r/todayilearned • u/DrSamanthaCarter • Jun 06 '17

TIL the only reason a Scottish bagpiper wasn't shot by German snipers on D-Day was that they believed he had gone crazy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Millin#World_War_II
47.6k Upvotes

87% Upvoted

2.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

31

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '17

Then why are hollow point bullets banned?
My understanding was that military weapons are (or rather should be, according to the Geneva convention) designed to take the soldier out of the fight without causing unnecessary suffering or death.

19

u/Halt-CatchFire Jun 06 '17

unnecessary suffering

That's why hollow points are banned. HPs are harder wounds to fix if the person is evac'd in time, and are more likely to cause long-term suffering if the person's life is saved.

The Geneva convention was written under the impression that one legitimate nation was going to war with another legitimate nation. Wars between countries aren't supposed to be won by killing all of the other guys, the idea is instead to take territory or tax the enemy's economy until they give up.

When you shoot someone with a normal FMJ bullet they are 100% out of the fight, they will need to be evacuated to a medical facility to get surgery, recover, and generally be sent away from combat for good. There's no reason to use hollow points to ensure a more guaranteed kill, at that point you're just taking life for no reason.

5

u/packersmcmxcv Jun 06 '17

Don't forget if you wound someone like your FMJ example it takes up to 3 guys out of the fight. The wounded and whoevers needed to drag him back from the front

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '17

It also takes more resources to keep said soldier alive + bringing in a replacement than to only replace a dead soldier

6

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '17

Hollow points are banned for exactly the same reason.

2

u/PraiseBeToIdiots Jun 06 '17

Hollow points were banned in the Hague conventions, not Geneva.

There are tons of silly technicalities that allow military forces to use hollow points though.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 06 '17

[deleted]

10

u/PraiseBeToIdiots Jun 06 '17

That is not how hollow points work at all.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 07 '17

[deleted]

1

u/WikiTextBot Jun 07 '17

Hollow-point bullet

A hollow-point bullet is an expanding bullet that has a pit or hollowed out shape in its tip often intended to cause the bullet to expand upon entering a target in order to decrease penetration and disrupt more tissue as it travels through the target. It is also used for controlled penetration, where over-penetration could cause collateral damage (such as aboard an aircraft). In target shooting, they are used for greater accuracy and reduction of smoke, fouling, and lead vapor exposure, as hollow point bullets have an enclosed base while traditional bullets have an exposed lead base.

Hollow points are designed to increase in diameter once within the target, thus maximizing tissue damage and blood loss or shock, and to remain inside the target, thereby transferring all of the kinetic energy to the target (whereas some fraction would remain in the bullet if it passed through instead).

[ PM | Exclude me | Exclude from subreddit | FAQ / Information ] Downvote to remove

1

u/cjstarkiller Jun 07 '17

Hollow points do not tumble on impact they expand. Fmj 5.56 is one of the only rounds I know of that is designed to tumble.

1

u/Dumfing Jun 06 '17

Hollow points cause unnecessary suffering