Friday, Sep. 10, 2021
Does a viral image show two bullets that ‘collided’ during the Battle of Gallipoli?
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."
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
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