Subsonic ammunition

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Acoustic projectile bang description of a supersonic projectile, idealized for constant projectile velocity
Graphic representation of the gas flow when a supersonic projectile emerges from a barrel

Subsonic ammunition ( Engl. Subsonic ammunition ) is ammunition, the projectile the course of a firearm with a muzzle velocity below the velocity of sound exit; are sometimes significantly slower than 343 meters per second. Therefore the penetration power of subsonic ammunition is lower than that of supersonic ammunition . The advantage of subsonic ammunition is that it is quieter and avoids the sonic boom. Nevertheless, the crack of a gunshot remains clearly audible as long as no gun silencer is used.

Many, especially older types of cartridges for pistols and revolvers, were designed as subsonic ammunition when they were developed, but as a rule no longer meet today's requirements for police and military use. Modern pistols and revolvers therefore mostly fire powerful supersonic ammunition. When fired, in addition to the muzzle bang, there is a loud projectile bang , which reduces the effectiveness of the sound attenuation required in certain fields of application . For this reason, special subsonic loads of modern cartridge types are manufactured for use in silenced weapons . The disadvantages as a result of the lower projectile speed are a lower rapidity of the flight path, which may require an adjustment of the sights, and a lower penetration effect due to the lower projectile energy. In order to achieve the highest possible projectile energy despite the limited projectile speed of a maximum of 330 m / s, projectiles from subsonic ammunition are usually heavier than those of the standard load. Since a heavy projectile, due to its greater inertia, offers greater resistance to the gas pressure of the propellant charge, powders that burn more slowly are usually used to keep the gas pressure in the weapon within the permissible range.

A number of (mostly older) cartridges are known as ammunition, which in its normal state is close to or well within the range of subsonic ammunition. Some of them are:

literature

  • Peter G. Kokalis, NR Parker, Alan Paulson: Silencer History and Performance: Cqb, Assault Rifle, and Sniper Technology , Paladin Press, 2002, ISBN 978-1-58160-323-1 .
  • Heinz Duthel: Title Command Special Forces 3 - Division Special Operations , BoD - Books on Demand, 2015, ISBN 978-3-7386-9717-9 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Heinz Duthel: Title Special Forces Command 3 - Special Operations Division ,