German military ammo velocity

unspellable · 04-05-2004, 09:27 PM

As some of you are aware, I have been researching the original ballistics. One of the problems is the method of velocity measurement then as opposed to now.

The oldest known method is the ballistic pendalum. I performed this experiment as my college physics project. (Here, I am giving away my age. Fancy packing a revolver to the physics lab today!) Carefully done, this method can be accurate to within 3 or 4% and measures the velocity about six feet from the muzzle as is done today with a chronograph.

At the turn of the century, around the time of the Parabellum's youth, the method involved the bullet breaking a tape five feet (Or roughly the same distace if working in the metric system.) from the muzzle and breaking a second tape 55 feet from the muzzle. The time interval was measured by a falling weight. This method was quite accurate, but one must realize that what it measured is the average velocity from 5 feet to 55 feet. If muzzle velocity specifically is desired it must be estinmmated from the data.

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04-05-2004, 09:27 PM	#11
unspellable User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 769 Thanks: 0 Thanked 20 Times in 12 Posts	As some of you are aware, I have been researching the original ballistics. One of the problems is the method of velocity measurement then as opposed to now. The oldest known method is the ballistic pendalum. I performed this experiment as my college physics project. (Here, I am giving away my age. Fancy packing a revolver to the physics lab today!) Carefully done, this method can be accurate to within 3 or 4% and measures the velocity about six feet from the muzzle as is done today with a chronograph. At the turn of the century, around the time of the Parabellum's youth, the method involved the bullet breaking a tape five feet (Or roughly the same distace if working in the metric system.) from the muzzle and breaking a second tape 55 feet from the muzzle. The time interval was measured by a falling weight. This method was quite accurate, but one must realize that what it measured is the average velocity from 5 feet to 55 feet. If muzzle velocity specifically is desired it must be estinmmated from the data.