Browning Hi-Power( .357 SIG ) pistol cartridge

The .357 SIG pistol cartridge is the product of Swiss-German firearms manufacturer SIG-Sauer, in cooperation with the American ammunition manufacturer Federal Cartridge. While it is based on a .40 S&W case necked down to accept 0.355-inch (9.0 mm) bullets, the .357 SIG brass is slightly longer (0.009-inch (0.23 mm) to 0.020-inch (0.51 mm)). The cartridge is used by a number of law enforcement agencies and has a good reputation for both accuracy and stopping power.
Developed in 1994, the new cartridge was named "357" to highlight its purpose: to duplicate the performance of 125-grain (8.1 g) .357 Magnum loads fired from 4-inch (100 mm) barreled revolvers, in a cartridge designed to be used in a semi-automatic pistol. Performance is similar to the 9x23mm Winchester.
The .357 SIG provided a self-defense cartridge close in performance to a 125 gr .357 Magnum, but from a semi-automatic pistol with greater ammunition capacity.
Other than specialized competition cartridges like the 9x25mm Dillon (1988), necking a 10mm Auto case down to a 9mm bullet, the .357 SIG was the first modern bottleneck commercial handgun cartridge since the early 1960s, when Remington introduced the unsuccessful .22 Remington Jet (1961), which necked a .357 Magnum case down to a .22 caliber bullet, and the .221 Remington Fireball (1963). Soon after the .357 SIG, other bottleneck commercial handgun cartridges appeared: the .400 Corbon (1996), necking the .45 ACP down to .40 caliber; the .440 Corbon (1998), necking down the .50 AE to .44 caliber; the .32 NAA (2002), necking the .380 ACP down to .32 caliber; and the .25 NAA (2004), necking the .32 ACP down to .25 caliber

The .357 SIG has 1.27 ml (19.5 grains) H2O cartridge case capacity

.357 SIG maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions.[1] All sizes in millimeters (mm).
Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2=18 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 406 mm (1 in 16 in), 6 grooves, Ø lands=8.71 mm, Ø grooves=9.02 mm, land width=2.69 mm and the primer type is small pistol.
Several sources have published contradicting information regarding .357 SIG headspacing.[3] This is due to originally designed as .357 (9.02mm)round but has been rapidly adapted to .355 (9mm) bullet. According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portatives) 2007 guidelines the .357 SIG headspaces on the shoulder (P2-H1). Some US sources concur this C.I.P. ruling.[4] US reloading supplier Lyman once published the .357 SIG headspaces on the case mouth (H2).
According to the C.I.P. guidelines the .357 SIG case can handle up to 305 MPa (44,236 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every pistol cartridge combo has to be proofed at 130% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.
The SAAMI pressure limit for the .357 SIG is set at 275.80 MPa (40,000 psi), piezo pressure.

The table below shows common performance parameters for several .357 SIG loads. Bullet weights ranging from 115 to 150 grains have been offered. Loads are available with energies from 488 (ft•lbf) to over 568 (ft•lbf), and penetration depths from 9 inches to over 16.5 inches are available for various applications and risk assessments.

Manufacturer	Load	Mass (grains)	Velocity (ft/s)	Energy (ft•lbf)	Expansion (inches)[6]	Penetration (inches)[6]	PC[6](cu in)	TSC[6] (cu in)
Triton	Quik-Shok	115	1425	518	frag	9.0	4.1	43.2 (est)
Winchester	Ranger T	125	1385	532	0.75	11.5	5.1	45.0 (est)
Federal	Premium JHP	125	1430	568	0.62	12.7	3.8	49.5 (est)
Speer	Gold Dot JHP	125	1385	532	0.68	16.5	6.0	45.0 (est)
Remington	JHP	125	1350	506	0.57	14.3	3.6	41.7 (est)
Federal	Premium JHP	150	1210	488	0.60	15.0	4.2	39.4 (est)

The goal of the .357 SIG project was to offer a level of performance equal to the highly effective 125 grains (8.1 g) .357 Magnum load. The .357 SIG accomplishes this with a 125 grains (8.1 g) bullet at a muzzle velocity of 1,450 feet per second (440 m/s) out of a 4 in (102 mm) barrel, which is generally identical to the velocity achieved by standard factory 125 grains (8.1 g)r .357 Magnum loads out of a 4 in (102 mm) revolver barrel.[citation needed](A check of advertised ballistics both in articles from the late 1990s & current ballistics tables from ammunition manufacturers show commonly a nominal velocity of 1,350fps for the .357 SIG with a 125gr bullet in a 4" bbl.) The .357 SIG gains extra muzzle velocity when fired from a longer barrel, like an after-market drop-in 6 in (152 mm) barrel.(This might achieve a velocity of 1450fps.)
With a simplistic approach to physics, recoil being directly proportional to "muzzle velocity x bullet mass" (due to conservation of momentum), the recoil of the .357 SIG is equal to or slightly less than that of the .40 S&W, and less than that of the full-power 10 mm Auto loads or the original .357 Magnum, Handgun Recoil table as well as Federal and.This simple approach to recoil is only part of the story as it is not only the properties of the bullet that produce recoil, a more important effect is the rocket like blast of propellant gases coming out of the barrel, after the bullet leaves the muzzle, that plays a greater role in the felt recoil.            

A more accurate view on recoil is that it is proportional to the mass of all ejecta x velocity of ejecta. Even so, recoil calculated in this manner is only the starting point in a comparison with the .357 Magnum cartridge, since the latter is used in a revolver, in which all the recoil energy is due to the Bullet and propellant, while the .357 SIG cartridge is frequently used in a semi-automatic pistol of recoil operation, in which a significant portion of the recoil energy is diverted to cycle the action, effectively prolonging the recoil phase
.
In comparing the energy levels of premium self-defense ammunition the muzzle energy of 584 ft.lbs (792 J) of the 125 grains (8.1 g) 1,450 feet per second (440 m/s) .357 SIG load is higher than either the 475 ft·lbf (644 J) generated by a 155 grains (10.0 g) 1,175 feet per second (358 m/s) Speer GoldDot .40 S&W load or the 400 ft·lbf (540 J) generated by a 180 grains (12 g) 985 feet per second (300 m/s) Speer GoldDot .40 S&W load.
Like the 10 mm Auto, the .357 SIG can be down-loaded to reduce recoil, to the point where recoil is similar to that of a 9x19mm Parabellum. However, since the .357 SIG uses bullets that are generally the same as those used in the 9 mm Para,downloading it to this point would defeat the purpose of having the SIG cartridge in the first place, as the .357 SIG casing was designed to handle up to 160gr. bullets whereas 9mm max out at ~140gr. and to download for recoil and ballistics to be identical to the less-powerful 9 mm cartridge would be a waste of time.
Because the .357 SIG fires at relatively high pressures, muzzle flash and noise are significant with standard loads, even with longer barrels. Utilizing loads with specialized powders and experimenting with different bullet weights can reduce flash.

Browning Hi-Power

The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized. The Hi-Power is one of the most widely used military pistols of all time,[3] having been used by the armed forces of over 50 countries.[1]

The Hi-Power name alluded to the 13-round magazine capacity; almost twice that of contemporary designs such as the Luger or Mauser 1910. The pistol is often referred to as an HP (for "Hi-Power" or "High-Power")[4] or as a GP (for the French term, "Grande Puissance"). The term P-35 is also used, based on the introduction of the pistol in 1935. It is most often called the "Hi-Power", even in Belgium. It is also known as the BAP (Browning Automatic Pistol), particularly in Irish service.

The Hi-Power was designed in response to a French military requirement for a new service pistol, the Grand Rendement (French for "High Yield"), or alternatively Grande Puissance (literally "high power"). The French military's requirements were that the arm should be compact, have a capacity of at least 10 rounds, a magazine disconnect device, an external hammer, a positive safety, be robust and simple to disassemble and re-assemble, and be capable of killing a man at 50 meters; this last criterion was seen to demand a caliber of 9 mm or larger, a bullet mass of around 8 grams (123.5 grains), and a muzzle velocity of 350 m/s (1148 ft/s). It was to accomplish all of this at a weight not exceeding 1 kg (2.2 lb).

The pistols were originally made in two models: an "Ordinary Model" with fixed sights and an "Adjustable Rear Sight Model" with a tangent-type rear sight and a slotted grip for attaching a wooden shoulder stock. The adjustable sights are still available on commercial versions of the Hi-Power, although the shoulder stock mounts were discontinued during World War II. In 1962, the design was modified to replace the internal extractor with an external extractor, improving reliability.

Standard Hi-Powers are based on a single-action design. Unlike modern double-action semi-automatic pistols, the Hi-Power's trigger is not connected to the hammer. If a double-action pistol is carried with the hammer down with a round in the chamber and a loaded magazine installed, the shooter may fire the pistol by simply pulling the trigger. In contrast, a single-action pistol must be cocked manually before the first shot, either by thumbing the hammer back, or by pulling the slide to the rear and releasing it. In common with the M1911, the Hi-Power is therefore typically carried with the hammer cocked and the safety catch on (a carry mode often called cocked and locked in the USA or "made ready" in the UK, or sometimes called condition one).

The Hi-Power, like many other Browning designs, operates on the short-recoil principle, where the barrel and slide initially recoil together until the barrel is unlocked from the slide by a cam arrangement. Unlike Browning's earlier Colt M1911 pistol, the barrel is not moved vertically by a toggling link, but instead by a hardened bar which crosses the frame under the barrel and contacts a slot under the chamber, at the rearmost part of the barrel. The barrel and slide recoil together for a short distance but, as the slot engages the bar, the chamber and the rear of the barrel are drawn downward and stopped. The downward movement of the barrel disengages it from the slide, which continues rearward, extracting the spent case from the chamber and ejecting it. After the slide reaches the limit of its travel, the recoil spring brings it forward again, stripping a new round from the magazine and pushing it into the chamber. This also pushes the chamber and barrel forward. The cam slot and bar move the chamber upward and the locking lugs on the barrel reengage those in the slide.

The Hi-Power has two flaws: The standard trigger pull is heavy, especially for a single-action pistol. This disadvantage is a consequence of the Hi-Power's magazine safety design, which was initially added to the model to meet the requirements of the French military in 1935. The standard Hi-Power magazine safety is connected to the trigger and is released by a plunger pressing on the surface of the magazine. This action of the plunger on the magazine adds tension to the trigger pull, and the required force to operate this feature adds resistance as well. This problem is often resolved by removing the magazine safety entirely, thus voiding the pistol's warranty, or by polishing the interface surfaces between the safety plunger and the magazine.After-market trigger springs with reduced tension are also available to improve the trigger pull.

In addition, the pistol has a tendency to "bite" the web of the shooter's hand, between the thumb and forefinger. This bite is caused by pressure from the hammer spur, or alternatively, by pinching between the hammer shank and grip tang. Many HP owners fix this problem by altering or replacing the hammer, or by learning to hold the pistol to avoid injury. While a common complaint with the commercial models with spur hammers similar to that of the Colt "Government Model" automatic, it is seldom a problem with the military models, which have a smaller, rounded "burr" hammer, more like that of the Colt "Commander" compact version of the 1911.
Nevertheless, its ability to hold 13 rounds of ammunition, nearly double that of the Colt M1911 made it very desirable as a military-issue pistol.

Specifications of the Mk I

A locked-breech, semi-automatic, single-action, recoil-operated pistol. The Browning Hi-Power Mk I uses a 13-round staggered magazine.
Caliber: 9 mm
Length: 197 mm
Barrel length: 118 mm
length of rifled part: 100 mm
number of grooves: 6
direction of twist: right
Height (without sight, loaded): 127.5 mm
Width (with stocks): 36 mm
(without stocks): 25.5 mm
Weight (with empty magazine): 0.9 kg
(with loaded magazine): 1.060 kg
Capacity of magazine: 13 cartridges
Modes of fire: Single action
Muzzle velocity: 350 m/s
V12.50: 340 m/s
Muzzle energy: 500 J
Safeties: Half-cock notch, manual thumb safety, firing pin block, and magazine disconnect
Trigger pull: 7.5 lb
Effective Range: 50 m
Dispersion (firing 10 shots with rest)
at 15 metres: 95 mm (height 50 mm, width 45 mm)
at 30 metres: 200 mm (height 105 mm, width 95 mm)
at 50 metres: 320 mm (height 170 mm, width 150 mm)

The Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict. It was officially established on 8 October 1932 as an auxiliary air force of the British Raj and the prefix Royal was added in 1945 in recognition of its services during World War II. After India achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947, the Royal Indian Air Force served the Dominion of India, with the prefix being dropped when India became a republic in 1950.
Historically, the IAF has generally relied on Soviet, British, Israeli and French military craft and technology to support its growth. However, in recent times India has manufactured its own aircraft such as the HAL Tejas, a 4th generation fighter, and the HAL Dhruv, a multi-role helicopter, which has been exported to several countries, including Israel, Burma, Nepal and Ecuador. India also maintains UAV squadrons which can be used to carry out ground attacks and aerial surveillance. India is also testing its own long range BVR air to air missile named Astra. and also building a Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) called Rustom

Indian Navy

The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the Indian armed forces. With 58,350 men and women, including 7,000 personnel of Indian Naval Air Arm, 1,200 Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and 1,000 personnel of the Sagar Prahari Bal, it is one of the world's largest navy.
In recent years, the Indian Navy has undergone modernization and expansion with the intention of countering growing Chinese maritime power in the Indian Ocean and reaching the status of a recognized blue-water navy. New equipment programs include; the lease of a nuclear-powered submarine INS Chakra from Russia, the ex soviet carrier INS Vikramaditya and the first of the indigenously built Arihant class ballistic missile submarines by 2012, the first of the Scorpene class submarines by 2015 and the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant by 2017. The plan in the near future is to have two aircraft carriers at sea at all times, with a third docked up in maintenance. Other programs include the Talwar and Shivalik frigates and the Kolkata class destroyers, all of which will be equipped with the BrahMos cruise missile.
The production of INS Arihant makes the Indian Navy one of six navies world wide that are capable of building and operating nuclear powered submarines - others include China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Indian Army

It is a completely voluntary service, the military draft having never been imposed in India. The army has rich combat experience in diverse terrains, due to India's diverse geography, and also has a distinguished history of serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Initially, the army's main objective was to defend the nation's frontiers. However, over the years, the army has also taken up the responsibility of providing internal security, especially in insurgent-hit Kashmir and north-east. The force is headed by the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, currently General Bikram Singh. The highest rank in the Indian Army is Field Marshal, but it is a largely ceremonial rank and appointments are made by the President of India, on the advice of the Union Cabinet of Ministers, only in exceptional circumstances. (See Field Marshal (India)). Late General S.H.F.J. Manekshaw and the late General K.M. Cariappa are the only two officers who have attained this rank.

The Indian Army has seen military action during the First Kashmir War, Operation Polo, the Sino-Indian War, the Second Kashmir War, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, the Sri Lankan Civil War and the Kargil War. Currently, the Indian army has dedicated one brigade of troops to the UN's standby arrangements. Through its large, sustained troop commitments India has come in for much praise for taking part in difficult operations for prolonged periods. The Indian Army has participated in several UN peacekeeping operations, including the ones in Cyprus, Lebanon, Congo, Angola, Cambodia, Vietnam, Namibia, El Salvador, Liberia, Mozambique and Somalia. The army also provided a paramedical unit to facilitate the withdrawal of the sick and wounded in Korea. The Indian Army has embarked on an infantry modernization program known as Futuristic Infantry Soldier As a System (F-INSAS).

Military collaborations with other countries

In 1997, India agreed to participate in the development of Russia's "Prospective Air Complex for Tactical Air Forces" program. One of the primary objectives of the program was to develop a 5th generation fighter aircraft; the Su-47 prototype flew its first successful test flight in 1997. The BrahMos, a supersonic  cruise missile jointly developed with Russia, was successfully test fired in 2001. India is also collaborating with iseral to develop Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. India has focused recently on purchasing the technology behind military equipment rather than equipment itself. Recent examples include purchases of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI multi-role fighter aircraft and T-90 main battle tanks from Russia and diesel-powered Scorpene submarines from France. In 2004, India purchased US$5.7 billion worth of military equipment from other countries, making it the developing world's leading arms purchaser.

About today's indian military

The Indian military ranks third in terms of number of troops after the U.S. and China. The paramilitary unit of the Republic of India is the world's largest paramilitary force at over one million strong. Eager to portray itself as a potential superpower India began an intense phase of upgrading its armed forces in the late 1990s. India focuses on developing indigenous military equipment rather than relying on other countries for supplies. Most of the Indian naval ships and submarines, military armoured vehicles, missiles, and ammunition are indigenously designed and manufactured.