Physiological effects of wearing armour and heat

Pukka Bundook · 28th October 2008, 07:13 AM

I don't know where now, but somewhere I read of a battle where nearly as many passed out or died through heat-stroke as became casualties by other means. It was in Europe but the details escape me.

I suppose if in the middle east one can fry an egg on a tank, the armour would be just as bad....except the egg might slip off the sloping bits!

Re. the longbow and things like battlefield detectives, I see the findings as quite flawed at times.
As in, a 60 lb longbow was used in one set of trials and it isn't surprising it wouldn't do what a 150 lb war-bow would!

Very interesting subject!

Richard.

katana · 28th October 2008, 10:10 PM

Excellent and interesting post Jim

,

due to a number of experimental archaeologists many of the the 'Victorian made' views of armour have been radically changed.

Although heat 'build up' was a problem.......dehydration was the true enemy. To cool down, the body sweats...the evaporation of this cools the skin surface reducing body temperature. However, within the 'confines' of the armour the moisture 'transferred' to the air space within ...creating humidity. Sweating actually increases in an effort to counteract these conditions and the loss of water increases significantly.

A number of researchers have discovered that knights fighting in the melee, would take turns at the front....returning after a rest and the intake of much needed water.

Knights also improved their physical health with various routines often in full armour. This conditioning helped to increase their 'heat stroke' tolerance.
Also their physical weight made a difference, excessive body fat actually increases the 'heat up' factor.

Knights also had to learn to breath deeply and freely to counter the restrictive 'breathing holes' in their visors .....slightly less oxygen would have a massive affect on the body's performance.

Regards David

28th October 2008, 07:13 AM	#1
Pukka Bundook Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 803	I don't know where now, but somewhere I read of a battle where nearly as many passed out or died through heat-stroke as became casualties by other means. It was in Europe but the details escape me. I suppose if in the middle east one can fry an egg on a tank, the armour would be just as bad....except the egg might slip off the sloping bits! Re. the longbow and things like battlefield detectives, I see the findings as quite flawed at times. As in, a 60 lb longbow was used in one set of trials and it isn't surprising it wouldn't do what a 150 lb war-bow would! Very interesting subject! Richard.

28th October 2008, 10:10 PM	#2
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Excellent and interesting post Jim , due to a number of experimental archaeologists many of the the 'Victorian made' views of armour have been radically changed. Although heat 'build up' was a problem.......dehydration was the true enemy. To cool down, the body sweats...the evaporation of this cools the skin surface reducing body temperature. However, within the 'confines' of the armour the moisture 'transferred' to the air space within ...creating humidity. Sweating actually increases in an effort to counteract these conditions and the loss of water increases significantly. A number of researchers have discovered that knights fighting in the melee, would take turns at the front....returning after a rest and the intake of much needed water. Knights also improved their physical health with various routines often in full armour. This conditioning helped to increase their 'heat stroke' tolerance. Also their physical weight made a difference, excessive body fat actually increases the 'heat up' factor. Knights also had to learn to breath deeply and freely to counter the restrictive 'breathing holes' in their visors .....slightly less oxygen would have a massive affect on the body's performance. Regards David