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expJanafion for the retenffom of f&c sideamre im fft e armades ef, desrgn was man uf,aef ured rn fanada
tke 20tkeentaty? f,or ffte"{Jjresl

The pistol, be it a revolver or an automatic, has long had an attraction for
the soldier, Quite apart from the rntrinsic attractron of the weapon, it is
one that is very often a highly personal possession and one in r,rrhich he
usualiy takes great pride, for alter even a very short tirne in service the
soldier learns to appreciate its value to hrs well-being and chances of
survrval especially when he is carrying out an cperational role where no
other weapon is avarlable.
Tiiis attraction is difficult fcrr the laymari to apprecrate, for even iin-rited
flring of any service pistol will reveal iirat it rs rnaccurate clifhcult to use
effecti.reiy and possesses cnly a very limited range, It is somewhat tricky
io reconcile these two completely accurate conclusions, but the plain
lact rs that the pistol was used on a scaie during Worid V/ar 11 that
overshadoweC its empioyment Ln any prevrous conflict. On all fronts
demancls for prstols, more pistols and sirll more pistois were made
thrcughou.t the conflict, and as a result the r:ange of models ancl types was
rmrnense, those mentioned here beinq only a general indication of some
of the more important types
Despite the many advances in pistoi desrgn and derrelol.rr-,,-
this century, 1i should be rioted that the revohzer vrras strlj in -s - , =
1939 and 1945; and tiris remains true to this d.ay, for ihe a.u.ir..-.. ,
has not been able fu.lly to oust the slrorg and reliable rel,c .:. :
autom,atic pistoi was in wiCesprea.d u.se all the same, ern I . .
number ol operatlng systems and an eo;r-raiJy c]irierse lan. r: - -
despite lhe lact that the 9-mm Parabellu.m cartridqle hac-l erre. -'= .
clear ali round leader And qL.iiie apar-t frorn other lactors .-i: -
the pistol rs ren arding for its revela.tion of lhe great degree : .,.
that designers ha.,,e been able to bring to pistol ciesign, iii'::-:'
brought vrrrth it innovations and oddities, but irvhat may be r3-..1
antiques weie siill 1n the field, Some of these will be jo,,tnci, h,=, =
reader is asked io rrse these entries only as a gieneral gr-ui,:-
7&eprsfe/.i.r'tffsciessicroJeasflteureaponcarr.fed,byaJreader-'r.ilJi-rlr,,i
offi eer in
c e rn nt a n d o { a n i nf a n t ry u n i t tl w.rlnE o.ilc o.f fule /'{i:arn c,,: i-,;t i ir.
1942. The pistoi rs en Enfieidix/o " 2 Mk I , f&e 'slanda;'ci'r!i.ri:r':sir a-;:'..i
Aamrnarrwealtli s€rr.rra"'eJ,)isfoIrsf WarldWar J/" wif,fr salbry lerj;:::':.
>K Hnfield No. 2 Mk I and Webley Mk 4
During World War I the standard Brit-
ish service revolver was one variant or
other of the Webley 0,455-in (11,56-
mm) pistol, These were very effective
pistols, but their weight and bulk made
them very difflcult to handle correctly
wtthout a great deal of training and
constant practice, two commodities
that were in short supply at the time,
After 1919 the British armv decided
that a smaller pistol firing a heavy 0,38-
in (9.65-mm) bullet would be just as
effective as the larger-calibre weapon
but would be easier to handle and
would require less training, So Web-
ley and Scott, which up to that time had
been pistol manufacturers of a virtually
official status for the British armed
forces, took its 0,455-in (11,56-mm) re-
volver, scaled it down and offered the
'result to the military,
To the chagrin of Webley and Scott,
the military simply took the design,
made a few minor alterations and then
placed the result rn production as an
'official' government design to be pro-
duced at the Royal Small Arms Factory
at Enfleld Lock in Middlesex, This pro-
cedure took trme, for Webley and
Scott offered its design in 1923 and
Enfield Lock took over the design in Mk l** which embodiedwartrme pro- Above : The Enfield No. 2 Mk I * Below: An airborne soldier stands
1926. Webley and Scott was somewhat duction expedients) were the official revolver was the most widely used of gruard on a house in Holland during
nonplussed at the course ofevents but standard pistols, the Webley Mk 4 was all the British and Commonweaith Operation 'Market Garden'. The
proceeded to make its 0,38-in (9,65- just as widely r-sed among British and armed forces. Firing a 0.38-in (9.65- pistol is an Enfield No. 2 Mk l* with
mm) revolver, known as the Webley Commonwealth armed forces, Both re- mm) ball cartridge, itwas anefficient the hammer removed to prevent
Mk 4, all over the world with limrted mained in service until the 1960s and combat pistql but lacked any finesse snagg:ing on clothing or within the
SUCCESS, both are still to be encountered as ser- or frills;yet itwas able towithstand close confines ofvehicles or aircraft.
The Enfield Lock product became vice prstols in various parts of the the many knocks of service life. Theywere issued to airborne
the Pistol, Revolver, No. 2 Mk I and world, soJdr'ers sucfi a s glider pilots.
was duly issued for sewice, Once in
service it proved sound and effective Specification
enough, but mechantcal progress RevolverNo.2Mk I*
meant that large numbers of these pis- Cartridge:0,380 SAA ball (9,65 mm)
tols were issued to tank crews and Length overall: 260 mm ( 10,25 in)
other mechanrzed personnel, who Lengthof barrel: 127 mm (5 in)
made the unfortunate discovery that Weisht:0,767(1 7lb)
the long hammer spur had a tendency Mr'zle velocity: 183 m (600 ft) per
to catch onto the many internal flttings second
of tanks and other vehicles with what Chamber capacity: 6 rounds
could be nasty results, Thts led to a
redesrgn in which the Enfield pistol Specification
had the hammer spur removed WebleyMk4
altogrether and the trigger mechanism Cartridge:0,380 SAA ball (9.65 mm)
lightened to enable the weapon to be Lengrth overall: 267 mm ( 10,5 in)
fired double-action only, This revolver Length of barrel: 127 mm (5 in)
became the No. 2 Mk l*, and existing Weight: 0,767 ( 1,7lb)
Mk ls were modified to the new stan- Mwzle velocity: 183 m (600 ft) per
dard. The double action made the pis- second
toi very difficult to use accurately at all Chamber capacity: 6 rounds
excepi mrnimal range, but that did not
seem to matter too much at the time,
Webiey and Scott re-entered the
scene during World War II, when sup-
phes of the Enfield pistols were too
slow to meet the ever-expanding de-
mand, Thus the Webley Mk 4 was
crdered to eke out supplies, and Web-
ley and Scott went on to supply
thousands of its design to the British
army after all, Unfortunately, although
-]le two pistols were virtuaily identical
:r appearance there were enough
ninor differences between them to
prevent interchangeability of pafis.
Both pistols saw extenslve use be-
rseen 1939 and 1945, and although the
Er.ield revolvers (there was a No. 2

The Wehley Mk 4 revolver was used

as lfiebasisfor theEnfieldNo.2Mk I
but was passed over in favour of the
government-sponsored
development. In time the call for
more revolvers was so grcat that the
Mk 4 was placed in production for
the British armed forces and used
alongside the Enfield pistols.

aa2
L ilt"r"u rr-sg
The first Tokarev automatic pistol to
see extensive service was the TT-30,
but not many ofthese prstols had been
produced before a modified design
knoum as the TT-33 was introduced in
1933, This pistol was then adopted as
the standard prstol of the Red Army to
replace the Nagant revolvers that had
served so well for many years, In the
event the TT-33 never did replace the
Nagant entirely until well after 1945,
mainly because the revolver proved
so reliable and sturdy under the rougrh
active sewice conditions of the various
fronts,
The TT-33 was basically a Soviet
version of the Colt-Browning pistols,
and used the swingrngJink system of
operation employed on the American
Ml9ll, However, the ever practical
Soviet desigmers made several slight
alterations that made the mechanism
easier to produce and easier to main-
tain under field conditions, and pro-
duction even went to the'length of
machining the vulnerable magazine
feed lips into the main receiver to pre-
vent damage and subsequent mis-
feeds, The result was a practical and
sturdy weapon that was well able to
absorb a surprising amount of hard
use.
By 1945 the TT-33 had virtually re-
placed the Nagant revolver in sewice
and as Soviet influence spread over
Europ€ and elsewhere so did TT-33
production, Thus the TT-33 may be
found rn a variety of basically srmilar
forms, one of which is the Chinese Above : The Soviet Tokarev TT-33 in Right : A R ed Army m ilitary
Type 5I, The Poles also produced the action in awell-posed propaganda policeman, for whom the Tokarev
TT-33 for their own use and for export photogr aph d ating from about I I 4 4. TT-33 would have been the primary
to East Germany and to Czechoslova- The officer is leading a section of we apon. M ilitary policem en of all
kia, The Yugoslavs still have the TT-33 assault infantry and has his pistol on nations still carry thepistol as the
in production and are still actively the end of the usual lanyard. Snipers nature of their duties often precludes
marketing the design as the M65. on all sides came to recogmize these the use of any type oflargerweapon,
North Korea has rts own variant in the 'pistolwavers' as prime targets. and they have no actual combat role.
form of the M68, The most drastic pro-
ducer of the TT-33 is Hungary, which The TT-33 is now no longrer used by Specification
rejigged the design rn several re- the Soviet armed forces, who use the TT-33
spects and recalibred it for the 9-mm Markarov automatrc pistol, but the TT- Cartridge: 7,62mm
Parabellum cartddge. The result was 33 will be around for a long while yet. Type P (M30)
known as the Tikagrypt and was ex- Despite the introduction of the Makar- Lengthoverall: 196mm
ported to Egypt, where it is still used ov many second-line and milrtia units (7,68 in)
by the local police forces, within the Warsaw Pact are still issued Lengnhofbarrel: I 16 mm
wlth the TT-33 and as the type's overall (4,57 in)
The Tokarev TT-33 was a sturdy and standard of desrgn and construction Weisht: 0,830 ks ( LB3 lb)
hard-wearing pistol that was used was sound there seems to be no reason Muzzle velocity: 420 m ( 1,380 ft) per
throughout World War I I, but it never why they should be replaced for many second
entirely replaced the Nagant. years, Magazine: B-round box
Occupafion!
Dwnkirkdidnot mean theend of the
battle in Europe. Another secretwarwas
ta commence, a brutal, unforgiving war
fought largely by night. On the one side,
resistance movements and AIIied
espionage a nd sabotage missions;on
the ather, German counter-tgrror
waged by the secret arms of ihe
Wehrmacht, police and, above all,
the SS"

Throughout occupied Europe liom .[940 to 1945

ihere was waged a small war whrch was little
known at the time but which was nevertheless
pursued with ruthless ferocity by both sides
whenever ihe opportunity arose. ihis war was
the one fought between the various Resistance
nlovements and the German security agencies
that are stiil often but mistakenly known collec-
tively as the Gestapo. It was a war in which
there was no quarter given or asked, and it was
loughr iry small groups on a barrlefield that
stretched through the fields, streets and homes
oi all Europe,
One 'side' is now relatively easy to recog-
nize, for it is represented by the resrstance
agent who could be erther a special organizer
sent into occupied Europe to make trouble of
all kinds for the Germans or a local person
letermined to drive the occuprer ou- of the
country by drastic means, On the German side
the personnei were more complex in organiza-
tton and form and although rhe term Gestapo is
.lften used to designate the personnel who
rrrayed ihemselves against the various resisr-
ance groups, there were in fact several Ger-
:-an agencies involved
Thrs array ol groupings agarnsi e commcn
ice was typical of the German internal political
and social structure between 1933 and 1945 At
ali levels and iorms oi organization throughout
:he Thrrd Reich there wdre at least tu,o 6rga-
nizaiions carryinq out the same functron in com-
petition with each other, one being an organ of
-he s'"ate and the other of the Nazi party. There
'.' :re many examples
of this divergen' orga-
lzaiion throughout German Lle, but in the
niiitary counter-insurgency or rnternal f,eld
:here were basically tv,ro groups carrying out
.l:e same role: these were the German army
a:d the quite separate Nazi pariy, the NSDAP,
-cth operated against the resistance without
,:ier-aqtency reference at any level, and fre-
rr*n:ly each operaled in direcr oppcsirron ro
:-= c .her with continual bickerings and internal
squabbles that could only aid therr common
i.rarry, the resisiance,
Cn the German armv side there was the
-:-b-,rehr, established as a counter-espronage
- r;anization but equally effective aqainst inter-
:.-=. insurgency, The Abwehr had two basrc
:ranches; the Feldgendarmerie who were
=:litary
policemen cSmplete wlth futl unrform,
.:and.ard issue side arms and distinctive brass
r. r'J:tleswornwrtha greatdealof pride; and a
:-irr.ciothes branch known as the Geheime
,-: )poliZ€I (UlP or secrel held pohcc) who
'.',':re lrequently mrstaken for their political
::,unterparts operating under party control.
The party structure concerned wrth rnternal
s:curity was complicated to a high degree,
''.-.:h :reaL scope for overlapprng responsibili-
:-es Controlled from on hiEh by Heinrich Him-
:.,er was the SS which controlled the
Above: A sectian of Maquis moving into action Below: A Walther PPK-armed Gestapo member.
during theNormandy fighting of July )944. The Originally the secret arm of flre Pr usltan staie
gendarme is carrying aPistole P 08 (Luger),while police, the Gestapo (Geheime Staatspolizei) came
l
by his side the civilian carries an American M 19 I under the contral of H immler and lfre ^$,S before
orMl9I lAl.The restof the section carries a the war, and became responsible for counter-
selectionof FrenchorGerman ri{Ies and t}e usuaj espionage and coun ter-resisfa nce wor k,
Slenguns.
Ordnungspolizei (Orpo) withrn Germany itself
and the Srcherheitspolizel (Sipo) that operated
wherever the Germans were situated outside
Germany itseil The Sipo had two basic bran-
ches, the Kriminalpolizei who were supposed
to act as a normal civil and criminal police force
but who frequently became rnvolved in coun-
ter-resistance operations, and the infamous
Geheime Staatspolizer (Gestapo) who had the
prime responsibility of arresting enemy agents
but whose writ was extended to cover resist-
ance workers, However, the role of the Gesta-
po overlapped with that of yet another orga-
nization, equally infamous, known as the
Sicherheitdienst or SD, who acted as the party
internal security service
To the resistince fighter the various quar-
reliing factrons arrayed againsl him were but
one common enemy All of them were devoted
towards neutralizinI him (or her) and his activi-
tres, and if any reslstance worker fell lnto their
hands the result was almost certain death,
either rapid in front of a firing squad (uncom-
mon) or long and lingering at the hands of the
torture squads (all too common) who woulci
attempt to obtain as much informatron as possr-
ble before the prisoner perished, or a journey
to one of the many death or iabour camps
throughout the Rerch where death was equal)y
certain, Thus whenever the resistance fighter
and any of the many counter-reslstance groups
came face to face there was almost always
rnstant combat,
Not all resistance workers were abie to carry
arms all the time so if they were caughi in any
police sweep wlthout a weapon they had no
optlon but to evade detection by the usuai
means (i,e, evasion and trustrng to luck). But lf
they were armed a shoot-out was the result,
A-lthough the various police groups often acted
in concert wrth army units during some of their
larqer operations, many SD, Gestapo and GFP
operations were carried out by small groups or
squads who were assembied to 'take out'indr-
viduals or suspects. In thls task they were fre-
querrtly assisted by coliaborators who were to
be found in all countries and communities, but
who rrr some cases were present in such num-
bers that they organized themselves into their
own counter-resistance squads, Typical of
these was the French Milice who often acted
on their own account and were constantly ac-
tive in detecting and countering resist-ance
actrvities,
The weapons involved in this ciandestine
war, which was often condueted away lrom
pubhc elaze, were small arms (frequently pls-
tols). There was no need for anything larger,
although both sldes sometimes used sub-
machine guns and supporting army units had
therr rifles and machine-guns. Resrslance
fighters who had to stand and fight instead of
going to ground as their trainlng dictated often
used Sten Guns, but niore often re]led on pis-
tols such as the usual Brrtrsh Enfield and Web-
ley revolvers or American M19ll automatics.
Against these the various German pollce fac-
tions relied on a far more assorted array of
prstols.
Typlcal of the German police pistols were,
inevitably, the Walther PP and PPK. Designed
and intended lor police duties, these excellent
prstols were ldeal for the plain-clothes work
carried out by the Gestapo and thelr counter-
parts, and couid easily be concealed under
normal civilian clothing. However, as always in
ihe German supply network, demand outstrip-
ped supply so all manner of pistols were di-
verted into the polce forces. be they German
commerciai models, captured French, Czech
or italian pistols and many others, Most used
cairbres such as 9-mm short, 7 65-mm or even
the little 6,35-mm, but concealment was always
more imporiant than accessibility.
One aspect of the police-versus-lesistance
war was the use of assasstnation to eliminate Above: On occasion. resistance to the G e::: 2,-.
particularly eff,cient or troublesome police op- occupation flared into open war[are. A s:r.': . :: ::
eratives. For thrs purpose the Bntrsh Special the 1943 Jewish uprising inWatsaw surre:i::: ::
theSS after justsuch an occasion. Many ci::.e
Operations Executive (SOE) and the American participants were to die horribly in the
Offrce of Srratesic Services (OSS) deveioped extermination camps as theGermans raze: :.:.:
assassinatron pr-tols specrflcally to aliow resist- ghetto in reprisal.
ance workers to approach thetr target, frre
without attracting atteniion and wtthdraw as
quietly as possible. The simplest OSS weapon
was the Liberator, a crude and simple device
intended for mass use but which was apparent-
ly little used in Europe (most were used in the
Far East and Chlna). For use by specialized
agents the OSS supplied a version of the 'Hiqh
Standard' 5,56-mm (0.22-tn) automatic prstol
fitted wlth a long silencer, The combination ol
silencer and low-powered cartridgte produced
virtually no noise on firing. The SOE-
developed pistol was totally silent, This was the
linle-known Welrod pistol a single-shot pur'
pose-designed weapon that flred a 7,65-mm
carlridge When fired the cartridge exhaust
.:
gases were absorbed by baffles ail along the
: 4Pt:,..,:':za -; ''
barrel Once fired the prstol could be reloaded :.:-.
using a bolt devrce, and seven rounds were
carried in the butt, Length of the pistol was
about 22 9 cm (9 rn). The Welrod was fearfully
efhcrent rn actron, and the few that ieli into
German hands were examined in great detail.
The Germans noted that the prstols carrted no
markings and were very well made, but the
Germans apparently made no moves to pro-
duce Lherr own equivalents.
Thus the ciandestine war was fought out
throughout Europe by determined police
forces and equally determined resistance
workers, It was a nasty little war that in the long
run made little impact on the iarger course of
events, but to the losers in that war the results
were just as final, for their reward was death.
An Obersturmffihrer of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst)
with his Walther P 38 at the ready. The SD,
nominally an internal party security service, was
responsible for much of the repression suffered in
occupiedEurope and, under the notorious
ReinhardHeydrich, became feared by theGerman
peopleaswell.
EI i#or" P 08 (Luger)
l:-e p:stol that is now generally, but
:-sieadmgly, known as the Luger had
:= iesrgm origins in a pistol desrgn first
;::duced in 1893 by one Hugo Bor-
r:-eidt. A Georgte Luger further de-
;=i:ped this design and produced the
-:;eapon that bears his name to this day,
--e ffst Lugers were manufactured in
- 35-mm (0,301-in) calibre and were
-iopted by the Swrss army in 1900,
-:ereafter the basic desrgn was
adcpted by many nations and the type
-. slll to be encountered, for by now
.',-eli over two million have been pro-
::ced by various manu-facturers and at
,=::t 35 main variants are known to
::L-si. toQtether with a host of sub-
-,'aliants.
The Pistole P 08 was one of the main
-,-:riants. It was taken into German
::::y service in 1908 (hence the 0B)
=i remained the standard German
s::-"rce pistol until the Walther P 38
-,t:s rntroduced in 1938, The matn
:.=Jre encountered on the P 0B was
:::m. and the 9-mm (0.354-in) Para-
::Llum cartridge was developed for
:-s pistol. However, 7,65-mm (0,301- Above:The Pistole P 08, commonly
:-' ;ersions were made as well. The P I<nown as the Luger, was one of the
13 -s and probably always will be one clas sic pistol designs of all time. I t
:: :le 'classic' pistols, for it has an still has a definite aesthetic appeal in
1lpearance and aura all of its own. It the slope of the butt and the general
:-a:ldles well, is easy to 'point' and is appearance, and is a pleasant pistol
':.--:a-lly very well made. It has to be itwas expensive to
to fire. However,
-r;eil made for it relies on a rather com- produce andwas desfined tobe
;.-cated actron using an upwards- replaced.
:-:.gerng toggle locking devrce that
-,',i not operate correctly if the associ- Right:TheP 08 in sewicewith a
a::d machined grooves are out of section of hou s e- cle aring inf an try
::-erance. in fact it is argmable that this during the early stages ofthe
a::cn is undesirable in a senece pistol advance into Russia during I 94 I . The
::: as lt operates it allows the rngress of soldier with the pistol is armed with
:'-s: arid debris to cloq the mechan- Stielgranate 35 grenades and is
-.::, Ln practice this was often not the festooned with ammunition belts for
:.-e for the pistol proved to be re- the section MG 34 machine-gun.
::--kably robust, it was only replaced
:-.::rrce and production for the sim- The type continues to attract the eye
:-: 3ct that rt was too demanding rn and attention ofall pistol buffs through-
;::d::ction resources, took too long to out the world, and the P 0B was and still
;::duce and required too many is a classic.
::-:::ed spare parts. It was late 1942
::::re the last 'German' examples Specification
::::= off the production lines and it Pistole P 08
T:: rever replaced by the P 38 in Cafiridge: I mm Parabellum
le:::an service. Since 1945 it has Lengrth overall: 222 mm (8.75 in)
:-=ppeared commercrally from time to Length of barrel: 103 mm (4.055 in)
-,::-= rqd will not doubt continue to be Weight: 0 877 ks ( 1.92 lb)
:---::actured for years to come, Muzzlevelocity:381 m (1,250 ft) per
l::e standard P 0B had a barrel second
- -: :::m (4,055 in) lonq, and earlier Magazine:B-round box
;::-:::s such as the P 17 Artillerie
::::=l with a 203 mm (B in) or longer Below:AStug 1l I withashortTS-mm
:.=::=- ard a snail-shaped magazine (2.95-in) gun supports advancing
:.:'-=-:-g 32 rounds were no longer ser- infantry duringan attackon the
',,:= -reapons betlveen 1939 and 1945. Voronez front during January l 943.
-r.'ere among the most prized of Although the pistol being carried by
-,;:ls
. . -,',::iC War i and II trophies, and the soldier on the ilght is blurred, it
:---_.- s:li sumve as collector's pieces. appears to be a P 08.

:::
Whatuse is cl pistol in combat?
The pistol has been a factor in warfare almost from the
invention of the firearm. In the early days, its use was confined
to offi cers and cavalrymen, and with longer ranges between
opponents becoming the norm it seemed that the inherent
short range of the weapon meant that the use of the pistol in
battlewas coming to an end. Paradoxically, however, more
and more soldierswere turning to the pistol as apersonal
weapon. Clearly it is of some use after aIL
An easy answer to the often-posed question 'What use is a pistol in combat?' ls
'not much.'The pistol, be it a revolver or automatic, has only a very limited range
and at best (and in the hands of a tralned marksman) it has very little other than
nuisance value beyond a range of 40-50 m (45-55 yards). lt is also a weapon that
is very prone to be pointed in the wrong direction - it is relatively easy to keep a
long weapon such as a rifle pointed towards an enemy, but all too easy to point a
pistol at a f riend in the heat of the moment. For such a snrall weapon, the pistol is
quite demanding of industrial potential and skills, and even a simple example is
not cheap when compared with, say, a much more lethalweapon such as a hand
grenade. Another factor in combat is that the average projectile fired from a
pistol has only a limited lethality and, although it may have a tenific impact at
short ranges. it is not as lethal as a high-velocity projectile.
For all that, the handgun is still a much favoured combat weapon and even
today soldiers venture into battle wearing pistols about their persons. There are
two main reasons for this, and they can be oversimplified by being labelled
'convenience' and'morale'.
The convenience factor is brought about by the simple fact that for many
personnel on active service there is no alternative. There are numerous combat
roles carried out by all manner of soldiers, airmen and sailors where it is quite
simply impractical to carry any form of weapon larger than a pistol. Categories
that come to mind without difficulty include tank crews, aircrew, frogmen and
men carrying heavy equipment such as radio sets. They have no hands free to
carry a weapon and very little space about the person or place of operations to
stow anything larger than a pistol. On larger vehicles such as tanks or trucks it is
possible to carry a sub-machine gun or carbine but on smaller vehicles this is not
possible. Even so, at some stage or other of combat operations it may be
necessary to leave the sheltering confines of the vehicle, and some sort of
weapon is still required for self-def ence or survival. The latter factor is particular-
ly lmportant for aircrew who may be forced down behind enemy lines. Under
such circumstances there is no alternative to the pistol.
The morale factor may be subdivided into two aspects. One is that wearing or
flourishing a pistol gives an air of authority. The other aspect relates to n cra €
alone: the carrying of a weapon such as a pistol impaits a measure o' se '-
confidence to the carrier. The air of authority aspect is easily understood. 'or-
anyone_ such as a military or other policeman pointing or holding a pisto. s
immediately regarded by most persons as someone in authority who should be
obeyed. Thus a pistol becomes an important symbol when dealing wlth ar
unarmed or demoralized enemy, such as prisoners of war. The self-confidence
factor is less'easily explained but is one that is understood by anyone who s
operating or travelling in an unknown or hostile environment. This fact was w,e
understood by the German forces who had to live and work in the occupiecl
territories during World War ll; every servicemen had to be armed for virtual.r,
his entire waking existence. Pistols were an easy way to interpret armed status.
and consequently the servicemen had the secure knowledge that some form of
weapon was always to hand should it become necessary, Thls self-confidence
tactor may perhaps be overstated but it is a factor that is well known to anyone
who has ever had to operate in an unknown territory or situation, and in modern
war combat is very often not confined to an easily defined front line. Soldiers in
rear areas are just as likely to come under attack from partisans or SAS-type
units as their front-line counterparts are to come under attack from a known
enemy.
There is one further reason why the pistol is still carried in combat, and that is
perhaps an offshoot of the two factors already described. This is the carrying of
pistols as a symbol of status, and perhaps this is the reason why so many siarf
officers far from the battle area strap pistols to themselves. Even so, many
pistols carried by officers of staff rank are small-calibre weapons of very limited
combat value and a far cry from the relatively large-calibre plstols carried by
combat personnel,
There is one factor that has f urther limited the use of the pistol in combat, ancj
that is that the factors listed above are as recognizable to an enemy as they are
to the user. This was particularly true during World War l, when marksmen in the
front-line trenches learned that attacking soldiers carrying pistols were more
llkely to be officers or senlor NCOs and thus unit leaders. Picking them off first
tended to reduce the combat efficiency of the unlt concerned; it was not long
before even the most hiddbound officers learned to carry rifles that rendered
them indistinguishable f rom their men. Their trouble was that once in the trencn
s,ystem the rifle was too cumbersome for the dangerous task of trench clearing.
Close-quarter combat tasks such as trench clearing are to this day one aspect oi
combat where the pistol still has an important role to play. House clearing in
urban warfare is a very similar situation. Here the short and handy barrel of a
ptstol can be rapidly turned in any direction and the small heavy bullets need little
aiming at short ranges. lf they strike a target at short range they are usually
enough to disable, if not kill, lt is true that a sub-machine gun would be better
under such circumstances, but a sub-machine gun is not always available when
needed, and if a soldier carries a pistol he has at least a weapon.
There is little room inside the
confines of a tank for the crew to
carry any personalweapon larger
than a pistol, sowhen the time came
to dismount following the disabling
of avehicleitwas apistol or nothing.
Here a Panzer Leutnantfires his P 38
against enemy tank-killing infantry
squadsasftebails out.
 GEBMANY

Walther PP and PPK

The Walther PP was first produced in
1929 and was marketed as a police
weapon (PP standing for Polizei Pis-
tole), and durinq the 1930s it was
adopted by unformed police forces
throughout Europe and elsewhere, It
was a light and handy design with few
frills and a clean outlne but was in-
tended for holster carriage, P1ain
clothes police were catered for by
another model, the Walter PPK (K
standinq for kurz, or short). This was
basically the PP reduced in overall
size to enable it to be carried conve-
niently in a pocket or under a jacket.
Although intended as cinlian police
weapons, both the PP and the PPK
were adopted as military pohce
weapons and after i939 both were
kept in production for service use.
Each model was widely used by the
I:uftwaffe, and was often carried by the
many German police orgamzatrons,
Both were also widely used by staff actually in the chamber to provide a XL47El, The weapon rs used for TheWalther PP pistolwas, andstill
officers as personal weapons, Both positive 'loaded' indicatron when undercover operations where crvilian is, one of the best small pistol
types could also be encountered rn a necessary, This feature was omitted clothing has to be worn and it is often desrgrns everp roduced. In German
range of calibres, the two main from wartime production, in which the issued to soldrers of the Ulster Defence sewice it was used by various police
calibres berng 9 mm short and general standard of finish was lower Regiment for personal protection organizations and by Luftwaffe
7.65 mm, but versions were produced Productlon resumed soon after 1945 tn when off duty. aircrew.
in 5,56 mm (0,22 LR) and 6,35 mm, All such countrres as France and Ttrkey
these variants operated on a straight- Hungary also adopted the type for a
forward blowback principle, and more while but production is now once more Specification Specification
than adequate safety arangements by the Walther concern at Ulm, Pro- WaltherPP WaltherPPK
were incorporated. One of these safe- duction is still mainly for police duties Cartridge: 9 mm short (0,38 ACP), Cartridge: 9 mm short (0.38 ACP),
ties was later widely copied, and in- but purely commercial sales are com- 7,65 mm(0,32 ACP),6,35 mm 7.65 mm (0.32 ACP), 6.35 mm
volved placinq a block in the way of mon to pistol shooters who appreciate (0.25 ACP), 0,22 LR (0,25 ACP),0,22 r,R
the firrng prn when it moved forward, the many fine points of the basic de- Lengrth overall: 173 mm (6.8 in) Lengthoverall: 155 mm (6, I in)
this block only being removed when srgn, Lengthof barrel:99 mm (3,9 in) Lengrth of barrel: 86 mm (3, 39 in)
the trigger was given a definite pull, One small item of interest reqarding Weight:0,682 ks (1.5 lb) Weight:0.568 kq (1,25 lb)
Another innovation was the provision the PP centres on the fact that rt is now Muzzle velocity: 290 m (950 ft) per Muzzle velocity: 280 m (920 ft) per
of a signal pin above the hammer a little-known and rarely seen pistol second second
which protruded when a round was used by the British armed forces as the Magazine: B-round box Magazine: 7-round box

GERMANY

Walther P 38
The Walther P 38 was developed pri-
marily to replace the P 08, which was
an excellent weapon but expensive to
produce, After the National Socialists
came to power in Germany in 1933
they decided upon a deliberate pro-
qramme of military expansion into
which the old P OB could not fit. What
was wanted was a pistol that could be
quickly and easily produced but one
that embodied all the many and va-
rious desrgn features such as a hand-
cocked trigger and improved safeties
that were then becoming more com-
mon, Walther eventually received the
contract for this new pistol in 1938, but
only after a long programme of de-
velopment,
Walther Waffenfabrik produced its
first original automatrc pistol design
back in 1908 and there followed a
strrng of designs that culminated in the
PP of 1929, The PP had many novel
features but it was intended to be a
pohce weapon and not a service pistol,
Walther consequently developed a
new weapon known as the Armee'Pis- mand for the P 38 and the bulk of the with the 'chamber loaded' indrcator Even today one of the best seruice
tole (or AP) which drd not have the HP production also went to the Ger- pin, It was a well-liked pistol and be- pistols available, theWalther P 38
protruding hammer of the PP but was man armed forces, came a war trophy only slightly less was developed to replace the P 08
.calibred for the 9-mm (0,354-in) Para- The P 38 was (and still is) an excel- prized than the Luger P 08. Luger but by 1945 had only
bellum cartridge. From this came the lent service pistol which was robust, In 1957 the P 38 was put back into supp/emen lgd it. I t had many
Heeres Pistole (or HP) which had the accurate and hard wearing. Walther production for the Bundeswehr, this advanced features including a
overall appearance of the pistol rhat production versions, whrch were later time as the Pistole I (or PI) with a dural double - action trigger mechani sm.
would become the P 38. But the Ger- supplemented by P 3Bs produced by slide in place of the original steel com-
man Army requested some small Mauser and Spreewerke, were always ponent. It rs still in production and has
changes to facilitate rapid production, very well flnished wrth shrny black been adopted by many nations, tengnh overall: 2 19 mm (8,58 in)
Walther obliged and the P 38 was plastic grips and an overall matt black Lengrth of barrel 124 mm (4,88 in)
taken into German sewice use, the HP plating, The weapon could be stripped Weight: 0,960 kg (2.12lb)
being kept in production in its oriqinal easily and was well equipped with Specification Muzzlevelocity:350 m (1,150 ft) per
form for commercial sales, in the event safety devices, including the hammer WalterPSE second
Walther was never able to meet de- safety carried over from the PP along Cartridge: I mm Parabellum Magazine: B-round box

668
The Walther P 38 in Action
tion, (Walther had plans to market the HP com-
Arising out of a Wehrmacht requirement mercrally and in fact managed to sell a batch of
for a modern replacement for the 2,000 to Sweden in 1939. These pistols were for
Parabellum system P 08 (thewell-known Iong used by the Swedrsh army as the P/39 ) But
Luger), theWaltherP 38 first sawservice this short{erm measure was somewhat over-
in 1 938. In modified form, the pistol is taken by events, Instead of rounding off, the
still in production for West German demands firr more pistols and yet more pistols
increased, The HP production line continued to
service nearly 50 years later.
operate alonqside the P 38 line until well rnto
1944 By then new production lines had been
When the first Walther P 38s were issued to set up by Mauser at Obendorf and the
therr recipients durrng late 1938 it was some- Spreewerke at Grottau, Even this was not
thiner of a change from the elderly but well- enough, and component production lines were
llked P 08 Although one of the main reasons the set up in the sequestered weapon factory at
P 38 had been accepted for service was the Brno in Czechosiovakia and the Fabrique
fact that it had been designed for ease ofpro- Nationale plant at Lldge in Belgium,
duction, rt was still fuil of good modern features
that rmmediately attracted the attention of the Productionrises
troops who were trained to fire the pistol, One As the productron quantities expanded the
ol the main attractions was the combination of general standard of manufacture declined
an external hammer and the various safety when production short-cuts were introduced to
mechanisms. The use of the external hammer speed up output, Items such as the loaded
meant that the weapon could be loaded, the chamber lndicator were left ofi and markings
safety applied and the hammer could then be were limited to the coded manufacturer's
lowered onto a block that prevented the firlng markings only (480 and ac were used for
pin striking the cartrrdge housed in the cham- Walther production, byf and swv for Mauser
ber. The only way to remove the block was by output, and cyq for the Spreewerke examples). Above: The P 38 was introduced into sewice to
replace the P 08which, although anexcellent
a deliberate pull on the trigger, Thus a iully But even with these limitations the P 38 was still pistol to fire and 'point' (as seen here in this
loaded pistol could be carried ln complete widely regarded as an excellent service pistol photograph of a Luftwaffe officer on the firing
safety and when required the weapon was to the extent that the usual political lnfiqhting range), was too expensive and slow to produce.
ready for use without the need to fumble with endemic withinthe Naziwarmachine led to the whereas theP 38 could.be manufactured quicklT'
receiver slides or awkward safety catches. The Waffen SS attempting to take over the entire using modern production techniques.
loaded' indicator above the hammer was also
much appreciated, for if a round was cham-
bered the user couid rapidly confirm the fact
by feeling for the protruding pin above the
hammer, This meant that the pistol did not have
to be unloaded to check if the weapon was
empty, Unfortunately this feature was re-
garded as somethlng of a luxury, and was later
removed when wartime production had to be
urcreased to meet an ever-expanding demand
for P 38s,
The P 38 was issued to the troops with its own
leather holster for flxing to the standard ser-
vice-issue leather belt. The holster carried not
only the prstol but a spare magazine and a
cleaning rod.
t-t
Senrice introduction
The first pistols were issued mainly to the
new Panzer arm, In 1938 these men were the
apple of Hitler's eye and he was expectrnet
much from them. They had already seen a
limlted form of action in the take-overs ol
Austria and the Sudetenland, but they were not
to be ful1y blooded until the September of 1939
when the Germans demolished the Polish
forces in a matter of weeks, By that time the P 38
had been issued to other arms of the German
forces, The main problem then was that there
were quite simply insufficient numbers coming
ofl the production lines. In the short term the
productron llnes for the esssentially similar
Walther HP was taken over for German military
use, The HP had been the final development
model for the P 38 but the P 38 had some of the
flner points of the HP left off for ease of produc-

Theluftwaffe officer shown visiting the scene of

the crash of his 80th victim (a Short Stirling)
displays a notable difference between Allied and
German practice in the wearing oI pistols. German
officers wore their weapons attached to the |eft of
thefu service belts, drawing the pistol across the :s
body. Allied service dressfiadpislols worn on the
right, with the butt to the rear.
The Walther P 38 in Action
production lirr rts own requirements, This it was
never able to do, but at times whole batches
earmarked for the army or navy were diverted
to Waffen SS units.
The P 38 was never able to replace the P 08
in service before the war ended: the produc-
tion lines quite simply could not meet the con-
stant demands made for plstols. One reason for
this state of affairs was that troops in all the
occupied territories had to be armed whenev-
er they were not actually on a mrlitary base or
establishment. As the bulk of the troops in-
volved had to travel to and from their brllets or
had to carry out varlous missions away from the
security of a base they had to carry some form
of weapon, In many cases this meant pistols,
but in quantrtres the war planners had been
unable to foresee, The only way out of this was
to issue stockpiles of captured pistols or to take
into use numbers of requisitioned civihan pis-
tols, The result was a quartermaster's night-
mare. Everyone wanted a P 38 or a P 08 but had
to make do with what they got, and they got
some very odd pistols, Troops found them-
selves carryrng ancient ex-Russian Nagant re-
volvers, shiny little Mauser pocket pistols, im-
ported Spanish automatics of dubious reliabil-
ity and ancient French and Belgian revolvers
wrth obsolete calibres,
Valuedbythetroops
Those troops that did get P 38s valued them
highly. In action they proved to be very reli-
Above: An Afrika Korps military policeman of the
Feldgendarmeri e, armed with a P 3 8 pis tol, wears
the distinctive gorgette that identified the wearer
as apoliceman.
Right: AWaltherP 38 togetherwithits leather
holster, which carried a spare magazine and
sometimes a cleaning rod. The holsters were
carried on the belt with the butt forward, in
contrast to the usual Allied practice.
670
Left: May 1 945, and soldiers of the Red Army
celebrate the raising of the Red Flag over the
Reichstag using an assortment ofweapons
including (trom left) a PPS 1943 sub-machine gan,
a P 38, a Mauser C/96 pistol andsomePPSft sub-
machine guns. Use of the captured pistols by Red
Army Units was unusual.
able, handy to hold and point, and when called
upon to be accurate they were accurate. Tt'c
reasons for this accuracy were that the P 33
tended to srt well in the hand, and that the
welght of the weapon was such that whec
aimed the pistol remained steady just tha:
much more than a lighter pistol would have
done, The trigger action was crisp and clear-
so there was no undue drag between trigtger-
finger pressure and the actual shot. The actron
proved to be proof against the rngress of dus:
and dirt but when used on the Eastern Fror:
one problem that was not confined to the P 3E
came to irghl Ths was partially the result of the
thorough German maintenance training givei
to all recruits, They were taught to strip ane
clean their personal weapons every day, Be-
fore reassembly the moving parts were pro-
vided with a film of gun oil, During the winter
months, however, temperatures were often sc
low that the oil froze solid, even when the pistc-
was rnside a holster, The only solutlon was tc
ieave the gun clean but free of oil, and to the
credit of lts manufacturers the P 38 continued tc
operate even in this condition,
Stili in production
In 1945 numerous P 38s became war
trophies, and large numbers were often taken
over by the victorlous powers for their own use.
Thus French army and Foreign Legion units ln
action in Indo-China often found themselves
issued with P 38s, but this state of affairs did no:
last beyond the mid- 1950s. By then the P 38 was
once more berng prepared for production, and
in 1957 it was once more in production under
Walther auspices, but thls time slightly up-
dated by the adoptron of a dural receiver slide
and the new desrgnation Pistole I or P I. This
pistol is now the standard service pistol of the
new Bundesheer, the West German army, and
the type has even been exported for use by
other armies such as Chile,
The P 38 and P I are both excellent service
pistols and have been rated by many author-
itres as the best service pistol designs to have
been produced in recent years, and certainly
during the years of World War IL Some recent
innovations on the pistol scene may weil have
dented that reputation somewhat, but the P 38
and the P I are both firm military favourltes,
 ircnt end of trigger bar and axis
ptn
firing pin and spring Pistols of World War II
firing pin and cartridge indicator and spring
locking shoulder iinside indicatorcover
safetv catch (set to 'fire')

automaticfiring p : ac<:-:
spnng

firing pin lock liiter I ra se: : ,

sear as lt moves up,

hammer lever and sprr^c

rear end of trigger bar

hammer
akeiown leverandcatch

receiver (or frame)

lockrng b ock and retarnrng

spfl ng

locking block operating pin

gnp screw

hammer spring

thumb piece is shown bearina

operatrng stird, which ls raised
byfrontend ofmagazine
follower after last round has
been fired and case ejected

lanvard hook

Below: An evocative photograph from the

Ardennes in December 1944, as ayouthful German grip panel
soldier escorts a column of American prisoners of
war armedwith a P 38 and a Stielgranate 35 stick magazrne catch
grenade.TheGerman soldier is keeping aneye
open for possible air attack, as are several
prisoners in the column.

tilraai#.d
tul'::)a{&rtq
ii*ati::l3; .

ffit'Wii;t8n,,
.$dt#:$s '1
I

*d;*#{i6: i
:4* "*d
a:a::.,):i ' ]
,,::u::i|%
't
;i&::, 3 ai
fffi ii'i*r" Automatique Browning moddle t9l0
The Pistole Automatique Browning
moddle I9l0 rs something of an oddity
among pistol designs, for although it
has remained in production virtually
nonstop since i9lO, it has never been
officially adopted as a service weapon.
Desprte this it has been used widely by
many armed forces at one time or
another and the basic desrgn has been
widely copied and/or plagrarized by
other desiqrners.
As the name implies, this automatic
pistol was yet another product of the
fertile mind of John Moses Browninq.
Nearly all the model 19lOs have been
produced at the Fabrique Nationale
d'Armes de Guerre (commonly known
simply as FN) at Lidge in Belgium, The
type is still in productron in Belgium for
commercial sales. The reason why this
particular plstol should have achreved
such longevity is now not easy to deter-
mine, but the overall desigm is clean
enough, with the forward part of the
receiver shde around the barrel hav- two variants are identical, and each being issued to Luftwaffe aircrew who The Browning moddle I 9 I 0 was
ing a tubular appearance, This results uses a detachable seven-round box knew the type as rhe Pistole P 621(b). never officially adopted as a service
from the fact that the recoil spring is magazrne, As wrth all other FN pro- Before that the model i910 had been pis tol, bu t was none theles s wid e ly
wrapped around the barrel itself in- ducts the standard of manufacture and issued in small numbers to the Belgian used and many of its design features
stead of being situated under or over finish is excellent but copies made in armed forces, and many other nations werc later incorporated in other
the barrel as in most other designs. such places as Spain lack this finish. obtained the type for small-scale use pistoldesigms.
This spring is held in place by a The excellent finish was continued for theu own mrlrtary or police service.
bayonet lug around the muzzle, pro- with one of the few large-scale produc- The numbers of model 1910s pro- short (0,380 ACP)
viding the model 1910 with another tion runs for the model 1910. This duced must by nowbe running into the Lengrth overall: 152 mm (6 in)
recognition point. Grip and applied occurred after 1940 when the German hundreds of thousands, Lengrth of barrel: 89 mm (3,5 in)
safeties are provided, forces occupying Belgium required Weisht: O,562 kq (L24lb)
The model 1910 may be encoun- large numbers of prstols, The model Specification Muzzle velocity: 299 m (980 ft) per
tered in one of tvuo calibres, either l9l0 was kept in production to meet Browningmoddle 1910 second
7,65 mm or 9 mm short, Externally the this demand, the bulk of the output Cartridge: 7,64 mm (0,32 ACP) or 9 mm Magazine: 7-round box

re il'i*r"
Automatique Browning,
moddle d Grande Puissance (Browning HP)
The Browning HP may be regarded as
one of the most successful prstol de-
srgns ever produced, Not only is it still
in widespread service, in numbers
that must surely exceed those of all
other types combrned, but it has also
been produced at many locations in
many countries. It was one of the last
weapon designs produced by John
Browning before he dred in 1925, but it
was not until 1935 that the HP was
placed in production by FN at Liege,
From this derives the name which is
generally given as the HP (High Pow-
er) or Pistole Automatique Browning
GP 35 (Grand Puissance moddle 1935),
Numerous versions may be encoun-
tered, but they all fire the standard
9-mm Parabellum cartridge, Versions
exist with box fixed and adjustable
rear sigrhts, and some models were
produced with a lug on the butt to en-
able a stock (usually the wooden hol-
ster) to be fltted, allowing the pistol to
be fued as a form of carbine. Other
versrons exist with light alloy receiver
shdes to reduce weight. that on the Colt M191 I (also a Browning HP all to themselves, for a new produc- The Browning G P 35 ias been
One factor that is common to all the design), but it was adapted to suit pro- tion lne was opened in Canada and adopted by somanynations sinceits
numerous Browning HP variants is duction and to take advantagre of the from there the Browmng HP was distri- first appearance in 1935 that itmust
strength and reliability. Another desrr- experience qained in the destgn, buted to nearly all the Allied nations as now be the most widely used o{ all
able feahrre that has often proved in- Within a few years of the start oj the Pistol, Browning, FN, 9-mm HP No. pistols. It is remarkably robust, hard-
valuable is the large-capacity box productron the Browning HP had been I, large numbers being sent to Chrna to hitting and reliable in use.
magazine in the butt, which can hold a adopted as the sewice pistol of several equip the nationalist forces. After 1945
useful 13 rounds. Despite thiswidth the natrons including Belgrum, Denmark, the type was put back in production in
gtrip is not too much of a handful, Lithuania and Romania, After 1940 pro- Irtdge, and many nations now use the Speciflcation
although training and general fami- duction continued, but this time it was weapon as their standard prstol, BrowningGP35
liarzation are necessary to enable a for the Germans who adopted the type Various commercial models have Cartridge: g-mm Parabellum
fuer to qet the best out of the weapon. as the standard prstol of the Waffen SS, been developed, and the type has Length overall: 196 mm (7. 75 in)
The weapon uses a recoil-operated although other arms of the German even been adapted to produce a Lengrthof barrel 112 mm (4.41 in)
mechanism powered by the blowback forces also used the weapon, To the tarqret-shooting model, The British Weiqht: 1,01 kq (2,23Ib)
forces produced on flrrng and has an Germans the Browning HP was known army still uses the Browning HP as the Muzzle velocity:354 m (1,160 ft) per
extemal hammer, In many ways the as the Pistole P620(b). However, the Pistol, Automatic L9AL second
action can be regarded as the same as Germans did not have the Browning Magazine: l3-roundbox

alz
 li€ i]iuerato rMtg4z
Ti:s very odd little pistol had its origdns
:- the committee rooms of the US
_-:rnt Psychological Committee, who
scld to the Office of Strategic Service
::e idea of a simple asiassrnatron
reapon that could be used by anyone
:- occupied territory without the need
::r traintng or familiarization, The OSS
::ck up the idea and the US Army
lrdnance Department then set to and
p:oduced drawings, The Guide Lamp
l:lrsron of the General Motors Cor-
p,cration was given the task of produc-
-:rg the weapons, and the divislon took
-:e credit for churning out no less than
:::e
-
million between June and Augmst
aAc
The 11,43-mm (0.45-in) weapon was
p:ovided with the covername Flare
Pisol M1942, but it was also known as
-:-e Liberator or the OSS pistol. It was a
-,-ery simple, even
crude devlce that
::uld flre only a single shot. It was
::nstructed almost entuely of metal
and the barrel was smooth-
=amprngs
:':red, The action was just as simple as
:.: rest of the design: a cocking piece
r:s grasped and pulled to the rear;
::ce back a fl-un locked it in place as a
.::rgle M19i1 automatic cartridge was
-::Ced. and the cocking piece was
-----en
sft'ung back for release as the
::Jger was pulled, To clear the spent
:-.=:tndge the cocking piece was once
:::re moved out of the way and the
]:Se was pushbd out lrom the chamber
::- poking somethrng suitable down
-:-: barrel from the muzzle,
Each pistol was packed into a clear
Pistols of World War II
plastic bag together wrth 10 rounds,
fumy and a set of instructions in comic strip
form provided, without words, enough
information for any person finding the
package to use the prstol. There was
space in the butt to carry five of the
rounds provided but the pistol was vir-
tually a one-shot weapon and had to be
used at a minimal range to be effective,
Exactly how effective it was rs now dif-
ficult to say, for there seems to be no
record of how these numerous pistols
were ever employed or where they
were distributed, It is known that some
were parachuted into occupied
Europe, but many more were Lrsed in
the Far East and in China. The concept
was certainly deemed good enough to
be revived in 1964 when a much-
modernized equivalent to the Liber-
ator, known as the'Deer Gun', was pro-
duced for possible use in Vietnam, In
the event several thousands were
made but were never rssued, maybe
because assassination weapons have a
nasty tendency to be double-edged,
Each Lrberator pistol.cost the Amer-
lcan. government just $2.40.
Specification
LiberatorMl942
Cartridge:, 45 ball Ml9 I I
Length overall: 140 mm (5, 55 in)
Lengrthof barrel 102 mm (4 in)
Weisht: 0,454 kq ( 1 lb) The littleLiberator M1942 was an spenf case e.y'ector and the
Muzzlevelocity:336 m (1,100 ft) per assassrha fibn we a pon p ur e and mechanism was crude to a degree.
second simple, and was produced as Bu t they wor ked, and were us ed
Magazine: none, but space for five cheaply and easily as possible. The mainly in the F ar East and in China.
rounds in butt barrels were unriIled, there was no

EorrMlgllandMlgllAI
=- :e Colt
:? as
M I9 I I vies with the Brownino
being one ofthe most successfu'l
:-.:cl designs ever produced, for it has
:een manufactured in millions and is in
-iespread service all over the world
;',
-.:re 70 years after it was first
1::epted for semce in 191i, The de-
:- had its origrns well before then,
:: ;;ever, for the weapon was based on
: Colt Browning Model 1900 design,
--::s weapon was taken as the basis for
= :ew sewice prstol requrred by the
-S Anny to fire a new 11.43-mm (0,45-
- cartridge deemed necessary, as
:: ihen-standard calibre ol 9.65 mm
- :8 ia) was consrdered by many to be
r:.: ight to stop a charging enemy. The
:=-slt was a series of trials in 1907, and
- -311 the Pistol, Automatic, Caliber
+5, MI9II was accepted, Production
m=. at first slow, but by 1917 was well
=-::gh under way to equip tn part the
-:-C expansion of the US Army for its
-='r,- role in France.
-rs lhe result of that battle experi
=::e it was decided to make some
;::duction changes to the basic de-
:-;:: and from these came the
Wl9llAl, The changes were not ex-
-:--ve, and were confined to such fitted into corresponding lugs on the the pistol rs a bit of a handflrl to handle This pistol is the M I 9 I I (the M I 9 I I AI
-::- as the gnip safety conflgmration, slide, When the pistol was fired the and fire correctly, and a good deal of had several detail changes) and it is
:: rammer spur outline and the barrel and sllde moved backwards a training is required to use it to frrll still the standard US Army service
.-;-=oring housing, Overall the de- short distance with these lugs still en- effect. pistol aftet ovet 70 years in service.
r:: aad operation changed only ltttle, gaged, At the end ofthis drstance the The Ml9 i I and Ml91 1A1 have both Firing a 0.45-in ball cartridge, it is
I---: basic method of operation re- barrel progress was arrested by a been manulactured by nrlmerous com- still a powerful man-stopper, bu t is a
.:,-_--ed the same, and this mechanism swinging link whrch smrng round to panies other than Colt Firearms and bit of a handtul to fire and requires
:: ::e of the strongest ever made, pull the barrel lugs out of the receiver have been widely copied direct in training touse to its full potential.
fn;.::eas many contemporary pistol slide, which was then free to move many parts of the world, not always to
:=s;lrs employed a receiver stop to farther and so eject the spent case and very high levels of manufacture,
:::=s the backwards progrress of the restart the loading cycle, This robust length of barret 128 mm (5.03 in)
:=:e::ier slide the M1911 had a locking system, allied with a positive applied Specification Weight: I 36 kg (3 1b)
: that also produced a more posi-
=:nstop, safety and a grip safety, make the coltMlgllAI Muzzle velocity: 252 m (825 ft) per
--;: The barrel had lugs M1911 and M1911Al very safe Cartridge:.45 ball M19I I second
:e:::red into its outer surface that weapons under service conditions, But Lengrthoverall:219 mm (8.6 in) Magazine:7-round box
The Colt t'll9ll
Developed from Browning's I 900
design, the M 19 I I Colt pistols are
among the mosf successfu I co m b at
pistols ever invented, Incredibly sturdy,
with a stopping power unmatched by
other semi-automatic pistols, the Colt
has armed the US forces for more than 70
years.
At the turn of the century the US Army was
equipped with a revolver that fired a 9,65-mm
(O.Stl-ln) cartridge that seemed effective
enough for its task until the Americans became
embroiled in operations in the Philippines
During thb operations amongt the many islands
they came up agalnst a band of guerrillas
known as the Moros who achieved some suc-
cess in their iimited action by mass charges at
short ranges, Against such enemies the Amer-
icans found their pistol buliets were of little use,
for even a Moro with two or three bullets in him
could still continue his fanatical charge to the
discomfort of his opponent, The soldiers called
for a new and heavier projectile to stop such
opponents.
For once the soldiers' requests were heeded
in 1903 a series oftrials
at a high level. Starting
was launched to discover the most suitable
service calibre. The result was a new cartridge
firing a 230-grain bullet with a calibre of
i I.43 mm (0 45 in). By 1905 a Savage pistol was
used for more trlals, and in i907 a Colt pistol
appeared, In time thls Colt pistol was taken into
service (along with the new cartridge), and the
M19ll was on the scene.
The M19l I was well blooded in action along
the Mexlcan border before World War I
started in 1914 and proved to be an excellent
weapon, As the MI911 was an automatic pistol
it took a little time for the more conservative
soldiers to accept it, but once they appreciated
the stopping power of the heavy bullet they
took to it so much that even now many serving
American soldiers still deem it the best service
pistol in the world and will accept nothing else
414
andt'llgllAl
in its place. By the time the United States en-
tered World War I in 1917 the M19l I was a firm
favourite, but that was among the sewing and
long-term trained persorlnel. New recruits who
encountered its weight and bulk took time to
become accustomed to the MI9ll's lively re-
coil and took even longer to become proficient
in its use. Service in France revealed the need
for some slight improvements and these were
incorporated into the MlgilAl introduced in
1921. Subsequent production models were
based on the MI9llAl but the older M1911
continued in service and the model can still be
encountered in service to this day,
Betweenthewars
A-fter Wortd War I appropriations for more
pistois fell away somewhat, and as there were
no funds for further development and no call for fronlline US Army weapon but more and more
any replacement weapon bY 1941 the as a weapon carried by aircrew and for gener-
Mlgl lAl was still the standard weapon in the al milltary poltce duties.
US armed forces. However, as had been the It was for US Army Air Force use that one of
case in I9l7 there were not enough in the the more unusual cartridges was developed for
stockpiles to meet expected demand. Once the M19l IAI The usual cartridges for the pis-
again, as in 1917, numbers ofconverted revol- tol were the 0.45 Ball Ml9l1, the blank M9, the
vers with special clips to hold the rimless I1.43- dummy M1921 and the tracer M26, To these
mm (0.45-in) cartridges were pressed into use was added the 0 45 High Density Shot M261,
and various trials were made to improve the which was originally developed to allow the
training of raw recruits to handle the weapon. MI911AI to be used as an aircrew survival
Once agaln many recruits found the M19l IAI weapon, It was loaded with a number.of steel-
difficult to handie and all manner of training shot projectiles that were meant to be fired at
methods were tried in an attempt to overcome fish, so providing downed aircrew with a food
the problem, In the end it had to be accepted supply. What happened before very lonq was
that the great bulk of the wartime recruits that these cartridges were fired against per-
would never be able to use the pistol at ranges sonnel, proving to be so effectrve that the sur-
much over 18 m (20 yards), and that this was too vival function took a back seat.
short to make it worth retaining the M 19 i IAl as Other developments relating to the
a service weapon. This fact led directly to the M19l lAl included a series of long barrels that
development of the 7.62-mm (0.3-in) Ml car- were intended to improve the pistol's accuracy
bine, which was widely issued in place of at increased ranges. They were never adopted
M19l IAls to many frontline second{ine per- for sewice but were involved in a rather odd
sonnel, Well over six million Ml carbines were
produced, and this would under normal cir- IJS Marineswithguns readyboard a half-
cumstances have led to an overall condemna- submergedJapanese landing barge following an
tion of the service pistol in general and the engagement at Peleliu. By I 944, troops had
M19tlA1 in particular. Despite this the learned to be very wary when approaching
MI91lAi soldiered on, no longer as a general apparently overcome J apanese positipns.
 Pistols of World War II
iiring pln stop
firing pin spr

drsconnector

: :: Spnng

hammer strul

sear spr ng

magazine sprlng
magazlne catch

magazi ne

marn spr ng

receiver (or framel

i:ardardrsue toUS Navypilots in thePacificin
- 344, the governmentColt.4S would betheonly
available to a downed flier inhostile
=earm
:e.ritory, and could mean the difference between
-:e and death.
attempt to convert the M19l1Al into a sub-
machine gun, This project used a barrel
240 mm (9 45 in) long and an extended maga-
zine holding 20 rounds, A butt was frtted to the
pistol grip and a cooling device was added to
the barrel, Changes were made to the internal
mechanism to permrt fully automatic fire, but
although successful the whole project was ter-
minated during 1942 when the M3 sub-
machine erun was adopted,
Intothe 1980s
After World War II the MIgllAl continued
in service despite a1l the ilmitatrons that had
been demonstrated, These limltations were
largely ignored as the US armed lorces wanted
a pistol and the M191lAI was ready to hand,
The soldrers continued to sing its praises and
largely chose to rgnore the performance of the
9-mm (0.354-rn) Parabellum pistols in use else-
where, In fact the M1911A1 is strll a fully estab-
lished weapon in America and elsewhere, for
over the years it has been adopted by many
nations, mainly those who have come under
Amerlcan influence such as Nattonahst Chrna,
The last M19l lAl was produced in 1945, so
stocks still in US Army use are now gettino
somewhat elderly, A recent survey revealed
that of the 4 18, 000 M 19 I lAls still in stock, every
one had been overhauled extensively or re-
burjt at least three tlmes, Despite the favour
bestowed uponthe M1911Al by the US mrhtar
this is a situatron that cannot be extended u'rie-
frnitely, so the US Army now has a requireme:-:
icr a new service prstol to be knoum as
=e
XM9. This pistol will incorporate all the mai-.'
rnnovations since the time that the MI91l v;as
designed, and at long last the requested
calibre is 9 mm (0 354 in). Between 1977 arl
1980 awhole string of designs was used in a
protracted serres of trials to determine the ne-,',-
'pistol, but the result was inconclusive, Severa'
observers have stated that this mioht ha-..-s
been due to the fact that many of thi pistcis
involved in the trials were not American tl
origin, but no doubt there was more to lhe
outcome than that, One concrete result of the
trtals was that the existing Ml91lAls shou.]d be
rebullt as 9-mm (0 354-in) pistois, but thrs prcc-
osal appears to have progressed little,
So, rn the foreseeable futue at least, the
loved or hated Ml9llAi wilt remarn in Amer-
ican use, One day the XMg wrll come, but iol
the foreseeable future the large number c:
companies that find it worthwhrle to produce
spares and components for the Ml9ll senes
will continue to prosper. The Ml911Al will:ic
doubt continue to frrghten the tyro with its her:,,-
recorl and to alarm all at whom lt is pointed, fct
the powerof the 1 1.43-mm (0.45-1n) projectrle ;s
as formidable today as it was when it was cie-
veloped to stop the charging Moros,
>K € 5*i f, & Wesson 0.38/200 Revolver
In 1940 the British army was In a
desperate plight, with few men trained
and even fewer weapons with which to
arm them, FortunatelY the United
States, although not yet actually in the
war, were at least sympathetic to the
point where that natron would produce
weapons for the British, and to Britlsh
designs. The British planned huge
increases in armed manpower levels
and had to obtain weapons to match,
and among these weaPons were
pistols, Smith & Wesson was willing to
produce revolvers to a British
specification, and the result was the
plstol known either as the Revolver.38/
200 or the Revolver No. 2 Cal'380
Whatever its designation, the pistol
was a strictly orthodox design that was
conventional in every respect. It was
straightforward in design and opera-
tion, and embodied not only Smith &
Wesson craftsmanship but British re-
quirements, the resultinq weapon
being robust to an extreme, It was just
as well, for the British pistol production
lines were never able to catch up with
demand and the British./American de-
sign more than filled the gap, These
pistols were issued to all arms of the
British forces, went to many Common-
wealth forces as we1l, and were even
handed out to various European resist-
ance movements, Between 1940 and
the time production ended in i946
over 890,000 had been produced and
issued, Many are still ln service to this
day, and it was well into the I960s be-
fore some British units replaced them
with the Browmng HP,
The Revolver .38/200 fired a 200-
grarn bullet and used the classic Smith
& Wesson chamber release to the left,
Once the weapon was open, fired car-
tridge cases could be cleared with a
sprung plunqer rod, The trigger action
could be either single- or double-
action. The flnish of the pistols was
plain, and at tlrnes was neglected in
order that the numbers required could
be churned out, But the standard of
manufacture never wavered: it was al-
ways good, and only the finest mate-
rials were used, Normally the pistol
was carried in a closed leather or web-
bing holster which masked the ham-
mer, so the snagging problem encoun-
tered with the Enfield revolver was not
so acute, but a typical British touch was
that the revolver was usually fitted to a
walst or neck lanyard to prevent an
enemy taking the pistol away from the
firer at close quarters. The weapon
appears never to have qone wrongt,
even when subjected to the worst
possible treatment,

B elow : A N ew Zealand offi cer armed Specification

with a Smith &Wesson 0.38/200
revolver during one of the campaigns
in the desert. The revolver is being
wornwith the lanyard in the'correct'
position around the neck, but man7
preferred to wear it around the waist
to prevent strangrulation by an
enemy in close-quarter combat.
0.38/200 Revolver
Cartridgre:0.380 SAA ball (9.65 mm)
Lengrthoverall:257 mm (10, 125 in)
IJenqth of barel 127 mm (5 in)
Weight 0.880 ks (1,94]b)
Muzzle velocity: l9B m (650 ft) Per
second
Chamber capacity: 6 rounds

Above: A Canadian sergeant loads a
S mith & Wesson 0.38/ 200 revolver.
Empty cartridge cases were ejected
by moving out thecylinder to the left
and pressing a plunger normally
under the barrel. AII six spent cases
wereejected together to alloweach
chamber to be reloaded one at a
time, as seenhere.
Below : The Smith & Wesson 0.38/ 200
revolver was an alliance of American
workmanship and British combat
experience that produced a robust
and reliable pistol with no frills.
Made from the very finest materials
the finish was sometimes neglected
to s peed produ ction, but
manufacturing s tand ards were
neverlowered.
Revolver versu$ Rutomcfic
::istals are important ta soldiers who have ta operate in
:cnfined spaces, and to police officers who require an easily-
: sncealed weapon. Bul in looking for the right sort of pistol,
jces one /ook for reliability or rate of fire? Is concealment
:.ecessary, or is a powerful round to be used? How many shots
::e going tobe required before reloading? Allthesepomts
:id more musf .be consjderedwhen deciding on anindividual
.'.'eapan"

- .. s dav the destgn of hand-held pistols ls divided into two main categones:
: : vers and automatics. Whiie the single-shot prstol is still around rts use is
-
. marnly confined to target-shootinq 5nd somb very specialized roles and it
-as no place in r^r^ilitary arsenals. Brt the corLesL oetween revoveT ano
*
--, atic rs dne that strll caises argurnent even though it has been going on for
:,-- ! a CenturV.
- -:.olver:s a pistol in wnicn the ammunitol s carred i^ a ^-n'oer of
.' JerS maC.l ned nlO a revO,v ng bloC(. TheSe Cnambe.s a-e bro"g^t rrecha-
the barrel and"hammer element of the trigger frechanism
' -:'' 'ing.:ntoOnlinethewith
.,.i
ureapon generally known as the automatic piit6t {a mrsleading
. - as rt should strictly speaking be termed a seml-automatic or self-loading
^-.
- rne torces proouced on discla grrg the ioaded car tr'dge are emploVcd Lo
-- tne spent cartridge case and load another round ready for firing. On the
=
, *
-rtrc this is generaliy accompl shed by employing a variant of the blowback In anti-partisan and prisoner of war collecting operations a pistolwas a :a::.-.
-, ple to push a receiveT slide to the rear to carry oi.rt ihese operations. The weapon. Here a German soldier armedwith a P 08, aPanzerfaust antj-ta::k
'- -':nition is carried in a detachabie box magazine in the pistol butt and weapon and numerous stick grenades, sLrj/has one hand free to search {cr
. :i'eci into the path of the slrde by spring pressure (there are varatrons on thls hidden weapons or booty while a colleague stands guard with a MG 34
-^-e but the buttpositron box magaz ne is now aimost universal), and the machine-gun during operations in the Soviet Union: 1944.
..:cn is ieft cocked ready for another pull of the tr-lgger.
-. o'oid, the basic argument is still aboui w,hicn sysiSm rs besi, revo ver or
' -':t very easy to see how many rounds are left to be fired by simply lco. r :,. -- -:
c? Both systems have therr Cevotees and both weapons nave advan- cartridges in the chamber
--. :nd disadvantaqes (and those r,r,ho wrll pclnt iiiese ouil but io a large --e ;.lro-ai,c o,stol nas by now beer developed to the poiri *.e-: . . --
- -^i the question has Iong been sol',ec n ihe nnost pragr.rt c ranne'p:ss - reliableastnerevolver,butitmust m.nediatelybeadmittedihaitherea.e--:-:
.' .re mrlitary tend towards the a,Jicn'at c wn le pc ice ;o,ces use the revclver. II g. .g ra'rs a^d sc ^re areas where even the sl.gntest trouble rrr ll c6,!? : : ^
::rrse this is an oversrmpl ficaticnt ;t rs :ai-e these ca\,s tc iind 3nv m ltaiy favou.te and oit-quoted example is the magaline ieed lip area whe.::.=-
-:^ zation that uses a revolver ls3ign. bur many col ce ftc ces do indeec use sr gn i d storl or can cause arnmunition feed problems (some designs o! e-,-: *' :
I -.attcs. this bv lravrng the lips machined into the receiver). The aulomat-tc a sc ^:s :,
--e first multi-shot
hand-held weapcns were Tevclv-.1's. When trey frrst nave rtenls the revolver does not need, such as a trigger-mechan,srr c . _ _ -.
-:ared during the mid-19th century tney \,vere able to benefrt i,om the neot ng devrce acttvated as the receiver slide moves tb the rear on {ir:: ::
r.'lvements in machine tooling thai rvere beginnrng ro appear, bu.r ile ma n t.er€ are n ore parts to break or go wrong. The sliding parts of the recetr,e----. =
...:n for their introductlon was the appearance oi tne metai-cased cartr,clge. -c r: -dC^ ^eo ro q-ite riqht tolerances and these 1olerances ca^ :L..-':
':volving cylinders could hold any nr-]mberof cartldges, but most des gn6rs 3-'+:.e: o/ r-e ^gre<s o'dirt and debris. But in pract,ce th:s rarel\ sea- : ._
=
. . :d cn six and this number has remarned constant to ihts day. Over ihe _vears l.rappen except under extreme conditions (the revolver is usually less p.:-:
t_
- '3volver settled iown nto a classic form, mosl designs having the revolvirg :-e :='rc-: c' oebr sr Wnen it comes to an-munition-carrying capr: :. ' :
. --ber either swung out for reloading or exposed by t-he brea<iig open of tn5 arltci'atic has the iead. The detachable box magazines can uduaiiy hd d a: :...
=,usually down but sometimes up) for reloadrng. The speni cases are set,en ror.rrds and of ien more (the Browning HP can hold 13) but tc se3 -:.
- - .=d erther by an automatrc system or by manual depress;on of a plunger. The nrany rounds are left after a period of iring requires the removalof the n :::: -
f
:
-.- s also settled down to become very robust and generally speakfng verv :or examination. Generally speaking the iate of fire possible with an ;;t: -.- =,
: :. Here lies the main attraction of the revolver, for tf enables the weapon to pisto is h19nerthan thatofa revolver. ln average hands, three rounds::- :=
- --.ed by personnel after only a minimum of training, But this relates dnly to irrediromin automatic in what is often less i6an f,ati the time neece:-'::.
. -:ndling; arming and firing the prstol accurately is quite another matter, and OOJO e-d:T Or feVO Ver.
- - :.ere is virtually no difference between the revolver and automatic as both r-q-e ; aiso rre orestion of buik. Revolvers are generally larger a-c -: :. :'
--: :rarning and applicatron to use them to best etfect, This rs especially true tnan aulomat;cs and are thus'handier'to use, and automatlcs are a...:.:
=-
-
tne revolver uses a double-action trigger mechanism, i.e. one that relres slimmer tfran an equivalent revolver. This makes them easier to concea, :- : . _

- rne trigger action alone to raise and aliow the hammer to fall. The effort of wear in the close conf ines of rnilitary vehrcies or aircraft.
, ::iion is such that holding the pistol steady is made very difficult when the --e 'actors t.at u,t:rratelv dec.de the issue are ease of ma ntere::: : _
:=: rs pu!lecl. Those pistols-on which the hammer can be iocked by hand and 'ei ao r,. rne autorat.c .s rore demanding of care and attention t-a- : : .

. -.sed only after a slight trigger pull are potentially more accurate. Where the ver,andrntheorytherevolveristhemorereliable.Perhapstheeasrest'r,:. __.
. - .'er, in theory at least, does score over the automatic is reliability: there are of the argument is ro saythat even todaythe pistol consumerworld is si ::'
..rer mcving oarts and tne firer can be alrrosl 100 per cenl cei'Tain T"at be-ween re!o ve' ano and autorratic, w.th tne autcmatic nlmericai y - --: : :.'
- - . e pulls the trigger the weapon will f ire. Another combat point is.that it rs bu1 far from being a clear winner.

A German grenadier sergeant leads
a patrol. German issue of pistols was
muchmore extensive than inAllied
armies, as occupying soldiers
required personal means of defence.
Given the choice, theGerman soldier
would opt for a modern P 3B or (as
here) the trusty old F 08 Luger.
Among the masses oflend-l,ease
material that arrived in the Ilnited
Kingdom during 1942 was this batch
of Smith & Wesson 0.38/ 200
revolvers. Still in thefu wrappings,
the revolvers are counted and
checked by members of the ATS on
the dackside.
The GI's dreamlBackatiome bas:
an American soldier proudly
displays that most prized of al. L. ::
trophies, a 9-mm P 08 Luger. I'.'e:. ::
1944 and 1945 aGI would par: t .::
large sums of money for a Lxge: :: :
the pistol is still one of the mos:
avidly collected of sewice p:s:: .: .:
any candition.
 Hi"i r,&WessonMl9l7
=
During World War I the United King-
dom placed sizable orders in the Un-
ited States for weapons of all types, and
among these was one placed with
Smith & Wesson of Sprinqrfreld, Illinois,
for the supply of military revolvers with
a calibre of 11.56mm (0.455in), the
then-standard British pistol cartridge.
Irarge numbers of these were sup-
plied, but after the USA had entered
the war in 1917 it was realized that
Iarge numbers of pistols would be
needed to arm the enlarged US ArmY,
and that the output from the Colt M 19 I I
production line would be insufficient to
meet the requirements, As a direct re-
sr,r.lt the Smith & Wesson contract was
taken over for the American forces,
only for a new problem to crop up once
the pistol production had been
adapted to the American 11,43-mm
(0.45-in) calibre,
Nearly all pistol ammunition Pro-
duced in 1917 was for the M1911 auto-
matic prstol and was thus rimless. Us-
ing rimless ammunition in a revolver
chamber posed several problems as
revolver cartridqes are normally rim-
med. Henie a compromise solution
was adopted in the form of three
M1911 cartridetes beingr held in 'half- was a large robust weaPon that was Royal Nalry use, When the United States entered the
moon' clips to keep the cartddges from completely orthodox in desigrn, opera- Colt Firearms also produced a very war in 1 9 I 7 there were not enough
tion and construction, apart from the similar revolver to the Smith & Wesson pistols to arm the gathering throngs
slipping too far into the revolver cham-
bers when loaded, After firing the use of the three-round clips, The re- weapon, as the Revolver, Caliber .45, of recruits. The S mith & Wesson
spent cartridges could be ejected in volving chambers surung out to the left Colt New Service, M19I7, Total pro- M I 9 I 7 was rushed into production
the normal way together with therr for loading and case ejection, and the duction of both was over 300,000 and after being adapted to fire the
clips and the clips would be reused if action was either single or double Brazil pwchased a further 25,000 in standard 0.45-in cartridge andwas
Lrke many other pistols of its type, the 1938, Many US military police units produced in large numbers.
necessary, This solution was taken tnto
US Army service and the pistols subse- M1917 was extremely robust and had were still usingrthe type as late as 1945.
quently saw service in France and already been well accePted bY the Length of barrel 140 mm (5,5 in)
elsewhere. British army before the US Army took Specification Weisht: 1,02k9(2.25 ]b)
The Revolver, Caliber .45, Smith & over the type. The British were to use it Smith&WessonM19IT Muzzle velocity: 253 m (830 ft) Per
Wesson Hand Ejector, Ml9l7, as the again in 1940 when large numbers Cartridge: ,45 ballM19l I second
pistol was subsequently designated, were sent over for Home Guard and Lengrthoverall: 274 mm (10,8 in) Chamber capacity: 6 rounds

POTAND

Pistolet Radom w2.35

By the early 1930s the Polish army had
a large number of pistol types in ser-
vice, and wished to standardize on one
particular type. Consequently an a1l-
Polish design emerged and was Put
into production at the Fabryka Radom,
This weapon became the standard
Polish service pistol as the 9-mm Pis-
tolet Radomwz.3s (wz, stands for rzor,
or model),
The Radom w2,35 was a combina-
tion of Browning and Colt design fea-
lures with a few local Polish touches ln
operation and use it was entirely con-
ventronal, but it lacked an applied
safety and used only a grip safety, what
appeared to be the applied safetY
catch on the left-hand side of the re-
ceive being only a catch used when
stripping the pistol. The ammunition
used was the 9-mm Parabellum, but
firing this rather powerfirl round from
the Radom was no qreat problem as
the bulk and werght of the pistol was
such that the firing stresses were
absorbed to a remarkable degree,
Thrs weight and bulk made the Radom
a better-than-average sewice pistol as
it was able to cope with all manner of
hard use, a fact improved bY the high
standards of manufacture, materials
and flnish employed until 1939,
In 1939 the Germans overran Poland
and took over the Radom arsenal com-
plete with the pistol production line,
Finding the Radom w2,35 a thoroughly
serviceable weapon the Germans
adopted the design as a seruice ptstol
and kept it in production for their own
use under the designation Pistole P
35(p), However, the Germans' require-
ment for pistols was so great that to
speed pioduction theY eliminated
some small features and reduced the
overall standard of finish to the extent
that 'German' Radoms can be easilY
identified from the earlier 'Polish' ver-
sions by thelr appearance alone The
Germans kept the Radom in full-scale
production until 1944 when the
bdvancing Red Army destroyed the
factory,
When the new Polish army was re-
established after 1945 it adopted the
Soviet TT33 as its new standard pistol
and the Radom passed into historY
Many are still around as collector's
items, for the bulk of the German pro-
duction went to the Waffen SS and was
marked appropriately. Thus these pis-
tols have an added collection value for
many pistol buffs, Quite apart from this,
the Radom w2,35 was one of the better
service prstols of the war years and
would continue to make a very ser-
viceable sidearm to this daY,
Specification
Radomwz.35
Cartridge: 9-mm Parabellum
Lenqth overall: 197 mm (7,76 in) The Radom w2.35 was a sound and thus many now seencarryGerman
Lengrth of barrel 12I mm (4 76 in) reliable pistol of entirely markings. Featuring some of the best
Weisht: L02Z kg (2, 25 lb) conventional design thatwas first ColtandBrowning teatures Plus a
Mrzzle velocity: 351 m (1, 150 ft) Per produced in Poland in I 9 3 5. After few Polish touches, the Radom was
an excellent sewice pistol.
1939 it was produced in some
second
Magazine: B-round box numbers for the G er man for ces and

678
E nilil#ticky
3y the time that the German army mar-
:hed into Czechoslovakia in 1938 and
-939 the Czech natrons had evolved
-:to one of the most industrious and
-:novative armaments manufacturers
-: all Europe, Pistols were one of the
:rany weapon types produced, mainly
a: the Ceska Zbrojovka (CZ) in Pragn:e,
:rd from there emanated a string of
excellent designs that included the
".2,22, 24,27, and 30 (vz, stands for rzor,
:r model), These pistols all fired the
i-mm (0,354-in) short cartridge and
:ad many features in common with the
',Valther pistols period,
of the but in
- 338 came a pistol that bore no relation
:c anything that had been produced
before,
The new pistol was the CZ 38 (other-
',',:se known as the Automaticky Pistole
v2.38), and by all accounts this was not
::re of the better service prstols of the
--:re, It was a large automatic weapon
-rng a simple blowback mechanism,
.rt it flred the 9-mm (0,354-mm) short
:artridge even though its srze and
-,'.'eight
could have accommodated a
:-cre powerful round, One feature that
','.-as unusual and outdated even at that
:::re was that the trigger mechanrsm
-,';as double-action only (it could be
-:ed only by using the trigqer to cock
release the hammer) while most
=-C
94 Shiki Kenju
-:-. :he 1930s the Japanese armed forces
-:d in sewice a sound design of auto-
::atc pistol known to most Westerners
=r ihe 'Nambu' (B-mm Pistol Tlpe 14),
::t following the large-scale Japanese
:-:-.usions into China in the mid-1930s
:: demand fr:r more pistols for the
:-'panding Japanese forces could not
:e met. An easy solution appeared on
----3
scene in the shape of an B-mm
- 31S-in) automatic pistol that had
:een commercially produced in 1934,
: ::sales of thls pistol had been few, as
= :esult mainly of the odd and clumsy
:; pearance of the weapon, The armed
.:::es were then able to purchase ex-
-a'rg stocks of these pistols and took
-'.':r the production of more, The re-
s::3-nt weapons were initially issued to
---< and air force personnel, but by
:.-= !.me production ended in 1945 (al
:: more than over 70,000 had been
:=le) its use had spread to other
3y all accounts this pistol, known as
::= 94 Shiki Kenju (or Pistol type 94),
T:s one of the worst service prstols
=:-:r produced: for a start the basrc
:=sign was unsound in several re-
and then the overall appear-
=€rts,
::-:e was wrong and the weapon
:--Cled badly, but allied to thrs was
:. :act that it was often unsafe, One
:::,.cn for this last factor was that part
:- -:e trigger mechanism protruded
:--r: the left side of the frame, and if
-:j pushed when a round was in
-:: was
chamber the prstol would fire.
-::-::her bad feature was the device to
-:e 94 Shiki Kenju was one of the
rorst pistol designs ever produced,
i:r itwas cumhersome, awkward to
":se and basically unsafe as the firing
sear projected from the side and
:ould be easily knocked to fire the
p :s tol inadvertently. But it was all the
'aparesefiad a nd itwas kept in
productionuntil 1945.
Pistole v2.38 (cz 38) Pistols of World War II
other actions of the time used an exter-
nal hammer that could be cocked by
hand, Thrs double actron required a
long and heavy trigger pull, so accu-
rate aiming of the weapon was very
difficult, One good feature of the de-
stgn was that the pistol could be strip-
ped very easily, simply by releasing a
catch to allow the barrel to be cleaned
once the slide was clear,
Not many of these prstols were pro-
duced for the Czech army before the
Germans moved in, but the type was
kept rn production for some time, To
the Germans the CZ 38 was known as
the 9 mm Pistole P 39(t), but most of the
production went to police forces and
some second-line umts, Few survived
after 1945. It is one of the few pistol
designs that has not contributed some
points to later designs,
Specification
cz38
Cartridge:9 mm short (0,380 ACP)
Lengrth overall: 198 mm (7,8 in)
Lengrth of barrel I 19 mm (4,69 in)
Weight 0.909 ks (2]b)
Muzzle velocity: 296 m (970 ft) per Generally regarded as pistol. It could be stripped very
a /ess ffian
second successfu/ desrgn , the Czech CZ 38 easilybut the stiff and slow double-
Maqazine: B-round box was a large and cumbersome 9-mm action made accurate shooting dilficult.
ensure that only single shots would be Despi te the fact that this J apanese
flred each time the trigqer was pulled, captarh r's a tank officer, he is armed
for this was so arranged that a car- with a traditional sword aswell as a
tridge could be fired before it was fu1ly Type 94 pistol. The swordmusthave
in the chamber, When these faults been rather unwieldy in the confines
were allied to poor manufactue and of a tank turret.
poor quality materials the result was a
weapon that was unsafe to an alarming
degree, The problem for the Japanese
personnel who had to use the gmn was
that production was often so rushed
that the product was badly made, and
troops had to use the Type 94 simply
because Japanese industry could pro- Specification
duce nothing better at that trme, Exam- Pistol Type 94
ples have been found that still bear file Cartridge: B mm Taisho 14
or other machine tool marks on the Lenqthoverall: 183 mm (7,2 in)
outside, and the deQrree of 'slop' in the Lengrth of barrel: 96 mm (3.78 in)
mechanisms of some should sigmfy Weight:0.688 kq ( 1.52]b)
that the Tlpe 94 is a pistol that should Muzzle velocity: 305 mm ( 1,000 ft) per
not be c,arned or firedr it is a collector's second
piece only, Magazine: 6-round box
 ITALY

Pistola Automatica Glisenti modello l9I0

The pistol that is now generally known
as the Pistola Automatica Glisenti
modello I9I0 was originally known as
the Brizia, but the production and other
patents were taken over by the Societa
Siderugica Glisenti in the first decade
of the 20th century. In 1910 this pistol
was adopted by the ltalian army as its
standard sewice pistol, but for many
years it managed only to supplement
the earlier 10.35-mm modello 1889
revolver, and rn fact this ancient pistol
remained in production until the 1930s,
The Glisenti had several unusual
features, and tts mechanism was of a
type little encountered in other de-
srgns, It used an operating system
loosely described as a delayed blow-
back, in which the barrei and the re-
ceiver recotled to the rear on firing, As
it recoiled the action caused a rotary
bolt to start to tum, and this rotation
continued once the barrel had stop-
ped moving after a dlstance of about
7 mm (0,276 in), The barrel was held in
place by a rising wedge which was
foeed as the receiver moved forward
agairi to chamber a fresh cartridge. All place by a screwed-on cover plate. In was reduced to produce less recotl The Glisenti modello I 9 I 0 was an
this movement had several effects: one prolonged lrse this plate could come and thus less internal stress, This car- odd mixture of design innovations
was that while everything was moving separated from the pistol, causlnQl it to trrdgre was unlque to the Glisenti, and if allied wi th a we ak fr ame design.
the action was open and thus exposed jam, Even when rn place the action was normal 9-mm ammunitton was in-
to the ingrress of debris such as sand generally 'sloppy' and the moving advertently loaded and fired the re- Specification
(as in the North African deserts), and parts displayed an unpleasant amount sults could be disastrous to pistol and Glisentimodello 19l0
another was that the trigger pull was of internal movement, firer, Cartridge: 9-mm Glisenti
long and 'creepy', which made accu- To overcome the worst of this action The Glisenti remained in production Lengthoverall:210 mm (8,27 in)
rate fire that much more difficult, The the ltahans introduced a special car- until the late 1920s but it was still in use Lengrthof barrel 102 mm (4,02 in)
action itself was made no more reli- tridge for this pistol known as the 9-mm in the Italian army until 1945, It is now a Weight 0,909 ks (2lb)
able by being constructed in such a Glisenti, In appearance and dimen- collector's piece only, Muzzle velocity: 320 m ( 1,050 ft) per
way that the entire left side had no sions it resembled the standard 9-mm second
supporting frame and was held in Parabellum, but the propellant load Magaaine: 7-round box

Pistola Automatica Beretta modello 1934

The little Pistola Automatica Beretta was a conventional blowback without taken for use by the Italian army, but
modello 1934 is one of the joys of the .frills or anything unusual, but although there was a modello 1935 in 7,65 mm
pistol collector's world, for it is one of the receiver was held open once the which was issued to the italian air force
those prstols that has its own built-in magazine was empty it moved forward and navy, Apart from its calibre this
attractron. It was adopted as the stan- again as soon as the magazine was re- variant was identical to the modello
dard italian army service pistol tn 1934, moved for reloading (most pistols of 1934, The Germans used the type as
but it was then only the latest step in a this type keep the receiver slide open the Pistole P67I(i). Despite its qverall
long series of automatic pistols that until the magazine has been replaced). success the modello 1934 was tech-
could be traced back as far as 1915. In The modello 1934 drd have an exposed nically underpowered, but it is still one
that year numbers of a new pistol de- hammer which was not affected by the of the most famous of al1 pistols used
sign were produced to meet the re- safety once applied, so althougth the during World War II.
quirements of the expanding Italian trigger was locked when the safety
army, and although the Pistola Auto- was applied the hammer could be Specification
matica Berefta modello 1915 was wide- cocked either by hand orby accident, Berettamodello 1934
ly used it was never officially accepted an unfortunate feature in an otherwtse Canridge: 9-mm short (0, 380 ACP)
as a sewice model. These originai Be- sound design, Lengthoverall: 152 mm (6 in)
retta had a calibre of 7,65 mm, The modello 1934 was almost always Lengthof barret 90 mm (3.4 in)
although a few were made rn 9 mm produced to an excellent standard of weishr 0,568 ks ( 1.25]b)
short, the cartrrdge that was to be the manufacture and finish, and the type Muzzle velocity: 290 m (950 ft) per
ammunition for the later modello 1934, became a sought-after trophy of war, second
After 1919 other Beretta pistols Vutually the entire productton run was Magazine: 7-roundbox
appeared, all of them following the
basic Beretta desien. By the time the
modello 1934 appeared the 'classic'
appearance had been well estab-
lished wrth the snub outline and the
front of the cutaway receiver lwapped
around the forward part ofthe barrel to
carry the ixed foresight. The short pis-
tol gnip held only seven rounds and
thus to ensure a better grip the charac-
teristic 'spur' was carried over from a
desigm introduced back in 1919. The
operation used by the mechanisms
Beretta automatics (right) were
amongst the most sought after of war
trophies. Although of excellent
design, they were reallY too Wht to
be effective sew ice Pis tols, hu t as
personalweapons to officers suah as
the colonel depicted (left), they were
highlyprized.

680
Armed Forces of the World

USNa
=cr 40 years, since lt was proved in the Pacif ic. the
Part I

:.:'.er battle group has remained the linchpin of

.L-encan naval strategy. Credit for the ldea must go
:: ire British and Japanese, who were particularly
s-:cessful at Taranto, Pearl Harbor and Trinco-
-3lee. The.Americans adopted the concept en-
:^,siastically, using a growing numberof carriers as
:-e core of task groups, to wage a mobile war
,ga nst both the Japanese fleet and Japanese-
:::lpied territory.
So great was the impact of the eventual US
. ::ory that the carrier has retained its pre-eminent
::stion in American naval thinking, almost irre-
.:ective of the theatre or application. ln brushfire or
:: d war situations. the carrier has tremendous
3-esence', but all too often these expensive and
, :ai national assets are being hazarded unneces-
-.:'r y where a lesser vessel could perform equally
:-ectively.
-ntil the 1970s there exlsted adequate decks in
---e 33,000top 'Essex' class units. Becoming in-
:':asingly undersized to operatethe everfasterand
-:avier aircraft entering service, these performed
,seiully as ASW platforms and in training dutles. of conforming to Panama Canal parameters for the US,S Constellation on station in lfi eSouth Ch:na Sea
3: ng elderly, and to a certain extent expendable, rapid interchange of units from one seaboard to in 1 974. The presence of a US C arrier B attle Group
jn areasseen a s beingwithin the US sphere of
ships would encourage bold tactlcs where the another. The reason was largely because of the
'-cn influence gives the United States a massive power
. ;e and scarcity of larger units may tend to inhibit.
=
adoption of an armoured flightdeck, following projection capability, which it seems increasingty
- ^fortunately, only a handful remain and their British experience in the Mediterranean. So much ready to use.
',^ctions have, necessarily, been assumed by later extra weight at a considerable height above the
.:ssels, whose attack potential has thereby been waterline called for a significant increase in beam. Forrestal, which was laid down in 1952 A c ass :'
:iJUeU. Warfare entered the nuclear age in 1 945 and, with four was completed between 1955 and i 959 -'.:-
-o reap the benefits of series production in World ballistic missile technology still in rts infancy, the able to operate about 90 jet-propelled a.cre-: .::
,',:r ll. the 'Essex' design was kept simple and only practical method of delivery of ordnance re- the newly-introduced and British-develope. a-l 3:
, -:rally unchanged over the whole series, and the mained the aircraft. Design was started of a special- deck and steam catapults.
- -
=^ os needed to be complemented by a new and ist bomber and of a large carrier on which to deploy A near-identical fifth unit was completec 3e'
.'3er design even before the end of hostllities. At it. Of 65,000 tons standard displacement this carrier She was the USS Enterprise, and differec '--:=
r:.000 tons the three 'Midway' class ships repre- would have been graced with the name USS United mentally in being nuclear-powered, one o' e.'.-..
::^ted a considerable jump in size and two of them, Stafes but, scarcely commenced, she fell vlctlm to type squadron (the others were the cr'l s:' -SS
.:',,eral modernizations later, are still in service, Congressional criticism and a change of direction in Long Beach and the large frigate USS Ba rc-:g=
^i :n the USS Coral Sea due to continue until 1991 ; the choice of delivery system. designed to explore the technical proble--= --
,>S Midway could well see out the century. They Within a year, in 1950, the Korean War broke out volved, Though officially developing ti3 s3:-.
'.:'e the first US warships to break the requirement and Allied f lightdecks proved often to be virtually the power as the 'Forrestals' and their four n c-:.:':
only means of wielding alr power, The contribution 'Kitty Hawk' class follow-ons, the Enle?-s3 -.s
of carriers was crucial, and their continuing exist- infinitely greater endurance. lf accompa- =: :.
-rSS Nimitz, USS Eisenhower and escorting cruiser similarly-powered escorts, she wou tr .:: ::
ence was vindicated. Criticism of the 'super carrier'
-tSS South Carolina in fie /ndta n Ocean. The two refle -;s ::
:arriers probably cost more to operate than the concept was muff led, and plans of the United States trammelled by the need for regular
'r\ole navies of most other nations. were dusted off, updated and funded as the USS sea.
 Nevertheless, it was soon demonstrated that on a cruisers and the newly reactivated 'lowa' class AnA-6 pilot's-eyeview of the approach to a
war footing, the Enterprise' s crew of over 5,000 and battleships have weapons of a weight in excess of 'Midway' class carrier. t/S,S Midway and USS Coral
the standard 127-mm (5-in) gun. The proposed light- Se+ dating from the late I 940s, are still in front-line
concentrated flight operations needed frequent service today, and may remain so until well into the
topping-up of essentials such as aviation spirit, weight 203-mm (B-in) gun concluded apparently J990s, wlren Midway maywellexceed ahalf
ordnance and a wide variety of foodstuffs and dry successful sea trials, yet was not funded for the century of operations.
stores. planned fleet retrofit programme.
fhe Enterprise proved remarkably successful, The battleships, whose Phase I modernizations forms for cruise missiles than for their 406-mm (16-
and the.USS Jo hn F. Kennedyof 1968 was to be the may well be halted at only three units and whose in) gun batteries. These ships are designed to
last steam-propelled unit, entering service only Phase ll modernizations will probably never take absorb punishment and have a high level of surviva-
weeks after the keel-laying of the USS Nimitz, lead place at all, have been resurrected more as plat- bility built into them. a quality unique in today's
shlp of an extended class of CVNs, of which three warships.
are currently (1984) in service, one building and two A vertical-load 1 52-mm (6-in) weapon with greatly
Seen recently aftermaior refit, USS Enterprise fias
a
simplified mechanics is available, firing either
f unded. lt is a tribute to the original 'Forrestal' design
a
been in service since l 96 l. With the nuclear-
that it has been remarkably little changed over the powered cruisers Long Beach and Bainbridge lhe standard range of ammunltion or improved conven-
years, although the ships do seem to share the similarly-powered Enterprise sa iled nonstop tional munitions (lCM) with options including ex-
same proneness to fire as earlier classes. Their around theworld to demonstrate the potential of tended range (through rocket boost), laser-guided
great limitation is, of course, their cost, now well in nuclearpower, rounds and nuclear warheads.
excess of $2 billion per unit. As this inevitably
,nhibits the number constructed and no ship,
however good, can be in more than one place at
once there is endless argument about the alterna
t;ve merits of more, but smaller, decks. Though
these would, in some respects, increase the fleet's
flexibility and reduce the chances of an overwhelm-
ing Soviet pre-emptive nuclear strike at sea, they are
not approved on the grounds that to fund them
would be to dlvert funds from the high-capability big
carriers (a parallel argument is advanced also when
conventionally-powered submarines are mooted).
Fifteen large carriers is the target, each to be the
core of a battle group. To keep such a force of highly
complex ships up io date the Service Life Extension
Program (SLEP) was initiated, each ship in turn
undergoing a 2l/z-year modernization.
With the gradual disposal of older and smaller
carriers" the large units have had to adopt a multi-
purpose fit. Their embarked air wings now possess
ASW as well as strike and interception capacity,
together with early warning, electronic warfare,
reconnaissance, tanker and communications air-
craft.
Over the last two decades, the naval gun has
leen looked upon in many quarters as obsolete in a
r ssiledominated age. This it is not. having quali-
:3s that will guarantee its future as a weapon com-
: e.r.entary to the missile. For example, fire support
: rect or indirect) for landings is not the purlieu of
:-e m;ssile yet only two old 'Des Moines' class
--)\
ssvd a\