Subsonic 9mm parabellum rounds were not available during WW2
Interesting, the information on this website proves you wrong:
http://iaaforum.org/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=12623Regardless, your original statement was "impossible to suppress a p-38", not "impossible to suppress a p-38 during WW2 because subsonic ammo didn't exist."
I was commenting on what you actually wrote, that it's impossible to supress a p-38, which is untrue. If you were referring only to the WW2 time period, you should have clarified your statement. Even so, the link I posted above suggests that subsonic ammo DID exist during WW2, which makes you wrong on all counts.
Anyway, as another poster pointed out, your point is moot since the silenced pistol used in the movie wasn't even a P-38.
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c-huddleston
12 years ago
Sorry, my point wasn't moot in one sense: I haven't seen the movie in years and was not aware of the pistol used in the scene. I was replying to a poster who stated:
"I wondered why they didn't just shoot him with the suppressed Walther P38 as well"
And I replied to that. So I followed an inaccurate earlier post. Sue me.
Hands up to your link. I wasn't aware that the Germans had developed subsonic 9mm Parabellum rounds at that time: however, whether or not the Allied forces had access to German ammo is not clear from your link, and they still went down the road of reducing the speed of existing supersonic rounds, which was impossible in the P38. If they were aware, then it’s probably because they didn’t see any benefit in the possibility of a gun accidentally being loaded with mixed rounds - the bolt and/or spring may well have had to be lighter to compensate for the smaller charge. Weaker rounds in an unadapted gun could have caused a jam, while a heavier charge in a gun with a lighter bolt could have had other consequences...
There's also a difference between "suggests" and "proves". We're all entitled to a little pedantry.
However, enough is enough. The fact is they were using a different gun in the movie. And it turns out my knowledge and memory were not quite as they should have been.
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phillb29
12 years ago
OK, I realize I must sound like a d**k at this point, but we've come this far and I still can't get you to clarify if you meant if it was "impossible to suppress a P-38" during the WW 2 time period or if in general it's "impossible to suppress a P-38".
I guess it doesn't matter since I've shown that (1) suppressed versions of the P-38 exist, & (2) subsonic 9mm ammo exists, and was even around during WW 2. So you come back with the idea that the Allies might not have had access to 9mm subsonic ammo during WW2, implying that it would still be incorrect to show a suppressed P-38 being used in WED(or any WW2 movie), in an effort to not have to admit you're wrong. I could go into the fact that this is a fictional action movie, not a documentary, and that you are now just splitting hairs, but that is really beside the point.
Lets just forget about discussing this in the context of the movie. I was originally responding to your statement, "impossible to suppress a P-38", which is incorrect. For some reason you're unwilling to acknowledge your statement was incorrect. However, when I have evidence the CIA had suppressed P-38 pistols in their inventory circa 1958; that the writings of former MACV-SOG member John Plaster specifcally mentions that SOG recon men employed suppressed P-38s; that I know Walther produced factory suppressed versions of the P-38; and that there's a website with photos showing the testing of a P-38 SD; you might then realize that when someone persists in stating that it's "impossible to suppress a P-38", why I'm not going to let that slide.
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