Artefacts salvaged from Ned Kelly's last stand

Artefacts salvaged from Ned Kelly's last stand at Glenrowan to be reunited after more than a century

Ned Kelly an Irish lad...he and his brothers "The Kelly Gang" were tired of the bad treatment from Police and fought back...Australia's most loved bush ranger. More famous than Captain Starlight. Ned decided to make body armour out of plough blades (solid steel). The armour proved perfect for defence from bullets, so much so the police had to shoot his legs out to bring him down.
Always make me wonder how effective something like this would have been in the march across no man's land in WW1..?

 

It did make me think of the North Hollywood shootout...surely the most dramatic in history. (Even more so than Butch Cassidy) One of them shot himself instead of being brought down by cops. The ploy worked.
Your questions are valid, and what made me put a question mark to the idea...certainly the idea is sound (one man tank effectively - including shaped armour) but may (as with the early tank) have been a bad idea in certain terrains. Total weight of Kelly's armour including helmet 41.4 kilos...pretty heavy, but most just walked across no man's land anyway. a breast plate and helmet would have made a difference in my opinion...grenade the trench one is walking up to...jump down into it and remove the helmet, keep the breast plate on whilst cleaning out the trench...?

 

I suspect another problem would be shooting back! I suppose you could wield a handgun well enough, but you couldn't shoulder a rifle well, much less get a sight picture. Effectively, you'd just be popping off rounds in the general direction of the enemy.

.

 

I thought that snipers during WWI did use a large metal plate/shield to hide behind, as it was initially impenetrable. Then the British employed 'elephant guns' - the same Caliber rifle to bring down Elephants - that punched holes through the metal shields and the sniper behind them. I am guessing such large caliber guns were not easily accessible back then (not too many Elephants in Australia after all!).

 

I do know that the British counter-snipers would reverse the bullet in the cartridge so that the flat end was first. This way the round, when it stuck steel, had a greater spalling effect.

 

yes, was going to say the top armour has a dent below eye slot.
thinking that must have spalled into his eyes...a coroners report would be interesting.
what about the other 4 suits- were those his as well?

play ps4 game- ww1...there is a level where you are Italian and assaulting mountain garrisons....have similar plate armour and also carrying a heavy machinegun...the game seems to be fairly accurate, so wonder if the Italians were the first to employ body armour in that fashion.
who came first, Ned or ww1

 

Ned was born in 1855...so Ned came first for sure. The other suits were made by Ned for his brothers.

Ned without his beard.


His death mask. His last words were "such is life".

I think the first major feature film in the world was a Ned Kelly movie in 1906


Mick Jagger playing Ned Kelly.


Heath Ledger playing Ned Kelly.
At least two other films have been made on top of these...the latest with Russell Crowe in it.

Ned's weapons.

Giant Ned Kelly at Glenrowan VIC.
Kelly Tats...




This one with the Eureka flag


As ive said...hes loved in Australia...


Famous painter Sydney Nolan painted a series of Kelly paintings...these will set you back millions these days...

 

death masks were a thing.
weird.
ha...jagger playing Ned. worst idea ever.
mick was probably around in 1906.

 

I think he was a mate of Ned's... : )

 

I better post this before Adam beats me to it


Austrian Body Armor

 

Id want the family jewels covered too...

 

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Part of the 1906 "worlds first feature length movie" - ends with the Ned Kelly shootout...and the building that was burnt down in the original article.

The Kelly gang

 

Would the Americans have benefitted from an armoured shield jumping onto the beaches on D-day? Obviously not jumping into deep water...how much would it have changed the killed or wounded stats?