It might surprise the reader to know how the name DUMDUM got
linked with bullets used as early as 1870. It was the local name given to
Expanding bullets. Expanding bullets are designed to expand on impact,
sometimes as much as twice the diameter as it hits the target. This will slow the bullet down and more of
its kinetic energy will be transferred to the target, creating a larger wound
channel. For this reason expanding bullets are often used in hunting because
their stopping power increases the chance of a quick kill.
Expanding bullets were given the name Dum-dum, or dumdum
bullets, after an early British example produced in the Dumdum Arsenal, near Calcutta,
by Captain Neville Bertie-Clay. There were
several expanding bullets produced by this arsenal for the .303 British
cartridge, including soft-point and hollow-point designs.
History
Early bullets were typically made in the form of spheres of
nearly pure lead which is a soft metal. These would often flatten upon impact
with the target, causing a larger wound than the original diameter of the ball.
The adoption of rifling allowed the use of longer, heavier bullets, but these
were still typically constructed of soft lead and would often double in
diameter upon impact. In this case expansion was a side effect of materials,
During Mid 1870 Captain Neville Bertie-Clay experimented with
Expanding bullets and managed to manufacture Dumdum bullets which expanded
almost three times that of the original size, resulting in bigger wounds,
and giving the target a quick death.
This Dumdum bullet got popular fast and
many a countries started using it as their warfare weapon.
International Ban
n 1898, the German government lodged a protest against the
use of the Mark IV Dumdum bullets, claiming the wounds produced by the bullets
were excessive and inhumane, thus violating the laws of war. The protest,
however, was based on the comparison of the wounds produced by expanding and
non-expanding bullets from high velocity sporting rifles, The German protests
were effective, however, resulting in the ban of the use of expanding bullets
in warfare. The British replaced the hollow-point bullets with new full metal
jacket bullets, and used the remaining stocks of expanding bullets for practice
During the Hague Convention of 1899, the British delegation
attempted to justify the use of the dumdum bullet by pointing to its utility
when putting down colonial unrest. However, the rest of the delegates at the
Hague Convention 1899 did not accept this justification and voted 22–2 to
prohibit the future use of the dumdum bullet.
The present day
There is
actually a new design of these dumdum bullets and they are called RIP
(Radically Invasive Projectile) as it splits into 8 different pieces upon
impact and is being marketed as the last round. Being such a good round they are being issued
to the British SAS along with new sub machine guns, the H&K MP7A1.
Basically,
you can buy hollow point Dumdum bullets or the new RIP rounds at any good
ammunition stockist. Thus, the name Dumdum
which was linked with warfare and bullets is now becoming a fairy tale to a common man
which was once , one of the most controversial issue worldwide.
#Dumdum Bullet , # Neville
Bertie-Clay
