versions
of the vest did not have this felt spall shield. These versions
did not have the "Fragmentation Protective" designation.
The shoulders feature fragmentation protective nylon felt pads.
The shoulders are adjustable through use of sliding web straps,
and the back of the vest secures to the front with snaps at the
shoulders. The front of the vest features a survival radio pocket
that secures with Velcro. This pocket is imprinted with the words
"DO NOT DROP". The ceramic tends to shatter or break
if dropped.
The chicken
plate was revolutionary for aviators, and it's a great piece for
collectors!
Author's
note: I'm not sure of the length of the production life
of the vest. Anybody know? I've heard that the chicken plate has
been issued as recently as operations in Bosnia (to engineers
for mine clearance protection).
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