Joe Vincent
July 31st 04, 09:19 AM
ArtKramr wrote:
> Did fighter pilots in Nam wear flak suits or any heavy body armor and flak
> helmets similiar to WW II body armor?
>
>
> Arthur Kramer
> 344th BG 494th BS
> England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
> Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
> http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer
>
No.
Helicopter crews wore ballistic helmets and sat on flak vests, as well
as some had armor plating around their seats. ighters had none of this.
The pilots already wore enough survival gear to drown them if they
landed in water - no place or way to wear flak suit/vests. The weight of
a armored or ballistic helmet would rip your head off during a high
speed ejection. After his parachute, the most valuable thing to the
fighter pilot in Vietnam (and probably still today) was his survival
radio and spare batteries...
> Did fighter pilots in Nam wear flak suits or any heavy body armor and flak
> helmets similiar to WW II body armor?
>
>
> Arthur Kramer
> 344th BG 494th BS
> England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
> Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
> http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer
>
No.
Helicopter crews wore ballistic helmets and sat on flak vests, as well
as some had armor plating around their seats. ighters had none of this.
The pilots already wore enough survival gear to drown them if they
landed in water - no place or way to wear flak suit/vests. The weight of
a armored or ballistic helmet would rip your head off during a high
speed ejection. After his parachute, the most valuable thing to the
fighter pilot in Vietnam (and probably still today) was his survival
radio and spare batteries...