The Shadow of the Hague – Ballistic Problems Past and Present. Peter J. T. Knudsen Institute of Forensic Medicine University of Southern Denmark And Danish Defence Health Services First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The Hague Declaration of 1899 The Contracting Parties agree to abstain from the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Dèclaration de la Haye 1899 Les Puissances contractantes s'interdisent l'emploi de balles qui s'épanouissent ou s'aplatissent facilement dans le corps humain, telles que les balles à enveloppe dure dont l'enveloppe ne couvrirait pas entièrement le noyau ou serait pourvue d'incisions. First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Interpretation The Contracting Parties agree to abstain from the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, vs. such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The effect on the bullet The Contracting Parties agree to abstain from the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The design of the bullet such as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Wound profile – 7, 62 x 51 mm expanding bullet First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Application of the Hague Declaration in Denmark – a hundred years later Fragmentation behaviour of 7, 62 x 51 mm NATO bullets First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Case In 1989 a man killed his son, his ex-wife and her boyfriend and finally killed himself when confronted by a police officer. The child was killed with a hunting rifle, but the couple and he were killed with his Home Guard rifle, a M/75 rifle, the German Heckler and Koch G 3, using Danish service ammunition produced by the State ammunition factory, the “Ammunitions-arsenalet” (AMA) First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Bullet parts found at the autopsy of the woman First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Bullet parts found at the crime scene First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Reported in 1980 (1) and by Fackler in 1989 (2). 1. Stiefel D: Die Wirkung von Vollmantelgeschossen gegen Weichteile, Deutsche Waffenjournal 1980: 750 (letter). 2. Fackler ML: Wounding patterns of military rifle bullets, International Defence Review. 1989; 5: 59 -64. First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Experimental confirmation Tests were conducted at the Army Combat School, Experimental and Safety Section, confirming the fragmentation of the M/75 bullet in ordnance gelatin First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Collection of Danish cases Having obtained the necessary permissions all know fatal cases using the M/75 were collected. The results confirmed previous reports – they were all fragmented. Knudsen PJT, Theilade P: Terminal ballistics of the 7. 62 mm NATO bullet, Autopsy findings. International Journal of Legal Medicine 1993; 106: 61 -67. First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The problem Having drawn the attention of the manufacturer to the fragmentation of the Danish ammunition an redesign was performed, after some discussions, however. The M/75 bullet was of similar design to the German bullet, a natural decision since the weapon was German. It had a steel jacket with a thickness of 0, 35 mm. The redesigned bullet is of a design very similar to the US bullet, not as a result of copying but after considerable experimentation. The need to follow NATO standardisation requirements led to a similar solution to the similar problem. The new M/94 bullet has a tombak jacket that is 0, 80 mm thick First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The ”Scandal” A year after the publication of the findings, a newspaper happened to read it, and suddenly the front page was decorated with a story that the Danish Defence used Dum-dum bullets. The redesign was fortunately under way, but the Minister of Defence had to take action, and ordered a recall of all cartridges from Danish Forces in international operations – ex-Yugoslavia – and a purchase of a large number of bullets from a foreign manufacturer to be fitted into Danish produced cases, until the new bullet could be in production. First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The old and the new M/75 M/94 First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
This bullet, that is now the standard 7, 62 x 51 NATO bullet in the Danish Defence is still in use as M/94, and has been proved to fulfil the requirements. I was allowed to publish the experimental work leading to the new bullet. Knudsen, PJT, Vigsnæs JS, Rasmussen R, Nissen PS: Terminal ballistics of 7. 62 mm NATO bullets: experiments in ordnance gelatin, International Journal of Legal Medicine, 1995; 108: 62 -67. First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
And now for something not so different, but more relevant First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The 5. 56 x 45 mm NATO bullet Developed for military use based on the. 223 rifle bullet. In the NATO countries used in the original M 16 rifle. Modified as the US M 855 or NATO SS 109 for the M 16 and derivatives First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Design of the SS 109 Full metal jacketed bullet Lead core and steel penetrator in the tip High velocity – approx. 920 m/sec at the muzzle First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Wound ballistic properties of the SS 109 First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
7, 62 x 51 mm NATO M/75 vs. 5, 56 x 45 mm NATO SS 109 Similarities FMJ Fragments by break-up at cannelure up to 100 m First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
7, 62 x 51 mm NATO M/75 vs. 5, 56 x 45 mm NATO SS 10 First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
7, 62 x 51 mm NATO M/75 vs. 5, 56 x 45 mm NATO SS 109 Dissimilarities No non-fragmenting bullet that will pass NATO requirements is commercially available, as far as I know! First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The – moral - dilemma One day – perhaps yesterday – there will be a NATO-certified non-fragmenting bullet. First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
The – moral - dilemma What will YOU do? Call your Mo. D to tell them to buy new bullets and scrap the millions in the depots? Is that a wise move – career-wise? Or do you shut up and hope nobody notices? And what if someone else finds out and they ask you, the expert? And so on and so forth…… First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
Questions? First Ballistics and Wound Ballistics International Congress, Lyon, 16 -17 th June 2014
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