Could Franz Ferdinand's bullet-proof vest have changed history?
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Experts are recreating the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to establish whether a contemporary bulletproof vest could have prevented WWI.
By using a replica of a silk vest said to have been owned by the Archduke, and a pistol of the same type used to murder Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, researchers at the Royal Armouries in Leeds hope to find out whether the Great War could have been stopped.
It is thought that the Archduke owned a piece of silk bodyarmour, but that he did not wear it on the fatal morning in Sarajevo in June 1914.
Could this have stopped the war? Researchers in Leeds are set to test a replica of a silk bulletproof vest thought to have been owned by Archduke Franz Ferdinand and a pistol like the one used to murder him in 1914
Historic moment: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Duchess Sophie of Hohenberg, pictured in the back of their car shortly before the assassination in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914, is widely acknowledged to have sparked the outbreak of the First World War.
The idea of the re-creation of the event came after Lisa Traynor, a Royal Armouries' First World War researcher, found a pistol almost identical to the one used by Princip.
'I stumbled across a Browning Model 1910 self-loading pistol, the same type used to assassinate the Archduke,' Ms Traynor said.
'Upon examining its serial number, I realised it was only 516 away from the actual pistol used in the assassination and would probably have been manufactured around the same time.
'This made me think about the 'what if scenario' surrounding the death of the Archduke. If he hadn't been killed, would the war have been delayed?
It is thought Franz Ferdinand owned a silk bulletproof vest like the one pictured here, but he did not wear it on the fatal morning in Sarajevo
Historic event: An painting from July 1914, depicts the moment Serbian separatist Gavrilo Princip shoots Franz Ferdinand and Sophie
'After months of independent research in international archives and with the assistance of international academics on the subject, I discovered that it was entirely possible that the Archduke may have owned a piece of body armour.'
Now experts at the National Firearms Centre in Leeds have tried to replicate the conditions of the Archduke's assassination, to make testing as accurate as possible.
Royal Armouries' tests involve recreating replica silk vests, made to the original patent's specifications.
Sharpshooting: The researchers will test the vest against the 1914 pistol
These replicas have been fired at with the same type of pistol and ammunition and from the same distance as the original event.
Ms Traynor said: 'Our First World War team thought it would be interesting to test the theory of silk body armour against the Browning Model 1910, to understand the ballistic capabilities of 19th century body armour against 20th century firepower.'
'I don't want to pre-empt the next round of tests, however I can report that silk does have bullet-stopping capabilities! So this research could result in very exciting results.'
The vests were created by a priest-turned-inventor Casimir Zeglen, whose product were sold globally and were bought by European royalty and heads of state.
His armour comprised organic layers, most notably silk, which had the ability to resist bullets.
Further experiments to test the capabilities of late 19th century body armour against20th century firepower will go ahead in early September.
However, initial results have borne out a widely-held theory that silk does have bullet-stopping capabilities.
This research will also form part of a new permanent exhibition at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, called 'Bullets, Blades and Battle Bowlers', which is due to open in September.
Ms Traynor will also present an international paper focused on the research at the
International Committee for the History of Technology's Conference in Romania, which runs from July 29 to August 2.
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