Bullet dents – “Proof marks” or battle damage

Authors

  • Alan Williams Visiting Research Fellow in the Department of Engineering at Reading University
  • David Edge Head of Conservation at the Wallace Collection, London
  • Tony Atkins rofessor of Mechanical Engineering at Reading University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/gladius.2006.8

Keywords:

Firearm, Armour, Bullet dent, Proof mark, Munition

Abstract


It is well known that the breastplates of many armours from the later 16th century and the 17th century bear the hemispherical dents generally known as proof marks. It has been taken as axiomatic that these marks were made in order to demonstrate the armours’ effectiveness against firearms. If however some of these dents are compared with dents which are the result of battle damage, it appears that they were made by energy levels of a different order of magnitude, and offer little guarantee as to the “proof” of the armour.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Downloads

Published

2006-12-31

How to Cite

Williams, A., Edge, D., & Atkins, T. (2006). Bullet dents – “Proof marks” or battle damage. Gladius, 26, 175–209. https://doi.org/10.3989/gladius.2006.8

Issue

Section

Articles