The history of armor plates can be traced back to the 19th century, when they were first used in battleships and tanks.
History of battleship armor plates
In the 19th century, battleship armor plates were mainly made of wrought iron. For example, the British battleship "Warrior" began to be equipped with 4.5-inch wrought iron armor in 1860. However, it was not until 1890 that battleship armor technology and its manufacturing industry really developed. With the advent of the Siemens-Martin open-hearth process, all-steel armor that is stronger than composite armor can be manufactured. In addition, the British Navy has conducted many tests to prove the superiority of all-steel armor.
History of tank armor plates
The development of tank armor plates began in the early 20th century. In 1915, the world's first tank was born, with an armor thickness of only 10mm and made of low-carbon steel. With the continuous development of anti-tank weapons, the thickness and material of tank armor have also been continuously upgraded. Before and after World War I, tanks mainly used low-carbon steel, but with the development of anti-tank weapons, the hardness and strength of low-carbon steel were insufficient, so alloy steel began to be widely used. During World War II, tank armor thickness reached 45-100mm, mainly using high-quality rolled steel armor and alloy steel armor, and abandoned riveted armor, adopting welding and integral casting structure.
Modern armor plate technology
Modern armor plate technology has made significant progress. For example, all-steel armor plates were first introduced in 1888 and became standard for more than half a century. In order to increase the hardness of armor steel, traditional armor steel is achieved by increasing the carbon content. The equivalent thickness of modern tank armor has been.