Abstract: A flexible self-sealing wall member for fuel tanks has a plurality of thin layers of natural or synthetic rubber which are held together at spaced points by lines of drop thread stitching or by spots of adhesive so that the sheets are free to move across each other between the points of connection. The wall may also include a reinforcing fabric web, an outside barrier layer, and an inside barrier layer, both impermeable to fuel held in the tank of which the wall member forms a part. The wall member is self-sealing when penetrated by a projectile because the rubber layers undergo large dynamic elongations and rapidly recover to close up the holes formed, these holes generally being out of alignment.

Abstract: A fuel tank for a vehicle contains therein a flame arrestor comprising a thermally bonded, non-woven fibrous structure formed from fibers comprising at least 90% potentially adhesive conjugate fibers having a decitex within the range 6 to 35, the non-woven fibrous structure having a density of not more than 16 g per liter and a surface area of at least 0.35 m.sup.2 per liter, the fibers in the fibrous structure being thermally bonded to at least one other fiber.