Martin Fackler

Who is Martin Fackler?

Dr. Martin L. Fackler is a retired Colonel in the US Army's Medical Corps, he was a battlefield surgeon, and the head of the Wound Ballistics Laboratory for the US Army’s Medical Training Center, Letterman Institute.

He is credited with a number of contributions to the field of terminal ballistics including:

Developing and testing improved media in which the effects of bullet wounds could be simulated. This led to the widespread acceptance of 10% ballistic gelatin for evaluating penetration and expansion of projectiles.

Establishing effects of projectile design and shape on wounding.

He hypothesized that wound depth was much more important than previously thought, and recommended ammunition that could send a bullet at least twelve inches into his ballistic gelatin.

He was the first researcher to demonstrate that fragmentation was the most effective means of inflicting wounds in a modern military rifle round. He asserted that yawing and cavitation do not typically cause severe tissue trauma.