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FACT BRIEF

Does a viral image show two bullets that ‘collided’ during the Battle of Gallipoli?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

The image of a bullet going through another bullet has appeared on the Internet since at least 2015. But is it possible?

Only one of the two bullets clearly displays rifling marks, the grooves inside the gun barrel that spin a bullet for accuracy.

One ballistics expert and military historian says, "I have seen this photograph before and [it] is not ... two bullets in flight that collided. ... this was a deceased or disabled soldier laying on the ground, and as the long-range machine gun fire came in, a bullet struck his web gear."

A firearms instructor said it would be impossible for him to definitively confirm or deny this. However, he added "the chances are they probably didn't" considering that "a lot of things have to come together for those two bullets to hit and then weld together like that."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Çanakkale Naval Museum (Turkey) About the museum
Gettysburg Museum of History Battle of Gettysburg bullets
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.