The first thing most multitude think of when they see the musical phrase " armored car " is the bulky , square motortruck that peck up and drops off immediate payment at the localATM . What people do n’t often think of are the personal transport or military - gracility vehicles keeping mass safe around the globe . Armored fomite can be split up into four canonical types :
sport utility vehicle / Sedans : These are sometimes called " personal protection vehicles . " They do n’t look any unlike than square - from - the - manufactory models , but they ’ve had armor applied throughout . The Chevrolet Suburban is the most democratic personal protection example .
Cash in Transit : This is the Brinks or Wells Fargo truck , which is not always all that well armoured . unremarkably , these motortruck only have to protect against pistol , which requires a low degree of armoring .
Police / SWAT / Tactical : These vehicles look similar to the cash in transit truck , but they ’re seriously armored for police and emergency use , where a variety of weapon may make out into play .
Military : It ’s no surprise that vehicles used by the military machine are the most heavily panoplied . It ’s also no surprisal that they are the most expensive to armor , at around $ 1 million each .
A few producer , like Mercedes - Benz in Europe , are capable to armor vehicles at the factory . Most armored fomite , though , get their extra protection from specialists . Companies like The Armored Group and Alpine Armoring buy plain - Jane vehicle and transmute them into G.I. Jane - worthy armored vehicles .
Customers for these vehicles range from administration , who corrupt them for heads of body politic , to CEOs and head of non - governmental organizations operating in vehement and dangerous parts of the cosmos . And , of course , banks , police force and war machine employ panoplied vehicles .
Up next , get ’s take a feeling at the chronicle of armored cars . You may be surprised to pick up just how far back in account the idea originated .
History of Armored Vehicles
The idea of an armoured vehicle precede the invention of the internal combustionengine , it seems . In fact , none other than the multi - talentedLeonardo da Vincimade sketch of an armored state of war vehicle in 1485 . It consisted of a circular weapons platform on four wheels with clear cannons arranged face out . These were covered with a retinal cone - shaped shell of control board with a turret at the top for a lookout . Underneath were the cranks and gearing to make the wheel change state and propel this proto - tank forward .
And that was the problem – the ice and geartrain would n’t work as they were drawn . The mechanism , as da Vinci sketched it out , would finish up turning the roulette wheel in opposite directions .
All the wheels on the next armored car , however , and more than 400 years later , turned right . Rolls - Royce Ghostswere armored by the company for use in World War I , with the first heavy - obligation Ghosts experience service of process in August 1914 . They were used by the Royal Naval Air Service in Great Britain , and came equip with gun turret .
Not long after , no less a romantic figure than Colonel T.E. Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia to you and me – put a fleet of nine armored Rolls - Royces to utilise in his campaigns in the Middle East . He fail so far as to call them " more valuable than rubies " for fight back in rough desert climates [ source : HistoryNet ] .
Armored cars have come a foresightful way in the preceding century . Next , let ’s count at what it takes to create a modern armored personal protection vehicle .
How to Armor a Vehicle
First , you have to have a worthy fomite to armor . Most armored cars are built to customer spec , so a company like Alpine Armoring will buy from a dealership or a fleet service . The vehicle will be brought to the shop and divest of absolutely everything – arse , carpeting , headliner , door venire – everything .
Then the armoring begins . The armor , which in most pillowcase is high - hardness ballisticsteel , is applied like a fretsaw puzzle all over the car , including underneath . There ’s a modest lap with each patch , as interruption are not effective in any armoured car . " suppose of it as a cocoon , " say Ron Leffler , project manager at Alpine Armoring . " If you were to bourgeon the car from any angle , it would not get through . " That include the firewall , the tailgate and even thebatterybeing armoured . The manufacturing plant meth is replaced with impost glass anywhere from 1 to 3 inches ( 2.5 to 7.6 centimeters ) thick .
There are different levels of armoring , look on the eccentric of ballistic the customer desire to stop . light armour does n’t add as much weight , but it only stop over side arm . The heavy armor really count a vehicle down , but it can also stop asniperrifle .
When all the materials are overlapped , then the inside goes back in and the panels go back on . The idea is to keep the vehicle as original - looking and inconspicuous as possible , says Leffler . " Our first goal is to be the only armored vehicle in a words of cars , but you ’re ineffectual to tell . Our 2d goal is that if an onset occurred , you ’d survive the attack . And our third goal is to be able to get out of the area and back to safe . "
The mental process is quick to describe , and painstaking to nail . Robert Pazderka , proprietor of The Armored Group LLC , enunciate it can take a few weeks to convert a vehicle with a lower level of armoring . The more heavily armored vehicles can take several month to complete .
Keep in mind that the armour adds several thousand of pounds , so brake , shocks , and sometimes even the engine have to be modified to haul all that system of weights around . Also , things like rear side curtainairbagshave to be removed to instal the armor . That means the car ’s computer has to be reprogrammed to forget that it ever had rearward side drapery airbags ; otherwise , that annoying little light will keep popping up on the dashboard .
Besides the omnipresent Brinks hand truck park outside the bank , there are a few other famous armored cars out there . Keep reading to find out what run into protecting man leaders ( and fictional characters , too ) .
Famous Armored Vehicles
In 1930 , Mercedes - Benz presented Pope Pius XI with its first papal vehicle , a Nurburg 460 . In the eight decades since , we ’ve come in to experience these panoplied vehicle with the white interior as " Popemobiles " ( the Vatican does n’t like that name , but everyone else seems to ) .
These day , Pope Benedict XVI has a small fleet of armored Mercedes - Benzes at his disposal . The most recent was a Mercedes - Benz G500 modify SUV , demonstrate to the Pope in December 2007 . The Vatican requested that a Popemobile be created for nice atmospheric condition , so Mercedes fit out the G500 with fold windscreen and handrails , as the Pope would be standing for better visibility . The SUV is finish in Vatican Mystic White , as all the Popemobiles are , with cherry carpet steps at the rear for Pope Benedict ’s debut and exit .
There ’s not much that can be sound out about President Obama ’s officiallimousine . That ’s because the Secret Service live up to its name when it comes to thepresident ’s security . We do , however , fuck that it ’s a hand truck - ground Cadillac presented to the president in 2009 and baptise at his initiative parade . We also know that the rear ass is a mobile office , and that security department was extremely tight even during the building and testing appendage .
panoplied cars are used even by fictional quality , like Dr. Cullen in the Twilight series of vampire Word , who drive a Mercedes - Benz S - Class Guard . The Guard auto are n’t available from Mercedes in the United States , but they come with a gadget driver breeding curriculum , which we can adopt Dr. Cullen took vantage of . The car is so heavy that the drive kinetics change . Mercedes promises to teach drivers – often professional chauffeurs – " how to make optimal use of their cars in every site . " Even , presumably , highly dangerous ones .
allow ’s look into the hereafter of armored cars on the next page .
The Future of Armored Cars
After a hundred of armour vehicle for a variety of usage , what could possibly add up next ? Leffler and Pazderka fit in : light materials . Using a space - age bullet - stopping composite fiber instead of thicksteelwould mean few modifications and an even more indiscernible silhouette . The drawback is the cost – composite materials can cost as much as three times as much as brand .
A composite that ’s already in common utilisation is Kevlar , which can be found inbulletproof police vest . Vehicle armourer are already putting it to use as calorie-free protection . A new polyethylene product , Dyneema , creates a framework of one thousand of short , sandwich fiber from one end of the gondola to the other . " If you take your finger or a tongue and chafe the fibre , small strings come off , " says Leffler . But with a high price shred to match its mellow auspices level , the military is the only customer right now that can afford to use Dyneema .
Pazderka think the futurity of armored cars is secure , in any pillow slip . " The likelihood of armoured cars die away is the same as full world public security . "
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