Scotch Harry Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Any ideas who,where and what period one of these would have been worn please? The plates are US made and dated 1970 but cannot find any date on the vest itself. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_bish Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 it was an experimental type trialled during the Vietnam war, similar to the "chicken plate" armour used by heli crews http://www.vietnamgear.com/kit.aspx?kit=31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotch Harry Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Knew about the US version Paul(have one somewhere I bought around 15 years ago in its original issue box) but not heard of or seen a Brit made one before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Knew about the US version Paul(have one somewhere I bought around 15 years ago in its original issue box) but not heard of or seen a Brit made one before. The attached label is US NSN....but the stuck-on paper label is British with a different (UK) NSN......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_bish Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 The attached label is US NSN....but the stuck-on paper label is British with a different (UK) NSN......... Ahhh just saw Derby on the label. Maybe NI? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrettkitt Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 I seem to remember reading somewhere that the body armour had been bought from the US to be used in NI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotch Harry Posted December 22, 2013 Author Share Posted December 22, 2013 All I know is the ceramic plates are US made but the cover is British made and slightly different to the US one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdbikemad Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Wondering if this was for static positions (eg - sangars or VCPs, etc) ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Double-Ugly Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Hi, in the 1970 the British Army in Northern Ireland came under threat from new high velocity weapons being used by the IRA. The Army bought several hundred sets of US Army (vietnam era) variable body armour , to equip troops in static positions, VCPs Sangars etc. The British discarded the US made covers, opting for a UK made cover with the two SLR mag pockets. These were an interim item until the inferior (in my opinion) NBA (Northern Ireland Body Armour) was on general issue. This vest is quite a rare item, but not greatly sought after. The standard US Variable vests are worth more. But still a nice addition to a collection of British body armour, (I have two sets), see Martin Brayleys book "Modern Body Armour" for more details. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_bish Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 Hi, in the 1970 the British Army in Northern Ireland came under threat from new high velocity weapons being used by the IRA. The Army bought several hundred sets of US Army (vietnam era) variable body armour , to equip troops in static positions, VCPs Sangars etc. The British discarded the US made covers, opting for a UK made cover with the two SLR mag pockets. These were an interim item until the inferior (in my opinion) NBA (Northern Ireland Body Armour) was on general issue. This vest is quite a rare item, but not greatly sought after. The standard US Variable vests are worth more. But still a nice addition to a collection of British body armour, (I have two sets), see Martin Brayleys book "Modern Body Armour" for more details. Marc Interesting, nice to find out something new. Sounds like a book I should get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotch Harry Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 The book does indeed sound interesting and thanks for the info. Have an unissued US Variable Body Armour with original box stashed away somewhere.D A few years back started collecting various bits of body armour on a small scale but have given up now as taking up too much room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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