K bullet

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Standard 7.92×57mm Mauser armor-piercing K bullet as designed before the Allied invasion. Note the tool-steel core protruding from the rear of the bullet to form a boat tail.
A tracer variation of the K bullet

The K bullet is a 7.92×57mm Mauser armor-piercing bullet with a tool steel core designed to be fired from a standard Mauser rifle.

History[]

The German troops first experimented the "reversed bullet" as an early anti-tank method against the British heavy tanks of World War I. This technique was crude, but proved effective against Mark I tank models, although it was not safe to use for the infantry and soon became obsolete.[1][2][3]

As a replacement, the Germans conceived the "K bullet", which was purposely developed as an armor-piercing ammunition. The K bullet was in use by the battle of Messines Ridge in June 1917 and had one out of three chance to penetrate 12–13 mm thick armor at a range of up to 100 meters.[4]

With the British deployment of the Mark IV tank, which had more armor thickness, the K bullet soon proved ineffective, leading the Germans to design highly specialized anti-tank solutions, with the creation of the powerful 13.2mm TuF cartridge and the first anti-tank rifle, the Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr.[5]

Variants[]

The Germans made several versions of the K bullet during World War I and World War II, including:

Designation Full name Description
S.m.K. Spitzgeschoss mit Kern Standard steel core armour piercing bullet.
It had a red rim around the primer, on case base.[6]
S.m.K.H.[7] Spitzgeschoss mit Kern, Hart Replaced the tool steel core with a tungsten carbide core.
It had a red case base including primer, from 1939: red primer only.[6]
S.m.K. L'spur [7] Spitzgeschoss mit Kern, Leuchtspur Has a shorter steel core, and includes a tracer composition. May include color designation such as gelb, German for "yellow".
It had a red rim around primer and black bullet tip.[6]
S.m.K. Ub.m.Zerl.[7] Spitzgeschoss mit Kern Übungsmunition mit Zerleger A very rare practice bullet which self-destructs after a certain distance.

During the interwar period, Poland produced a copy of S.m.K. bullet designated as P bullet (przeciwpancerny) and own armour piercing bullet with a tracer, designated PS (przeciwpancerny smugowy).[6]

References[]

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Armour Plate" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 30 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. pp. 204–205.
  2. ^ "A New Dumdum Charge". New York Times. 1915.
  3. ^ Paschall, Rod (1994). Defeat of Imperial Germany, 1917-1918. Da Capo Press. p. 113.
  4. ^ Fletcher, D. British Mark IV tank. Osprey Publishing. p. 14.
  5. ^ "Your Tank Is Dead: Meet the World's First Anti-Tank Rifle". The National Interest. June 15, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d Dąbrowski, Jarosław. Amunicja małokalibrowa kampanii wrześniowej in: "Strzał" 10/2010, pp. 18-24 (in Polish)
  7. ^ a b c "K98k Mauser Page". Archived from the original on 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2007-11-11.
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