The effect of military clothing on gunshot wounding patterns in gelatine

With no two gunshot wounds (GSW) being the same, novel research into wound ballistics is challenging. It is evident that the majority of previous wound ballistic research has been conducted without the presence of clothing. Whilst the effect of clothing on wound contamination has been explored, there is a paucity of literature examining the effect of clothing on GSW patterns. The aim of this study was to test the effect of Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) UK military clothing on GSW patterns within calibrated blocks of 10% by mass gelatine, using two types of ammunition commonly used in recent conflicts—7.62 × 39 mm and 5.45 × 39 mm. In total, 36 blocks were shot, 18 by each projectile type, further divided into 6 with no clothing layers (C(nil)), 6 with a single clothing layer (C(min)) and 6 with maximum clothing layers (C(max)) worn on active duty. Blocks were analysed with high-speed video and dissection to capture measurements of damage, and results compared using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results showed significantly different damage measurements within blocks with C(max) for both ammunition types compared to the other clothing states. This may result in GSWs that require more extensive surgical management, inviting further study. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00414-018-1972-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.