How accurate are cataphract elephants, really?

[Basementboy]

Was browsing Warlord Games successor selection, and noticed that their elephants are depicted in full scale mail barding, with bronze “helmets” and overlapping plates covering the legs.
The models look fantastic- but is there any evidence that successor elephants were ever armed like this? It seems like all the heavy armour would be impractical in the conditions of the Middle East, but maybe I’m wrong
Thanks in advance

[SteveBurt]

There is good evidence for it. Armies of the Macedonian and Punic Wars (Duncan Head), and The Seleucid Army (Nick Sekunda) have sources and pictures. Elephant armour is attested in contemporary sculptures and wall paintings.

[AdamPHayes]

There is one period representation that I know of showing scale armour:



And several literary descriptions of armour albeit not very specific of the form it took. There are more statuettes IIRC showing the banded leg armour that were presumably protecting where the elephant was most vulnerable to attack.

These plus many illustrations from other periods of heavily armoured elephants (all the way up to the 18th C. in India) mean it does not look impractical to me. Perhaps less of an issue than for horses that suffer severe overheating problems in hot climates when weighed down with a heavy caparison.

It also makes a lot of sense from a point of view that the elephant was seen as a prestige symbol and directly linked with kingship in the Hellenistic world. Providing expensive armour to your battlefield command post and bling for the post-match victory parade seems quite logical.

[Basementboy]

Thank you both so much for the quick responses! Very useful to know

[has.been]

The Tower of London has an Elephant suit of armour.
Never seen it myself, as when our club visited (to please a
member who used a LOT of pachyderms in his wargames armies)
it had been removed for 'restoration'.
 

[AdamPHayes]

The Tower of London has an Elephant suit of armour.
Never seen it myself, as when our club visited (to please a
member who used a LOT of pachyderms in his wargames armies)
it had been removed for 'restoration'.
 

😂

It’s up in Leeds now. Supposedly taken at Plassey…

[Harry Faversham]

Impressive looking beastie!

 

[has.been]

Oh, ta for the move update guys.

[carlos marighela]

Always said that puffer jackets made folk look like pachyderms.

[AdamPHayes]

Always said that puffer jackets made folk look like pachyderms.

Are you saying my elephant looks fat in this dress?

[carlos marighela]

In my experience the spousal version of that question is the singular instance where the counter question 'Would you like a piece of chocolate?' is likely to fail.......... spectacularly.