A U.S. Marine manning an M240 machine gun equipped with a gun shield A gun shield is a flat (or sometimes curved) piece of armor designed to be mounted on a

crew-served weapon A crew-served weapon is any weapon system that is issued to a crew of two or more individuals performing the same or separate tasks to run at maximum operational efficiency, as opposed to an individual-service weapon, which only requires one pe ...

such as a machine gun,

automatic grenade launcher An automatic grenade launcher (AGL) or grenade machine gun is a grenade launcher that is capable of fully automatic fire, and is typically loaded with either an Belt (firearm), ammunition belt or Magazine (firearm), magazine. These weapons are oft ...

, or

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

piece.

Military

Some mounted machine guns and artillery pieces are equipped with metal armor plates to protect the gunners from

small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

fire and shrapnel from explosions. They were fitted to some

armored fighting vehicle An armoured fighting vehicle (British English) or armored fighting vehicle (American English) (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can b ...

s and patrol boats during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Gun shields fell out of widespread use after the Vietnam War, but they have seen a resurgence in popularity during the 1980s and 1990s. Israeli military analysts began urging the use of gun shields, pointing to the grave risk to soldiers exposed to fire from automatic weapons. In particular, it was noted that many casualties were hit in areas not protected by

body armor Body armour, personal armour (also spelled ''armor''), armoured suit (''armored'') or coat of armour, among others, is armour for human body, a person's body: protective clothing or close-fitting hands-free shields designed to absorb or deflect ...

or a

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protecti ...

, such as the neck or face. The

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

began using gun shields in the early 21st century during the wars in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The major drawback of gun shields is that they limit the visibility of the user to the front, though new designs such as the

Transparent Armor Gun Shield The Transparent Armor Gun shield, or TAGS, is a visually transparent protective gun shield built by BAE Systems made with ballistic glass for US military vehicle operators using mounted machine guns. It borrows on the experience of the Israe ...

(TAGS for short) aim to alleviate this without sacrificing user protection.

Gun-shield from the armoury of Henry VIII

There are 46 surviving examples originally from the armoury of Henry VIII at the Palace of Westminster, the Tower of London and other Royal sites. Eight gun-shields have been found on the wreck of the Mary Rose. They have been thought to be Italian in origin, as they were offered to Henry VIII in a letter of 1544 from a painter of Ravenna named Giovanbattista. There are two distinct types of gun-shield: one of Italian manufacture and one an English version of heavier construction. There is evidence to suggest that the English gun-shields were converted from plain targets. At least two unconverted examples have been located.

References

External links

Ajax™ Armor SystemAJAX machine gun armour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gun Shield Vehicle armour Military technology Law enforcement equipment Shields

Military

Gun-shield from the armoury of Henry VIII

See also

References

External links