Is it possible to use a weapon underwater?

Yes, it is possible. The weapon can be fired as long as the dog (or hammer) is able to hit the precursor, which detonates the fuse of the ammunition.

Currently, these ammunition are sealed against water, which allows the firing to happen even if the weapon is submerged - but can only be fired once, since the equipment is compromised after the first shot (the weapon restarts if it is duly wiped after leaving the water). An AK-47 rifle, used to date by the Army, can take a few shots in a row, but the range does not exceed 4m. There are specific equipment for combat divers, such as the HK P11 weapon, which reaches a target 15 meters away - all thanks to its external ballistics, which has been stabilized to run in water.

Curiosity: To show the effect of water on a bullet, a physicist threw himself into a pool.

Dry not wet

If the gun barrel is not submerged, the firepower remains the same - since the projectile is not affected by the water pressure. With wet inside after the first shot, it is not possible to take another shot

In silence

The sound associated with shooting in submerged condition is much less noisy. This is because the sound waves have their intensity damped by the density of the water. It's as if the gun had a muffler

Bullets in sequence

Some types of weapons, such as the AK-47 rifle, allow you to shoot several shots underwater due to its mechanism, which uses compressed air and takes advantage of the recoil of the previous shot. It also has a piston that already leaves the next bullet in the correct position

Slowly, slowly

The water has a specific mass, which is approximately 800 times greater than that of air. The bullet would suffer from the drag and viscosity effects of the liquid, which reduce the velocity and lethality of the shot

CONSULTANCY  Danilo Haggstrom, product engineer at Taurus Armas, Imbel (Brazilian Armaments Industry)