Martin L. Fackler (1933–2015) was an American military officer, surgeon and wound ballistics expert. He served in the U.S Navy from 1960 to 1975 and in the U.S. Army from 1975 to 1991. He was a field surgeon at the NavalSupport Hospitals at Da Nang, Vietnam and at Yokosuka, Japan, and later a colonel in the US Army's Medical Corps.[1] He was the founder and head of the Wound Ballistics Laboratory for the Letterman Army Institute of Research from 1981 to 1991.[2][3] He was a member and leader of numerous distinguished organizations, among them the International Wound Ballistics Association, the French Wound Ballistics Society and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.[4] Dr. Fackler had numerous teaching appointments and was the author of over 300 publications in regards to wound ballistics, body armor, and treatment of injuries for both the military and civilian populations.[5] He is credited with a number of contributions to the field of terminal ballistics, including:[6][7][8]
Developing and testing improved media in which the effects of bullet wounds could be simulated. This led to the widespread acceptance of 10% ballistic gelatin for evaluating penetration and expansion of projectiles.
Establishing effects of projectile design and shape on wounding.
He hypothesized that wound depth was much more important than previously thought, and recommended ammunition that could send a bullet at least twelve inches into his ballistic gelatin.
He was the first researcher to demonstrate that fragmentation was the most effective means of inflicting wounds in a modern military rifle round. He asserted that the "permanent wound cavity" or actual damage caused by a projectile is the primary "stopping power" mechanism and that the "temporary wound cavity" or shock wave produced by the projectile is at best a secondary mechanism, if not irrelevant.[9]
Martin L. Fackler
High speed photo of 10% ballistic gelatin showing terminal fragmentation of a .243 projectile
^http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob93.html:"This resulted in the FBI Wound Ballistics Workshop of 1988 in Quantico, Virginia. Among those present were Dr. Martin Fackler, head of wound ballistics research for the US Army's medical training center, Letterman Institute. Fackler had developed an improved ballistic gelatin model that he had scientifically correlated to swine muscle tissue, which in turn is comparable to human muscle tissue. He hypothesized that wound depth was much more important than previously thought, and recommended ammunition that could send a bullet at least twelve inches into his ballistic gelatin."
^Patrick, Urey (July 14, 1989). (PDF). Firearms Tactical. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 24, 2005. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
NATO Handbook Emergency War Surgery Chapter entitled Missile Caused Wounds was authored by Fackler.
External linksEdit
Shooting Holes in Wounding Theories: The Mechanics of Terminal Ballistics
What's wrong with the wound ballistics literature, and why
, Internet Archive copy, includes articles by Fackler.
The Library of Congress, Veterans History Project, Home Experiencing War: Stories from the Veterans History Project, Martin L. Fackler, October 26, 2011...Audio Interviews with Martin Fackler.
October 21, 2023
martin, fackler, journalist, journalist, martin, fackler, 1933, 2015, american, military, officer, surgeon, wound, ballistics, expert, served, navy, from, 1960, 1975, army, from, 1975, 1991, field, surgeon, naval, support, hospitals, nang, vietnam, yokosuka, j. For the journalist see Martin Fackler journalist Martin L Fackler 1933 2015 was an American military officer surgeon and wound ballistics expert He served in the U S Navy from 1960 to 1975 and in the U S Army from 1975 to 1991 He was a field surgeon at the Naval Support Hospitals at Da Nang Vietnam and at Yokosuka Japan and later a colonel in the US Army s Medical Corps 1 He was the founder and head of the Wound Ballistics Laboratory for the Letterman Army Institute of Research from 1981 to 1991 2 3 He was a member and leader of numerous distinguished organizations among them the International Wound Ballistics Association the French Wound Ballistics Society and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences 4 Dr Fackler had numerous teaching appointments and was the author of over 300 publications in regards to wound ballistics body armor and treatment of injuries for both the military and civilian populations 5 He is credited with a number of contributions to the field of terminal ballistics including 6 7 8 Developing and testing improved media in which the effects of bullet wounds could be simulated This led to the widespread acceptance of 10 ballistic gelatin for evaluating penetration and expansion of projectiles Establishing effects of projectile design and shape on wounding He hypothesized that wound depth was much more important than previously thought and recommended ammunition that could send a bullet at least twelve inches into his ballistic gelatin He was the first researcher to demonstrate that fragmentation was the most effective means of inflicting wounds in a modern military rifle round He asserted that the permanent wound cavity or actual damage caused by a projectile is the primary stopping power mechanism and that the temporary wound cavity or shock wave produced by the projectile is at best a secondary mechanism if not irrelevant 9 Martin L FacklerHigh speed photo of 10 ballistic gelatin showing terminal fragmentation of a 243 projectileBorn 1933 04 08 April 8 1933York Pennsylvania U S DiedMay 23 2015 2015 05 23 aged 82 Gainesville Florida U S Occupation s retired Colonel United States Army physician surgeon and renowned specialist in wound ballisticsSpouseSandra Fox FacklerGallery EditExamples of Fackler s work on behalf of the U S military nbsp Wound ballistics for various Soviet cartridges nbsp AK 47 7 62x39mm wound ballistics nbsp AK 74 5 45x39mm wound ballistics nbsp M16 M193 5 56x45mm wound ballistics nbsp M16A2 M855 5 56X45mm NATO wound ballisticsReferences Edit Martin L Fackler Collection AFC 2001 001 85182 Veterans History Project American Folklife Center Library of Congress MARTIN L FACKLER Jr Obituary 2015 Gainesville Sun Legacy com http memory loc gov diglib vhp stories loc natlib afc2001001 85182 sr0001001 stream start 2936 amp clipid d54525e120 Audio Interview with Martin Fackler MARTIN L FACKLER Jr Obituary 2015 Gainesville Sun Legacy com MARTIN L FACKLER Jr Obituary 2015 Gainesville Sun Legacy com Terminal Ballistics Rathcoombe net Retrieved 2014 08 06 http www backwoodshome com articles2 ayoob93 html This resulted in the FBI Wound Ballistics Workshop of 1988 in Quantico Virginia Among those present were Dr Martin Fackler head of wound ballistics research for the US Army s medical training center Letterman Institute Fackler had developed an improved ballistic gelatin model that he had scientifically correlated to swine muscle tissue which in turn is comparable to human muscle tissue He hypothesized that wound depth was much more important than previously thought and recommended ammunition that could send a bullet at least twelve inches into his ballistic gelatin http www firearmsid com Gelatin Ballistic 20Gelatin 20Report pdf bare URL PDF Patrick Urey July 14 1989 Handgun Wounding Factors and Effectiveness PDF Firearms Tactical Federal Bureau of Investigation Archived from the original PDF on November 24 2005 Retrieved 2023 09 04 NATO Handbook Emergency War Surgery Chapter entitled Missile Caused Wounds was authored by Fackler External links EditShooting Holes in Wounding Theories The Mechanics of Terminal Ballistics What s wrong with the wound ballistics literature and why Firearms Tactical Institute s Wound Ballistic site Internet Archive copy includes articles by Fackler THE EFFECTS OF SMALL ARMS ON THE HUMAN BODY By Martin L Fackler MD The Library of Congress Veterans History Project Home Experiencing War Stories from the Veterans History Project Martin L Fackler October 26 2011 Audio Interviews with Martin Fackler Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Martin Fackler amp oldid 1173714954, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
