Body armour for US pilots: “M1 Flyer’s Vest”

Armoured vests – today often referred to as “flak jackets” - were designed to protect Allied aircrews from injury by shrapnel. The first version of the “Flyer’s Vest” was developed in 1942 in Britain by Wilkinson Sword Company for the Royal Air Force. The design was subsequently offered to the American allies. Wilkinson produced blades and steel tools - as well as these vests which had 500 small manganese steel plates sewn between the outer shell and the inner lining. Mass production began in the USA in the autumn of 1943. From the beginning of 1944, many American bomber crews were equipped with these. The complete vest with abdomen apron weighed around 11 kilograms. A quick-release tab, which was placed at the centre of the front, allowed to open all of the vest's fasteners with a single pull. As a result, all parts were released from the body and pilots could quickly jettison the vest in an emergency. The USAAF glider pilots who were deployed in “Operation Varsity” in 1945 donned this type of vest over enemy territory to be protected from small arms fire and flak shrapnel.

Decades later, numerous such vests – which were made of synthetic fabric - were unearthed from the ground on the former battlefield. The ones presented her were found on US glider landing zone N near Hamminkeln.

(Jens von Kalben collection, Hamminkeln)