Body Armor Finds

[MikeL]

Greetings all,

 

This past weekend I found a couple pieces of body armor. I posted the other vest separate.

 

The second piece is a woodland Personal Ballistic Protective Vest (PBPV) with matching lot numbers & date throughout. It came with the groin panel and the soft armor inserts. The story I got with this was it used to belong to a local police dept prior to the owner I bought it from. Though everything matches, I noticed the outer carrier's size is Medium Regular but all the inserts are marked Medium Long. I saw a previous post here that included this type vest but I couldn't find any other information such as the manufacturer or contract award.

 

Front of vest and front ballistic panel label

[MikeL]

Outer carrier label and back of vest.

[taucco]

nice, i've noticed here in italy personnel guarding USAF bases are still using it, along with H&S made copies of the Pasgt Vest and Ranger Body Armor,

 

If you'll ever decide to get rid of it let me know :thumbsup:

[MikeL]

Found a back plate for the PBPV last week. Here are some photos. Notice is is size marked M-Long and fits the pocket in the rear panel of the vest in post 1 perfectly. It was made by Cercom Inc (now part of BAE) in 1997. I found the shape to be of interest. It has a distinct profile curve lengthwise, running along the length of the spine. The honeycomb appearance is from the smaller segments, about 4 segments per column, 3 columns wide. The bottom of this plate has some damage at the corners. No doubt from the vest being dropped to the ground when being taken off.

[MikeL]

The ID markings. The contract number has been blacked out but I did some checking and found that Cercom Inc had a DOD contract number DAAD05-96-D-9004 for body armor.

[P-E]

I saw a previous post here that included this type vest but I couldn't find any other information such as the manufacturer or contract award.

 

Manufacturer is Point Blank. Contract number : DAAD05-97-D-9204

 

We already spoke about those vests in another topic :

 

http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/ind...253&hl=PBPV

 

Your plate is interesting, I never saw something like that. I also have one PBPV body armor in my collection, but it's another model and the plates are usual SAPI plates.

 

Hope this helps,

 

P-E

[MikeL]

Thanks P-E. I read that post but with Lynne's vest being a later version, I didn't want to presume similar contracting data. I can make out all of my contract number except the last four/serial. My number reads: DAAD05-96-D-....(6xx3 is about all I think I can make out). So, my vest is one fiscal contract year earlier than Lynne's vest. Also, a couple things stuck out as different so I didn't know if it may have been a different manufacturer as well. Oddly enough, despite the vests having manufacture dates about 14 months apart, the lot numbers are the same which should have been a clue I reckon. I initially dismissed the lot number match as I figured it likely referred to the ballistic (Kevlar) insert rather than the vest itself and the same lot could have been used in several runs of vests. I didn't think it through that the same lot number used in several runs of vests would mean the same lot number used in several runs of the same manufacturer's vest. JKin's vest is a match for mine, albeit a desert pattern, but he didn't post any contract information other than a matching mfr date.

 

The back plate came from the Ft Bragg area so I feel it is likely correct for the PBPV. I have an AWS vest (some call it the Direct Action "Trauma" vest) and the plate nearly fits the back pocket on that vest also. Now, my AWS vest is a Large-Regular size and the pocket is a little large for the plate by about 1" wider and about 2" shorter. I don't know for sure about the AWS plates but I think they may have been similar in sizing and construction to the plate I have, at least the back plate. The front pocket on the AWS vest is larger than the back pocket unlike on the PBPV which is the same size, front and back.

 

Another thing I've noticed is often similar items are contracted in close number series. For instance, a Point Blank vest paired with a Cercom plate. Lynne's Point Blank vest contract number serial (last four) is 9204 where as the Cercom plate contract number serial is 9004. Only 200 serials different. I would have expected a closer series, one to five digits difference. Though only 200 in the grand scheme of government contracts is probably "close enough for government work" I suppose. This plate may have been a retrofit contract for the PBPV though it is more closely associated with the PBPV-II-AAF vest contract. Did the AWS vest run concurrent with the PBPV? May have been part of that contract though I've not seen a contract number on any AWS vests to collaborate that idea.

 

Thanks again for the info.