The 9 mm Parabellum is a cartridge caliber intended for automatic pistols introduced in 1902 on Luger pistols. It is sometimes called 9mm Para or 9mm Luger. Its metric denomination is 9x19 mm. It is the most widely used handgun caliber in the world today. It is used for pistols and for almost all submachine guns. Adopted as an official cartridge by the German Navy in 1904, it would become the standard in the German army four years later with the P08 10 cm gun. It is now the standard NATO handgun ammunition
Deployed in all the semi-automatic pistols of European armies, it is even more massively used in submachine guns. Its prevalence has continued to grow and it is only in the United States that it is questioned. Because it is NATO's standard handgun ammunition, the 9mm Parabellum was adopted by the United States in 1985 as a replacement for the .45 when it abandoned the Colt M1911 in favor of the Beretta Model 92- F.
The FBI also adopted the 9 mm Parabellum but reversed its decision, considering that the ammunition lacked efficiency and temporarily adopted the 10 mm Auto. The 9 mm Parabellum is indeed criticized, especially in the United States traditionally attached to the .45 ACP, its diameter being considered too small to cause damage sufficient to neutralize the target immediately outside of impacts to the head or nervous system. The FBI thus produced specifications which led to the 10mm Auto, an ammunition too powerful to suit all shooters and finally adopted the .40 S&W, another 10mm ammunition of a lower power which today constitutes a serious competitor to the 9mm Parabellum.
The 9 mm remains an essential ammunition, no doubt because it offers an excellent compromise between power and recoil, in particular thanks to its high initial speed, its caliber makes it possible to offer more compact or high-capacity weapons.
Ballistics of the current military 9mm Parabellum
The specifications of this ammunition may vary depending on the loadings and the length of the barrel of the weapon. So over time the 9mm Parabellum grew in power, the mechanism of the Luger P08 would struggle to fire modern ammunition. The standard NATO 9mm Parabellum nevertheless has the following characteristics:
* Bullet:armored warhead (FMJ - Full Metal Jacketed)
* Dimensions:9 x 19mm
* Bullet mass:8 g
* Mass of the cartridge:12 g
* Initial speed:350 m/s
The Parabellum derives its name from the Latin motto “Si vis pacem, para bellum”:if you want peace, prepare for war.
Fired from a submachine gun with a barrel longer than that of a conventional pistol, the 9mm Parabellum can reach 400 m/s at the muzzle of the weapon.
Synonyms
* 9mm
* 9mm Luger
* 9mm Luger Parabellum
* 9mm NATO
* 9 x 19mm NATO
* 9mm Parabellum
* 9mm Para