Spitzer (bullet)

A spitzer bullet (from German: Spitzgeschoss, "point shot") is a munitions term, primarily regarding fully-powered and intermediate small-arms ammunition, describing bullets featuring an aerodynamically pointed nose shape, called a spire point, sometimes combined with a tapered base, called a boat tail (then a spitzer boat-tail bullet), in order to reduce drag and obtain a lower drag coefficient, resulting in an aerodynamically superior torpedo shaped projectile, which decelerates less rapidly and has improved external ballistic behaviour,[1] at the expense of some potential weight and kinetic energy relative to blunter ogive/round/flat-nose flat-base projectiles.

The type which was developed for military purposes in the late 19th and early 20th century and was a major design improvement compared to earlier rounder or flatter-tipped bullets in terms of range and accuracy.

Before, during and after World War I, militaries adopted even more aerodynamically refined spitzer projectiles by combining a pointed nose with a slightly tapered base at the rear, a so called boat tail, which further reduced drag in flight.

From the mid to late 19th century, European military research had started to examine how to maximise available small arms muzzle velocity through improved projectile design.

The Balle D bullet was designed by Captain Georges Raymond Desaleux, in order to improve the ballistic performance of the existing French 8×50mmR Lebel service cartridge of 1886.

The new 1898 pattern 8×50mmR Lebel cartridge loaded with Desaleux's new lighter 12.8 grams (198 gr) Balle D brass mono-metal spitzer bullet achieved a muzzle velocity of 700 m/s (2,300 ft/s), providing a somewhat flatter trajectory and a greatly improved maximum effective range.

Besides having a pointed nose section the Balle D was also the first military rifle projectile that had a boat tail – a streamlined tapered base – to further minimize air resistance in flight.

During a late 19th and early 20th century improvement program tasked with remedying the M/88's propellant compression and excessive barrel (grooves) wear problems, the German ordnance authority began to prefer spitzer bullets by 1898.

[8][9][10] The Gewehr-Prüfungskommission program resulted in the S Patrone or 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, which was loaded with a relatively lightweight 9.9 grams (153 gr) spitzer bullet with a slightly increased diameter of 8.2 mm (0.323 in) that had a ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of approximately 0.321 to 0.337 (ballistic coefficients are somewhat debatable), along with a dimensionally redesigned chambering and bore (designated as "S-bore") and new double-base (based on nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin) smokeless powder loading, which delivered a greatly improved muzzle velocity of 878 m/s (2,880 ft/s) from a 740 millimetres (29.1 in) barrel.

Now referred to as a 'spitzer' design, the new 9.7 grams (150 gr) flat base projectile that had a ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of approximately 0.405 with a cupro-nickel alloy jacket was incorporated into the M1906 .30-06 Springfield cartridge adopted by U.S. armed forces in 1906.

In 1910, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland officially adopted the .303 British Mark VII cartridge variant loaded with an 11.3 grams (174 gr) flat base spitzer bullet that had a ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of approximately 0.467.

[19] Sweden and Norway loaded their 6.5×55mm m/94 service ammunition with a 10.1 grams (156 gr) long round-nosed B-projectile (trubbkula/ogivalkula, "blunt/ogive bullet") fired at a muzzle velocity of 725 m/s (2,379 ft/s) up to the early phase of World War II and Norwegian occupation by German in 1940.

From 1941 onwards Sweden, which remained neutral during World War II, adopted m/41 service ammunition loaded with a 9.1 grams (140 gr) spitzer boat-tail D-projectile (spetskula/torpedkula, "point/torpedo bullet") fired at a muzzle velocity of 800 m/s (2,625 ft/s).