Posted By Finn Buch on September 15, 2005 at 16:51:38:
In Reply to: 0.50 Browning Projectiles - Coloured Tips posted by Russ Abbey on September 15, 2005 at 16:18:03:
Hello Russ,
Here you have the explanation:
.50 caliber (12.7mm)
BLACK TIP: M2 armor piercing, would penetrate all, or most, airborne armor plate.
SILVER TIP: M8 armor piercing incendiary (API), would penetrate and produced white-hot flame on impact.
BLUE TIP: M1 incendiary, primarily designed to set fires.
ORANGE TIP: M1 tracer, usually mixed at least one in every four rounds for sighting purposes, but some aces preferred to have no tracer so the enemy wouldn't know they were being fired on until they had been hit.
RED TIP: M1 or M21 tracer, a later version of the orange.
Ref: Flight Journal - Oct 1998.
Kind regards
Finn Buch