Terms 3 Flashcards
Zone search
A crime scene search pattern in which a square or rectangular area is marked off and searched for evidence. A zone can be a room or, in outdoor scenes, a zoned-off area.
ABFO scale
A photographic scale designed by the American Board of Forensic Odontology that is used to ensure accurate depiction of injuries and other items of physical evidence.
Accessories
A classification of explosives that includes initiation materials or fuzing systems that may contain low or high explosives or combinations of both types of explosives.
Action
The mechanism of a firearm directly behind the barrel, by which a gun is loaded, locked, fired, unlocked, extracted and ejected.
Active infrared
A sensor that emits an infrared beam to a receiver, forming an invisible link that, when broken, acts as a trigger to the IED. These sensors act like an electronic version of the trip wire.
Active/time-delay systems
A type of switch that functions after a set time, as in time bombs.
Adipocere
A grayish-white waxy or soapy-like substance that forms in the fatty tissues of the body and is usually formed when a body is placed in a damp environment such as water, a cave, or in a grave.
Administration worksheet
A written record that is used to collect data relative to the basic organization of investigative activities conducted at the scene. Airborne IED
Algor mortis
The cooling of the body after death occurs.
Alpha particles
A form of ionizing radiation released by the radioactive decay of nuclear materials that have a very short range in air and a very low ability to penetrate other materials.
Alternate light source (ALS)
A forensic light source created when a high- intensity light is focused through a fiber optic cable using various filters.
Alternating current (AC)
Electric current that flows through a circuit in both directions with the change in direction occurring with a well-defined and specified frequency; household current.
Alveolar region
The section of the jawbones containing the tooth sockets.
American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)
The recognized organization that establishes protocols and standards for testing and examination, including for the forensic sciences.
Ammonium nitrate
An oxidizer used in the manufacturing of high explosives and as a fertilizer in agricultural uses.
Ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO)
A high explosive/blasting agent that consists of ammonium nitrate prills and fuel oil.
Ancillary effects
Secondary blast pressure effects that are a direct or indirect effect of an explosion, including reflection and earth and water shock.
Anti-disturbance
A victim-operated trigger that senses when objects or their wrappings are moved or disturbed, initiating a firing device. Sensitive mechanisms such as tilt and trembler switches may be used.
Anti-infrastructure
IED incidents primarily intended to damage or destroy physical infrastructure such as pipelines, communication towers, bridges, buildings, utility lines and/or facilities such as electrical transformers or water pump houses.
Antiarmor
IED incidents primarily intended to damage or destroy armored vehicles and/or to kill or wound individuals inside armored vehicles.
Antipersonnel
IED incidents primarily intended to kill, wound, or obstruct personnel.
Antipersonnel mines
Placed ordnance that are designed to produce injuries or death in personnel.
Antitank
Ordnance designed to be used against tanks or similar armored targets.
Antitank/antipersonnel mines
Placed ordnance which are larger than antipersonnel mines and are designed to destroy tanks and other armored and unarmored vehicles.
Antivehicle
IED incidents primarily intended to damage or destroy vehicles—excluding armored vehicles—and/or their cargo as well as to kill or wound individuals inside such vehicles.
Anvil
That part of the cartridge primer which is a solid surface, against which the firing pin strikes to set off the priming powder.
Arches
The fingerprint class characterized by ridge lines entering the print from one side and flowing or tending to flow out the other side. There are two types of arches—plain and tented. The friction ridges forming a plain arch form a wave pattern. The tented arch has a sharp upthrust or spike in the center that gives the impression of a tent.
Area of origin
In arson investigations, the location where the heat ignited the first fuel; it will also be the area with the most visible damage in the fire scene.
Armed device
An electrical, mechanical, or chemical fuzing system that is capable of functioning when acted on or disturbed by an unsuspecting victim
ASA/ISO
A standard (American and international) nomenclature for depicting a film’s ability to record light in terms of speed. The higher the ASA/ISO number, the less light it takes to record an image on film.
Attack geography
A description of the geography surrounding the IED incident, such as road segment, building, or foliage. Understanding the geography indicates the bombers use of landscape to channel tactical response, slow friendly movement, and prevent pursuit.
Autoloading
See Semi-AutoMatic
Autopsy
A medical procedure involving the internal and external examination of a dead body conducted by a pathologist or medical examiner to determine the cause and manner of a person’s death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be found.
Bacteria
Single-celled organisms that multiply by cell division and that can cause disease in humans, animals, or plants. They include anthrax, cholera, plague, and tularemia.
Ball
The round lead missile fired by smoothbore firearms. (The term is used today when referring to some types of bullets fired from rifled barrels).
Ballistic Coefficient
A number which indicates how a bullet’s shape, length, weight, diameter and nose design affect its stability, velocity and range against air resistance.
Ballistics
The study of a projectile in motion.
Ballistics
The study of what happens to moving projectiles in the barrel and in flight - their trajectory, force, impact and penetration. ÒInternal ballisticsÓ refers to what happens inside the barrel before the bullet or shot leaves the muzzle; Òexternal ballisticsÓ is what happens after the bullet or shot leaves the barrel and travels to its final point of impact and Òterminal ballisticsÓ is what happens to the bullet at the final point of impact.
Band seat (rotating band seat/driving band seat)
Machined or cast groove around the circumference of a projectile into which the rotating band is seated.
Barrel
The metal tube of a firearm made from iron or steel, through which the bullet or shot charge passes when the firearm is fired.
Base Wad
The paper filler at the rear of the powder charge of the shotgun shell.
Baseline measures
A line of reference from which measurements are taken, usually a wall using 90-degree angles.
Battery
The metal arm of a flintlock mechanism, against which flint strikes to create sparks in the flashpan (also called the ÒfrizzenÓ).
Beavertail
A wide, flat fore-end of a rifle or shotgun.
Bedding
That part of the stock into which the barrel fits.
Belt
The narrow band around the rear section of a cartridge case just forward of the extractor groove. (The belt arrests the progress of the case into the chamber and controls headspace.)
Berdan Primer
See Primer
Beta par tides
A form of ionizing radiation released by the radioactive decay of nuclear materials that travel faster and are smaller than alpha particles and can be stopped by skin or clothing.
Binary chemical
A toxic chemical derived from the mixing of two relatively nontoxic constituents.
Binary explosive
A detonator-sensitive high explosive consisting of two substances, an oxidizer and a fuel, that when mixed together form an explosive.
Biohazard bags
Containers for materials that have been exposed to blood or other biological fluids. Gloves and other personal protective equipment worn at the crime scene by personnel should be collected in a biohazard bag that is then removed and disposed of properly by the agency conducting the investigation.
Biological fluids
Any fluids encountered that are thought to be of human or animal origin. The most common fluids are blood, saliva, semen, urine, or sweat. Any evidence suspected of containing biological fluids should have a biohazard label affixed to the package used to collect the evidence.
Biological warfare agents
Living organisms that are used to intentionally cause disease in or harm humans, animals, or plants.
Black Powder
A finely ground mixture of three basic ingredients - saltpetre (potassium nitrate), charcoal (carbon) and sulphur.
Black powder
A low-explosive mixture containing sulfur, charcoal, and potassium or sodium nitrate. It is the oldest known explosive.
Blast
In this context, a primary effect caused by the detonation of a high-explosive main charge constructed without a hard-cased container.
Blast fragmentation
An explosion effect achieved with either high or low explosives that may use a hard container or have fragmentation shrapnel added to or around the main charge explosive.
Blasting agents
High explosives that cannot be reliably initiated with a #8-strength detonator and require a booster to function.
Blister agents
Persistent chemical agents that produce severe burns and blister the skin or any other part of the body they contact; includes sulfur mustard, nitrogen mustard, lewisite, and phosgene oxime.
Blood agents
Chemical agents that interfere with or prevent oxygen utilization at the cellular level and include hydrogen cyanideand cyanogens chloride.
Bloodborne pathogens
Infectious disease-causing microorganisms that may be found or transported in biological fluids.
Bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA)
The examination of the shapes, locations, and distribution patterns of bloodstains, in order to provide an interpretation of the physical events that occurred at the crime scene.
Blown Pattern
A shotgun pattern with erratic shot distribution, generally caused by gas escaping past the wads and getting into the shot.
Bluing
A process of treating metal gun parts in a bath of metallic salts and water, which colors them blue to prevent rust.
Boattail
The tapered rear end of a bullet. (Also called Òtaper heel”, this design is used to increase ballistic efficiency at long range.)
Body
The external container of military ordnance, which can serve the dual purpose of being an external protecting container and may provide for fragmentation.
Boiling-liquid expanding -vapor explosion (BLEVE)
An example of a mechanical explosion involving containers that contain liquids under pressure that are heated by an exterior heat source, which causes the container to rupture. Frequently seen when a gas cylinder, tank, or rail cars are involved in fires.
Bolt
A steel rod-like assembly which moves back and forth in a bolt action, sealing the cartridge in the chamber during firing.
Bolt Face
The forward end of the bolt which supports the base of the cartridge and contains the firing pin.
Bomb
In a broad sense, an explosive or other lethal agent, together with its container or holder, which is planted or thrown by hand, dropped from aircraft, or projected by some other slow-speed device (as by lobbing it from a mortar). Military bombs/dropped ordnance a re of two types
Bomber’s signature
An identifiable pattern or characteristic of using essentially the same or similar bomb construction components and construction, fabrication and design/alteration techniques in multiple devices by the same person or persons who have access to those components and design/alteration techniques.
Bombing crime scene
The physical location where an IED has exploded or where such a device has been recorded or dismanded bv bomb technicians.
Booster
In commercial blasting,a detonator-sensitive, high-energy, high explosive charge used to initiate a main-charge explosive that is incapable of being initiated with only a detonator.
Bore
The tunnel down the barrel of a firearm through which the projectiles travel.
Bore Diameter
The measurement from one side of the bore to the other. In a rifled barrel this means measurement of the bore before the rifling grooves are cut.
Breech
The rear end of the barrel (in modern arms, the portion of the barrel into which the cartridge is inserted. See Chamber.
Breechblock
The part in the breech mechanism that locks the action against the firing of the cartridge.
Breechloader
A firearm loaded through the breech.
Brisance
The shattering effect of an explosive.
Buckshot
Large lead pellets used in shotshells.
Bulk military explosives
Military explosive in its original packaging or that has been removed from weapons or munitions.
Bullet
A single projectile fired from a firearm.
Bullet sale explosive
Explosives that cannot be detonated by a 150-grain ball bullet having a nominal muzzle velocity of 2700 ft/s as fired from a caliber .30 rifle at a distance of 100 ft when the test material is placed against a 1/2-in-thick steel plate at a temperature of 70° F-75°F.
Burn patterns
Visible effects from a fire, such as charring, smoke, and soot deposits; changes in the character of materials; and the consumption of consumables that may indicate the ignition source of a fire.
Butt
The rear end of a rifle or shotgun. (The portion that rests against the shoulder.)
Buttplate
A plate which covers the butt. (Some steel buttplates have trap doors covering a recess for storage of cleaning equipment.)
C\ clotiimethyleneti initi amine (RDX)
A detonator-sensitive high explosive that is used in detonators, detonating cords, and in demolition explosives when combined with a plasticizer.
Cache
An IED incident that involves the discovery and/or recovery of unarmed devices, IED components, and IED paraphernalia that involves long-term storage in a permanent, fixed location.
Cadaveric spasm
The rapid stiffening of the hand that sometimes occurs at the time of death.
Calibre
The diameter of the bore of a rifle before the rifling grooves are cut.
Cannelure
A groove around the circumference of a bullet or case. (For example, the lubrication grooves of lead bullets, or the grooves into which the mouth of the cartridge case is crimped, or the extractor grooves of the rimless or belted case.)
Cant
To tilt or lean a gun to the side when aiming.
Cap
See Percussion Cap.
Carbine
A light short-barreled riffle.
Cartridge
A case, usually made of brass or copper, containing the powder charge, the primer and the bullet. (Before development of the metallic cartridge, the term was used to mean a roll or case of paper containing powder and shot. Modern cartridges are generally classified in three categories Ñ Òcentrefire metallicsÓ, rimfiresÓ and ÒshotshellsÓ. Centrefire metallics include all metal cartridges that have primers in the center of the base. Rimfires include all cartridges in which the priming powder is sealed in the soft rim around the base. Shotshells include all cartridges that contain shot, or small pellets, instead of a single bullet.)
Case file
A compilation of all case documents pertaining to an investigation, including evidence and photography logs, photographs, sketches, case narrative, laboratory requests and reports, and other records.
Case narrative
A running description of the entire crime scene investigation that should be presented in the same systematic, methodical, and logical manner in which the activities were conducted at the scene.
Cast explosive
An explosive that is heated to a liquid state, poured into a mold /container, and allowed to harden.
Cast-off patterns
Bloodstain patterns created when blood is released or thrown from a blood-bearing object in motion, such as a baseball bat or a pipe.
Cause of death (COD)
The reason a person ceased to live, whether by injury or disease; must be determined by the medical examiner during the autopsy
CBC (cyanoacrylate blowing contraption)
A fuming device developed by Arthur M. Bohanon of the Knoxville (Tennessee) Police Department in the early 1990s. It is specifically designed to detect latent fingerprints on dead human bodies.
CBRNE
A common acronym used when discussing weapons of mass destruction; the letters represent chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive agents.
Centre-Fire
See Cartridge.
Chain of custody
The proper documentation showing each change in possession and/or storage of an item of evidence from its seizure to trial presentation.
Chamber
The enlarged portion of the barrel at the breech in which the cartridge is placed ready for firing.
Chapman- Jourget (CJ) plane
Regarding the combustion of an energetic material, the end of the reaction zone or where the burning of the energetic material stops and the stable products of the reaction begin.
Checkering
A diamond-like patter on fore-ends and grips of firearms. (The diamonds are made by cutting crossing lines into the material with special tools.)
Chemical agents
Any solids, liquids, or gases that produce lethal, injurious, or irritant effects resulting in casualties.
Chemical compound
A combination of two or more materials to form a new material wherein the constituents are chemically combined and lose their original identities.
Chemical explosion
An explosion caused by rapid conversion of a solid, liquid, or gas into gases having a much greater volume than the substances from which they were generated.
Chemical fuzing systems
A timing switch using the reaction of chemical compounds as a switch to provide a delay before starting the initiation train.
Choke
The constriction at the muzzle of a shotgun barrel by which the spread of the shot pattern is controlled.
Choking agents
Casualty-producing agents that cause irritation and inflammation of the bronchial tubes and lungs from inhalation. They cause pulmonary edema, which fills the lungs with liquid, choking the victim. They include chlorine and phosgene.
Chop shop
A structure or location used for receiving, dismantling, destroying, or concealing passenger motor vehicles or parts that were illegally obtained.
Circumstantial indicator
A sign or indicator that relies on the circumstances of a particular situation or may be incidental to an attack and can include unusual activities around the target or the significant timing of an incident.
Claymore effect
An explosives charge configuration, military or homemade, designed to explosively propel a fan-shaped pattern of ball bearings or other fragmentation in an aimed direction.
Closed device
An IED in which the components are hidden from view by the use of an external container.
Cock
To set the action into position for firing. (On some firearms the action has an intermediate position called half cock. On early weapons such as the flintlock and percussion cap, the hammer was called a cock.)
CODIS (Combined DNA Index System)
A database maintained by the FBI as a central repository for DNA profiles. CODIS allows law enforcement agencies and state crime labs to exchange and match DNA profiles electronically. It contains a Forensic Index of profiles from crime scene evidence and an Offender Index composed of profiles of subjects convicted of violent crimes and sex offenses.
Color coding
A system of ammunition identification by color, wherein each item of ammunition is painted with a color or combination of colors in accordance with a code to make for ready identification, particularly when out of its original container. Color codes have changed many times over the years and vary widely, in some cases, from country to country. Selected markings on ordnance may also be color coded to aid in identification.
Comb
The upper edge of a rifle or shotgun stock where the cheek rests.
Combination device
An IED wherein the components are partially hidden from view.
Command fuzing system
A type of switch that is activated by the attacker in which the attacker controls the device at the moment of initiation. They include radio/wireless transmitters or receivers, continuous lengths of electrical wire, or continuous lengths of wire, rope, or string extending from a remote location to the IED that when physically pulled or manipulated cause the fuzing system to initiate.
Command projectile
The use of a small-arms bullet to close the circuit by penetrating two metal plates. This provides a standoff between firing point and contact point.
Command-pull IED
An IED initiated by a person using a “command-pull” action.
Command-wire IED
An IED in which the firing point and contact point are separate but joined together by a length of wire.
Commercial explosives
Explosives available for purchase on the open market for commercial purposes.
Comparison samples
Physical evidence from the crime scene that can be compared with samples from suspects, victims, and known standards.
Composition B explosive
An explosive usually composed of 59.5% RDX, 39.5% TNT, and 1% wax. Usually, an explosive used by the military.
Composition C explosive
An explosive normally consisting of RDX, a plasticizer, and a binder. The original Composition C was used by the British during World War II as a plastic demolition charge. As standardized in the Unites States, it has had modifications resulting in Composition C2, C3, and currently, Composition C4. C4 is used as a filler in some military ordnance and as a demolition charge.
Compression toolmarks
Toolmark impressions that are created when a tool is pressed into a softer material, usually showing the outline of the tool used to create the impression.
Computer crime
A term describing a myriad group of offenses defined by state and federal statutes and including activities such as unauthorized access, software piracy, alteration or theft of electronically stored information, transmission of destructive viruses or commands, and child pornography and predatory activities.
Concentric fractures
A glass fracture pattern consisting of a series of circular cracks that surround the impact site and move away from the site, with each circular fracture increasing as it propagates outward.
Cone
The sloping portion at the front end of a shotgun chamber in which the chamber diameter is decreased to the diameter of the muzzle. Also, the rear portion of the choke at the muzzle of a shotgun.
Confirmatory test
A separate test that is conducted in the laboratory on a sample to confirm the identity of a substance or (in the case of body fluids) an individual.
Conical Bullet
A cone-shaped bullet.
Conical charge
A shaped charge having a cavity in the shape of a cone, which is fashioned to provide an enhanced explosive effect, also known as the Munroe effect.
Contact stains
In bloodstain pattern analysis, stains created when a bloody object comes into direct contact with a surface, for example, bloody fingerprints found on a countertop.
Container
An external covering that can be used for concealment, means of transporting, or for containment of the main charge.
Control or blank sample
Material from a verifiable source that is uncontaminated; a good example is when a segment of unaffected carpet is removed from the scene of a suspected arson that does not appear to have been affected with an accelerant.
Cordite
A double-base smokeless powder made of nitroglycerine and guncotton which is used in the form of long, stringy cords.
Core
The part of a bullet that is covered by a jacket.
Coroner
An elected or appointed official whose duty it is to investigate deaths that occur within jurisdictional limits. Responsibilities of coroners vary depending on the statutory requirements of the individual county or state.
Corpus delicti
The determination of the essential facts that demonstrate that a crime has occurred.
Corrosion
The gradual eating away of the metal parts of a firearm caused by rust.
Corrosive
A chemical timing switch using a corrosive chemical with a known decomposition rate that is designed to destroy a physical restraint on a triggering device to start the initiation train.
Creep
The movement of the trigger before it releases. (Also called drag or crawl.)
Crime scene investigation
An overall investigation conducted at the crime scene to locate and identify evidence left behind, taken away, or altered in some way that will aid in the solution, arrest, and convictions of the persons responsible.
Crime scene investigator
Specially trained personnel assigned to process locations where crimes have been committed. CSIs may be sworn police officers or civilian personnel.
Crime scene photography
A systematic depiction of the pertinent features of the scene as seen through the lens of a camera.
Crime scene reconstruction
The systematic process of piecing together information and evidence in an investigation to gain a better understanding of what occurred between the victim and the offender during the commission of a crime. The crime scene reconstructionist uses physical evidence and information to infer what occurred during the interaction between the offender and the victim.
Crime scene search
A collection of physical evidence that will reconstruct the crime and identify and link the subject or subjects to that crime scene.
Crime scene staging
In cybercrime investigations, when the perpetrator attempts to plant or fabricate digital evidence that will implicate another individual.
Crimp
The portion of a cartridge case that is bent inward to hold the bullet in place, or in the case of shotshell, to hold the shot charge in place.
Cross Hairs
The sighting lines in a telescopic sight.
Cross-contamination
The transfer of material between two or more sources of physical evidence.
Cross-sectional plans
Two-dimensional drawings most easily described as cutaways of the exteriors of elevations; they reveal the interior, floors, and subterranean levels of buildings or structures.
CSI effect
The recent phenomenon that takes place when the real-world expectations of crime victims and jury members, which are based on unrealistic television and film portrayals, pressure prosecutors to deliver more forensic evidence than usual in court or explain why they cannot do so.
Cup
A detachable metal case designed to hold a number of cartridges for loading into the firearm.
Cutting toolmarks
Marks created by tools such as bolt cutters or tin snips and usually found on chains and hasp locks that have been cut through.
Cyberbullying
The use of the Internet to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.
Cybercrime
Technology-assisted crimes that generally involve the use of the Internet.
Cyberstalking
The pursuit and harassment of victims through use of the Internet.
Cybertailing
The actions of tracking a cybercrime perpetrator through various computer networks to identify a suspect.
Daisy chain
A single IED with one firing signal that can initiate multiple connected main charges.
Damascus Barrels
Barrels made of strips of iron and steel welded together in a spiral fashion. (Modern ammunition should not be used in such firearms.)
Date-plant-shift code
A federally mandated requirement for accountability, which requires all commercially manufactured packaged high explosives to have a tracing code on each package manufactured that indicates the date, manufacturing facility, shift, and batch or run of the explosive.
Daubertrulings
Court rulings that established that human friction ridges are unique and permanent. TheDaubertrulings clarified the scientific acceptance of the uniqueness of friction ridges in court proceedings.
Defensive wounds
Wounds that occur as the victim is attempting to ward off an attack; typically on upper or lower extremities and are of lesser severity than those elsewhere.
Deflagration
Energetic materials, usually low explosives, that decompose at a rate below the speed of sound in that product; rapid burning.
Dental stone
A casting medium composed of calcium sulfate (plaster of Paris) with potassium sulfate added for greater hardness. It is generally preferred over plaster of Paris because it is harder and less brittle.
Detection precursor
A material placed into high-energy plastic explosives to aid in its detection prior to detonation.
Deterrent
A material added to an explosive to slow its burning rate.
Deterrents
A category of chemicals that are added to smokeless powder used to control and reduce the burning rate of the powder by coating the exterior of the granules or being absorbed into the powder.
Detlagration-to-detonation transition
A characteristic of primary explosives whereby the explosive is initiated by heat or flame and deflagrates, but then transitions to a detonation.
Detonating cord (Detcord/Primacord)
A flexible cord containing a central core of high explosives used to initiate high explosives along its length.
Detonation
The instantaneous combustion of an energetic material at a rate of faster than the speed of sound in that product.
Detonator
A cylindrically shaped capsule, normally made of aluminum, copper, or gilding metal, containing at least a primary and a secondary high explosive used to initiate high explosives.
DFO
1,8-Diazafluoren-9-one, a chemical that reacts to amino acids and is effective in visualizing latent fingerprints on porous materials.
Diagramming (crime scene)
A visual representation of a scene through the use of drawing or sketching that provides details not possible with written documentation or photographs.
Diazodinitrophenol (DDNP)
A primary high explosive used in initiation systems and detonators to initiate secondary explosives.
Digital evidence
Data stored or transmitted using a computer that is probative in nature and can be used to generate investigative leads
Digital forensics
The extraction and analysis of digital evidence from computers.
Direct current (DC)
Electric current that flows through a circuit in just one direction; battery power.
Direct marking
For establishing a chain of custody and the individual identity of evidence, the method of marking onto the item of evidence.
Directionality
The directionality of a bloodstain or pattern that indicates the direction the blood was traveling when it impacted a surface. The geometric shape of a bloodstain can usually establish the directionality of a flight of a blood drop.
Dispenser bomb
An item designed to be mounted, but not permanently fixed, on aircraft to carry and eject small ordnance or submunitions. Some dispensers remain on the aircraft after dispersing their cargo, while others are released from the aircraft and disperse their cargo during the drop phase.
Domain Name System (DNS)
A hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network, which associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participants.
Double-Base Powder
A rapidly burning powder made by absorbing nitroglycerine into nitrocellulose (guncotton). (Cordite is a double-base powder.)
Doughnut Pattern
A shotgun pattern with a hole in the middle generally caused by the interference of the top wad.
Down Range
The direction from the shooting position to the target on a range. See Range.
Drift
The departure of a bullet or shot charge from the normal line of flight. (This can be caused by wind or the unbalanced spinning of the bullet.)
Drilling
A three-barrel gun with a rifle barrel beneath two shotgun barrels. (Generally of German manufacture.)
Driver’s point of view
The view of the driver of a vehicle through all windows at the time a vehicle was being operated. This is a useful documentation point that may be used to identify or eliminate obstructions or causative factors of a motor vehicle crash.
Driving band
See Rotating band.
Driving band seat
See Band seat.
Dropped ordnance
A broad category of military ordnance that is intentionally dropped or released from an aircraft and can include bombs, dispensers, flares, and submunitions.
drown ordnance
Ordnance commonly known as hand grenades, classified as antipersonnel, antitank, smoke, and miscellaneous.
Dud/dud fired
An explosive munition that has not armed or that has failed to function as intended after arming has taken place.
