service pistol
A service pistol is any handgun (revolver, or semi-automatic) issued to military personnel, or in some contexts, law enforcement officers.
History
Prior to the introduction of cartridge-loading firearms, there was little standardisation with regards to the handguns carried by military personnel, although it had been important for officers, artillerymen, and the like to have a means of defending themselves, especially as it was not always practical for them to have a full-length rifle or carbine.
Traditionally, soldiers (infantry & cavalry alike) and officers had carried swords for both personal protection and use in combat. The development of firearms in the mid-14th century changed the way battles were fought, and by the late-15th century it was no longer especially practical to close to hand-to-hand combat range to engage one's opponents, owing the prevalence of pikes and musket-fire on the battlefield.
Training was also a factor -- it took a very long time to train new recruits in the use of longbows and swords -- whereas the basic operation of an arquebus could be taught in a comparatively short time. As a result, swords were retained only by officers (who were less likely to be at the front of the pike-and-musket hedge) and by cavalry, for whom early single-shot handguns were of limited use.
The invention of the revolver in 1836 finally made a service pistol practical, as prior to this pistols had largely been single-shot weapons usually of no particular standardized pattern.
Although officers traditionally had been obligated to buy their own weapons, NCOs and other enlisted personnel were generally issued their weapons (which they were then expected to either pay for or return to the Quartermaster if they were promoted). Service pistols, on the other hand, were generally issued to officers, NCOs, and others who needed to carry personal weapons as part of their duties. Hence, it was quite common for officers to carry government-issued service pistols in combat.
Special operations soldiers often carry a handgun as as secondary weapon to serve in a supplementary capacity to their primary weapon (a rifle, carbine, submachine gun, or shotgun); this practice is not as prevalent among conventional soldiers. Conventional infantry whom do not serve in a direct combat role are often issued a pistol (such as officers, artilery crews, and other rear-echoleon personnel), but conventional riflemen are not generally issued a pistol as part of their standard kit.
The first service handguns were revolvers, but the development of semi-automatic pistols (the first practical example being the Mauser C96 "Broomhandle") gradually led to their replacement by semi-automatic handguns, such as the well-known German P08 Luger, the first semi-automatic service pistol to be widely adopted by an industrialised nation. Nowadays, service pistols are almost exclusively self-loading.
The British Army was the last major military service to adopt a semi-automatic service pistol as a standard sidearm, phasing
out their Webley Mk IV, Enfield No 2 Mk I, and
Service pistols by nation
Argentina
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Steyr-Mannlicher M1905 Semi-Automatic 7.65mm Mannlicher 1905-19?? M1916 / M1927 Semi-Automatic .45 ACP 1916-19?? Ballester-Molina Semi-Automatic .45 ACP 1938-19?? Browning Hi-Power Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 19??-Present
Austria
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Firearm Type Calibre Service M1870/M1870-74/M1882 Gasser Revolver 11.25x36R, 11.2x29.5mm (Montenegrin) 1870-? Gasser-Kropatschek M1876 Revolver 9x26R 1876-? M1878 Gasser Revolver 9x26R 1878-? M1898 Rast & Gasser Revolver 8mm Rast & Gasser 1898-1945 Roth Steyr M1907 Semi-Automatic 8mm Roth Steyr 1907-1945 Steyr M1912 Semi-Automatic 9mm Steyr, 9 mm Para 1912-1945 Walther P38 / Walther P1 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1938-1995 Pistol 80 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1980-Present
China
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" Semi-Automatic 7.63 x 25 mm Mauser, 9 mm Para 1915-1949 Browning Hi-Power Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1942-1945 Type 51/54 Semi-Automatic 7.62 x 25 mm TT 1951-1981 Type 77 Semi-Automatic 7.65x17mm Type 64 1981-Present QSZ-92 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1996-Present
Finland
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Pistol M/19 Semi-Automatic .32 ACP 1919-1971 Pistol M/23 Semi-Automatic 7.65mm Parabellum 1922-1980 Lahti L-35 Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1935-1980 Browning Hi-Power Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1940-1980 9.00 PIST 80-91 (FN HP-DA) Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1980-Present 9.00 PIST 2003 (Walther P99) Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 2003-Present
France
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Lebel M1892 Revolver 8mm Lebel 1892-1945 MAB D Semi-Automatic .32 ACP 1923-1984 Modele 1935 Semi-Automatic 7.65x22mm Longue 1935-1950 Modele 1950 Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1950-1988 PAMAS Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1984-Present
Germany
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Firearm Type Calibre Service M1879 Reichsrevolver Revolver 10.6 x 25mm 1879-1918 Luger P08 Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1904-1945 Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1914-1945 Mauser 1914/1934 Semi-Automatic .32 ACP 1914-1945 Walther PP/PPK Semi-Automatic .32 ACP, .380 ACP 1929-Present Walther P38 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1938-1945 Mauser HSc Semi-Automatic .32 ACP 1939-1945 Walther P1 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1957-1993 HK P8 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1993-Present
Italy
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Bodeo M1889 Revolver 10.35 1889-1945 (?) Glisenti M1910 Semi-Automatic 9mm Glisenti 1910-1945 (?) Beretta M1923 Semi-Automatic 9mm Glisenti 1923-1945 (?) Beretta M1934 Semi-Automatic .380 ACP 1934-1951 Beretta M1951 Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1951-1981 Beretta M92FS Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1981-Present
Japan
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Meiji Type 26 Revolver 9mm Meiji 1893-1925 Nambu Type 14 Semi-Automatic 8 mm Nambu 1915-1945 Nambu Type 94 Semi-Automatic 8mm Nambu 1934-1945 Sig P226 Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1985-Present
Norway
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Lefaucheux M1864 Revolver 11mm Lefaucheux 1864-1930 Nagant M1883 Revolver 9mm Nagant 1883-1894 Nagant M1893 Revolver 7.5mm Swedish Nagant 1893-1940 Kongsberg M1914 Pistol .45 ACP 1914-1945 Browning Hi-Power Pistol 9 mm Para 1940-19?? Walther P38 Pistol 9 mm Para 1948-19?? Glock P80 Pistol 9 mm Para 1988-Present
Russia/Soviet Union
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Smith & Wesson No. 3 Revolver .44 Russian 1873-1895 Nagant M1895 Revolver 7.62x38R 1895-1950 Tokarev TT-33 Semi-Automatic 7.62 x 25 mm TT 1933-1951 Makarov PM Semi-Automatic 9 x 18 mm PM 1951-Present Stechkin APS Selective-fire 9 x 18 mm PM 1951-1975 Yarygin PYa Semi-Automatic 9 x 19 mm 7N21 2003-Present
Sweden
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Revolver m/1887 Revolver 7.5 mm Swedish Nagant 1887-1945 Pistol m/07 Semi-Automatic 9mm Long Browning 1916-1988 Pistol m/39 Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1939-19?? Pistol m/40 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1940-1988 Pistol 88 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1988-Present Pistol 88B Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1988-Present
United Kingdom, The British Empire and Commonwealth
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Beaumont-Adams Revolver .450 Adams 1853-1880 Enfield Mk I & Mk II Revolver .476 Enfield 1880-1887 Webley Mk I-VI Revolver .455 Webley 1887-1947 Enfield No 2 Mk I Revolver .38/200 1932-1963 Webley Mk IV Revolver .38/200 1932-1963 Smith & Wesson M&P or Victory Model Revolver .38/200 1940-1963 Browning Hi-Power Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1940-Present Sig Sauer P226 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1995- present
United States of America
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Firearm Type Calibre Service Colt M1851 Navy Revolver .36 Ball 1851-1873 Colt Army Model 1860 Revolver .44 Ball 1860-1873 LeMat Revolver Revolver .44 Ball 1861-1865 (CSA) Colt Single Action Army Revolver .45 Long Colt 1873-1892 Colt M1892 Revolver .38 Long Colt 1892-1911 Colt M1911A1 Semi-Automatic .45 ACP 1911-1984 M1917 Revolver .45 ACP 1917-1975 Smith & Wesson M&P Revolver .38 Special 1935-Present M9 Pistol Semi-Automatic 9 mm Para 1984-Present
See also
References
- ^ Stamps, Mark, and Ian Skennerton, .380 Enfield Revolver No. 2, page 118
- Howdah To High Power (2002) Maze, Robert J, Excalibur Publications, Tucson AZ (USA) ISBN 1-880677-17-2
- Small Arms Identification Series No. 9: .455 Pistol, Revolver No 1 Mk VI (1997) Skennerton, Ian, Arms & Militaria Press, Gold Coast QLD (Australia), ISBN 0-949749-30-3
- .380 Enfield Revolver No 2 (1993) Stamps, Mark and Skennerton, Ian, Greenhill Books, London (UK) ISBN 1-85367-139-8
- 1942 Basic Manual of Military Small Arms (Facsimile Edition), Smith, W.H.B, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg PA (USA), ISBN 0-8117-1699-6
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