6B3 ballistic vest
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| 6B3 | |
|---|---|
 6B3TM-01 body armor | |
| Type | Ballistic vest |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 6B3T: 1983-? 6B3TM-01: 1985-? |
| Wars | Soviet-Afghan war |
| Production history | |
| Designer | NII Stali |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 6B3T: 12.2 kg 6B3TM-01: 8.2 kg. |
6B3 (Russian: 6Б3) is a ballistic vest of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was the first widely issued and mass produced ballistic vest rated to stop assault rifle rounds. It was created by NII Stali after Soviet troops in Afghanistan noted the lack of protection against rifle rounds that 6B2 ballistic vest provided.
History
After Soviet army started to issue 6B2 body armor to the troops in Afghanistan, a number of downsides were noticed. Firstly, and most importantly, the vest only provided good protection against shrapnel, but not rifle rounds.[1] As such, engineers at NII Stali set out to create an improved ballistic vest, with higher protective charactristics.[2] In 1983, by resolution of the Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR NII Stali was designated as a lead coordinator of all developments in the realm of personal protection.[3] 6B3T armor got adopted in 1983, and modernized and more lightweight version 6B3TM-01 in 1985.[4][5][6]
Technical details
The vest consists of chest and back parts. On the shoulders they connect via belt-buckle fasteners, which make it possible to make height adjustmrents.[5][6] The protection itself consists of titanium armor elements inside of the so-called mounting plate (монтажная плата). The fabric cover of the vest has four pockets for AK mags on the front, four slots for hand grenades on the back, and two big pouches on front and back for other storage.[6]
Protective characteristics
Protection of 6B3TM vest consists of titanium plates inside of the aramid pockets both in the front and in the back. The front plates are made out of 6.5 mm thick VT-23 titanium, called ADU-605T-83 (АДУ-605Т-83). It provided protection against 7.62x39 PS cartridge fired from an AKM at 10 meters, 5.45x39 PS (7N6) from AK-74 at 35 m, 5.56x45 M193 (M855) from M-16A1 at 100 meters, and 7.62x54R LPS from SVD at 150 meters. The back plates are made out of 1.25 mm thick VT-14 titanium, called ADU-605-8 (АДУ-605-80), same as 6B2 armor. It could reasonably protect against TT and Makarov pistols. Both front and back were further protected by aramid (TSVM DZh-1) fabric liner (30 layers of fabric).[6][7][5][8]
There are several variants of 6B3 body armor:
- 6B3T - (T stands for titanium) original version adopted in 1983. Offers all round protection with 6.5mm plates. Weighs 12.2 kg.[5][4]
- 6B3TM - modernized version adopted in 1985.[6]
- 6B3TM-01 - modernized version adopted in 1985. Has the same protection as 6B3TM on the front, but thinner, lighter plates on the back. The most widely produced variant of 6B3.[6] Weighs 8.2 kg.[5]
- 6B3TM-01M - upgrade of existing vest by "Zyuratkul" company in the 1990s.[4]
Gallery
-
Ivan Nikolayev in a 6B3TM-01 ballistic vest -
Ivan Nikolayev in 6B3TM-01 ballistic vest without fabric cover. Slots for titanium plates can clearly be seen.
References
- ^ "АНАЛИЗ МАТЕРИАЛОВ И ИХ СВОЙСТВ, ПРИМЕНЯЕМЫХ ДЛЯ СРЕДСТВ ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНОЙ БРОНЕЗАЩИТЫ". Успехи современного естествознания (9): 143–147. 2014.
- ^ "Первый массовый бронежилет для Советской армии". «Защита и безопасность» (3): 12–14. 2018.
- ^ "Самый массовый. Бронежилеты серии 6Б5 | Оружейный журнал «КАЛАШНИКОВ»" (in Russian). 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ a b c "6Б3 - Броня советских войск в Афганистане ЧАСТЬ 1 | ОБЗОР БРОНЕЖИЛЕТА". Youtube.
- ^ a b c d e "АРМЕЙСКИЕ БРОНЕЖИЛЕТЫ, виды и характеристики бронежилетов". www.shovkunenko-book.ru. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
- ^ a b c d e f СРЕДСТВА ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНОЙ БРОНЕЗАЩИТЫ (РУКОВОДСТВО СЛУЖБЫ) (in Rus). Moscow: Братишка. 2004. pp. 16–18, 38–40. ISBN 5-902104-02-5.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Отечественные средства индивидуальной бронезащиты военнослужащих: история создания | Русская DARPA" (in Russian). 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
- ^ "Отечественные армейские бронежилеты". forma-odezhda.com. Retrieved 2023-11-09.