Darts Replace Bullets In Experimental Rifle
(NZP-A.-Reuter—Copvright)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 11.
The United States Army plans to test a new rifle which fires death-dealing darts instead of bullets. *
The project has not been disclosed officially, but informed sources report that a prototype will be made available for testing early next year. The rifle, one of several types under consideration, is called the SPIW < special purpose individual weapon), pronounced “spew." This is because it is designed to spew out a stream
of little dart* which leave gaping wounds. Its killing power is said to be on a par with live bullets, but one rifleman will be able to carry far more darts than bullet*. The Army calls the darts “flechette*," French for “little arrows.” They are about the diameter of a pencil lead, a little more than an inch long, equipped with tiny fins at the tail end, and stuck through a little plug of plastic, which in turn is fixed into the open end of a powder-filled cartridge.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CII, Issue 30313, 13 December 1963, Page 17
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167Darts Replace Bullets In Experimental Rifle Press, Volume CII, Issue 30313, 13 December 1963, Page 17
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