Design requirements From the mid to late 19th century, European military research had started to examine how to maximise available small arms
muzzle velocity through improved projectile design. Stronger metal casings were being used to contain cartridge propellants, making small arms more powerful but not any more accurate. Designers knew that bullets with a lower
drag coefficient (Cd) would decelerate less rapidly and therefore travel further. A lower drag coefficient also flattens the projectile's
trajectory, making it more stable in flight and less susceptible to lateral drift caused by crosswinds. By retaining a higher impact velocity, bullets with high
ballistic coefficients would retain more
kinetic energy and be lethal at greater ranges. It was these requirements that drove military thinking in the years prior to the First World War.
France – 1898–1932 Balle D – 1898 The spitzer bullet design was first introduced in 1898 as the
Balle D by the
French Army. The
Balle D bullet was designed by Captain Georges Raymond Desaleux, in order to improve the ballistic performance of the existing French
8×50mmR Lebel service cartridge of 1886. The original 1886 pattern 8×50mmR Lebel cartridge was an innovative service cartridge design, since it was the first military cartridge to use single-base smokeless,
nitrocellulose based, (
Poudre B) gunpowder as developed by
Paul Vieille in 1884. The original 1886 pattern 8×50mmR Lebel was loaded with a cupro-nickel-jacketed lead-cored flat-nosed
wadcutter-style
Balle M bullet designed by lieutenant colonel
Nicolas Lebel achieving a muzzle velocity of . The new 1898 pattern 8×50mmR Lebel cartridge loaded with Desaleux's new lighter
Balle D brass mono-metal spitzer bullet achieved a
muzzle velocity of , providing a somewhat flatter
trajectory and a greatly improved maximum effective range. Besides having a pointed nose section the
Balle D was also the first military rifle projectile that had a
boat tail – a streamlined tapered base – to further minimize air resistance in flight. ;Downrange performance The 1898 pattern 8×50mmR Lebel
Balle D spitzer nose profile combined with the boat tail resulted in a
ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of 0.568 to 0.581 (ballistic coefficients are somewhat debatable). Fired at muzzle velocity the
Balle D bullet retained
supersonic velocity up to and past (V800 ≈
Mach 1.13) under
ICAO Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level (
air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m3) and had a maximum terminal range of approximately . Even by 21st century standards, typical effective supersonic range is regarded as normal for a standard military rifle round (see
Maximum effective rifle range). The downrange performance tables above show the superior velocity retention of the
Balle D compared with its
Balle M predecessor Note: The air density ρ used to correlate these tables is unknown.
Balle N – 1932 In 1932, 8×50mmR Lebel
Balle N ammunition was introduced, which featured a lead-cored, cupro-nickel-over-steel-jacketed, pointed boat-tail bullet weighing 15.0 g (232 grains). It had been designed to improve the long-range performance of the issued
Hotchkiss Mle 1914 machine guns.
German Empire – 1898–1918 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 ("round head shot") 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.
Geschoß S. – 1902–1904 cartridges. To the left: 1888 pattern, round nose . To the right: 1903 pattern, spire point (spitzer) . A new aerodynamic bullet, the or , 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 spitzer bullet with a slightly increased diameter of 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 from a barrel. The
S Patrone was adopted by the German Army and Navy in 1903 and had a maximum terminal range of approximately . 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.
Geschoß s.S – 1914 At the onset of World War I, Germany developed an aerodynamically further refined bullet, the ("heavy spitzer") or ).
United States – 1906 In 1906, United States ordnance authorities arranged to purchase the production license for the
Spitzgeschoß bullet design from Gleinich. Now referred to as a 'spitzer' design, the new flat base projectile that had a
ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of approximately 0.405 with a cupro-nickel alloy jacket was incorporated into the M1906
.30-06 Springfield cartridge adopted by U.S. armed forces in 1906. The ball, M1906 rounds had a muzzle velocity of and had a maximum terminal range of approximately and can be identified by their silver-colored bullets. The cupro-nickel alloy was found to foul the bore quickly.
Russian Empire – 1908 In 1908, the
Russian Empire adopted a new
7.62×54mmR service round variant loaded with the "L" Лёгкая Пуля (
Lyogkhaya pulya, "Light Bullet") spitzer bullet that had a
ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of approximately 0.338. The 7.62×54mmR M1908 Type L cartridge had a muzzle velocity of .
United Kingdom – 1910 In 1910, the United Kingdom officially adopted the
.303 British Mark VII cartridge variant loaded with an flat base spitzer bullet that had a
ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of approximately 0.467. The .303 British Mark VII cartridge had a muzzle velocity of and a maximum terminal range of approximately .
Switzerland – 1911 In 1911, Switzerland adopted the
7.5×55mm GP 11 cartridge loaded with a spitzer full metal jacket bullet. Besides a pointed nose, the GP 11 bullet also had a boat tail to further lower the drag coefficient (Cd). The GP 11 projectile had a
ballistic coefficient (G1 BC) of 0.505 to 0.514 (ballistic coefficients are somewhat debatable) and had a maximum terminal range of approximately under Swiss chosen atmospheric conditions (altitude = , air pressure = Hg, temperature = ) equaling ICAO Standard Atmosphere conditions at (
air density ρ = 1.150 kg/m3). At muzzle velocity the standard GP 11 ball spitzer bullet retained
supersonic velocity up to (V800 ≈
Mach 1.1) under
ICAO Standard Atmosphere conditions at sea level (
air density ρ = 1.225 kg/m3). The GP 11 bullet set off the militaries of countries like Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom at the onset of and after World War I to develop and field similar full metal jacket boat tail spitzer bullets to improve the maximum effective range and long range performance of the full metal jacket flat based spitzer bullet designs they used. The useful maximum effective range is defined by the maximum range of a small-arms projectile while still maintaining the minimum kinetic energy required to put unprotected personnel out of action, which is generally believed to be 15 kilogram-meters (147 J / 108 ft⋅lbf).
Kingdom of Spain – 1913 In 1913, the ordnance authorities of the
Kingdom of Spain issued a redesigned
7×57mm Mauser cartridge (
7mm Cartucho para Mauser Tipo S). It was loaded with a spitzer bullet fired at a muzzle velocity of with muzzle energy from a long barrel. It had a maximum terminal range of .
Sweden – 1932–1941 8 mm projektil m/32 – 1932 In 1932, Sweden introduced the
8×63mm patron m/32 loaded with spitzer bullets with a boat tail fired at a muzzle velocity of bullets. The 8×63mm patron m/32 ammunition was not developed as general service ammunition but for anti-aircraft and
indirect fire and had an effective range of approximately on which the impact energy was 20 kilogram-meters (196 J / 145 ft⋅lbf), and a maximum terminal range of approximately when fired from a
Kulspruta m/36 machine gun.
6,5 mm projektil m/41 – 1941 Sweden and Norway loaded their
6.5×55mm m/94 service ammunition with a long round-nosed B-projectile (, "blunt/ogive bullet") fired at a muzzle velocity of up to the early phase of World War II and Norwegian occupation by German in 1940. From 1941 onwards Sweden, which remained neutral during World War II, adopted m/41 service ammunition loaded with a
spitzer boat-tail D-projectile (, "point/torpedo bullet") fired at a muzzle velocity of . == Plastic-tipped bullet ==