Abstract
It is shown that radiation damping is weak enough so that all dislocation segments in superconductors are underdamped at low enough temperatures. Consequently, a dislocation impinging on a barrier in the superconducting state overshoots its static-equilibrium position, exerting an additional force on the obstacle, thereby increasing the plasticity. The inertial model gives a quantitative account of available observations on the size of the effect and its dependence on temperature, magnetic field, deformation, and purity.