| Armour or armor (see spelling differences) is | | | | warfare. First modern production technology for |
| protective covering used to prevent damage | | | | armour plating was used by the navies in |
| from being inflicted to an individual or a vehicle | | | | construction of the Ironclad warships, and reaching |
| through use of direct contact weapons or | | | | its pinnacle of development with the battleship. It |
| projectiles, usually during combat. Armour has | | | | was the naval engineers that also constructed the |
| been used to protect soldiers, war animals such | | | | first World War I "tanks" giving rise to armoured |
| as war horses (the application for the latter called | | | | fighting vehicles protected by vehicle armour. Air |
| barding), and war machines such as warships and | | | | forces also sometimes employ armour. Aerial |
| armoured fighting vehicles. | | | | armour has been used, notably, in protecting the |
| Armour has been used throughout recorded | | | | pilots during the Second World War, and in |
| history, and manufactured from a variety of | | | | designing heavily armoured aircraft that would be |
| materials; starting with rudimentary leather | | | | expected to suffer more than usual damage |
| protection, personal armour evolved to mail and | | | | from ground fire. |
| full plated suit of armour. For much of military | | | | In modern ground forces' usage, the meaning of |
| history the manufacture of metal armour in | | | | armour has expanded to include the role of |
| Europe has dominated the technology and | | | | troops in combat. After the evolution of |
| employment of armour. Armour production was a | | | | armoured warfare, heavily armoured military |
| cause of the development of many important | | | | forces are organised using armoured infantry, |
| technologies of the Ancient World, including wood | | | | mounted in armoured fighting vehicles and |
| lamination, mining, metal refining, vehicle | | | | replacing light infantry in many situations. In |
| manufacture (chariot), leather processing, and | | | | modern armoured warfare, armoured units |
| later decorative metal working. Its production has | | | | equipped with tanks and infantry fighting vehicles |
| been influential in the evolving industrial revolution, | | | | serve the historic role of both the battle cavalry, |
| and influenced commercial development of | | | | light cavalry and dragoons, and belong to the |
| metallurgy and engineering. | | | | armoured branch in a national army's organization |
| Armour was the single most influential factor in | | | | (sometimes, the armoured corps). |
| the development of firearms that revolutionised | | | | |