# Were people on the ground ever killed by bullet casings?



## Soundbreaker Welch? (Feb 20, 2009)

When a plane fires it's guns, all the casings fly off the bullets into the air through little holes beneath the guns. If the plane was say 5,000 feet in the air, those little casings have got to fall a long way. Even something tiny like that can have a powerful impact when it hits. And there are tons of them from even 15 seconds of firing. 

Was any soldiers on the ground, or even civillians ever killed or injured by this tiny pieces of metal?

Just curious.


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## Amsel (Feb 20, 2009)

I wouldn't think that the velocity of them falling is fast enough. Objects that fall from high up tend to slow down to terminal velocity. The tumbling causes drag lowering the terminal velocity as well.


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## BombTaxi (Feb 20, 2009)

Actually, I have wondered this. I have no answer, but I would have thought the odds of them hitting anyone were infinitely small. Having said that, I'm sure if they did hit someone, they would do some damage, terminal velocity not withstanding. A flying chunk of brass is, after all, a flying chunk of brass


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Feb 20, 2009)

That's right! 

I wouldn't like to be hit by it if a friendly plane flew over my lines and dropped a shower of metal on me. But still, it's better than an enemy plane shooting bullets at you!


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## Sweb (Feb 20, 2009)

I was on the island of Yap in the Western Caroline Islands some years ago (80-81) and there were .50-cal and 20mm casings everywhere along with shrapnel from American bombs littering the area. The island had changed very little since the end of WWII and the Japanese aircraft were still where they were when the war ended. Anyway, I picked up a bunch of brass from American .50-cal and Japanese 20mm. There wasn't much 7.62 because the islanders took it all to use as slingshot projectiles. They used rubber strips cut from the aircraft tire inner tubes to make the slingshots. The .50-cal and 20mm casings are pretty sizable pieces of brass. I can imagine the .50-cal could do some damage as they were fired at low altitude by Hellcats while strafing the airstrip and revetments. I'm pretty sure they didn't strafe at near-stall speeds but rather as fast as they could scoot across and through the AA fire. A shell casing traveling at 300 plus MPH at tree-top height probably slows down significantly before hitting the ground but still... Ow?!


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## Amsel (Feb 20, 2009)

I bet that was an interesting trip.


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## Trebor (Feb 20, 2009)

show som pics?


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 20, 2009)

how much do you think a shell casing weighs?


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## phas3e (Feb 20, 2009)

I remember seeing photos of a Drop tank that went through some poor Dutch guys roof (I think it was Dutch)


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 20, 2009)

Well I just ran a few numbers assuming a plane is 100 feet of the ground and used the equation vf(squared)=vi(squared)+2ad where vf is final velocity, vi is initial velocity, a is acceleration due to gravity as this is vertical so 9.8m/s squared and d is distance from the ground. 
A shell casing travelling has a velocity of approxiametly 54 mph. Now this is a very rough number and does not account for aerodynamics or even wieght but is gives you an idea of the ranger of speed.


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## Bill G. (Feb 20, 2009)

Not only were shell casings falling, but bullets and cannon shells. Hey, only a very few bullets fired ever hit anything! I imagine that these rounds still had the energy to kill even after traveling miles and miles.

Any one have any thoughs or stories???

Bill G.


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## FLYBOYJ (Feb 20, 2009)

If I'm not mistaken I believe that the Soviets tried Erich Hartman on the basis of his shell casings or rounds landing on soviet soil and killing innocent Soviet citizens, at least according to his book The Blond Knight."


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## Airframes (Feb 20, 2009)

Sounds about right FB2. A casing falling from, say, 10,000 feet, should reach terminal velocity at approximately 120mph. However, this would, of course, depend on it's actual 'flight attitude' during the descent; if stable, it would approximate the above speed. If tumbling, it would probably exceed that speed but, in certain attitudes, it could well 'float', therefore descending at a much slower velocity, but still fast enough to do damage, however small, to structures, and certainly to humans. This would be true of a rifle-calibre casings, such as .303 or .30 calbre, and more so with a .50 cal or cannon casing such as 20mm. 
Although I don't know positively of any fatalities caused by falling cases, I have heard of injuries being caused, and I have actually seen evidence of structural damage, albeit minor, to a building. 
Up until the late 1960's, there was a building on the banks of the River Tyne, at Newcastle upon Tyne, in the north east of England, that still bore the patches, on its corrugated metal roof, where the holes caused by falling .303 cartridge cases had been repaired. A friends father had witnessed the damage as it occured, during I think September 1940, when Spitfires intercepted a Luftwaffe daylight raid on the warehouses, and, I believe, what was then a Vickers armaments factory, that ranged along the banks of the river. The falling cases from at least one of the Spitfires were seen to shower down in a stream, as related by my friends father, some splashing into the river, whilst a fairly high number hammered through the 'tin roof'.
I have no reason to doubt this account, having seen the evidence with my own eyes. There used to be a small boat moored near this particular building, which bore the legend 'Wreck' in large, warning letters, which, allegedly, marked the spot where the (remains of the) bomber, I think a Dornier 17, had 'gone in'. This 'local folklore' tale was reinforced, IIRC, in the late 1970's, when some, I think, 250kg German bombs were recovered from the river.
I hope this has proved interesting, and gone some way to answer your original question.
Terry.


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## Elvis (Feb 21, 2009)

Flyboy2 said:


> Well I just ran a few numbers assuming a plane is 100 feet of the ground and used the equation vf(squared)=vi(squared)+2ad where vf is final velocity, vi is initial velocity, a is acceleration due to gravity as this is vertical so 9.8m/s squared and d is distance from the ground.
> A shell casing travelling has a velocity of approxiametly 54 mph. Now this is a very rough number and does not account for aerodynamics or even wieght but is gives you an idea of the ranger of speed.


If you take that velocity and convert it to feet/sec., and convert the weight of the empty shell casing to grains (7000 grains = 16 oz.), then you can determine the amount of force the casing possesses at that speed by running the converted numbers through the formula - velocity squared, divided by the constant 450240, multiplied by the weight of the casing in grains.
The number you'll end up with is expressed in foot-pounds.

Found that one in an old reloading manual.

Since these casings are all fairly long and narrow and most of the weight is at the head of the casing, given enough room, it will most likely end up in a "head-down" ( or "primer-first", may be easier to imagine) attitude.



Elvis


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## GrauGeist (Feb 21, 2009)

I just dug out an old .50 cal casing and it's weight is close to 3 ounces. That's alot of brass free-falling!

It measures 3 7/8" long by 13/16" at the base...

I'd be willing to bet that even if someone just dropped it out of the cockpit at 1,000 feet it would easily kill someone!

I grabbed a photo of it with a .223 round for comparison.


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## syscom3 (Feb 21, 2009)

The spent bullets would kill someone too. It happens here every New Years eve when some idiots fire their guns into the air.

And dont forget about the flak shrapnel. I heard from some veterans of the London Blitz that even after the all clear signals after a bombing raid, they would stay in the shelters for some time to give the metal in the air a chance to get back to earth.


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## BombTaxi (Feb 21, 2009)

I have read an account of a British officer being wounded by a spent bullet during New Year 'Celebrations' in either 1914 or 1915. He was some distance behind the lines when he was knocked unconscious by a German rifle round reaching the end of it's flight. The round had originally been fired into the air.


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## evangilder (Feb 21, 2009)

I have inert .50 Cal and 20MM rounds with the brass. It would be difficult to have a burst of 20mm not cause some damage or injuries from the casings. The 20mm casing is pretty good size. Here is a 30mm projectile, 20mm and .50 cal inert ammo from my collection of stuff.


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## JoeB (Feb 21, 2009)

It wouldn't be safe to be outside without a helmet where spent a/c casings might fall, not wise to do if avoidable, but likelihood of being killed would be small; with a decent helmet extremely small, unless maybe quite large caliber a/c guns.

Even for a bullets if fired at high altitude (like a combat between bombers and fighters at 20k ft, say) the bullet tends to tumble once spent and the terminal velocity is not very high. Again a helmet would reduce the chance of serious injury to very small v. a rifle caliber bullet, likely same v. a .50 cal bullet too. At some larger caliber, a non-explosive AP round would be so much bigger it might penetrate a helmet or break a bone hitting somewhere else.

In cases where holiday revellers are killed by stray rifle shots it's when the gun is discharged at an angle higher than a normal aimed shot at a ground target but still much less than straight up. At say 30-40 degrees, the bullet retains its spin and long axis orientation, and still can kill quite far away. But if fired straight up or close to, the bullet comes back down long axis parallel to the ground not going very fast, and the threat is much less.

An explosive round is a different story obviously. If the combination of speed, angle and nature of its fuze is such that it detonates when it hits the ground, of course it could be lethal. Large caliber point detonating light AA shells (fired from a/c or the ground) like 30-40mm, often had end-of-run fuzes to detonate them before they hit the ground. 20mm HE shells or 12.7mm explosive bullets some AF's used, usually didn't have those.

Joe


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## GrauGeist (Feb 21, 2009)

I'm sure that common sense would tell a person to take cover in the event of aerial combat above because of the debris raining down...even if a tumbling bullet or casing impact weren't fatal, it sure would hurt like a b*tch!

Figure that not only are hundred of casings falling all over the place, but you'd have stray rounds, aircraft parts, fluids of all sorts and the occasional aircraft itself...


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## FlexiBull (Feb 21, 2009)

There was a story of a crew member of a Lancaster, who had responsibility for releasing "window". The foil strips were in bundles and had to be untied before release.

As this jamming device was top secret he was not told what it was for. To him it served no useful purpose.

So at high altitude he would urinate on the bundles which would automatically freeze.

He would then toss out the frozen bundle of aluminium strips in the hope it would hit a German on the head and do some damage.

Urban myth or a WW2 factoid ............... you decide

FlexiBull


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## Arsenal VG-33 (Feb 21, 2009)

I would assume that casing dropped from high altitude could be deadly, if the victim recieved a head impact. 

On a related note, if you visit the top of the Empire State building or the Eiffel Tower, you will see warnings posted against dropping small objects, especially coins. They won't kill, but there's enough terminal velocity that they can seriously injure. So I would imagine that recieving a blow from a falling casing, particularly the base of it where it's more solid, it could leave a nasty wound, or perhaps shatter bone.


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## Marcel (Feb 21, 2009)

phas3e said:


> I remember seeing photos of a Drop tank that went through some poor Dutch guys roof (I think it was Dutch)



Yep, that one was lost by one of our F16's. Somewhere late '80ies


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## Marcel (Feb 21, 2009)

Amsel said:


> I wouldn't think that the velocity of them falling is fast enough. Objects that fall from high up tend to slow down to terminal velocity. The tumbling causes drag lowering the terminal velocity as well.



The velocity would be around 200 km/h IMO enough to smash one's head.


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 21, 2009)

Working on the premise of a low altitude attack, and using the force equation F=maΔy then the pullet falls at 2.538 Nm or 1.873 foot pounds. So I don't think it would kill you, but it would sure hurt a ton.


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## FlexiBull (Feb 21, 2009)

Strange equation FlyBoy2


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 21, 2009)

why?


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## FlexiBull (Feb 21, 2009)

F=ma

Force has the units of Newtons as I guess you know, (sorry I don't work in pounds force) but your equation will produce N.m ( I assume that delta y is a distance)

What are you trying to work out?

Dimensionally your equation doesn't balance


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 21, 2009)

Well its actually the work equation which still produces Nm. The work and force equations both produce equivalent units therefore are sometimes interchangable in some cases including this one. But these are really only theoretical numbers, as I stated earlier it doesn't account for drag, wind resistance, or aerodynamic shaping.


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## Clay_Allison (Feb 21, 2009)

Even a bullet free-dropped from altitude and travelling at terminal velocity is insufficient to kill you (would hurt). The best you are going to get is ~500 fps and that's just not enough to penetrate a skull, much less a helmeted one.


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## FlexiBull (Feb 21, 2009)

Yep that's right so you've calculate the possible energy it theoretically could achieve in Joules

Work done = energy transfered

WD=ma Delta y

Tell me where you found that delta symbol


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 21, 2009)

I found the delta symbol on OpenOffice Writer
Well i guess your right then


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## FlexiBull (Feb 21, 2009)

Yeh but you got the symbols


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## Sweb (Feb 21, 2009)

Amsel said:


> I bet that was an interesting trip.





Trebor said:


> show som pics?



I have pics of the aircraft taken with a Yashika 35mm camera buried in my archives. I'll see if I can collect them and get them changed to digital. Yes, it was a trip into the past. I also found bits of the planes everywhere - direct hits by B-29s from Saipan that pasted the island every other day at 1100 and 1500 hours - including pitot tubes and such. I got various data plates as well. One was from a Zero tail wheel and another from a Betty engine gearbox cover. The tail wheel plate was brass but the others were aluminum. Most were from various components off the Zero engines. The aircraft data plates were typically painted onto the port aft empennage of the Japanese planes and all of them were weathered off over the 30-odd years when I saw them. All the plexi was gone from every plane as were the tires and other features the islanders found a use for. Just before I arrived a completely intact and undamaged Judy was found hidden amidst a think stand of bamboo with a 1000-lb bomb on a cart beneath it. Japanese officials came out and carefully removed it without disturbing the bomb and took it back to Japan for restoration to flying condition. A US Navy demolition team arrived, packed the bomb with plastique, buried it with dirt and then remotely exploded it. They did this several times during my 4 months there when UXBs were found - mostly American 250 and 500 pounders - and this did a lot of damage. A 20-lb bomb fragment from the Japanese bomb hit the tin roof of the hanger I worked in, burned through and landed on the floor where I had just previously had a Briton-Norman Islander parked. It was still hot when I arrived back at the hanger after the Navy's all clear was radioed to the evacuation town of Colonia. You had to wear some heavy boots when booney-stomping because of all the razor sharp bomb shrapnel littering the airfield surrounds. I counted 20 plus Zeros by doing that as they were mostly hidden in the jungle over-growth over the years. It was almost eery. I was 25 at the time and completely taken with it all. Anyway, I'll see about the pics.


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## Elvis (Feb 22, 2009)

According to Flyboy2's calculations, the falling empty case achieves a velocity of approximately 54 mph.
According to GrauGeist, the casing weighs 3 oz.
There's 7000 grains in a pound, so the casing weghs 1312.5 gr.
54 mph = 79.2 ft./sec.
Using the formula I outlined back on the page one, the casing, moving at that speed, has a force of 18.285356 ft./lbs., or 24.791615 Newton-Metres.


Enough to kill someone?
Maybe, maybe not, but I bet they sure as hell are gonna feel it!


...and I have a feeling Clay Allison likes to watch "Mythbusters". 



Elvis


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## Clay_Allison (Feb 22, 2009)

Elvis said:


> According to Flyboy2's calculations, the falling empty case achieves a velocity of approximately 54 mph.
> According to GrauGeist, the casing weighs 3 oz.
> There's 7000 grains in a pound, so the casing weghs 1312.5 gr.
> 54 mph = 79.2 ft./sec.
> ...


I do.


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## Elvis (Feb 22, 2009)




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## FlexiBull (Feb 22, 2009)

Good calculations and an interesting value for terminal velocity, 

But you can't have a force in anything other than Newtons (or the USA equivalent) it can't be in N.m

The sooner you guys go completely metric the better life is sooo much more easy in SI units


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## Marcel (Feb 22, 2009)

You can calculate the end-speed (fastest obtainable speed) with the next formula:





With:
Vt=end speed
m=mass (Kg)
g=acceleration (9.81 m/s^2)
C(w)= Friction coefficient
p= density of the air kg/m^3
A= area seen from the direction of movement (m^2)

You guys can calculate if you like to


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## FlexiBull (Feb 22, 2009)

I get an answer of about 15ms-1 (33 miles/hour, 49 ft/s) based on a coin falling!!! The BIG variable is the area offered up, since a coin, peanut, cartridge case is going to tumble the area is not constant. I used the mean for a disc rotating. Noway am I going to try to model an empty shell case or even a spent bullet.

I am guessing but TV is probably reached after only several 10's of metres


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## GrauGeist (Feb 22, 2009)

A spent casing would be ejected during flight, the average speed of which was at least 300 mph, if that would add to the equation...


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 22, 2009)

It would only add if it was shot from an angle and therefore had a horizontal component to the velocity, it would change the acceleration so it wouldn't be 9.8


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## Marcel (Feb 23, 2009)

Flyboy2 said:


> It would only add if it was shot from an angle and therefore had a horizontal component to the velocity, it would change the acceleration so it wouldn't be 9.8



Nope, the acceleration would always be 9.8 m/s^2. The speed with which it was travelling when ejected adds nothing to the end-speed. Also the angle doesn't matter as it will always slow down or speed up to end-speed. You can see V(0) is not included in the formula I provided.


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## FlexiBull (Feb 23, 2009)

Fire a rifle horizontally, and if the cartridge is ejected out the side with whatever velocity the cartridge case hits the ground the same time as the bullet does.

If the cartridge did have a downward velocity all that would mean is that it would alter the time for it to reach terminal velocity but the terminal velocity would end up the same.


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## Watanbe (Feb 23, 2009)

Sweb said:


> I have pics of the aircraft taken with a Yashika 35mm camera buried in my archives. I'll see if I can collect them and get them changed to digital. Yes, it was a trip into the past. I also found bits of the planes everywhere - direct hits by B-29s from Saipan that pasted the island every other day at 1100 and 1500 hours - including pitot tubes and such. I got various data plates as well. One was from a Zero tail wheel and another from a Betty engine gearbox cover. The tail wheel plate was brass but the others were aluminum. Most were from various components off the Zero engines. The aircraft data plates were typically painted onto the port aft empennage of the Japanese planes and all of them were weathered off over the 30-odd years when I saw them. All the plexi was gone from every plane as were the tires and other features the islanders found a use for. Just before I arrived a completely intact and undamaged Judy was found hidden amidst a think stand of bamboo with a 1000-lb bomb on a cart beneath it. Japanese officials came out and carefully removed it without disturbing the bomb and took it back to Japan for restoration to flying condition. A US Navy demolition team arrived, packed the bomb with plastique, buried it with dirt and then remotely exploded it. They did this several times during my 4 months there when UXBs were found - mostly American 250 and 500 pounders - and this did a lot of damage. A 20-lb bomb fragment from the Japanese bomb hit the tin roof of the hanger I worked in, burned through and landed on the floor where I had just previously had a Briton-Norman Islander parked. It was still hot when I arrived back at the hanger after the Navy's all clear was radioed to the evacuation town of Colonia. You had to wear some heavy boots when booney-stomping because of all the razor sharp bomb shrapnel littering the airfield surrounds. I counted 20 plus Zeros by doing that as they were mostly hidden in the jungle over-growth over the years. It was almost eery. I was 25 at the time and completely taken with it all. Anyway, I'll see about the pics.



I find this absolutely incredible I would really love to see some photos! Any other vivid descriptions you would like to share? I would love to take a walk back in time like that!


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## Elvis (Feb 23, 2009)

FlexiBull said:


> Good calculations and an interesting value for terminal velocity,
> 
> But you can't have a force in anything other than Newtons (or the USA equivalent) it can't be in N.m
> 
> The sooner you guys go completely metric the better life is sooo much more easy in SI units


Newton-Metres is the metric equivelent of Foot-Pounds. 
This is why any work expressed in Foot-Pounds, when converted to a metric reading, is expressed as Newton-Metres.


Elvis


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## Flyboy2 (Feb 23, 2009)

Right, right... my mistake thanks Marcel and FlexiBull


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## schwarzpanzer (Apr 1, 2010)

I think a shell casing would enter a flat spin - reducing it's velocity even further?

I think the 'coin dropped from a skyscraper' thing was shattered on Mythbusters, IIRC?

Plus, an empty case would not be dense enouh to cause much damage?

I do wonder about the 75mm shells fired from a B-25 Mitchell though...


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## jugggo (Apr 1, 2010)

Didnt they do a similar testing on the show Myth Busters about a penny falling from the from the top of a tall skyscrapper or something?


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## schwarzpanzer (Apr 3, 2010)

Hi Jugggo,

Yes, that is the one I meant. I didn't know what coin (American).


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## N4521U (Apr 3, 2010)

"Hey, look up there, a do fight".
"oh yeah, ouch! Sh*t, I'm blind"!
who cares how fast it is going, it could still "put your eye out"! just like your mom said!


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## The Basket (Apr 3, 2010)

Mythbusters did a show with a penny from a tall building which was found to have only a stinging effect.

Certainly couldnt smash bone.

They also did one with a bullet falling to earth under gravity.

Again not enough velocity to cause serious injury.


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## syscom3 (Apr 3, 2010)

The Basket said:


> Mythbusters did a show with a penny from a tall building which was found to have only a stinging effect.
> 
> Certainly couldnt smash bone.
> 
> ...



Myth busters is wrong about the bullet.

A bullet coming down to earth is extremely dangerous and will kill (documented by the LAPD and LASD in the 80's and 90's). If it hits anything, its most probably the head, which doesn't take much to receive dangerous injury.


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## timmo (Apr 3, 2010)

Just for the hell of it - my Wife was on a gun emplacement in the '40s - 109s straffed her ( then went on to bomb a school) - She's never forgiven herself for not collecting the rounds!!

= Tim


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## Clay_Allison (Apr 4, 2010)

syscom3 said:


> Myth busters is wrong about the bullet.
> 
> A bullet coming down to earth is extremely dangerous and will kill (documented by the LAPD and LASD in the 80's and 90's). If it hits anything, its most probably the head, which doesn't take much to receive dangerous injury.



You should have watched the episode, they pointed out that if the bullet is fired at ANY angle, it will arc and retain much of its initial speed, making it as deadly as a long range sniper shot. Only when a bullet is fired perfectly vertical will it spend its momentum and drop like a rock. They also pointed out that it's very uncomfortable to try to fire a rifle straight up and that most people firing into the air would actually be firing at a 50-75 degree angle, thus preserving the momentum of the bullet and putting people at serious risk of death and injury.


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## FLYBOYJ (Apr 4, 2010)

We had some gang banger idiot convicted here about a year ago for firing a gun into the air and killing a woman sitting in her living room a few blocks away.


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## Shortround6 (Apr 4, 2010)

I think General Hatcher was involved in an experiment that involves shooting bullets straight up. I beleive it is mentioned in his book "Hatchers notebook". I will see if I can find it in the next few days.


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## bobbysocks (Apr 5, 2010)

always cracked me up when you saw huge crowds of people over in the middle east unloading ak47 clips into the air in celebration or protest. they wont have the same velocity coming back down as they did out of the muzzle but they will still do some damage....


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## mikewint (Apr 14, 2010)

Flyboy2 while your equation is correct it does not take into account the effects of air friction which is VERY significant. air friction is a very difficult thing to deal with since it depends on so very many factors, temperature, air density, humidity, wind, etc. PLUS the cross-sectional area of the object and depends on the cube of the velocity. ENIAC was designed to compute artillery shell ranges. thus it is always approximated and determined by real world testing. any lateral velocity would quickly be eaten up by friction with the casing falling straight down. for a laterally fired bullet air friction reduces the range by around 90%. artillery shells are fired above 45 degrees to reach their maximum range. the increased angle gets them quickly into the upper atmosphere where density is less.
so unless it "hits you in the eye kid" there is not enough KE to kill anyone


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## mikewint (Apr 14, 2010)

Elvis, both torque and work are Force times distance. in torque the force is applied tangentially and movement is circular thus the unit is distance - force or meter - newton or foot - pound. in work the displacement of the object must be in the direction of the force thus the work unit is force - distance or newton - meter which is a joule or pound - feet.


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## herman1rg (Apr 14, 2010)

My father (sadly deceased) served as a private in the British army during WW2 in the Middle East and Italy.

At the battle of Monte Cassino January- May 1944 (approx) he was around the environs of Monte Cassino when he was hit on the back of the neck at the joint between the skull and the neck (C1 vertebra)by a spent bullet (or perhaps shell casing) certainly not shrapnel. This resulted in a bloody but not deep would which required a dressing. He retained a small skin depression there for the rest of his life.

There is another story to tell but not related to this thread.


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## Maxrobot1 (Apr 17, 2010)

I believe that shell casings would fall base first and make a slight whistling sound as they fell. As for injury, a 20MM or 37mm casing would be dangerous but "rifle caliber" not as much. 
Hatcher's experiments showed that a projectile fired from a rifled barrel at a 90 degree angle from the earth would remain point up as it rose and then fell back to earth. This was due to gyroscopic action. 
He experimented by firing M1917 Browning machine guns vertically over a lake from a pier ( so he could see the splashes and then had the bullets fall into a boat.
If the projectile was angled off of 90 degrees the air resistance over the rotating projectile would make it point along it trajectory and it would strike nose-first.


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## Jigger1958 (Oct 20, 2021)

Soundbreaker Welch? said:


> When a plane fires it's guns, all the casings fly off the bullets into the air through little holes beneath the guns. If the plane was say 5,000 feet in the air, those little casings have got to fall a long way. Even something tiny like that can have a powerful impact when it hits. And there are tons of them from even 15 seconds of firing.
> 
> Was any soldiers on the ground, or even civillians ever killed or injured by this tiny pieces of metal?
> 
> Just curious.


I remember my father who, was a pilot officer with the RAF telling me of being stood on the sea shore at southend on sea. He was only there because he had been given leave. He and a guy stood next to him watched the contrails of the aircraft in the sky as they fought that day 15th September 1940. Suddenly, the guy next to my father groaned and fell backwards. It just so happened that he had been hit by a 'spent' shell case from one of the aircraft in combat. Spent cases were ejected from the aircraft after firing. On there own they were not particularly harmful, but if an aircraft is flying towards you at 200 mph and from 15-20,000 feet, it just makes sense that the shell case is travelling towards you at that speed. The guy wasn't seriously injured, just badly bruised. Lucky it wasn't one of the bullets that hit him, that would have been fatal. My profile picture is actually that of my father taken in 1943.

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