The sun., 1918-12-02
BODY ARMOR SHEDS
MACHINE GUN FIRE
Successful Test Of an Inven-
ton Developed Too Late
for Use in the War.
PROTECTED MAN TARGET
Unhurt by Bullets Sent $500
Yards a Second, Six a Sec
ond, at so Yards.

a remarkable test Of body armor for
soldiers Of the American Army which
might have saved them from heavy
losses in the last weeks of the war had
the arnor been manufactured in time
was told OF yesterday by Arthur p.
Heyer sergeant in the Montclalr
IN. j. Battalion, who was one OF
those who fred charges from a Lewis
machine gun point blank at the in
ventor while the latter WAS wearing
his device. The tests took place on tho
rifle range OF the Montclair Battalion
and at Picatinny Lake, near the home
Of the inventor DIR. Guy Otis Brewster
Of Dover, n. J.
Members of the Montclair Battalion
fired the machine guns. All that par
ticipated in the tests were pledged TO
secrecy during the war.
Lieut.. John X Roll fired a string OF
bullets at a range OF fifty yards. The
Srotesque figure In the armor swayed
and seemed about to fall. Firing
ceased and attendants ran to DIR.
Brewster and helped him TO remove
the armor. Blood was streaming down
his face, but an examination showed
that no bullet had gone through the
| armor.
Bullets Force Breaks Welding.
1t was found that the electric weld
| ing Of the plates was defective. and the
terrific force OF the bullets had broken
loose strip OF the weld, which caused
the wound. DR.. Brewster announced
he had n method of overcoming the de-
feet. and another test was conducted
week later in the presence OF repre-
and English Governments and an ex-
pert in medieval armor.
Sergeant Heyer OF tho Montclair
| battalion let loose a string of five bull
let's. DIR. Brewster. encased in the
armor, did jig to show that he was
unharmed. The force of the bullets.
| driven at the rate OF $500 feet sec
ond, however, had sheared of the riv-
cts on the hip plate and the plate had
! fallen on the doctors feet.
| Repairs were made and the shoot
| ing line was drawn about six inches
| higher. just over the heart. II had
been previously demonstrated that the
blow Of each bullet was equal TO a
blow from n twenty pound sledge ham
mer in the hands of a man OF average
strength.
| The doctor had stood up against four
| strings OF bullets aimed low. The
next test was to decide whether he
Gould stand up against twenty pound
hammer blows coming twelve n second
| aimed high
Armored Man Holds Balance.
Sergeant Heyer fred and against
the. blast Of bullets sweeping across
the armor DIR. Brewster was at first
forced back. but managed to regain hi-
balance. He had proved that even an
average man could stand up in bullet
proof armor against concentrated ma
chine gun fire.
Two weeks later the representatives
of the three Governments conducted
an Intensive test for limitations. and
a burst of twelve bullets from the
machine gun at a distance of hfty feet
managed TO break through. The final
tests were conducted by the Govern
ment not only to determine how 10
build effective armor, but how to de-
stroy a type of armor then being used
by the Germans.
Or. Brewster's armor weighed nearly
sixty pounds and at no point was II in
direct contact with the wearer. Pneu-
matte cushions at points removed from
the nerve centres absorbed the shock
OF the machine gun bullets. The
armor was V shaped, covering the
front of the head and body only
Sergeant Heyer said yesterday that
he was informed that the armor was
being made in quantities at the time
of the signing of the armistice and
would probably have been in genera
use by the Americans II the war hac
continued.