This photograph has been zinging around the social media for a few weeks now. The artifact in question is reported to have been found on the WW1 Gallipoli battlefield and is held in a private collection in Turkey. Although the Turkish bullet, which is on the right, collided with the British one, on the left, there are no rifling marks on the British bullet, which means that it was never fired at all. The likely explanation is that the Turkish bullet struck a British cartridge, and the brass was later salvaged for scrap. You can read more by clicking here. Some have termed this collision to be a ‘billion to one’ chance, but there are five other examples of similarly collided bullets in this Turkish collection alone.

James (“Jim”) Patton BS BA MPA is a retired state official from Shawnee, Kansas and a frequent contributor to several WW1 e-publications, including "Roads to the Great War," "St. Mihiel Tripwire," "Over the Top" and "Medicine in the First World War." He has spent many hours walking the WW1 battlefields, and is also an authority on British regiments and a collector of their badges. An Army Engineer during the Vietnam War, he did work for the US World War 1 Centennial Commission and is affiliated with the WW1 Historical Association, the Western Front Association, the Salonika Campaign Society and the Gallipoli Association.