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What was the reason that the German military switched over to the round nose bullet during the 1916 time period ? the truncated bullet having been standard up to that time, did it have anything to do with the C96 pistol in 9mm ?
truncated bullet in cartridge is a Winchester from the post WW1 period
the round nose bullet is German 1918Attachment 44474
The Germans thought that the truncated bullet would wound more severely than the round nose bullet. The slight shoulder was thought to act as sort of a semi-wadcutter, producing a larger wound channel. In 1916 the German military feared that the Allies might consider the truncated bullet a form of Dum-Dum bullet and retaliate, so production was changed to the round nose bullet.
Thanks to those that enjoyed the post.
You gotta love those almost lost and obscure tidbits of information. How long did it take to come back to truncated cone bullets...? The first I heard of them was .40 cal jacketed.
Seems like Lee Jurras used them (mostly in hollow point form) in the SuperVel ammo line starting in the mid to late '70s. At least as far as autoloaders are concerned. Nothing springs to mind as far as military pistols go.Quote:
Originally Posted by browningautorifle
The Germans made the truncated cone ammo in both 7.65 and 9mm. The Portuguese also manufactured the ammo in 7.65mm.
The ammo in both 7.65 and 9mm was used in the Thompson-Largarde wounding effect trials.
I have seen some late ww2 truncated cone German last ditch ammo made with sintered iron bullets.
The British „man-stopping“ , unjacketed lead bullet for the .455 Mk. III Webley revolver was (in the words of Sturgess/Görtz): „far more at risk of charges of contravention of the Hague Convention“, whereas the Prussian Rifle Testing Commisssion came to the conclusion in 1916 that „As the tests made by the Commission have established that the ballistic properties of the Pistol Bullet 08 (full metal jacket) with truncated cone are identical with the original pointed bullet, the Pistol Bullet 08 with the ogival point will be produced in future.“
No written evidence has yet come to light concerning any fear of war crimes with the use of truncated 08 bullets. It would thus seem that any such concern is one of the many self repeating myths (the Spandau, Danzig and SS Parabellum, the Black Widow etc. etc. )perpetrated by ambitious trans-Atlantic dealers and „collectors“.
According to Sturgess and Gortz (pg. 1514) it was the Prussian Ministry of War that made the decision to discontinue the production of the truncated cone bullet. Again according to Sturgess and Gortz the bullet had been successfully tested in 1904 for it's "better wounding capability".
It wasn't a discussion of which bullet had the better wounding capability, but why the Germans switched to the round nose bullet.
In the pic above, I notice the neat little broad arrow marking inside the reversed bullet cavity...first bullet. Neat detail...
I wonder if the switch to round nose was to facilitate better feeding...more reliable? Maybe allow for a heavier bullet? I think short of hollow points, the wound making capabilities of low velocity pistol ammo is all hot stove league? Hollow points aren't even that reliable in pistol ammo.