M-1952 Flak Jacket

M-1952 Flak Jacket was a 20th century American flak jacket. It was used during the Korean and Vietnam wars.

History
The M-1952 Flak vest, or "Armor, Body, Fragmentation, Protective, Vest Type, M-52" was a flak vest designed for the United States Marine Corps during the Korean war. Following the joint US Army and Marine Corps designed M51 Flak Jacket, the M-52 used aluminum plates instead of Doron.

Design
The M-1952A Body Armor was an 8.5 pound vest made up of twelve layers of flexible laminated nylon. It had epaulets, a zip front closure and adjustable elastic draw cords on each side. It had cargo pockets with the left one having a pen compartment.

Combat use
The Marine Corps first used the M-1952 during the Korean War. It reached frontline troops in late 1952, and only in relatively small quantities. They continued to use it throughout the 1958 Lebanon Crisis and during the early stages of the Vietnam War.

The U.S. Navy used them quite heavily in Vietnam, including with their Mobile Riverine Force. The M-1952 was phased out of use by the M-1955 vest during the Vietnam Conflict. The Marine Corps used the vest into the 1980s during training.

Former users

 * 🇺🇸: United States Marine Corps, United States Navy.