Reversed & K Bullets

German Anti-Tank Solutions Reversed and K-Bullets World War I Tanks were a nasty surprise for the Germans when they made their entrance onto the battlefield in 1916. While grenades were effective at close range, the Germans quickly sought range solutions to disable enemy tanks. Reversed Bullets Rifle and machine gun rounds simply bounced off tank armor, so the first attempt at giving German riflemen an anti-tank solution was the reversed bullet. This idea had been developed in 1915 as a way of penetrating enemy sniper shields. Taking a normal 7.92x57mm Mauser round, the slug was twisted off and additional propellant was added. They were then carefully reinserted backwards into the casing, giving them a blunt nose. These rifles had to be carefully chambered to prevent misfires, but could be fired from a standard rifle. The reversed rounds could penetrate armor at close range as potentially hitting a crew member, and would not break off like the pointed end of a regular round. They may also create spall, a spray of metal fragments, inside the tank. The reversed bullet was not a great solution however, as it could often damage the rifle or injure the person shooting it. K-Bullets The Germans developed the 7.92x57mm armor-piercing bullet known as the K-Bullet. They had a tool steel core and were able to be fired from a machine gun or rifle. The range, at about 100 yards, was a lot more effective than a reversed bullet, and had a 1 in 3 chance of penetrating 12-13mm thick armor. While K-Bullets were effective against early British tanks, it was less so against the Mark IV tank, which had thicker armor and entered the battlefield in 1917. Watch our other videos to learn more. Get your copy of Simple History World War I, available on Amazon now.