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No. 108824
ID: 04d80a
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The story starts in France, with an attempt to produce pistol ammunition particularly intended for police requirements. The stated aim was to achieve good penetration, stopping power and accuracy while achieving a marked drop in recoil and in the "danger to surroundings outside the target"; i.e., a short range. The designer was a Mr Antoine; he was hired by SFM (Société Française de Munitions) who promptly secured the patents, produced the ammunition and began to market it.
The design principle was to produce a very light bullet which could be launched at high velocity (hence the name THV = Très Haute Vitesse = very high speed). The bullets had a sharp point which in conjunction with the high velocity was intended to provide excellent barrier penetration. However, the sudden widening of the bullet behind the point was designed to generate a wide wound channel, and the light weight meant that it would quickly lose velocity, both in the target and (should it miss) in the open air. It was therefore only suitable for short-range use, and SFM only produced pistol rounds. As well as the three pistol loadings in my collection it was also made in .38 Special and .45 ACP. The cartridge cases are headstamped 'THV SFM' with the calibre.
The bullet material is not specified in the manufacturer's data sheet but appears to be copper. The bullet was made with a hollow base, reducing the weight still further. The bullets were made with two different shapes: the first type had a simple point, but this was found not to feed well in self-loading pistols. A second pattern was therefore developed, with a wider, blunt tip, for the auto pistol loadings.
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