TonyE
HONOURED MEMBER RIP
The German rounds were loaded with flake propellant. Only British and Commonwealth countries used cordite, everyone else used either flake or tubulat nitrocellulose powders at that time, ball powders appearing later.
There are a number of points to make about these rounds. First, whatever people may say today, they did exist and they did work at short ranges. With regard to Andy's previous post about the difficulty of doing this in the field, it is not a load of spherical objects as he suggests! The German 7.92x57mm S bullet was fairly short and not cannelured. It only intruded into the case for a short distance and was relatively easy to remove by hand without badly damaging the case neck. The bullet could be reversed and replaced in the case and very little powder, if any, would need to be removed. There would be no need for a new crimp and the round could be single loaded direct into the chamber by hand. I would also disagree with Andy that this would cause dangerous pressures. That only happens when the charge is very low and detonation rather than burning occurs.
To give a little academic rigour to the argument rather than just opinion, I offer the following contemporary reports from the History of the Ministry of Munitions published in 1921:
Volume XII, Part III, Tanks, p.12:
The pattern of armour to be used was subject to constant change, particularly in respect of the introduction of the German reversed bullet, and in consequence calculations of weights and loading fluctuated considerably.
Prior to this in June 1915 Swinton had submitted his ideas on what was to become the tank
Ibid, Appendix IV, p.88, Memorandum by Lt.Col.E.D.Swinton on the Necessity for Machine Gun Destroyers.
They should be armoured with hardened steel plate proof against the German steel cored armour-piercing and reversed bullets, and armed with, say, two Maxims and a Maxim 2-pounder gun.
I believe there is also a reference in "Sniping in France" but my copy is not to hand, and there is further mention in the Ordnance Board Minutes of the time.
Finally, attached are two pictures of the test plates pierced by reversed bullets in the recent TV documentary. In the second picture the bullet strike on the left hand edge of the plate that did not penetrate is the result of a similar bullet fired in the normal way.
Regards
TonyE
There are a number of points to make about these rounds. First, whatever people may say today, they did exist and they did work at short ranges. With regard to Andy's previous post about the difficulty of doing this in the field, it is not a load of spherical objects as he suggests! The German 7.92x57mm S bullet was fairly short and not cannelured. It only intruded into the case for a short distance and was relatively easy to remove by hand without badly damaging the case neck. The bullet could be reversed and replaced in the case and very little powder, if any, would need to be removed. There would be no need for a new crimp and the round could be single loaded direct into the chamber by hand. I would also disagree with Andy that this would cause dangerous pressures. That only happens when the charge is very low and detonation rather than burning occurs.
To give a little academic rigour to the argument rather than just opinion, I offer the following contemporary reports from the History of the Ministry of Munitions published in 1921:
Volume XII, Part III, Tanks, p.12:
The pattern of armour to be used was subject to constant change, particularly in respect of the introduction of the German reversed bullet, and in consequence calculations of weights and loading fluctuated considerably.
Prior to this in June 1915 Swinton had submitted his ideas on what was to become the tank
Ibid, Appendix IV, p.88, Memorandum by Lt.Col.E.D.Swinton on the Necessity for Machine Gun Destroyers.
They should be armoured with hardened steel plate proof against the German steel cored armour-piercing and reversed bullets, and armed with, say, two Maxims and a Maxim 2-pounder gun.
I believe there is also a reference in "Sniping in France" but my copy is not to hand, and there is further mention in the Ordnance Board Minutes of the time.
Finally, attached are two pictures of the test plates pierced by reversed bullets in the recent TV documentary. In the second picture the bullet strike on the left hand edge of the plate that did not penetrate is the result of a similar bullet fired in the normal way.
Regards
TonyE
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