Flak Jackets: 20th-century military body armour

Description

Beginning in World War I, with the introduction of the steel helmet this book charts the development of protective equipment for soldiers and security forces. Initially body armour was seen as a military luxury that could be ill-afforded. However, the success of 'flak suits' as worn by some bomber crews during World War II convinced the armed forces of the need to develop protection for the ground soldier against small arms fire. The scientific development of the modern flak jacket is traced as are the field trials conducted in Korea and later Vietnam. Extensive illustrations and photographs accompnay the text.

Simon Dunstan is a well-established author, film maker and photographer in the field of military history, with several titles already published with Osprey. He specialises in the subject of armoured warfare, a field on which he has been writing for two decades. His books have covered topics such as helicopter and armoured warfare in Vietnam, the Challenger main battle tank, The British Guards and armoured warfare in Korea. Simon lives and works in London. RONALD B.VOLSTAD was born in 1949 in Alberta, Canada, where he still lives and works. Like several other leading military Osprey illustrators he had no formal art training, though he did work in a TV company's art department - before spending 15 years operating heavy machinery in the oil industry. His first illustrations were published in 1970; since then he has become widely known for his work in Osprey publications and for Dragon Models, and has also worked as a courtroom artist for TV news.