The Bulletproof Blanket Myth: M1 Carbine & Sten with Firearms Expert Jonathan Ferguson

Can clothing really stop a bullet? In this What Is This Weapon? spin off: Myths and Misconceptions episode, Jonathan investigates one of the strangest firearms myths, the idea that blankets, greatcoats, padded uniforms or even wet fabric could stop pistol calibre bullets. So where did this idea come from? Are guns like the M1 Carbine really too weak, or is this a case of folklore taking over? Jonathan takes a closer look. Sources/Reading: Box ‘O Truth frozen blanket test; http://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-36-frozen-clothing-and-the-box-o-truth/ Bob Drury & Tom Clavin, ‘The Last Stand of Fox Company’ (Grove Press, 2009) p.82. Sten trial reference is from John D. Salt, ‘WW2 Weapon Effectiveness’ 16 December 1998; https://web.archive.org/web/20180920150859/http://mr-home.staff.shef.ac.uk/hobbies/ww2eff2.pdf ‘Foreign Items’, The United States Army and Navy Journal, April 17 1886. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_United_States_Army_and_Navy_Journal/BoVqmcwj9j0C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA781&printsec=frontcover Mason quote is from; ‘QUOTES ON W.E. FAIRBAIRN, E.A. SYKES & DERMOT "PAT" O'NEILL’; https://web.archive.org/web/20140201234904/http://www.gutterfighting.org/FairbairnSykesONeill.html Loza quote is from Vladimir Onokoy, ‘Forgotten History of Thompson SMG in Secret Police and Army of Soviet Russia’ The Firearm Blog, 19 September 2019; https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2019/09/19/forgotten-history-of-thompson-smg-in-secret-police-and-army-of-soviet-russia/ Derek Peter Franklin, 'A Pied Cloak: Memoirs of a Colonial Police (Special Branch) Officer' (Janus, 1996), p.127. https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/A_Pied_Cloak/0V8ORyeu7u8C?hl=en ‘Home Guard Manual’ 1941, p.195. https://archive.org/details/homeguardmanual10000unse/page/n9/mode/2up?q=blanket Shaka Zulu claim is from Henry Francis Flynn via r/AskHistorians on Reddit;https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/apyfow/could_a_wet_leather_zulu_shield_really_stop_a/ Genghis Khan image in the outro: © Armored Mongol warriors pursuing enemies (first half of the 14th century). Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung, Diez A fol.71 S58. Subscribe to our channel for more videos about arms and armour Help us bring history to life by supporting us here: https://royalarmouries.org/support-us/donations/ Sign up to our museum membership scheme here: https://royalarmouries.org/support-us/membership/ ⚔Website: https://royalarmouries.org/home ⚔Blog: https://royalarmouries.org/stories/ ⚔Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoyalArmouriesMuseum/ ⚔Twitter: https://twitter.com/Royal_Armouries ⚔ Instagram: http://instagram.com/royalarmouriesmuseum We are the Royal Armouries, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Discover what goes on behind the scenes and watch our collection come to life. See combat demonstrations, experience jousting and meet our experts. Have a question about arms and armour? Feel free to leave us a comment and we'll do our best to answer it.