Global Firepower | Military Industrial Complex | Second World War History
Home | Military Pay Scale Chart | Aircraft | Infantry Weapons | Military Vehicles | Navy Ships | Military Education | French Military Victories | Military Ranks | WW2 Weapons
Military Factory Latest from Military Factory
Thumbnail picture of the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle
Dardo IFV
Thumbnail picture of the Supermarine Scimitar fighter
Supermarine Scimitar
Thumbnail picture of the Centauro B1 8x8 tank killer
Centauro 8x8
Thumbnail picture of the Novi Avion fighter
Novi Avion
Thumbnail picture of the FR F2 bolt-action sniper rifle
FR F2
Thumbnail picture of the Lebel Model 1886 bolt-action rifle
Lebel Model 1886
2009 Military Pay Scale Chart - for Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines
  BY TYPE
    · Anti-Aircraft
    · Anti-Materiel
    · Anti-Tank
    · Automatic Rifles
    · Bolt-Action Rifles
    · Howitzers
    · Lever-Action Rifles
    · Machine Guns
    · Mortars
    · Muskets
    · Pistols
    · Revolvers
    · Shotguns
    · Sniper Rifles
    · Special Weapons
    · Submachine Guns
    · View All Weapons

MilitaryFactory > Infantry Weapons > A Brief History of Chainmail Armor
 

A Brief History of Chainmail Armor
Overlapping rings might just save your life one day.

Chainmail armor in the Middle Ages was achieved through a process of creating wire from steel. Once the wire portion of the process was complete, the blacksmith would form them into little interlocking rings through the use of a hand-cranked machine. The most common form of chaim mail armor utilized an overlapping ring system in which rows of rings were interlinked for strength. Flat rings were thinner in one direction than the other, which meant that they had less of a tendency to open up when struck with the tip or side of a sword (blade). The chain mail metal heated and cooled quickly and was constructed over an open flame.

Inserting the actual rings into the mail was a rather tedious process requiring more than one person to help. About 40,000 rings were required to make one shirt of chainmail armor. Each single ring was connected to at least four others at any one time throughout the entire garment. Ultimately, the chain mail armor was only as good as the padding the wearer had underneath as the chainmail served the single purpose of shock absorption.

There were basically two types of chainmail armor during that time - flat and round ring mail. Round rings were good against swords but no so good against arrowheads, the flat rings excelled against those. But once 15th century rolled in, along with the new-fangled discovery of gunpowder in warfare, chainmail became obsolete. Some Turks, Persians and Indians still used chainmail armor even up to 100 years ago.

 

     

Free GI Bill Guide

Top MF Stuff: Military Pay Scale Chart | Military Ranks | World War 2 Weapons | Sniper Rifles | Conversion Calculators


©2009 www.MilitaryFactory.com • Content ©2003-2009 MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Disclaimer Privacy Policy Site Map Origins
Most photographic images appearing on this site are courtesy of the United States Department of Defense and are approved for public use.
Other images acquired through the public domain. Digital art work courtesy of Dan Alex.
Business Consulting by Kyle Williams

Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value and should not to be construed as usable for
hardware restoration, maintenance or general operation. Please consult manufacturers for such information.

Site Contact: militaryfactory at gmail dot com (replace "at" with "@" and "dot" with ".") eXTReMe Tracker