Service pistol
A service pistol is any handgun (revolver, or semi-automatic) issued to military personnel.
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 personnnel 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.
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 semi-automatics. 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 Smith & Wesson Victory revolvers in 1963, after which the Browning Hi-Power became the Army's official service pistol.
Service pistols by nation
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 9mm Parabellum 19??-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service M1870 / M1870-74 / M1882 Gasser Revolver 11.25 X 36R, 11.2 X 29.5mm (Montenegrin) 1870-? Gasser-Kropatschek M1876 Revolver 9 X 26R 1876-? M1878 Gasser Revolver 9 X 26R 1878-? M1898 Rast & Gasser Revolver 8 X 27R (8mm Rast & Gasser) 1898-194? Roth Steyr M1907 Semi-Automatic 8mm Roth Steyr 1907-194? Steyr M1912 Semi-Automatic 9mm Steyr, 9mm Parabellum 1912-1945 Walther P-38 / Walther P1 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1938-19?? Pistol 80 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1980-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" Semi-Automatic 7.63mm Mauser, 9mm Parabellum 1915-1948 Type 51/54 Semi-Automatic 7.62x25 Tokarev 1951-1985 Type 64 Semi-Automatic 7.62x17mm Type 64 1985-? QSZ-92 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1996-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service M/19 "Spanish" Semi-Automatic .32 ACP 1919-1971 Pistol M/23 Semi-Automatic 7.65mm Parabellum 1922-198? Lahti L-35 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1935-198? Browning Hi-Power Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1940-1986 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
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 MAS modele 1950 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1950-1984 Beretta 92G Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1984-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service M1879 Reichsrevolver Revolver 10.6mm 1879-1945 Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1915-1945 Luger P08 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1908-1945 Mauser 1914/1934 Semi-Automatic 7.65mm 1914-1945 Walther PP/PPK Semi-Automatic 7.65mm, 9mm 1929-Present Walther P-38 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1938-1945 Mauser HSc Semi-Automatic 7.65mm 1939-1945 Sauer 38H Semi-Automatic 7.65mm 1939-1945 Walther P1 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1957-1993 HK P8 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1993-Present
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 9mm Parabellum 1951-1982 Beretta M92FS Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1981-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service Meiji Type 26 Revolver 9mm Meiji 1893-1925 Nambu Type 14 Semi-Automatic 8mm Nambu 1925-1945 Nambu Type 94 Semi-Automatic 8mm Nambu 1934-1945 Sig P226 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1985-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service Smith & Wesson No. 3 Revolver .44 Russian 1874-1895 Nagant M1895 Revolver 7.62x38R 1895-1945 Tokarev TT-33 Semi-Automatic 7.62x25 Tokarev 1933-1955 Makarov PM Semi-Automatic 9mm Makarov 1951-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service Revolver m/1887 Revolver 7.5 mm Swedish Nagant 1887-1945 Pistol m/07 Semi-Automatic 9mm Browning long 1916-199? Pistol m/39 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1939-19?? Pistol m/40 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1940-198? Pistol 88 Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1988-Present Pistol 88B Semi-Automatic 9mm Parabellum 1990-Present
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 9mm Parabellum 1940-Present
Firearm Type Calibre Service Colt M1851 Navy Revolver .36 Ball 1851-1873 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 9mm Parabellum 1984-Present
See also
References
- 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