page_title: Spitzer (bullet)
section_title: German Empire
hierarchical_section_title: Spitzer (bullet) / History / 1900–1914 / German Empire
caption_attribution_description: English: 7,92mm Mauser Bullet, scaled Bosanski: 7,92mm Mauser zrno, skalirano
context_page_description: The spitzer bullet, also commonly referred to as a spire point, is primarily a small arms ballistics development of the late 19th and early 20th century, driven by military desire for aerodynamic bullet designs that will give a higher degree of accuracy and kinetic efficiency, especially at extended ranges. To achieve this, the projectile must minimize drag in flight.
  Bullets with a lower drag coefficient decelerate less rapidly. A low drag coefficient flattens the projectile's trajectory somewhat at long ranges and also markedly decreases the lateral drift caused by crosswinds. The higher impact velocity of bullets with high ballistic coefficients means they retain more kinetic energy.
  The name "spitzer" is an anglicized form of the German word Spitzgeschoss, literally meaning "pointed projectile".
  The development of spitzer bullets made military doctrines possible which expected rifle volleys at area targets at ranges up to 1,420 to 2,380 m. Combined with machine guns equipped with clinometers that could deliver plunging fire or indirect fire at more than 3,000 m, spitzer bullets greatly increased the lethality of the battlefield during World War I.
context_section_description: In Germany the Gewehr-Prüfungskommission (G.P.K.) (Rifle Testing Commission) was responsible for improving the accuracy and performance of the 1888 pattern military M/88 ammunition and Germany's weapons chambered for M/88 ammunition like the Gewehr 1888. During a late 19th and early 20th century improvement program tasked with remedying the M/88's propellant compression and excessive barrel (grooves) wear problems, the German ordnance authority began to prefer spitzer bullets by 1898.
  A new Spitzgeschoß aerodynamic bullet, credited to the independent ballistician Arthur Gleinich, was tested in 1902 and officially adopted on 3 April 1903. After several shape revisions it entered mass production in 1904. The Spitzgeschoß nose was externally pointed like the French design and its shape was patented, but the full metal jacket Spitzgeschoß differed internally. The Gewehr-Prüfungskommission program resulted in the S Patrone or 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, which was loaded with a relatively lightweight 9.9 grams (153 gr) spitzer bullet with a slightly increased diameter of 8.2 mm (0.323 in) that had a ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of approximately 0.321 to 0.337 (ballistic coefficients are somewhat debatable), along with a dimensionally redesigned chambering and bore (designated as "S-bore") and new double-base (based on nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin) smokeless powder loading, which delivered a greatly improved muzzle velocity of 878 m/s (2,880 ft/s) from a 740 millimetres (29.1 in) barrel. The S Patrone was adopted by the German Army and Navy in 1903 and had a maximum range of approximately 3,700 m (4,050 yd). The combination of increased muzzle velocity and improved bullet aerodynamics provided a much flatter bullet trajectory, which increased the probability of hitting an individual target at most typical combat distances.
  At the onset of World War I, Germany developed an aerodynamically further refined bullet. This 12.8 grams (198 gr) full metal jacket s.S. (schweres Spitzgeschoß, "heavy spitzer") boat tail projectile had a ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of 0.557 to 0.593 (ballistic coefficients are somewhat debatable) and was loaded in the s.S. Patrone. At 760 m/s (2,493 ft/s) muzzle velocity the s.S. Patrone had a maximum range of approximately 4,700 m (5,140 yd) and retained supersonic velocity up to and past 1,000 m (1,100 yd) (V₁₀₀₀ ≈ Mach 1.07) under ICAO Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level (air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m³). From its 1914 introduction the s.S. Patrone was mainly issued for aerial combat and as of 1918 in the later stages of World War I to infantry machine gunners. Fifteen years after World War I the S Patrone was phased out and the s.S. Patrone became the standard issue ball ammunition for the German military.
caption: A 1914 pattern 7.92×57mm Mauser s.S. Patrone (schweres Spitzgeschoß / heavy pointed bullet) boat-tailed full metal jacket bullet
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