Future US soldiers and weapons

[CrunchyFrog 0]

Hey

I was thinking, is anybody working on soldiers equipped with the  landwarrior system, and/or some other US experimental weapons (XM-XXX)?

I think it would be nice with some soldiers equipped with the new landwarrior system gear, and XM-8's and XM-29's

Like this http://dboy.cpgl.net/USA/oicw/xm8-4.jpg

I know theres a XM-8 addon and some XM-29 (OICW) addons out there, but i just need the some soldiers equipped with some new gear

And what about some new heavy MG's?

- XM307 25mm Advanced Crew Served Machine Gun

- XM312 Lightweight .50 Caliber Machine Gun

Useful Link

https://peosoldier.army.mil/default.asp?section=programs#SW

Just my thoughts

[JdB 151]

This is the wrong forum, this belongs In Addons & Mods: Discussion

[DeZzErX 0]

I think XM-8's are released by mapfact.

[jakerod 254]

There is also an OICW around somewhere search for things over at ofp.info

[HunterKiller 0]

i know theres an oicw out look around

[4 IN 1 0]

i just find info of the block 2 of XM8, they finally got a 4x scope like the ACOG

[hellfish6 7]

Moving.

[FerretFangs 0]

I don't think the XM29 OICW is going to make it. It's still too heavy, and bulky. There is a newer proposal to seperate the air-burst grenade portion from the weapon, and make it a seperate new weapon upsized to use the OCSW's 25mm rounds. It's being called the XM-25: http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=xm_25.htm

[UsMarine408 0]

you want some of these bad boys dont ya

[Landwarrior87 0]

landwarrior system is my middle name... or first all soldiers will probablly not be equipped with the landwarrior system.. a bit too expensive.. atleast in its first years. probablly only the team leaders and medics.

besides even if it was a landwarrior addon for flashpoint it would only be visual.. obviously we cant shoot around corners. maybe it could be done with scripting to target it like a TOW and just have it be a grenade but that amusement would only last so long.

[FerretFangs 0]

Shooting around corners refers to the weapon sight on the weapon that allows the user to aim the rifle without looking directly throught the sight. He sees an image of the target in a HMD. It doesn't really refer to guided rounds, ( At this early stage of development ) per se.

I do remember concepts for a beam-riding 20mm or 25mm guided anti-material round which could be fired from conventional AMR's with a spotter providing designation via SOFLAM. I don't have any links for this right now, but I'm going to keep trying.

[cozza 24]

you want some of these bad boys dont ya

[url=http://www.specwargear.com/images/Xfile-future%20soldier-17.jpg

the guy/model on the right looks like the Master chief off Halo

[Drill Sergeant 0]

I don't think the XM29 OICW is going to make it. It's still too heavy, and bulky. There is a newer proposal to seperate the air-burst grenade portion from the weapon, and make it a seperate new weapon upsized to use the OCSW's 25mm rounds. It's being called the XM-25:

#1 The XM29 UNIT has been canceled for wide spread use.

#2 The Xm29 UNIT weights LESS then a m4/m203 and has

1/2 the recoil of any standard m16.

#3 The reason the Xm29 was canceled for widespread use

was: #1 Cost (17,000 for the carbine/glu and 200,000 for

the fire control.) #2 Bulk (couldn't get enough Soldiers

equipped with Xm29 units into the HMMWVs).

Though the Xm29 unit has probably wound up on the

SOCOM list due to the complexity of the weapon.

Also the first picture of the man there is from OFW

(Objective Force Warrior) In the Urban combat configuration.

(As is the third picture.)

Also I did have a set of OFW/OLW units which were supposed

to be skined and released with the CBT infantry which was

canceled do to B***ing.

The XM29 actually had several forms, such as a carbine

unit with the GLU included, sadly these were traded up

until the thing got to "Bulky" for smaller stature soldiers.  

Also the Xm29 did not fire "around corners" nor "guide" the

bullet at all. The Xm29's Fire control system allowed the

soldier to see via IR the targets, the soldier then would chose

the mode to engage the target using the 20mm Airburst.

IE. Explode alongside, impact ect, then the Xm29's fire

control estimated the distance, and programed each 20mm's fuse.

Then the soldier fired and the programed warhead exploded

as it was set to. The other uses of the fire control were: live

soldier to soldier video feed, the ability to hold the gun above

or around cover and fire it remotely, the ability to see thru

fog,smoke and darkness. What the Xm29 lacked in it's failure

to be extra compact, it more then made up for in it's fire

control/visual aid.

The program HAD potential. Now it's not much more then a

hopeless dream unless we make a major move to bring newer

concepts in and reinstate some of the proven ones...

You can't just phase out the M4/M16 family. They key is

integration of all these weapon systems (Colt & H&K). Thats

probably not going to happen any time soon.

(Yes I have seen the H&K M4)

Still I'd like to see my OFW/OLW men as part of the game.

It's a wonderful concept to apply to a game.

[FerretFangs 0]

DI, thanks for your post. According to everthing I've read, the OICW program is just evolving, not going away. The XM-8 is still the kenetic weapon. The GL has just been lightened up significantly by making it a stand alone weapon. Infact, it's been simplified, and yet increased in it's lethality by chamboring it for the 25mm airburst shell, instead of the lighter, less capable 20mm.

My only question is, how many per squad, and will the M-25 gunner carry something better than a M-9 for self defense? Conventional wisdom reminds us of Viet Nam, and the lessons learned from the M79 GL.

One of the initial OICW designs integrated the HK MP7 PDW as the kenetic weapon under the GLU. I wonder if that might be a better answer, as opposed to the guy going to his 9mm sidearm when the enemy suddenly apears "danger close?"

[Madus_Maximus 0]

Kind of off topic (sort of) but why do you need all this tech on your weapon? If your battery dies or something your up poop-creek and will have to use it as a conventional weapon still. There's nothing wrong with a good old AK-104 with GP-30 and a PSO-1 optic. Also I think if anything should change with the next generation of NATO weapons it should be the calibre. 5.56 just isn't good enough, many a time I've heard from friends in the military and other sources that they have to shoot someone about 5 times in order to do any kind of mortal damage, and this is without body armour! Oh and it'd be nice to have some new units as "future/present" with the new US Army camo they've just introduced.

[BoweryBaker 0]

it just looks like marpat to me. we haven't even seen all the colors. its basically a digital thing like marpat is.

[Madus_Maximus 0]

The Army felt left out when the Marines got some new stuff so decided to make their own. IMO it looks like the uniforms they have in Starship Troopers lol. And the "improved pockets" are covered by your webbing and armour when you kit up, which is er, kind of flawed, unless they're designing new webbing and stuff too? I think they should have just kept to the camo patterns they use now and just made them in the same design as this new stuff, looks more effective to me. The new stuff stands out too much unless your fighting in a marble shop lol..

[FerretFangs 0]

Kind of off topic (sort of) but why do you need all this tech on your weapon? If your battery dies or something your up poop-creek and will have to use it as a conventional weapon still. There's nothing wrong with a good old AK-104 with GP-30 and a PSO-1 optic. Also I think if anything should change with the next generation of NATO weapons it should be the calibre. 5.56 just isn't good enough, many a time I've heard from friends in the military and other sources that they have to shoot someone about 5 times in order to do any kind of mortal damage, and this is without body armour! Oh and it'd be nice to have some new units as "future/present" with the new US Army camo they've just introduced.

There are backups in place if the batteries fail. A 25mm blast-frag is still VERY dangerous even with a point detonating fuse.

The XM-8 is being designed to change caliber in the field in under ten minutes. The US is currently evaluating the 6.8mm round in Iraq, and Afghanistan. The results have been very positive. It's a "one hit wonder," so far.

[Madus_Maximus 0]

The Germans have been trying to get it the NATO standard issue for some time now, and we (Brits) use it in our sniper rifles with great results. Has the advantages and extra power you'd get from a 7.62 and the lighter weight of the 5.56, which is a nice balance I think.

[FerretFangs 0]

It's ballistically comparable to the Russian 7.62x39 on paper. Much higher velocity though.

[Drill Sergeant 0]

@FerretFangs

I thought I read on Janes millitary not so long ago it was canceled for those reasons.

The Xm25 is the grenade unit of the Xm29.

If it (Xm29) is still going to be ishued in limited nubers......

Were back on track. The Xm29 isn't extremely large.

Which one of my points which I am SHURE the US Army will

never hear is. The Xm29 isn't a extremely big gun to tall

people like me.   (6' 1" G3 only comes up to my waist)

Also theres more then one Xm29 design.

I mean look people....... Bulky?

http://dboy.cpgl.net/USA/oicw/xm29block3_3.jpg

Xm29 ultra light rifle?

Xm29 carbine.

Xm29 Riffle.

I mean come on people (US govt). This gun has potential.  

Ohh look! The squad layout. :o

http://dboy.cpgl.net/USA/oicw/squad9.jpg

@Madus_Maximus

The Xm29's batery is the size of a pack of cigs and only weighs 5 lbs. Lasts up to a week of constant use. Hell I could carry 2-3 of those baterys on top of a normal gear

load... I really hate to see this go down the road of the

G11.... The g11 is a difern't story though.  

Also the Xm29's fire conrtol system is the only thing that runs off the batery... The lower carbine is like a g36.  

What I'd like to see is a Xm29 in a .308/25mm caliber.

[FerretFangs 0]

Did you see the article I posted about the XM-25? It's pretty cool.

http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=xm_25.htm

[Drill Sergeant 0]

Yeah I did. It's like a Mm-1 in esance.

Though the fact is the Xm29 is a rifle with

a grenade launcher. Not just a grenade launcher.

I'm not argueing with you. The Xm29 and Xm25 are

seperate platfroms which have stemed from the OICW

family. I just like the idea of the Xm29 being a removeable

rifle/GLU/Flexible optic system.

Also on the fact of the Xm29 being canceld. I guess it wasn't

after all I was told by some one that it was. He likes to talk

thru his hat and I should have never listened to him.

I'm over kill when it comes to the Xm29. The Xm8 is ok...

But when you could have so much more for so much more money. Why not?

As for the Xm25, it SHOULD deffinitely see service.

You'd have to be crazy to pass up the services offered

by the Xm29-Xm25 families.

[Gollum1 0]

Kind of off topic (sort of) but why do you need all this tech on your weapon? If your battery dies or something your up poop-creek and will have to use it as a conventional weapon still. There's nothing wrong with a good old AK-104 with GP-30 and a PSO-1 optic. Also I think if anything should change with the next generation of NATO weapons it should be the calibre. 5.56 just isn't good enough, many a time I've heard from friends in the military and other sources that they have to shoot someone about 5 times in order to do any kind of mortal damage, and this is without body armour! Oh and it'd be nice to have some new units as "future/present" with the new US Army camo they've just introduced.

Actually even one 5.56 will probably be mortal, but I think you're referring to the hazily-defined "stopping power".

Some people write it as if getting hit by a 5.56 is no big deal.

[Heavy Metal 0]

In general the 5.56 NATO has a much greater terminal effect than the 7.62x39mm.  The 7.62x39 is too stable and bores a nice clean hole. It has numerous failures to stop even at close ranges.  

Quote[/b] ] STOCKTON -- THE FACTS  by Martin L. Fackler, MD

    Madman shoots 35 in Stockton schoolyard; 30 of those hit survive.  That

would have been the appropriate headline.  Why did the media dwell almost

exclusively on the five that did not survive?

    A military type AK-47 rifle was used.  Full-metal-jacketed military type

bullets were used.  That 86% of those children recovered from their wounds comes

as no surprise to those who understand this particular bullet's wounding

potential

.  Those familiar with the international laws governing warfare

recognize that the military full-metal-jacketed bullet is specifically designed

to limit tissue disruption -- to wound rather than to kill.  Purportedly

mandated for "humanitarian" reasons by the Hague Peace Conference of 1899, this

type of bullet actually proves to be more effective for most warfare.  It

removes not only the one hit from the ranks of the combatants, but also those

needed to care for him.

    Full-metal-jacketed bullets

are prohibited for hunting; they are too likely

to wound rather than kill.  Most full-metal-jacketed AK-47 bullets do not deform

significantly on striking the body, unless they strike bone.  They

characteristically travel point-forward until they penetrate 9 to 10 inches of

tissue (if a bullet yaws, turning sideways during its tissue path, it causes

increased disruption).  This means that most AK-47 shots will pass through the

body causing no greater damage that produced by handgun bullets.  The limi

ted

tissue disruption produced by this weapon in the Stockton schoolyard is

consistent with well documented data from Vietnam (the Wound Data and Munitions

Effectiveness Team collected approximately 700 cases of AK-47 hits), as well as

with controlled research studies from various wound ballistics laboratories.

    To put the 17 January 1989 Stockton incident in context, it must be

compared with past shootings:

1.   Only four of the eleven shot at the ESL Co. in Sunnyvale, CA, on 16

February 1988,

survived.  The weapon was a 12 gauge shotgun.

2.   Only eleven of the thirty-two shot in the MacDonalds (24 July 1984, San

Ysidro, CA) survived.  Of the three weapons used, the deadliest weapon by far

was a pump-action 12 gauge shotgun.

    The overwhelming majority of the media coverage of the Stockton shooting

has consisted of misstatements, exaggerations and inappropriate comparisons.

    It is ironic, in this country where firearms have played such a prominent

historic role, that the general kn

owledge of weapon effects has become so

distorted.  Cinema and TV accounts of shootings constantly distort and

exaggerate bullet effect.  When shot, people do not get knocked backwards by the

bullet; nor do they become instantly incapacitated, as usually depicted.

    False expectations resulting from these misleading performances have

confused crime scene investigators, law enforcement and military trainers, and

our courts of law.  Exaggerations of weapon effects in the post Vietnam era even

affect

ed wound treatment adversely.  It is just within the past year, that these

errors in military treatment doctrine have been corrected ("Emergency War

Surgery - NATO Handbook", Washington, DC, GPO, 1988).

   Television accounts showing assault rifles exploding watermelons, newspaper

descriptions comparing their effects to "a grenade exploding in the abdomen,"

and describing organs being destroyed and bones pulverized by apparently magic

"shock waves" from these "high-velocity" bullets must cause the t

hinking

individual to ask: If these rifles really cause such effects, how is it possible

that thirty children (actually 29 children and one teacher) hit in that Stockton

schoolyard survived?

    The effects of the media frenzy have been to produce at least a four-fold

increase in the number of AK-47's in California.  This immense demand has drawn

stocks of these weapons from all over the USA and abroad.  If producers of these

weapons had advertised their effects as portrayed by the media, they would

be

liable to prosecution under our truth in advertising laws.  When the same

misinformation is presented by the "free press" it is apparently perfectly

legal.

    These are the facts.  Why have you not seen them in the reports of this

incident?  Ask the media.  Ask them also about accountability and

responsibility.  Corrections have been offered, in writing, to the "New York

Times", the "San Francisco Examiner", and the "Oakland Tribune", with no

response.  Phone conversations with media sources m

ade clear their preference

for the more dramatic misconceptions and exaggerations over verified scientific

facts.

    Everyone with a political axe to grind that can be even remotely related to

the Stockton schoolyard shooting is coming out of the woodwork for their share

of the free publicity ride on the media-produced emotional frenzy roller-

coaster.  It's really sad, if not downright disrespectful, to see the deaths of

those children used to produce the lynch-mob/three-ring-circus atmosphere ext

ant

recently in the California State Legislature.

    The lack of any comprehensive data on gunshot wounds (incidence related to

weapon type, bullet type, outcome, etc.) has long been a serious handicap in

considering how to approach the gun problem.  The situation has now been

compounded by unprecedented media zeal.  Zeal mixed with misinformation is a

prescription for disaster.  The exaggerations used to whip up their emotional

frenzy have, at the same time, deprived the public of the established

facts

about weapon effects.

    Gunshot wounds pose a serious problem.  Any sensible solution demands sober

consideration of valid data on wound frequency, severity, circumstances, and

treatment.  Considering the many thousands of shootings in our urban areas each

year, competent collection of these data on a national basis could, in a short

time, define the problem realistically and objectively.  Both sides of the gun

control argument should replace confrontation with cooperation by jointly

sponso

ring a National Gunshot Wound Study.  Valid, objective data might then

replace uninformed exaggeration and hysteria as a guide to action.

    The assault rifle fiasco brings to light a far more basic problem:  Who is

to protect the public from a zealous media whose "cause" takes them beyond bias

to falsehood and fabrication?

FACTS                                            Martin L. Fackler, MD, FACS

1.   Military full-metal-jacketed bullets, such as those used on the Stockton

schoolyard, are des

igned to limit tissue disruption -- to wound rather than

kill.  In warfare, this bullet is effective: it removes not only those hit from

the ranks of the combatants, but also others needed to care for them.  These

bullets are prohibited for hunting because they lack killing power.  Bullet

type, not weapon type, is the critical factor in determining the amount of body

tissue disrupted.

2.   Most full-metal-jacketed AK-47 bullets do not deform unless they strike

bone.  They travel point-forward throu

gh 9 to 10 inches of tissue before they

yaw (turn sideways, and strike more tissue).  Thus, these bullets generally

cause no greater damage than handgun bullets.  The results from the Stockton

schoolyard (35 hit, 30 survivors) are consistent with data from Vietnam (700

cases of AK-47 hits were studied in detail), as well as with studies from wound

ballistics laboratories.

3.   To put the 17 January 1989 Stockton shooting in context:

         A.   Only four of the eleven shot by Richard Farley at

the ESL Co. in

              Sunnyvale, CA, on 16 February 1988, survived.  The weapon was a

              12 gauge shotgun.

         B.   Only seven of the twenty-one shot by Christian Dornier on 12 July

              1989, in Luxiol, France, survived.  The weapon was a 12 gauge

              shotgun.

         C.   Twelve of the twenty shot by Joseph Wesbecker on 14 September    

         1989, in Louisville, KY, survived.  The weapon was an AK-47 rifle

              (which he had boug

ht in May or June 1989).

         D.   Thirty of the thirty-five shot by Patrick Purdy in Stockton

              survived.  The weapon was an AK-47 rifle.

              SHOTGUN -- 33% survived

              RIFLE   -- 76% survived

4.   The overwhelming majority of the Stockton shooting media coverage has

consisted of misstatements and exaggerations.  Television reports showing

assault rifles exploding watermelons, newspaper descriptions comparing their

effects to "a grenade exploding in th

e abdomen", and describing organs being

destroyed and bones pulverized by apparently magic "shock waves" from these

"high-velocity" bullets must cause the thinking individual to ask:  if these

rifles cause such effects, how is it possible that 30 out of the 35 hit on the

Stockton schoolyard survived?

5.  The result of the media created frenzy, in California, has been more than a

four-fold increase the number of AK-47s, AR-15s, etc. despite the tripling of

their price.

6.   Good sense demands that

any action be supported by historical precedent.

    "No matter how one approaches the figures, one is forced to the rather

    startling conclusion that the use of firearms in crime was very much less

    when there were no controls of any sort... Half a century of strict

    controls on pistols has ended, perversely, with a far greater use of this

    class of weapon in crime than ever before."

    Greenwood, C. "firearms Control", London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972

    p.243.

    N

ot only have the many thousands of gun laws in the USA failed to have the

desired effect, they have been counterproductive.

7.   Near total noncompliance has resulted from "assault rifle" laws passed in

California.  Recent reports from Denver also indicate massive noncompliance.

Our law enforcement judicial system can ill afford the weakening resulting from

such wholesale noncompliance.

8.   The first step in any rational approach is defining a problem's magnitude

and scope.  Is the total number

of deaths caused by firearms (the often cited

30,000 per year), including suicides (over one-half of the total), felons killed

while committing a crime, terrorist hostage takers killed by police, killings in

self-defense, hunting accidents, etc. an appropriate focus?  Or are we primarily

interested in the criminal use of firearms?  Whatever the scope decided upon,

both sides must confine their figures to it alone in order to avoid the

distortions and inconsistencies ("comparing apples and oranges") t

hat have been

conspicuous in previous "gun" debates.

9.   Lack of any comprehensive, reliable data on gunshot wounds (incidence

related to weapon type, bullet type, treatment, outcome, etc.) is a serious

handicap.  Media distortions have created an emotional frenzy and, at the same

time, deprived the public of the established facts about bullet effects.

Sensible problem solving requires sober consideration of valid data.  Competent

collection of data from urban shootings could define the problem r

ealistically

and objectively.  Instead of wasting millions of dollars fighting each other,

both sides of the gun control dispute should jointly sponsor an ongoing National

Gunshot Wound Study.  Valid, objective data might then replace uninformed

exaggeration, bias, and hysteria as a guide to action.

WOUNDING EFFECTS OF THE AK-47 RIFLE USED BY PATRICK PURDY IN THE STOCKTON

SCHOOLYARD SHOOTING OF 17 JANUARY 1989

by Fackler, M.L., Malinowski, J. A., Hoxie, S.W., Jason, A.

                         

        ABSTRACT

The limited disruption produced in tissue simulant by the rifle and bullets used

in the Stockton schoolyard shooting is entirely consistent with the autopsy

reports of the five children who died from their wounds.  It is also entirely

consistent with well documented battlefield studies and with previous tissue

simulant studies from many laboratories  It is inconsistent with many

exaggerated accounts of "assault rifle" wounding effects described by the media

in the

aftermath of this incident.  This information should be documented for

the historical record.  However, the critical reason for correcting the

misconceptions produced by the media reaction to this incident is to prevent

injurious distortion of gunshot wound treatment.

KEY WORDS -- wound ballistics, military rifle bullets, assault rifle, ballistic

injury, wound treatment.

Wounding effects -- AK-47 Rifle -- 2

    On 17 January 1989 Patrick Purdy used a semi-automatic AK-47 Chines

e

military type rifle (Norinco, serial #MS010963) to fire 104 shots into a

schoolyard filled with children in Stockton, California.  All of the bullets

that he fired were 124 grain full-metal-jacketed military type loaded in 7.62 X

39 mm cartridges, made by the Federal Cartridge Company, Anoka, Minnesota

(documented in the Stockton Criminalistics Laboratory by identification of the

empty cartridge cases recovered from the crime scene).  Thirty-five of the

individuals in the school

yard were injured by Purdy's bullets.  Thirty of the

thirty-five wounded were treated in eight hospitals and survived their wounds.

Five died on the schoolyard.

   

    The media seized on the Stockton incident with sensationalistic zeal.  

Distortions, exaggerations and uninformed assumptions were presented as fact.  

Corrections of factual errors were, in most cases, ignored.  The public and

medical personnel called upon to treat shooting victims have consequently been

deprived

of the established facts about the true effects of "assault rifles".  

These failings have made this paper necessary.  For any chance of a rational

solution, the gunshot wound problem must be approached with verified facts and

competently collected data.

Wounding effects -- AK-47 Rifle --3

                                    METHODS

    Eight shots were fired from a distance of 3 meters into 25X25X50 cm blocks

of 10% ordnance gelatin placed end to end at 4 degrees C gelatin tempera

ture.  

This gelatin has been shown to reproduce the projectile deformation and

penetration depth seen in living animal muscle (1).  Sufficient gelatin blocks

were placed end-to-end to capture the entire projectile path.  The rifle was

fired from a fixed rest.  Five shots were fired using the Federal 124 grain

full-metal-jacketed ammunition found in Purdy's possession.  This was identical

to the ammunition shot on the Stockton schoolyard.  One shot each was also fired

using a Winchest

er-Western full-metal-jacketed bullet, a full-metal-jacketed

bullet of Chinese manufacture (Norinco), and a Winchester-Western 123 grain

soft-point bullet.  All of these bullet types were found in Purdy's possession.

Velocity was recorded and tissue disruption measured as described in the wound

profile methodology (1).

    Autopsy reports on the five children who died of their wounds were

reviewed, and hospitals were the survivors were treated were contacted for

follow-up informa

tion.

   

Wounding effects -- AK-47 -- 4

                                    RESULTS

    Numerical results of the shots are listed in Table 1.  Figure one shows the

five Federal full-metal-jacketed bullets recovered from the gelatin blocks.  The

last bullet on the right is listed as number five in Table 1.  It passed out the

side of the gelatin block (at 66 cm penetration depth) and struck the wall of

the shooting range.  These Federal bullets have a copper jacket and a lead co

re;

they all deformed slightly in the gelatin (bases flattened to approximately 5 X

9.5 mm -- see Fig. 1).  The bases of these Federal full-metal-jacketed bullets

were unusual; they had a conical depression about 4 mm deep in the lead core.  A

similar depression has been seen in only one bullet previously shot in our

laboratory -- the 7.62 X 54 R, used in Russian and Chinese light machine guns

and sniper rifles.  The Winchester-Western full-metal-jacketed bullet (No. 7,

Table 1) per

formed identically to the Federal bullets.  The Norinco full-metal-

jacketed bullet did not deform at all, as expected, because its largely steel

core is much more resistant to compression than lead, as shown second from the

left in Figure two.

    The maximum temporary cavity diameters estimated from the radial cracks in

the gelatin (1) were all between 14 and 16 cm in diameter, and their location

was at a penetration depth 6 - 12 cm deep to the location where the bullet yaw

began

(see Fig. 3).

Wounding effects -- AK-47 Rifle -- 5

    The Winchester-Western soft-point bullet deformed by flattening its tip and

expanding its diameter to 15 X 16.5 mm.  It also lost 22 percent of its weight

through bullet fragmentation (see lower right, Figure two), and its temporary

cavity began after only a few cm of penetration, where bullet expansion

occurred.

    Summary of autopsy findings:

1.   In each child the bullet path passed through a vital structure.  In one

case it was the head, another the heart, another the liver, another the lungs,

and the last, the aorta and spinal cord.

2.   On two occasions a second shot was reported to have passed through a hand,

and in one case, through a foot.  In one of the hand perforations, it is

unequivocal that it was a second shot rather than the same shot perforating two

body parts.  In this case, the bullet had passed through the sternum, the heart,

and then through a vertebral body; the bullet was fou

nd just under the skin of

the back.  This was the only bullet retained in the body on any of the

autopsies.

3.   The weights of the children were 20, 18, 26, 19, and 25 kg.

4.   The largest tissue disruption in any of the organs was approximately 3.81

cm, in the right lobe of the liver.

5.   There was no damage to any organ not hit directly by a bullet.

Wounding effects -- AK-47 Rifle -- 6

                                  DISCUSSION

    All of the full-metal-jacketed bullet

s followed the basic pattern described

previously (2) and shown in the wound profile (Fig. 3).  The Federal full-

metal-jacketed bullets used by Purdy are of flat base design and shorter in

length than the military rounds (compare Figs 1 and 2).  Their mean penetration

distance before significant yaw (13.7 cm) is considerably shorter than that of

the Ak-47 military round as shown on the wound profile (25 cm) and that seen in

shot number 7 (20 cm).

    That 86% of the wounded survived

is not surprising to those who are

familiar with the relatively mild wounding characteristics of the Ak-47 military

round (3).  The Russian/Chinese military full-metal-jacketed AK-47 bullets, with

steel cores, do not deform on striking the body, unless they hit bone.  These

AK-47 bullets characteristically travel point-forward until they penetrate 25 cm

of tissue.  Only when this type bullet yaws, turning sideways during its tissue

path, does it cause significantly increased disruption

(Fig. 3).  Therefore,

many AK-47 shots will pass through the body causing no greater damage than that

produced by nonexpanding handgun bullets.  The limited tissue disruption

produced by this weapon in the Stockton schoolyard is consistent with well

documented data from Vietnam (the Wound Data and Munitions Effectiveness Team

collected approximately 700 cases of Ak-47 hits), as well as with controlled

Wounding effects -- AK-47 Rifle -- 7

research studies from wound ballistics labora

tories (2-4).

    Our study shows the Federal full-metal-jacketed bullets used by Purdy yaw

(increase the angle between the bullet long axis and the bullet path) at a

shallower penetration depth than the standard Russian/Chinese military

ammunition.  Ordinarily, this action should make these bullets more disruptive.

However, the children shot were small (18-26 kg), obviously increasing the

chances for a bullet to pass through the body before yawing to a significant

degree, and un

doubtedly contributing to the high survival rate.  The slight

flattening seen in the lead-core Federal bullets does not add significantly to

the wound size.  The magnitude of the tissue disruption reported from the fatal

shots inflicted by the AK-47 bullets fired by Purdy was, in fact, no greater

than that produced by many common handgun bullets.

    Much of the media  coverage generated by the Stockton shooting has

contained misstatements and exaggerations.  The myth of "shock waves"

resounding

from these "high velocity" bullets "pulverizing bones and exploding organs"

(even if they were not hit by the bullet) "like a bomb" going off in the body

was repeated by the media, in certain cases even after they were furnished solid

evidence disproving these absurdities (5).  None of the autopsies showed damage

beyond the projectile path.  One "expert" was quoted as stating that the death

rate from "assault weapons ... approaches 50 percent" (6).  Another, reporting

on

the effects of "high speed" bullets, stated "Most of those hit in an

Wounding effects -- AK-47 -- 8

extremity will end up with amputations.  If you're hit in the trunk, it becomes

a lethal injury ..." (7).  On the Stockton schoolyard, the death rate was 14

percent and none died later; none required extremity amputation.  Extensive war

wound experience (Wound Data and Munitions Effectiveness Team information on

1400 cases of rifle wounds from the Vietnam conflict) and laboratory studies

with the AK-47 are consistent with the Stockton injuries (2-4).  The first

author of this paper has treated many nonlethal trunk wounds from a variety of

"assault rifles".  In his experience, extremity wounds from these weapons

requiring amputation are extremely rare.  The "assault rifle" shoots a bullet

that is intermediate in power between the regular infantry rifle and a handgun.

Trunk wounds are lethal when they hit vital structures, as supported by the

autopsy findings from

Stockton.

    Pertinent to the material reviewed for this paper, the Chief of Police of

the City of San Jose, Joseph D. McNamara, stated, "One bullet hitting a child in

Stockton, took out his entire stomach." (8).  Our review of the autopsy reports

shows that only one of the children killed by Mr. Purdy in the Stockton

schoolyard had damage to the stomach.  It states, "STOMACH: There is a

perforating wound of the antrum due to passage of the bullet.  The stomach is

otherwise normal

.  There is no spillage of gastric contents."  An unsuspecting

public and medical community might accept Chief McNamara's highly exaggerated

description as fact.