Spitzer (bullet)

Features

round nose
flat base

spire point
flat base
(spitzer)

spire point
boat-tail
(spitzer)

A spitzer bullet (from German: Spitzgeschoss, "point bullet") is a munitions term, primarily regarding fully-powered and intermediate small-arms ammunition, describing bullets featuring a aerodynamically pointed nose shape, called a spire point, sometimes combined with a tapered base, called a boat tail (then a spitzer boat-tail bullet), in order to reduce drag and obtain a lower drag coefficient, resulting in a aerodynamically superior torpedo shaped projectile, which decelerate less rapidly and has improved external ballistic behaviour,^[1] at the expense of some potential weight and kinetic energy relative to blunter ogive/round/flat-nose flat-base projectiles.

The type which was developed for military purposes in the late 19th and early 20th century and was a major design improvement compared to earlier rounder or flatter-tipped bullets in terms of range and accuracy etc. Its introduction, along with long-range volley sights for service rifles changed, military doctrines. Area targets at ranges up to 1,420–2,606 m (1,550–2,850 yd) could be subject to rifle fire. With improvements in machine guns at the turn of the 20th century, the addition of clinometers meant that fixed machine gun squads could deliver plunging fire or indirect fire at more than 3,000 m (3,280 yd). The indirect firing method exploits the maximal effective range, that 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).^[2]

Spitzer bullets greatly increased the lethality of the battlefields of World War I. Before, during and after World War I, militaries adopted even more aerodynamically refined spitzer projectiles by combining a pointed nose with a slightly tapered base at the rear, a so called boat tail, which further reduced drag in flight.^[3] These projectiles were known as spitzer boat-tail bullets which increased the terminal maximum ranges of fully-powered rifle cartridges to between 4,115 and 5,500 m (4,500 and 6,010 yd).