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The 2mm Kolibri (also known as the 2.7mm Kolibri Car Pistol or 2.7×9mm Kolibri) was the smallest commercially available centerfire cartridge,Barnes, Frank C. Cartridges of the World. DBI Books, 1976, p.146 patented in 1910 and introduced in 1914 by Franz Pfannl, an
Due to the weakness and inaccuracy of the firearm, the 2mm Kolibri was advertised as a ladies' self-defence weapon that was small enough to fit inside a handbag. While probably not effective against a mugger if shot at the chest or limbs, it could potentially inflict some damage if shot at the attacker's face. It was discontinued in 1914 with the outbreak of the war.
The 2mm gun was replaced by 3mm and 4mm weapons in the series, which was discontinued in 1938.
As with the related firearm series, this gun is now a collector's item with about 1000 ever produced. It is notable for firing the smallest centerfire cartridge ever produced.
Original Austrian Patent No. 45314
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Pistol and rifle cartridges Semi-automatic pistols
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n watchmaker, with financial support from Georg Grabner. It was designed to accompany the Kolibri semi-auto pistol or single-shot pistol, both marketed as self-defense weapons.
The name is derived from '' Kolibri'', the German word for hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...
, which is among the smallest of birds.
Background
The cartridge weighs 5.3 grams (82 grains), measures 3.6 millimeters (0.14 in) at its widest point, and 11 mm (0.43 in) from the base of the primer to the tip of the bullet. The cartridge is headspaced on the mouth of the case. The bullet itself masses 0.2 g (3 grains), and is estimated to have a normal muzzle velocity of , resulting in a muzzle energy of 4.0 J (3 ft-lbs).*Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p.262. Plantersville, SC: Small Arms Technical Publishing Company, 1943. For perspective, an average person's punch measures 10-15 joules, meaning that the round has less energy than a punch. The round was not well accepted. The 2mm Kolibri's small size makes handling and loading individual cartridges difficult, and the bullet itself is fairly weak, with literature at the time suggesting the round was capable of penetrating only of pine board. The round also suffers some accuracy issues, since the technology of the time was incapable of applyingrifling
In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pro ...
to the bore of such a small caliber, resulting in no spin on the bullet.
Due to the weakness and inaccuracy of the firearm, the 2mm Kolibri was advertised as a ladies' self-defence weapon that was small enough to fit inside a handbag. While probably not effective against a mugger if shot at the chest or limbs, it could potentially inflict some damage if shot at the attacker's face. It was discontinued in 1914 with the outbreak of the war.
The 2mm gun was replaced by 3mm and 4mm weapons in the series, which was discontinued in 1938.
As with the related firearm series, this gun is now a collector's item with about 1000 ever produced. It is notable for firing the smallest centerfire cartridge ever produced.
In popular culture
The Kolibri was featured in theWorld War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
FPS game Battlefield 1
''Battlefield 1'' is a first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the ''Battlefield'' series and the first main entry in the series since '' Battlefield 4'' in 2013. It was rele ...
.
See also
* List of handgun cartridges * 2 mm caliber *Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
This is a table of selected pistol/submachine gun and rifle/machine gun cartridges by common name. Data values are the highest found for the cartridge, and might not occur in the same load (e.g. the highest muzzle energy might not be in the same ...
References
External links
Original Austrian Patent No. 45314
{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2021 Pistol and rifle cartridges Semi-automatic pistols