New research suggests helmet used in World War I protect soldier against overhead artillery blast just as well as innovative helmet — and one , the French Adrian helmet , really performed well .
When the First World War start , soldiers did n’t wear helmets . Military planners had n’t fully anticipated the horrific extent of modern warfare until it stared them back in their stubborn faces . As the war ride on , and with no close in sight , it became increasingly light that heads needed to be protected , compel the war nation to equip their soldiers with steel helmets .
Now , there ’s acommon misconceptionthat most death in WWI were get by machine gun fire , but the majority of dying actually come from artillery unit , according to G. J. Meyer ’s first-class book , A World Undone : The Story of the Great War . Death was often delivered by artillery shrapnel , but unaired proximity to an exploding shell and exposure to its powerful shock wave resulted in serious head trauma , often get permanent brain damage and death .
A modern helmet (left) and a French helmet (right) exposed to blasts meant to simulate an exploding artillery shell.Image: (J. O. Eynde et al., 2020/PLOS One )
The French were first to introduce a blade helmet , with their M15 Adrian , followed by the iconic bowl - like Brodie helmet used by British troops , both of which were deployed in 1915 . The Germans eventually followed lawsuit , replacing their leather pickelhaube caps with the steel Stahlhelm in 1916 .
https://gizmodo.com/the-10-biggest-misconceptions-about-the-first-world-war-1570327966
Blasts from explosions stay on a threat to the modern soldier , so of course helmets preserve to be a critically important component of military gear . An interesting newresearch paperpublished in PLOS One considered the strength of modern helmets as compared to those used in WWI . The raw inquiry , co - authored by Ph.D. student Joost Op ‘ t Eynde from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University , found that at least one helmet used in WWI — the French M15 Adrian helmet — perform well in test , specifically in terms of its ability to protect against overhead shock waving , compared to other WW1 helmet and modern design .
Schematic showing the shock tube setup.Image: (J. O. Eynde et al., 2020/PLOS One)
This is a surprising result for a identification number of reasons , including the fact that WWI helmets were primarily designed to fend for against shrapnel and bullet train and that these helmets were hoi polloi produced during times of economical and material emphasis . This determination hint the French had stumbled upon a especially effective design and that advanced helmet could be improved further . As the author write in the new paper , this was “ an investigating into whether improvements have been made in fighting helmet primary blast protection or if there is a lesson to be read from these 100 - year - old designs . ”
To that remnant , the researchers tested four dissimilar helmets , the Adrian , Brodie , Stahlhelm , and the Advanced Combat Helmet , which is currently in use by the U.S. military machine . These helmet were put atop an artificial head equipped with imperativeness detector , and then debunk to blasts of vary intensity .
To simulate the flak from a WWI - era artillery shell , the research worker used a shock tube filled with helium that , when pressurize , burst through a membrane , causing a herculean shock wave .
High-speed video showing the test on a French helmet.Image: (J. O. Eynde et al., 2010/PLOS One)
The helmet were tested with attack of different strengths and at distances ranging from 1 to 5 metre ( 3 to 15.5 feet ) . All daze waves come up from straight above the head , as this “ orientation course and blast vulnerability simulate an overhead blast scenario , as would have been plebeian in trench warfare due to artillery casing explode above deep , ” according to the newspaper publisher . At the same time , however , “ it would not be as applicable to other subject such as improvised explosive devices ( IEDs ) used as wayside bombs , a pregnant cause of injury and end in conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan , ” wrote the authors .
Pressure from the blasts were commemorate at the top ( pennant ) , forehead , right auricle , exit eye , and back of the head . The fake gust resulted in “ modest to severe brain injuries , ” explain Op ‘ t Eynde in an electronic mail to Gizmodo , but the helmets reduced this risk of exposure importantly . The “ estimate for brain injuries were based on bleeding in the brain due to blast in earlier studies do in our lab , ” he total .
uncalled-for to say , all four helmet quiz were far dear than wearing no auspices at all , reducing the risk of brain hurt by up to 10 - fold .
French infantry M15 Adrian helmet, featuring the crest on the crown.Image: (Casque de Marcel Hébrard)
“ While we found that all helmets leave a substantial amount of protection against blasts , we were surprised to discover that the 100 - twelvemonth - old helmet generally do just as well as modern ones , suggesting that helmet intention that perform better for ballistic protective cover is not needfully better for protective cover against shock undulation , ” suppose Op ‘ t Eynde .
But not all helmets perform equally . The German , British , and mod American helmets performed or so the same , but the French Adrian was better than the ease , resulting in very low probability of bleeding risk .
“ A likely reason for the performance of the Gallic helmet at the crown of the head is the shape of the deflector crest on top of the helmet , engineer the bang undulation around the headspring and providing an spare layer of material at the crown of the head word for the attack to reflect off , ” Op ‘ t Eynde recount Gizmodo . That said , the “ Gallic helmet did not result in dispirited press at any of the other measurement locations . ”
Indeed , it ’s this item — the crest — that may have made the divergence , as other parts of the Adrian helmet did n’t appear to pop the question the same level of protection . Interestingly , the protection of other area , such as the ears , was determined by the shape of the helmet itself and whether or not the helmet cover up these exposed role .
Importantly , the researchers are n’t saying the modern helmet is n’t a good excogitation . In fact , they say the novel helmet is really quite good , featuring a superimposed structure that works to imbibe incoming shock waves .
“ In term of protection against handgun and rifle bullets and against blunt impacts such as falls , the innovative Advanced Combat Helmet performs immensely good than any of the diachronic helmets , ” said Op ‘ t Eynde , adding that the unexampled study “ specifically look at overhead blast . ”
What the new research does paint a picture , however , is that modern purpose can still be ameliorate — and perchance with engineering develop during the First World War . Looking in the lead , the researchers are plan to use historical data of bam accidental injury during WWI to psychoanalyze standardized harm in modern combat position .
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