Muzzle flash suppression

The sniper in the field must take all possible care to avoid the compromising of his position to the enemy. Obviously, an advantage in his favor would be the suppression of flash and muzzle noise to eliminate the enemy from picking up the source of fire. The 5.56 mm suppressor is a device designed to deceive persons forward of the firer as to the exact location of the weapon and its operator. 

It accomplishes this by disguising the signature of origin in two ways.First,it reduces muzzle noise to such an extent that it becomes inaudible a short distance from the weapon-making exact sound location extremely difficult,if not im-possible secondly,it suppresses muzzle flash at night making visual location also equally difficult. 

It should be noted that both KNO3 and K2SO4 are useful additives for eliminating the luminous flame generated at a rocket nozzle and also for suppressing the formation of muzzle flash generated at the exit of a gun barrel. The potassium atoms generated in the gun barrel by the decomposition of these potassium salts are believed to act as a flame retardant. 

A flash suppressor, however, can incorporate features that reduce the intensity of the noise. If this type muzzle device can be developed to the point where both flash, and noise can be reduced to acceptable limits, two knotty problems become solved siniultaneousiy. A large amount of effort has been expended on flash suppressors considerably less on noise inhibitors. A measure of success has been achieved in the suppression of noise thru exptn. No general design procedures, either theoretical or empiri-... 

A measure of success has been achieved in the suppression of noise but usually as a by-product of the development of another type of muzzle device, such as a flash suppressor General Requirements. Noise is an inherent characteristic of a gun and is usually associated with three main producers the projectile, the muzzle, and the gun components other than the muzzle. The noises produced by the gun components are mostly mechanical such as the sounds of moving parts, impact, and vibration. The projectile noises are mainly those caused by air turbulence following the projectile and the supersonic shock wave or ballistic crack generated by the projectile nose. Muzzle noises are produced by the air pressure build-up in the tube ahead of the projectile and by the proplnt gases issuing from the muzzle after the projectile passage... 

---