Tracer ammunition
Tracer ammunition or glow-trace ammunition is cartridge ammunition in which the projectile contains a pyrotechnic charge at its end (shown in red in the picture). When the projectile is fired , the pyrotechnic charge is ignited by the propellant charge . The tracer allows the shooter to optically follow the bullet's trajectory .
commitment
Tracer ammunition is used where the shooter should observe the trajectory. This is the case with air defense for observing and correcting the hit location , but also with machine guns , where tracer ammunition is used in a certain ratio to normal ammunition to give the shooter more orientation about the location of the hit area. Furthermore, the cannon ammunition of battle tanks often carries a tracer of light in order to be able to observe external influences on the trajectory of the projectiles, such as local air currents, which cannot be detected with their own sensors. A tracer cartridge can also be used as one of the last cartridges in the magazine to indicate to the shooter that the ammunition is running out.
Tracer ammunition also helps to train shooters faster. The ratio to regular cartridge ammunition is 3: 2 in the shooting exercises of the Bundeswehr . This means that three normal cartridges are followed by two with tracer.
Risks
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A disadvantage of tracer ammunition is the fundamentally lower weight, which distinguishes it from normal ammunition and decreases during the flight due to the burning pyrotechnic charge, which changes the trajectory in relation to normal ammunition. Tracer ammunition is ignited by the pyrotechnic charge, which can also lead to unwanted fires (fields, forest). However, this effect can also be used intentionally to set highly flammable substances (e.g. gasoline) on fire by shelling them.
Since the tracer cannot only be seen from the shooter's line of sight, a shooter does not reveal his position to the target person by using tracer ammunition; However, third parties can determine the position of the shooter if they are positioned laterally, higher or lower next to the shooter (from the point of view of the target). To minimize this risk, either tracer sets with delay or glow trace sets can be used. In contrast to tracer sets, glow trail sets have only a low light intensity and can therefore only be observed from the direction in which the shot is fired.
The pyrotechnic charge, which usually consists of a mixture of PVC , magnesium powder and strontium nitrate , leaves residues when burned that wear the barrel much faster than conventional ammunition.
To distinguish it from normal ammunition, the bullet tip of tracer ammunition is painted red in NATO.
Law
Tracer ammunition is war material in most European countries and can therefore often only be acquired by ammunition collectors with the appropriate special permits. In Austria tracer ammunition in caliber .22 lfB (small caliber) and shot ammunition with flares are exempt from the War Material Ordinance.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Central Service Regulation 3/12: Shooting with handguns ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Item 1210. As of October 2002
- ↑ https://findok.bmf.gv.at/findok/showBlob.do?rid=356&base=ZDRLGesPdf
literature
- Frank C. Barnes: Cartridges of the World. A Complete and Illustrated Reference for Over 1500 Cartridges . 10th edition. Krause Publications, Iola WI 2006, ISBN 0-89689-297-2 , p. 425ff.
