6B4



6B4 (romanized from 6Б4) is a Soviet and Russian body armor.

History
During the early stages of the war in Afghanistan the 6B2 was adopted. However the level of protection of this vest was not enough to protect against automatic weapons.

In mid 1979 the first examples of new vests arrived, these were the 6B3 and 6B4. These both protected the user against rounds of AKM calibre and weighed around 10kg. The protection in the front and back of these vests was the same.

Of this basic 6B4 version with both front and rear plated with equal spec plates, there were several variants. The basic 6B4-0 consisted of 16 ceramic elements in the front and 16 in the rear and weighed 10.5kg. The variant 6B4-P had 20 elements in the front and rear and weighed 12.2kg. Variant 6B4-C (for guards and soldiers standing watch) had 30 plates in the front and 26 in the rear and weighed 15.6kg.

This was soon found to be rather heavy and solutions were sought. In 1985 the 6B3-01 and 6B4-01 were introduced. These were the lightweight versions of the previous vests. They featured 6.5mm thick titanium in the 6B3-01 and ceramic in the 6B4. The back protection consisted of lighter and thinner titanium 1.25mm thick. This saved weight compared to the older versions. There were 2 variants of the 6B4 with different plates in front and back (6B4-01). These were 6B4-01-0 (romanized from 6Б4-01-О) and 6B4-01-P (romanized from 6Б4-01-П)

The 6B4 variants can be found on pictures in Afghanistan, though not as common as the 6B3 it was still used. It can be found much more in pictures of Chechnya and more recently, in the South Ossetian conflict. The only colour variant of the 6B4 that can be found is the basic green cover. For a reason unknown to the author, no camouflage variants can be found.

The 6B4 is often seen worn with an additional belt made from the same sturdy, rubberized canvas as standard combat belts. This seems to have been solely designed for wear with body armour, and with a bulky piece like the 6B4 it really helps keep fitting more firmly.

Variants
6B4 - ballistic vest Zhe-85, this consisted of the following versions: (romanized from 6Б4 and Ж-85)

6B4-0 - (romanized from 6Б4-0)

6B4-P - (romanized from 6Б4-П)

6B4-C - (romanized from 6Б4-С)

6B4-01 - ballistic vest Zhe-85K, this consisted of the following versions:(romanized from 6Б4-01 and Ж-85К)

6B4-01-O - (romanized from 6Б4-01-О)

6B4-01-P - (romanized from 6Б4-01-П)