Helmets, dating back to ancient times. In order to hunt down beasts and fight, primitive people used fibrous materials such as coconut shells, armadillo shells, and large turtle shells to protect their heads. to stop the attack. Later, with the development of metallurgical technology and the needs of war, metal helmets were invented. The earliest metal helmets abroad were bronze helmets made around 800 BC. The Shang Dynasty bronze helmet unearthed from Yin Ruins in Anyang, my country, has an animal face pattern cast on the front, which can cover the ears and neck of people on the left and right sides. It has a history of more than 3,000 years. It can be said that the bronze helmet of Yin Ruins is the earliest metal helmet in the world.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, with the appearance of hot weapons such as pistols and rifles, bronze helmets basically lost their protective effect, and people had to seek new helmet materials. During the First World War, the French army first developed a helmet that can prevent fragmentation of artillery shells, which is the "Adriatic" helmet. It's really a funny story: in the First World War, the massive use of machine guns and artillery brought huge casualties to the unprotected combatants, and both sides involved in the war were helpless against the flying shrapnel. One day, a French soldier was on duty in the kitchen when German artillery shells hit suddenly, smoke filled with gunpowder and shrapnel flew. In order to protect his head, the soldier put a pot on his head in a hurry, and the result was really effective. The shrapnel flying in the air hit the iron pot and fell off one after another, and the iron pot saved the soldier's life. Later, a general named Adrien learned about this and was very inspired, and immediately ordered the development of a metal helmet with bulletproof sheets. This helmet is made of Hart non-steel, so it is also called a steel helmet. In the First World War, the U.S. and British troops were also equipped with this helmet weighing about 0.5 to 1.8 kg. Although the helmet at the time had only a metal shell and padding, it was the prototype of the modern helmet. During World War II, the United States developed M1 and other manganese steel helmets, and the protective ability has been greatly improved. However, with the continuous development of weapons, the lethal power is constantly increasing, and the killing effect of light weapons has also been greatly improved. Manganese steel helmets can no longer meet the new protection needs, and the development of helmets faces new challenges. When American companies developed a protective collar for individual soldiers in the 1970s, a new breakthrough was made in the development of helmets.
Judging from the materials used in the army helmets of the world's major countries in the 20th century, there are mainly the following helmets, Kevlar helmets, nylon helmets, modified polypropylene, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene helmets and steel helmets. The Kevlar helmet of the US military, first used in the "Grenada" battle. According to the summary report of the U.S. invasion of Grenada, a small Caribbean country in 1983, a total of 22 rounds of 7.62mm bullets hit the "Kevlar" helmet, but failed to penetrate the helmet. The ballistic performance of the "Kevlar" helmet was battle tested during the invasion of Grenada and the subsequent Gulf War. In today's world, in addition to the US military, the armies of Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Singapore, Canada and other countries are equipped with "Kevlar" helmets. The French army replaced the new steel helmet in the 1980s, replacing the Type 51 helmet equipped in 1951. The new helmet material is manganese steel, which improves the protective performance; in addition to France, the armies of Russia, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and other countries also use steel helmets, but at the same time they are still researching helmets made of synthetic materials, and some national armies have been partially equipped for use.
